I first met Tikki before I met the new human neighbors that she shared a household with. She strolled into my cellar while I was doing laundry, introduced herself, and, for the first of many occasions to follow, appointed herself my companion and project overseer.

If my cat Kiya was not outside with me, Tikki was by my side, being companionable and offering comments from time to time. If Kiya was out, Tikki would see how far she could push her luck, amping Kiya’s jealousy meter to the limit (a Queen herself), seeing how close she was allowed to hang with me that day.

I needed to take photos of some new pendulums I had gotten in for sale, but I did not have the proper lighting for an indoor shoot, so I thought I would experiment with setting up in the natural light at sunset outside in my front yard.

I used a black wool cloak from Peru as a background. I went over it thoroughly, removing any animal fur (living in a multiple cat/dog household always offers these challenges). I draped the cloak carefully over my Adirondack chair and then created an ingenious way of suspending the pendulums against the background. With all in place, I got my camera and began taking a few shots. I didn’t get very far before Tikki showed up. Sizing up the situation, she quickly determined that there was definitely something missing from the composition—her!

Despite my verbal protests (which of course included pleas to not get cat hair on the cloak), she climbed up on the chair, turned to face the camera, struck a pose, stretching both front paws out with an expression of great satisfaction. (Note, she was very careful to not brush her very fluffy tail on the cloak and pendulum display.)

I could not resist such thoughtfulness, forcefulness and charm. I took many photos of her, one of which appears here. I regret to say that the product shoot was not a success, but thanks to Tikki’s wisdom I did at least get a great picture of her, and a wonderful memory.

Tikki’s photo is available as a print.

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A WILD WAY TO HEAL
Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC, is an animal communicator, Reiki Master Teacher, shamanic energy healer, and author. Her classes, sessions and ceremonial work are inspired by wild and domestic animals who have issued a call to action for personal and global healing.

Her book Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism features heartwarming stories about animals and their role in her evolution as an energy worker and shamanic healer.