ANIMAL WISDOM SPEAKS - News

World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day - June 1st

1/6/2025

Today is June 1st, World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day.

Narcissistic abuse leaves no visible scars and hard to believe unless the victim confides in someone who has experienced it themselves or a professional therapist who has knowledge beyond reading theories and textbooks about it. In public the narcissist wears masks befitting the occasion, in private the masks fall and Dr. Jekyll turns into Mr. Hyde.

How often have you read or heard the following “I have met him. He was so nice to me! So polite. How could he have hit her?” or “She took care of him, never left his side and her words were always so full of concern for his mental wellbeing. It was just about his possessions?”

Silence is the killer. Dare to speak. Dare to break the silence.

Narcissistic abuse is the intentional and malicious exploitation, abuse and manipulation of the heart, soul, mind and spirit of another human being. It takes the form of coercion, emotional, spiritual, religious, financial or physical abuse. Narcissists are master manipulators using gaslighting, triangulation and flying monkeys who are part of a reward and punishment system doing their work for them. While the flying monkeys get their hands dirty, the puppeteer in the background keeps their hands clean, so that when they are caught others pay the price for their deeds.

Victims of narcissistic abuse are depleted of their energy and finances, isolated from friends and family who will not tolerate the abuse they are witnessing quietly, confused by manipulation tactics and tricked into reacting to the abuse that has taken place behind closed doors in public.

This is called reactive abuse. It makes the victim look like the narcissist or the toxic partner and the narcissist or toxic partner like the victim. The script is flipped.

Victims of narcissistic abuse are trapped in cycles of abuse and sudden loving behavior creating trauma bonding.

The silencing of the victim and the silence of those witnessing the abuse keep the narcissist in power.

Dare to speak and break the silence.

If you are into reading and storytelling, I recommend reading Stephen King’s “Misery” and “Needful Things”. Leland Gaunt in “Needful Things” is a master puppeteer letting his flying monkeys do his bidding while not getting his hands dirty and if you have seen Kathy Bates starring in the movie adaptation of “Misery”, you know what it means to witness your perfect soulmate turn into your worst nightmare behind closed doors.

Kristin Raphaela Otti

June - Month of the Butterfly

1/6/2025

June has arrived and this month Animal Wisdom Speaks is dedicated to the Butterfly, the trusted friend of the Keeper of Secrets, the Raven.

The Butterfly does not speak with its mouth, for it its one with all of creation and sees no need in manifesting any riches for itself. It sings its beautiful song from the heart instead, greeting all of creation with unconditional love, sharing its wealth.

The Butterfly carries its healing wisdom to all the flowers and herbs alike, even the ones that are hardest to reach, the ones not visited by bees.

It is a teacher and companion who flies on silent wings, never disturbing the peace or sowing discord choosing to always be in the moment instead.

"Shadow Butterfly", black pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2024, Carinthia)

It has shed its past and left it behind, showing its true colours and healing wisdom openly now embracing transformation and change.

To learn more about the Butterfly and its wisdom go to

Butterfly Wisdom

Working in Wolfsberg, Austria (09 - 14 May)

4/5/2025

I will be working in my hometown Wolfsberg (Carinthia, Austria) again for a few days (09 - 14 May 2025). If you are interested in an individual or group session, send me a message via E-mail. I am looking forward to meeting you.

I'll be drawing, too, of course, so if you want me to draw your spirit animal, a person or landscape I see, send me a message and we can arrange a meeting.

You will be able to find me in one of the cafés in town as well, enjoying either steaming hot black coffee with salt or a cold brew while drawing.

"White Rook", white pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2025, Hotel Hecher, Wolfsberg, Carinthia)

"Sorrowful Shadow Lion" (black pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti, 2024) coming into being in Cafe Eiles, Vienna

Ich arbeite vom 09. bis zum 14. Mai 2025 wieder für ein paar Tage in meiner Heimatstadt Wolfsberg in Kärnten. Bei Interesse an einer Einzel- oder Gruppensitzung meldet euch gerne via E-Mail. Ich freue mich darauf, euch kennenzulernen.

Ich werde natürlich auch zeichnen. Falls also jemand von euch Interesse daran hat, dass ich sein Krafttier, eine Person oder Landschaft male, die ich sehe, gebt Bescheid und wir machen uns einen Termin aus.

Ihr könnt mich zeichnenderweise bei einem heißem schwarzen Kaffee oder einem Cold Brew in einem der Cafés in der Stadt finden.

Kristin Raphaela Otti

May - Month of the Fox

1/5/2025

May has arrived and this month Animal Wisdom Speaks is dedicated to the Fox, a playful trickster and agent of change, who is a jack-of-all-trades but master-of-none, able to become whoever she wants to be or needs to be to blend right into her surroundings and camouflage herself perfectly.

If you change your perspective, you realize that the nature of any challenge changes the moment you stop clinging to the story it was presented to you with. A cage will only hold you if you yourself declare it a prison and define its bars as unbreakable limiting your access to whatever you wish to learn, achieve or become.

Fox is able to see through any illusion or deception, even the ones, she created herself. After becoming aware of them, fox quickly changes her point of view and is able to do things in a completely different – and sometimes - unexpected way.

"White Fox Stargazing", white pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2025, Hotel Hecher, Wolfsberg, Carinthia)

She is a walker of the in-between, a being of dusk and dawn. She understands the unspoken and is able to view any situation with complete detachment.

She teaches you to see a situation for what it is and not as you wish to see it, to take a step back and become still, until you are able to let go of the illusion and self-deception and are willing to break free.

To learn more about Fox and her wisdom go to

April - Month of the Rook

31/3/2025

April has arrived and this month Animal Wisdom Speaks is dedicated to the Rook, the Sentinel at the Gates who is able to see through any mask and illusion.

Rooks are so-called psychopomps, guides who accompany the souls of the newly deceased and the souls that got lost between the worlds through the veils.

Rook teaches us about the importance of working together and building a community and friendships while not losing our unique self and way of being.

Rook knows that by bringing together different ways of thinking and problem-solving new ways open up in moving past old energies transforming them into healing wisdom.

"White Rook", white pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2024, Hotel, Café & Konditorei Hecher, Wolfsberg, Carinthia)

To learn more about Rook and her wisdom go to

Working in Wolfsberg, Austria (05 - 07 March)

3/3/2025

I will be working in Wolfsberg (Carinthia, Austria) again for a few days from 05 - 07 March 2025. If you are interested in an individual or group session, send me a message via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or E-mail. I am looking forward to meeting and walking together with you for a spell!

I'll be drawing, too, of course, so if you want me to draw your spirit animal, send me a message and we can arrange a meeting.

You will be able to find me drawing in Hotel, Café & Konditorei Hecher. They serve the best Cardinal Slices in Austria. Cardinal Slices are a mixture of sponge cake, meringue that is soft on the inside and crispy on the outside and coffee cream. Now combine that with a fresh cup of steaming hot coffee and you will experience every coffee afficionado’s dream.

"Courageous White Mouse", white pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2025, Hotel Hecher, Wolfsberg Carinthia)

"White Badger Dreaming", white pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2023)

ch arbeite vom 05. bis zum 07. März 2025 wieder für ein paar Tage in Wolfsberg in Kärnten. Bei Interesse an einer Einzel- oder Gruppensitzung meldet euch gerne via Messenger, WhatsApp oder E-Mail. Ich freue mich darauf, euch kennenzulernen und gemeinsam ein Stück des Weges zu wandern!

Ich werde natürlich auch zeichnen. Falls also jemand von euch Interesse daran hat, dass ich sein Krafttier male, gebt Bescheid und wir machen uns einen Termin aus.

Ihr könnt mich zeichnenderweise im Hotel, Café & Konditorei Hecher finden. Dort gibt es die besten Kardinalschnitten Österreichs. Kardinalschnitten sind eine Kombination aus Biskuit, Kaffeecreme und Baiser. Kombiniert das mit einer Tasse heißem, schwarzem Kaffee und ihr findet euch im Traum eines jeden Kaffeeliebhabers wieder.

Kristin Raphaela Otti

March - Month of the Crow

1/3/2025

March has arrived and this month Animal Wisdom Speaks is dedicated to the Crow, the Keeper of Sacred Law.

She is neither light nor dark but dwells in the in-between and listens to all the stories told with open ears. She is a being of the void, the canvas between the stars, where there is no contrast, no shadows or light, no differences or disbalance, but harmony.

Crow says, "Everything you give out, every deed done, every word spoken, returns to you in one way, shape, form or another, for every deed done and every word spoken is the beginning of a circle and it will return to you at one point on your path, so you are able to understand and learn the lesson, truth and wisdom behind it. The joy you brought, the pain you caused."

Crow is a shapeshifter, a jack-of-all-trades and an agent of change that never stops learning and exploring and who does not see a world that is black and white, but a world that is a meadow of unique and colorful flowers whose seeds are a boon to all of creation, as those seeds will grow into different shades of the same flower, carry different healing properties and experiences and at the end of their circle become stars on the canvas in the sky, guiding their fellow travelers on their way home.

"White Crow", white pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2023)

In 2023 I retold and recorded "Aandeg the Crow", a story told by the Ojibwe and I have published it as a storytelling video now.

When the All-and-One was telling all beings of creation about their purpose, the All-and-One was called away, when the All-and-One was about to talk with Aandeg the Crow about her tasks. As Crow loves learning and getting to know new things, she grew impatient of waiting after a while and chose to find her purpose on her own.

You can read the story on the storytelling blog here on Animal Wisdom Speaks or enjoy the recording on my YouTube channel.

Kristin Raphaela Otti

Aandeg the Crow
A Story Told by the Ojibwe

Odide -How the White Parrot Got His Grey Feathers

26/2/2025

I love collecting and retelling stories, fairy tales and myths. One of the aims of Animal Wisdom Speaks is to collect stories in their original languages and to create an archive and library open to everyone who wishes to dive into different cultures and languages experiencing the beauty and wisdom held in our stories.

Storytelling is an immensely powerful tool in learning and shaping our world and the words of ancient wisdom are powerful medicine in healing the wounds that have been opened up by words spoken without care or uttered with the intention to do harm and thus cutting like a knife.

I first came across the story of "Odide" in 2023. It is a story about what people will do out of jealousy to someone who simply shines their light without harming anyone and to what lengths they are willing to go to destroy a soul instead of working on themselves or looking into their own mirror realising that true beauty comes from within and that - in truth - there is no competition or a being better than someone else, but that each and every single one of us is beautiful and a boon to creation in their own right.

"White Parrot Dreaming", white pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2023)

I recorded the story in 2023, but did not find the time to work on it as a result of working abroad on a different project. I decided to republish it now, adding a song I wrote in 2024, when I was working on stories about the eagle spirit and wisdom.

"Odide" is a story told by the Yorùbá, who call Western Africa their home. Their language is spoken by about 30 million people and their storytelling traditions are rich and colourful.

Kristin Raphaela Otti

Odide - How the White Parrot Got His Grey Feathers

Official Statement regarding the End of the Collaboration with the Green Tent Circle

1/2/2025

Official Statement regarding the Green Tent Circle

As a result of the actions taken by the Green Tent Circle (GTC) after me having asked the GTC to respect my copyright regarding my stories and art, as well as to honour my request not to hand out my Illuminator Series video and to not publish it on any platform, I have ended all collaboration with the GTC.

The Green Tent Circle has since taken down my Illuminator Series webpage (13th Illuminator), all pages linked to Animal Wisdom Speaks and the collaboration between the GTC and Animal Wisdom Speaks, my personal blog as well as all pages linked to the three storytelling events I have organised for the GTC.

Note that I have worked for the Green Tent Circle for free for more than a year, organising events, building the homepage together with Leah Myers, working and organising Glad Tidings, bringing in new bloggers and organising their blogs and community pages, as well as organising Illuminator Series 19 "Angaangaq" while working on a project in Germany.

AWS logo designed by Leah Myers.

If you take a look at the homepage of the Green Tent Circle now, it will seem as if I had not done the aforementioned. Note that I can prove that I have by communications, archived videos, sound files worked on, screenshots and stories and art submitted.

As a result of the way the Green Tent Circle is handling my request to honour my ideas and my copyright, instead of taking the steps outlined by Leah Myers of the Green Tent Circle in their first reply to me, I distance myself completely from the circle and its founder Ann Smith.

Kristin Raphaela Otti

Official Statement

End of Collaboration with the Green Tent Circle and WOYA

30/1/2025

Animal Wisdom Speaks is - among other things - a circle aiming at helping victims of abuse suffering from mental health issues to regain footing in their life, come back on their feet and blossom and bloom again empowering them through storytelling.

As a result of the actions taken by WOYA and the Green Tent Circle, Animal Wisdom Speaks has ended all collaboration with the aforementioned organisation and circle effective immediately.

Kristin Raphaela Otti

The Animal Wisdom Speaks logo designed by Leah Myers.

Official Statement Regarding
the End of Collaboration with the Green Tent Circle