Spirit Guide of the day is Stork! You may want to return to where your original home, viewing it with a new adult perspective in order to gain understanding. Take time with your family to bond deeper with them. This is a time when participating in some sort of drumming or rattling either alone or with others will help to awaken a new side of yourself. Now is a time for a new birth of your own self. It may help to participate in any sacred group dances. The Stork guide is known for its connection with unspoken communication and birth. It is one of the most powerful symbols of birth and believed to be sacred to the Roman goddess Juno who ruled over family fidelity, children, and the home. In some fairy lore, Storks are seen as strongly connected with humans even so far as to weep human tears and be able to occasionally take the form of a human. This connection is due to the Stork's preference to wading through shore areas and shallow waters which are often thought to be entrances into the Faerie Realm and creates a connection with emotions. Whenever a Stork shows up, this is a sign of new birth such as a new opportunity or mental state in your life. The myth of the Stork bringing babies came about because of the tendency of European white storks to roost on the tops of houses and chimneys during the spring when many babies are often born. The Stork spirit guide is particularly connected to dance and body language, showing us how focusing on your movements can show you where your rhythms are off and need fixing in order to gain balance. Sacred dance can help to align you and bring that new birth into play. People who connect with Stork are caring, dedicated types who are able to express and experience their emotions without becoming overwhelmed. These individuals are nurturing types who often begin new projects and finish each once before starting another. These souls have a strong connection with communicating through physical expression such as dance and body language.

Storks are large, long-necked wading birds that belong to the taxonomic family called Ciconiidae and are the only family in the order Ciconiiformes. These avians are related to herons and ibises and can live up to 30 or 40 years old in the wild. There are 21 species of Stork in a variety of sizes that can be found on every continent except for Antarctica. They can be found in all kinds of habitats from wetlands and grasslands to tropical forests. Some of the smaller Storks include the Hammerkop which only grows to 2 feet tall versus the massive Marabou Stork that reaches up to 5 feet in height. Often, Storks are a variety of grey colors, however, some species can be seen sporting colors of white, red, or black. Although they are ungainly walkers on land, wading slowly through waters on their long legs with a graceful march in search of prey, the Stork is a graceful creature in flight. They will use their long, broad wings to soar on warm air currents with only occasional flaps to keep them aloft. They can easily be recognized by the way they fly with their necks out and their legs left to dangle behind them in flight. These long legs enable them to wade easily through shallow waters among reeds or grasses. Some species have an additional function where their legs act as a radiator to cool down the Stork's body during high heats. Some storks have bare patches on their head and neck that is thought to help for scavenging species to keep mud or blood from staining their feathers. Other species, however, use this bald patch for breeding season when they will flush with color in order to impress a female. On the other hand, some Stork species such as the woolly-neck stork will puff up the feathers around their throat in order to impress a female. During breeding season, which changes depending on the species, these birds will nest either alone or in what is called colony nesting. Species such as the Jabiru or the Storm's storks will form bonds between singular male and females who will stay together for many years. These pair-bonds will return to the same nest repeatedly throughout the years and, even when they don't have eggs, will add to the nest. Colony nesters such as the Marabou stork will gather in large groups ranging from a few pairs to several thousands birds. These colony nesters will even share their nesting grounds with other birds such as pelicans and egrets. Nests can be found among rocks, in the ground, in trees, or even on buildings and are made of sticks and grasses. Sometimes, storks will add patches of grass and dirt to their nests and the male will even decorate a finished nest with a leafy green twig. These nests can often be so large that other small birds such as starlings and sparrows will also nest between the sticks. Stork chicks are born nearly naked and will quickly grow a soft layer of downy feathers. They require care from their parents to be fed each day and can eat up to 60% of their body weight every day. These young will start to stand around four weeks old, but won't grow flight feathers for another few months. After that, they will continue to rely on their parents for several weeks before leaving to fend for themselves. During breeding season, storks are known to clack their bills together in courtship. These birds do not possess muscles in their voice box, meaning they cannot sing, however they have a wide range of hisses and grunts along with the rattling and snapping of their bills. The diet of storks consists of a range of prey including fish, clams, snails, and mussels. Some storks have a pointed bill that they will stab into tall grasses or water to spear prey. Others, such as wood storks and yellow-billed storks possess sensitive areas on their bill that can feel prey brushing up against it. These species will slowly walk or stand still with their sensitive bill in the water to wait for food to come close. The most unique style of eating belongs to the open-billed stork. They have a curved opening in the middle of their bill which enables them to eat snails. Rather than smashing the snail shells like originally thought, it turns out that the open-billed stork will use the upper part of their bill to hold the snail against the ground while the lower part slices the muscle holding the snail in its shell. This enables the stork to pull the meat of the snail out of the shell without breaking the shell.