My fluffy bunny

[Kolohe]

Good morning, I have the biggest fluffy bunny in my kitchen. We are adopting the preschool rabbit for the weekend, she is a very nice rabbit. Although she is a big fluffy bunny I am resisting the urge to get some glitter and a pink pentacle for her, I do not think the preschool would appreciate that. I think animals definitely bring positive energy to a space. We have a cat, a leopard gecko and fish. My son wants a bird, may let him get one and then all elements will be represented (cat=earth, and I am certain the gecko could breath fire if he wanted to).

Kolohe

[[cherokeewind]]

Lizards, how about prophesy, divination? I've always thought of them as being of the West (water).

I just did a search and it is so hard to find anything definite as to magical symbolism. Here are some I found. The first one is a Christian site teaching on occult symbols.


"LIZARD: Its "sun-seeking habit symbolizes the soul's search for awareness." To the Romans, who believed it hibernated, the lizard meant death and resurrection. "
http://www.radioliberty.com/Symbolsandtheirmeaning.html

"Lizard - Conservation, agility, promotes dreaming."
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/l ... imals2.htm

Here is what I'm looking for...from a witch site.

"Lizard: Vision, letting go, self-protection, brings forth subconscious hopes and fears, conservation, letting go of the ego, dream recall, hidden defenses, knowing when to back off "
http://www.geocities.com/takoda_magick/natamer.html

I wasn't aware of any protections associations, but I can see that now as lizards are Sun seeking which is the reason why.

So, Lizards are South or West...

[JBRaven]

I do belive that traditionally { by all means do what feels right} lizards would be south {fire}.

[Kolohe]

He is a desert gecko so I decided he is definitely fire/south. Now I am wondering about turtles. Some live in the water, but some desert tortoises never even drink water (they get what they need from their food). Maybe will go back to those sites and look for turtles, the sites were very interesting by the way- thanks!


Kolohe

[Kolohe]

Yes, turtles are there and they represent Mother Earth.

Kolohe

[[Obsidian]]

Now you just need to make sure that earth doesn't decide to play with fire, water, and air hehe. You know, earth has this habbit of going for anything that moves and then bring it to you as a gift.

Obs

[[cherokeewind]]

The thing to remember about animals, sometimes certain ones are placed a different direction because of color, habits, etc. For example, White Eagle, White Buffalo Calf, are North. While some Indians have the Buffalo in general to the South. Same with Eagles, Spotted Eagle East, Golden Eagle South, some Bald Eagle West. You could have an Eagle for each element...in general Eagles are East. Bears mostly have been associated with intuition, healing, dreams, introspection. But you can have Grizzly Bears as Keeper of the West, Black Bears North, Brown Bears South...Natives use West or South for healing (usually the South).

So, I'm not sure how some Natives might view the Tortoise, since animals don't always follow the general rule of placing them. Turtles in general do have a very strong Earth connection.

Take a look at this photo, used to have it on my site. Shows the Earth as a Turtle.



Turtles are associated in legends with the forming or creation process of Mother Earth.

[applepolice]

Is the turtle = earth correspondence at all related to the Iroquois creation myth (where the world was created from the turtle)? And, to your knowledge, how universal was this creation myth amongst tribes? I know that some paradigms remain fairly constant...

[[cherokeewind]]

Turtle shells once were used for the calendar. If you look at a photo of the Turtle, it has a shell made up of little shapes. I just call them squares for simplicity. The thirteen large squares counting full moons of the year. Moon phases were shown by 28 small squares around on the outside edge of shell. Turtle shell calendars count days of each lunar month. For this reason Turtles have a very strong connection to energies of the Earth.

The Turtle is really important in the Iroquois creation legend. But it is equally important in the Lakota legend also. The Big problem with the Indian legends on the Internet, much has been deleted to make them acceptable to public opinions.

Take a look at how the Lakota Creation legend starts out...

"There was another world before this one. But the people of that world did not behave themselves. Displeased, Wakan Tanka (the Great Spirit) set out to make a new world, He sang several songs to bring rain, which poured stronger with each song. As he sang the fourth song, the Earth split apart and water gushed up through the many cracks, causing a flood. By the time the rain stopped, all of the people and nearly all of the animals had drowned. Only Kangi the Crow survived."

It sounds a lot like Noah's ark in the Bible, except no ark and all the people died. The legend goes on...

"Kangi pleaded with Wakan Tanka to make him a new place to rest. So Wakan Tanka decided the time had come to make his new world. From his huge pipe bag, which contained all types of animals and birds, Wakan Tanka selected four animals known for their ability to remain under water for a long time. He sent each in turn to retrieve a lump of mud from beneath the floodwaters, First the Loon dove deep into the dark waters, but it was unable to reach the bottom. The Otter, even with its strong webbed feet, also failed. Next, the Beaver used its large flat tail to propel itself deep under the water, but it too brought nothing back. Finally, Wakan Tanka took the Turtle from his pipe bag and urged it to bring back some mud.
Turtle stayed under the water for so long that everyone was sure it had drowned. Then, with a splash, the Turtle broke the water's surface! Mud filled its feet and claws and the cracks between its upper and lower shells. Singing, Wakan Tanka shaped the mud in his hands and spread it on the water, where it was just big enough for himself and the crow. He then shook two long Eagle wing feathers over the mud until Earth spread wide and varied, overcoming the waters."

Here you see the great power associated with the Eagle feathers, waving them...

"Feeling sadness for the dry land, the Wakan Tanka cried tears that became oceans, streams, and lakes, He named the new land Turtle Island in honor of the Turtle who provided the mud from which it was formed.
Wakan Tanka then took many animals and birds from his great pipe bag and spread them across the Earth. From red, white, black, and yellow Earth, he made men and women. Wakan Tanka gave the people his Sacred Pipe and told them to live by it. He warned them about the fate of the people who came before them. He promised all would be well if all living things learned to live in harmony. But the world would be destroyed again if they made it bad and ugly."

You notice it said here that "From red, white, black, and yellow earth, he made men and women" shows the 4 elements are inside people.

[applepolice]

Thank you for posting that, cherokeewind. I've been wary about using the internet for such information (as you said, the myths posted tend to be incomplete). I think you've inspired me to throw on some boots, trek down to the library, and get some books on creation myths.

[[cherokeewind]]

Thank you for posting that, cherokeewind. I've been wary about using the internet for such information (as you said, the myths posted tend to be incomplete). I think you've inspired me to throw on some boots, trek down to the library, and get some books on creation myths.

You're quite welcome! I have not tried the library yet, for me Indian tribes seem to be the best source. I'll post a couple links here to MANATAKA AMERICAN INDIAN COUNCIL pages.

Rainbow Warrior Legends
http://www.manataka.org/page235.html#INTRODUCTION

STORY OF MANATAKA
http://www.manataka.org/page2.html

I was looking at Turtle photos in the reptile book. On the 28 shapes around the outside of shell, I noticed at the head and tail end you find 2 smaller ones (each end). These four actually are like a regular one cut in half. If you look at it this way, as 24 whole tabs and the year divided into 2 halves, the year can start on one of the whole shapes. I am wondering how they marked the tabs, seems like painting each one would have been a good way. So, Turtles have 13 large shapes, I suppose one is left blank to show where you started in counting the full Moons. That will give 12 months, as our modern calendar.