Quietly She Sleeps

quietly she sleeps
in the high mountain of dreams
winter in her soul

The Snow leopard is found in high mountains in Central Asia. Its eyes are green. The snow leopard has a greyish white coat with rosetts. Of all the leopard family, snow leopard is the least aggressive and is very agile and excellent leapers. Snow leopard legends and myths are far and few between, giving an elusive and tantalizing quality to them.

Snow leopards prefer to inhabit steep cliff areas, rocky outcrops and ravines. Such habitats provide them with the camouflage they need to ambush unsuspecting prey. They stalk their prey and usually spring from a distance of 20-50 feet. Their long and powerful hind limbs help the snow leopard leap up to 30 feet, which is 6 times its body length. Mostly active at dawn and dusk, snow leopards are rarely seen in the wild. Unlike other big cats, snow leopards are unable to roar. Solitary in nature, they pair only during the breeding season.

The Snow Leopard as a Spirit Animal, it usually means having strong intuitive faculties and heightened sensibilities. Snow leopard teaches how to make great leaps over new obstacles in life. It gives strength to clear out the haunts and demons within the mind and holds promise of new life, new perception and a renewed perspective on life.

There is also an old story of Milarepa, Tibet’s poet-saint, who was stranded for six months in the Great Cave of Conquering Demons. When his followers went to find him, they found he had been transformed into a snow leopard. The snow leopard is a totem that can reflect a renewed energy, ability, opportunity to conquer one’s own great demons.

“Conquer one’s own great demons” has been and continues to be a life long challenge.

— genece hamby, contemporary digital artist & poet
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