This week's External Influence is the Lion Spirit Guide. When this guide appears, it comes as a signal that you will be drawn to rely on the strength you possess within. Do not fear. You are stronger than your fears lead you to think. The Lion Guide stands firm and strong as a reminder that you are able to accomplish more than you may think. You can stand stronger winds than you thought. This week will provide strength to regain the thread of you who are. Feel this fuel your passion and feel again the fires of your unique self, thoughts, goals, and accomplishments. However, remember not to rush forward blindly. Listen closely and think carefully before you make your move. The Lion guide is often a sign to reconnect with your feminine or masculine energies. Are you out of balance with yourself? While the male lion is the more regularly thought of symbol of strength for the Lion, the females are known for their hunting prowess and group coordination. Due to this, the Lion Spirit Guide can come as a sign to pay attention to if you are expressing yourself in a way true to how you feel on the inside. Have you been letting yourself identify as something not true to your mind and soul? This also includes a look at the others around you. The Lion Guide reminds us to assess our relationships with those around us to make sure we are using our strength as a humble tool to aid others in feeling their own power.

This week's Rune is Hagalaz! This Rune is symbolized as being the connections between realms. Depicted as the primal snowflake, the icy core of primal life within existence. It embodies the movement in and downward to learn the wisdom of the Norns. Hagalaz works with the powers of harmony, transformation, evolution, merging, and the past. It's name translates to "Hailstone" which represents the change of water into ice. As it provides transformation and protection, this rune also symbolizes destruction. But in the wake of this destruction, such as with hail onto the land, it brings positive transformation like the growth of plants as the hail thaws and refreshes the ground with water. Alternatively, Hagalaz uses this ideal to represent the framework of the universe, the Oneness, in which energy is constantly moving and transforming. This rune can be a gentle urge to study sacred geometry due to being represented as the 6 branches snowflake in which we can fashion all other runes out of it's lines. Making it the Mother of runes. Connect with Hagalaz when you feel the need to merge runic energies, gain aid in personal empowerment or transformation, healing physical or mental wounds, or protecting from further harm. Hagalaz comes to us to increase shamanic journeying, accessing ancestral memories, or to teach us how to build positive out of destruction. With connects to both sides of the spectrum, this rune warns of self-sabotage. Do not break yourself down, but rise above behavior patterns developed from the past in order to create a better self for your future.

The Internal Influence for this week is the Reversed Otter Spirit Guide. When the Otter Guide appears normally, it is a sign to allow yourself greater moments of play and relaxation. That you may need to mix up your hard work with moments of ease and laughter to lighten your load. However, when this guide appears as a Reversed symbol, we see that this week will include inner work and a diving in to your goals with a renewed sense of productivity and professionalism. While you don't have to give up all your moments of fun and relaxation, know that this week will be a push to end any lax behavior that has been going on too long. Find a way to balance your work with a positive attitude or by treating yourself with special moments or items when you complete a goal. The Otter Guide is connected with intelligence and, even as a Reversed guide, this still holds true. Think of your next goals as a challenge on how to complete them in a fun way. Use organization and forethought to chunk down your large goals into manageable tasks that you can complete with less stress. This week is the time to show how much you can accomplish.