Animal Totem: Opossum

Opossum teaches the lesson of using and enhancing appearances and deceptions and illusions. He also aids in resting when needed (playing dead), and the art to act or behave in strategic manner as appearing to be fearful or fearless in spite of true feelings. Opossum gives courage to pretend for a while in order to cope with mental and spiritual constructs. He teaches wisdom and sensibility and knows when to fight if needed. Is it time to fight for things or to rest?

The opossum is a crafty animal that shows us how to play different roles. It knows when to act, when to hide, and when to show its true colors. Opossum is a master at recognizing truth as well as falsehood. When it wants attention it gets it. When it wants to be left alone it plays dead. It is a strategic animal that knows how to mold each situation according to its needs. It has the ability to decode hidden messages and read between the lines. 

A supreme actor, the opossum can be aggressive or submissive depending on the situation. The opossum knows that each situation has commonalities as well as differences and reflects on them carefully before it responds. This links the opossum to the energies of practicality and ingenuity. 

Always full of surprises and unpredictable opossums are masters at playing dead. When the time is right they can suddenly spring back to life. Playing dead is a self induced state in which the heartbeat actually slows and the pulse becomes minimal. This ability serves to confuse many predators giving the opossum an escape from life threatening situations.

Opossums are nocturnal and raise their young in a pouch on their mid section. The young are born blind and rely on their feelings to guide them to their destination. They learn to sense their way around at an early age developing strong instincts by the time they reach adulthood. These instincts are complimented by their inherent ability to disguise themselves. The opossum is a multifaceted actor that continually changes its appearance. It does not allow its emotions to consume its actions and partakes in the game of life with strategic maneuvers. Part of what the opossum teaches to those with this totem is emotional and mental stability. 

The opossum is a craftsman in the art of appearances. When it appears in your life it is telling you to wake up and pay attention. Things are not what they seem to be. By observing your actions, reactions, thoughts and feelings, deeper insights emerge. This emergence leads to self-empowerment.

I don't recall ever really seeing an opossum before. I'm sure I have on many occasions, just not very often. An interesting animal totem that I wanted to share.













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Animal Totems

I buy into the theory that when you see an animal (or in this case, insects) that seem out of the ordinary, you should take something away from it. Many people believe that so-called "animal totems" are powerful messages from the spirit world. I happen to be one of them. Today, I saw two interesting totems in my city driveway- a grasshopper and a dragonfly. Here are two versions of its symbolism.

GRASSHOPPER

Uncanny leaps forward

The  Chinese symbol of good luck and abundance,

Grasshopper gives its totem people the ability to take chances. 
To move on hunches and take the leap forward. 
Things might not move for them as they do for other people;
progress is not step-by-step, but rather extremely fast. 
Trust your own instincts on when to make the leaps. 

Trust your inner voice. 
It will lead you to great successes. 
Don’t be afraid to leap –
and remember that Grasshopper only leaps forward – never backward.

DRAGONFLY

Illusion, The Power of Light

Dragonfly is the power of light.  The dragonfly inhabits two realms: air and water and the influence of both these elements will be felt by Dragonfly people.  They will be emotional and passionate during their early years (the influence of water) and more balanced with greater mental clarity and control in as they mature (the influence of air).

Dragonfly is the essence of the winds of change, the messages of wisdom and enlightenment; and the communication from the elemental world.  Dragonfly medicine beckons you to seek out the parts of your habits which need changing.  Call on Dragonfly to guide you through the mists of illusion to the pathway of transformation.  The number 2 is important to Dragonfly, so think in terms of two year periods when you begin a change.  Dragonfly brings the light and color of transformation into your life.

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The Times New Tarot: HIGH PRIESTESS

 

The card that I drew for today was the HIGH PRIESTESS: A pure, exalted and gracious influence. Education, knowledge, wisdom, and esoteric teachings. The forces of nature. Intuition, foresight, and spiritual revelation of the most mysterious and arcane sort.

via aecletic:

Basic Tarot Story
Continuing his journey, the Fool comes upon a beautiful and mysterious veiled lady enthroned between two pillars and illuminated by the moon. She is the opposite of the Magician, quiet where he was loquacious, still where he was in motion, sitting while he stood, shrouded in the night where he was out in the bright of day. Sensing that she is a great seer, the Fool lays out his sword, chalice, staff and pentacle before her. "The Magician showed me these, but now I'm in a quandary. There are so many things I could do with them. I can't decide."

The High Priestess doesn't speak. Instead she hands him a pair of ancient scrolls. Seating himself at her feet, the Fool puts his decision-making on hold and reads by the light of her crescent moon.

"I did not know any of this," says the Fool. The scrolls, like a secret manual, have given him insight into his new tools. "This information helps me to narrow things down, but I'm still afraid of making a wrong decision."
The words come to him then, not from without but from within: "What do your instincts tell you?" The Fool reflects on that, and that's when he knows what he should do. Decision made, he rises to leave even though he suspects that the High Priestess has more secrets she could reveal to him--like what lies behind the pomegranate curtain. Right now, however, he is focused and ready to be on his way.

Thanking the High Priestess, he heads off. But as he leaves he hears that inner voice, rising like the waters which spring and flow from beneath her throne: "We'll meet again...when you're ready to travel the most secret path of all."

Basic Tarot Meaning
Once you have an idea, you also have decisions to make. The High Priestess holds scrolls of arcane information in her arms. In addition, the moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see about a job possibility, an investment, love, career, family, etc. But you need some alone time, some quiet time to meditate and reflect.

This is what the card is all about. Seated between two pillars as between two choices, the High Priestess is not about making a decision so much as holding decision-making at bay while you take time to listen to your inner voice. She wants you to gain knowledge before you act: instinctual knowledge, supernatural knowledge, secret knowledge, self-knowledge.

The High Priestess, however, goes beyond even that for those who seek more. Behind her throne is the curtain that leads to the deepest, most esoteric knowledge; the pomegranates that decorate it remind us of Persephone, who was taken down into the land of the dead, ate its fruit and became the only goddess allowed to travel to and from that strange land. The High Priestess is our guide to all that is mysterious and mystical.





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