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Reptile totems
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| June 3, 2002. |
Frogs have an ancient mythology about
them. Being amphibians with links to the water and the
land, they are often associated with the magic of both
elements. This also links them to the lore of fairies
and elves. Many shamanic societies link the frog with
rain and control of the weather. Its voice is said to
call forth the rains.
Because of its connection to water,
it is also linked to lunar energies and those goddesses
associated with moon. The frog was an animal attributed
to the Egyptian goddess Herit, who assisted Isis in
her ritual for resurrecting Osiris.
Of all the reptiles, and maybe even
all animals, the snake has been the subject of great
controversy and paradox. Religious sources argue over
whether it is the symbol of the higher or the lower.
Sometimes seen as devil and sometimes as healer, it
is an animal that truly has earned the mythical reputation.
In the Americas, the snake served
as a prominent symbol in art and lore. To the Native
Americans, the snake is a symbol of transformation and
healing. Snake ceremonies involved learning to transmute
the poison within the body after being bitten multiple
times. Survival of this would them enable the individual
to transmute all poison, physical or otherwise. It activated
the energy of kill or cure, ultimately leading to dramatic
healings.
In Egypt the snake has also had mystical
significance. The uraeus is a head band in the shape
of the snake. The head of the snake rest and sticks
out at the brow area. It was believed to represent a
state of inner sight and control of the universe. It
was a symbol worn by those who were initiated. Some
believe it to be a variations of eye of Horus, while
others see it as the sacred eye of Ra. It represented
a certain degree of wisdom and understanding.
Alligators and crocodiles have mixed
symbology and imagery throughout the ages. To the ancient
Egyptians they have been associated with fury and ferocity.
The viciousness and destructive power was often symbolized
as a mother swallowing her young. Inherent within this
was the idea that there could not be death without life
or life without death.
They patrol the waters and the shorelines
that separate land form water, birth from dead, etc.
In this sense they can be seen as the keepers and protectors
of all knowledge. They are the primal mothers in whom
all knowledge rest and waits to be born.
There are number of characteristics
that distinguish a lizard from other reptiles. They
too, have a dry skin, and like many, they also have
claws. They are also sensitive to vibrations in the
ground. They feel it with their feet, tail, and body.
Their eyes are sharp with an ability to detect the slightest
movement around them. They also have acute hearing.
All these characteristics give it
a symbolism associated with the psychic and intuitive.
The ability to perceive subtle movement - physical and
ethereal, waking or sleeping - is what lizard medicine
teaches. To some within the Native American tradition,
the lizard is associated with dreamtime. Dreams contains
some of the subtlest perceptions of the mind of which
we may not be conscious.
A great deal of mythology exist in
regard to the turtle. In the Far East, the shell was
a symbol of heaven, and the square underside was a symbol
of earth. The turtle was an animal whose magic could
help you unite heaven and earth within your own life.
Because of its great age and its
slow metabolism, the turtle is also associated with
longevity. Long life and groundedness within life is
part of what is associated with the turtle. It does
not move fast. It is as if, one some level, turtle knows
it has all the time in the world.
In Nigeria, the turtle was a symbol
of female sex organs and sexuality. To the Native Americans,
it was associated with the lunar cycle, menstruation,
and the power of the female energies.
cupul@pvmirror.com
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