Armadillo Medicine
*Mary Summer Rain/On Dreams:
Armadillo stands for one's personal defense mechanisms.
*Bobby Lake-Thom/Spirits of the Earth:
"...one time my wife Tela and I were traveling through Flourida and Louisiana heading back to California. We saw an Armadillo alongside the road at sunset. We knew it was a messenger, but we didn't know what it meant. At a later date I did some research on the Creek and Seminole Indians' mythology and learned what that animal meant to them in terms of a symbol, a meaning I did not understand at the time. So even now I still find myself being forced to study a new encounter, to analyze a new natural symbol, to discover new things in order to expand the depth and breadth of my knowledge of Nature's language."
*note...he did not explain the meaning of Armadillo though! LOL
*Timothy Roderick/The Once Unknown Familiar:
Key Words: Protective, watchful, purposeful
Magical Influences: Protection of others, discovering secrets, determination
Personality: This is a feisty but slow-moving animal. Those who naturally align with this power would be proficient in battle when push comes to shove, but generally they stay out of the way of others.
*Jamie Sams and David Carson/Medicine Cards:
Boundaries. Armadillo wears its armor on its back, its medicine a part of its body. Its boundaries of safety are a part of its total being. Armadillo can roll into a ball and never ben penetrated by enemies.
What a gift it is to set your boundaries so that harmful words or intentions just roll off. Your lesson is in setting up what you are willing to experience. If you do not wish to experience feeling invaded, just call on Armadillo medicine.
A clue to how to proceed is to make a circle on a piece of paper and see it as a medicine shield. In the body of the shieldk, write all that you are desiring to have, do, or experience. Include all things that give you joy. This sets up boundaries taht allow only these chosen experiences to be a part of your life. These boundaries become a shield that wards off the things which are undesirable to you. The shield reflects what you are and what your will is to others on an unconscious level. Outside of the shield you may put what you are willing to experience "by invitation only," for example a visit from a long lost relative, or criticism from friends, or people needing handouts.
If Armadillo has waddled into the cards you chose, it is time to define your space. You may have been too willing to let your home become a bus station. You may find that you cannot say "no" even when you know that you will have to cancel plans to be obliging. This routine can get old in a hurry!
It may be time to ask yourself the following questions:
1) Am I honoring the time I need for my personal enjoyment?
2) Do others treat me like a doormat?
3) Why do I always get upset when I'm taken for granted?
4) Is there a reason for me being a *yes* person?
All of the answers to these questions relate to setting up boundaries: what you will and won't do; what makes you feel uncomfortable and what is comforting to you. How you react in any circumstance has to do with your ability to be objective. You cannot be objective if you cannot tell where the other person's personality stops and where yours begins. If you have no boundaries, you are like a sponge. It will seem as if all the feelings in a room full of people must be yours. Ask yourself if you are really feeling depressed, or if this feeling actually belongs to the person you are talking to. Then allow Armadillo's armor to slice in-between, giving you back your sense of self.
Contrary: Go ahead, roll up and hide. This, sarcastically, is the message of reverse Armadillo. You may think the only way to win in your present situation is to hide or to pretend that you are armor-coated and invincible, but this is not the way to grow. It is better to open up and find the value and strength of your vulnerability. You will experience something wonderful if you do.
Vulnerability is the key to enjoying the gifts of physical life. In allowing yourself to feel, a myriad of expressions are made available. For instance, a true compliment is an admiration flow of energy. If you are afraid of being hurt and are hiding from feeling anything, you will never feel the joy of admiration from others.
The key is in allowing Armadillo to help you to stop hiding, and to use Armadillo's armor to deflect negative energies. In this way you are able to accept or reject any feeling, action, or energy flow without having to hide from it.
The underside of Armadillo is soft, but its armor will protect this softness if the boundaries are in place. Hiding from your true feelings and fearing failure or rejection will amplify your need for cast-iron protection. You have the power to rid yourself of these doubts and to touch the deepest part of beingness. You will know you are doing the right thing. Whether it is communicating, or painting, or surfing--the creation belongs to you.
The only real rejection is in not trying to break out of the armor you have used to protect yourself. Is the armor now becoming a jail, and your fears the jailer?
Jamie Sams/Dancing the Dream:
...lessons in Armadillo Medicine, or boudaries, which shows us how we feel when our own boundaries are not honored as well as why we should honor the boudaries of others. If a person does not feel comfortable being asked to discuss personal information, that boundary should be honored without any comment that could make the person feel ill at ease. If we are actively embracing our own healing process, there are times when we may feel vulnerable or ultrasensitive. It is totally inappropriate to force anyone who is feeling that raw to interact with others in loud or boisterous activities....we are asked to develop our intuitiveness and sensitivity to the degree that we can respectfully observe the boundaries of others in this manner. These boundary lessons are a part of honoring the Sacred Space of others and respecting our own physical and emotional boundaries as well.
*Ted Andrews/Animal-Speak:
Keynote: Personal Protection, Discrimination, and Empathy
Cycle of Power: Year-round
Armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one." It is a burrowing animal whose armor is the shield it carries on its back. The armor is comprised of overlapping bony plates, coverd with horns. The undersides are ordinary hide and are its most vulnerable area. The armadillo and those with it as a totem are most vulnerable with they expose their undersides, or inner workings. Armadillo teaches how to protect yourself and when to let your defenses down.
The armadillo is actually a member of the sloth family. It has no canine teeth or incisors, but it does have 80 or more molars that never stop growing. It lives in burrows that are really multichambered dens. These dens can be as much as five feet below ground. Its claws are excellent for digging, reflecting an ability to dig through the surface of things to see what is beneath. The armadillow teaches discrimination.
All animals with armor of any kind have connections to the European knights of medieval lore. The armadillo can be a past-life link specifically to the 16th century Spanish conquistadors, probably best known for the conquering of Mexico and Peru. Chivalry, strength, and protection were often the ideal qualities to be developed by the European knights. This is reflected in the fact that the armadillo's best offense is a strong defense.
The early armor was often heavy and made it awkward to move in, in spite of the protection. The armadillo teaches how to carry your protection with you and how to use it on ly when it is necessary. They have an ability to protect without causing undue harm to others. The armadillo can reflect past-life connections to the knights, or the need to develop the same qualities and characteristics that the knights possessed.
The armadillo links those with it as a totem to other animals--including those which prey upon it, and these should be examined as well. The armadillo is often preyed upon by big cats and coyotes. They will often flip them over to expose the underside. The armadillow will also sometimes bask in the sun during cold periods. They tend to fall asleep at such ties, on their backs with their undersides exposed. They are thus more vulnerable. Along health lines, the armadillow teaches those with this totem to ebe extra cautious in dress and covering during times of cold, or there will be a greater susceptibility to illness. Again there is the issue of protecting against exposure to certain climates.
The spotted skunk and the burrowing owl benefit from teh armadillo. both will make their homes in abandoned armadillo dens. It is not unusual to find that an individual with an armadillo totem will have friends who have skunk and owl totems also. There is a positive relationship. The Aztecs callled armadillo "rabbit turtle." the qualities of both are somewhat embodied by the armadillo--especiall in its appearance. An armadillo as a totem can also reflect a past-life connection to the ancient Aztecs.
The primary diet of armadillos is invertabrate insects. In one summer it can consume 200 pounds of insects. Ants and earthworms are a large part of its diet, and the qualities of them should be studied as well.
When threatened, the armadillo will roll itself up into a ball, covering all its vulnerable areas. If an armadillo has strolled into your life, you should be asking yourself some questions. ARe you not protecting yourself as you should? Are others around you needing protection? Are you being too sensitive and protecting yourself from attacks that are not there? Are you imagining attacks or being too sensitive to the energies of others?
The armadillo has a tremendously powerfu sense of smell. It can smell insects six inches underground. This strong sense of smell has ties to higher forms of discrimination and psychological stimulations. Anyone with the armadillo as a totem would do well to work with aromatherapy and development of their own sense of smell. Do thins just not smell right? Do people or situations smell fishy? Learning to trust what you smell is part of what the armadillo can teach.
The sense of smell also has ties to the sexual energies. It is a strong stimulant to the sex drive. The armadillos only pair for mating, and then they go on their way. the usual gestation period is around eight to nine months, just as with humans. Unlike humans though, if distressed, the armadillo can dely giving birth for up to two and a half years.
This reflects much about the energy that comes with an armadillo totem. It usually signals that the opportunity for a new birth is coming within the next 8-9 months. It will be important, though, not to roll ourselves up and hide from the opportunity for fear we may be vulnerable. On the other hand, if we are too worried and stressed to act upon the opportunity, its movement can be delayed for up to two years or more. Armadillo can show you how to adjust your rhythms so that what you wish to create will orccur at the safest time.
The armadillo can move fast if it needs to. it is also a good swimmer. It will swallow air and inflate its intestines until they are able to float. Other times they will hold their breath and walk on the bottom of streams and other natural water sources. They can hold their greath for up to six minutes.
This and their ability to dig reflects the ability of the armadillo to teach you how to move from one dimension to another. It can teach you how to move through all elements. This can be linked to specific forms of mediumship, in which the individual is able to move conscously into new dimensions and stay protected all the while. It hints of an ability to explore and walk the threads of life and death, and work with the spirits of the dead.
It also hints of the ability to explore the emotional sides not often exposed, even though individuals with this totem may be reluctant to do so. if in the position, they can explore many emotional and mundane aspects of themselves. They hoften try to keep these more sensitive aspects of themselves protected and hidden. It will be important for those with this totem to learn when to expose these more subtel sides and when to cover them up. This is part of what armadillo teaches.
Oftentimes individuals who are extremely empathic will have an armadillo as a totem. An empathic individual's body will become a barometer for whatever is experienced. If around someone with an ache or pain, empathics will experience it within their own body as if it is their own ache or pain. This can lead to an actual manifestation of the problem. Empathic individuals are very susceptible to outside influences--physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. This heightened sensitivity needs to be controlled and balanced. Armadillo can teach you how to do this or show you how to help others in this position.
*Open for discussion.
*Mary Summer Rain/On Dreams:
Armadillo stands for one's personal defense mechanisms.
*Bobby Lake-Thom/Spirits of the Earth:
"...one time my wife Tela and I were traveling through Flourida and Louisiana heading back to California. We saw an Armadillo alongside the road at sunset. We knew it was a messenger, but we didn't know what it meant. At a later date I did some research on the Creek and Seminole Indians' mythology and learned what that animal meant to them in terms of a symbol, a meaning I did not understand at the time. So even now I still find myself being forced to study a new encounter, to analyze a new natural symbol, to discover new things in order to expand the depth and breadth of my knowledge of Nature's language."
*note...he did not explain the meaning of Armadillo though! LOL
*Timothy Roderick/The Once Unknown Familiar:
Key Words: Protective, watchful, purposeful
Magical Influences: Protection of others, discovering secrets, determination
Personality: This is a feisty but slow-moving animal. Those who naturally align with this power would be proficient in battle when push comes to shove, but generally they stay out of the way of others.
*Jamie Sams and David Carson/Medicine Cards:
Boundaries. Armadillo wears its armor on its back, its medicine a part of its body. Its boundaries of safety are a part of its total being. Armadillo can roll into a ball and never ben penetrated by enemies.
What a gift it is to set your boundaries so that harmful words or intentions just roll off. Your lesson is in setting up what you are willing to experience. If you do not wish to experience feeling invaded, just call on Armadillo medicine.
A clue to how to proceed is to make a circle on a piece of paper and see it as a medicine shield. In the body of the shieldk, write all that you are desiring to have, do, or experience. Include all things that give you joy. This sets up boundaries taht allow only these chosen experiences to be a part of your life. These boundaries become a shield that wards off the things which are undesirable to you. The shield reflects what you are and what your will is to others on an unconscious level. Outside of the shield you may put what you are willing to experience "by invitation only," for example a visit from a long lost relative, or criticism from friends, or people needing handouts.
If Armadillo has waddled into the cards you chose, it is time to define your space. You may have been too willing to let your home become a bus station. You may find that you cannot say "no" even when you know that you will have to cancel plans to be obliging. This routine can get old in a hurry!
It may be time to ask yourself the following questions:
1) Am I honoring the time I need for my personal enjoyment?
2) Do others treat me like a doormat?
3) Why do I always get upset when I'm taken for granted?
4) Is there a reason for me being a *yes* person?
All of the answers to these questions relate to setting up boundaries: what you will and won't do; what makes you feel uncomfortable and what is comforting to you. How you react in any circumstance has to do with your ability to be objective. You cannot be objective if you cannot tell where the other person's personality stops and where yours begins. If you have no boundaries, you are like a sponge. It will seem as if all the feelings in a room full of people must be yours. Ask yourself if you are really feeling depressed, or if this feeling actually belongs to the person you are talking to. Then allow Armadillo's armor to slice in-between, giving you back your sense of self.
Contrary: Go ahead, roll up and hide. This, sarcastically, is the message of reverse Armadillo. You may think the only way to win in your present situation is to hide or to pretend that you are armor-coated and invincible, but this is not the way to grow. It is better to open up and find the value and strength of your vulnerability. You will experience something wonderful if you do.
Vulnerability is the key to enjoying the gifts of physical life. In allowing yourself to feel, a myriad of expressions are made available. For instance, a true compliment is an admiration flow of energy. If you are afraid of being hurt and are hiding from feeling anything, you will never feel the joy of admiration from others.
The key is in allowing Armadillo to help you to stop hiding, and to use Armadillo's armor to deflect negative energies. In this way you are able to accept or reject any feeling, action, or energy flow without having to hide from it.
The underside of Armadillo is soft, but its armor will protect this softness if the boundaries are in place. Hiding from your true feelings and fearing failure or rejection will amplify your need for cast-iron protection. You have the power to rid yourself of these doubts and to touch the deepest part of beingness. You will know you are doing the right thing. Whether it is communicating, or painting, or surfing--the creation belongs to you.
The only real rejection is in not trying to break out of the armor you have used to protect yourself. Is the armor now becoming a jail, and your fears the jailer?
Jamie Sams/Dancing the Dream:
...lessons in Armadillo Medicine, or boudaries, which shows us how we feel when our own boundaries are not honored as well as why we should honor the boudaries of others. If a person does not feel comfortable being asked to discuss personal information, that boundary should be honored without any comment that could make the person feel ill at ease. If we are actively embracing our own healing process, there are times when we may feel vulnerable or ultrasensitive. It is totally inappropriate to force anyone who is feeling that raw to interact with others in loud or boisterous activities....we are asked to develop our intuitiveness and sensitivity to the degree that we can respectfully observe the boundaries of others in this manner. These boundary lessons are a part of honoring the Sacred Space of others and respecting our own physical and emotional boundaries as well.
*Ted Andrews/Animal-Speak:
Keynote: Personal Protection, Discrimination, and Empathy
Cycle of Power: Year-round
Armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one." It is a burrowing animal whose armor is the shield it carries on its back. The armor is comprised of overlapping bony plates, coverd with horns. The undersides are ordinary hide and are its most vulnerable area. The armadillo and those with it as a totem are most vulnerable with they expose their undersides, or inner workings. Armadillo teaches how to protect yourself and when to let your defenses down.
The armadillo is actually a member of the sloth family. It has no canine teeth or incisors, but it does have 80 or more molars that never stop growing. It lives in burrows that are really multichambered dens. These dens can be as much as five feet below ground. Its claws are excellent for digging, reflecting an ability to dig through the surface of things to see what is beneath. The armadillow teaches discrimination.
All animals with armor of any kind have connections to the European knights of medieval lore. The armadillo can be a past-life link specifically to the 16th century Spanish conquistadors, probably best known for the conquering of Mexico and Peru. Chivalry, strength, and protection were often the ideal qualities to be developed by the European knights. This is reflected in the fact that the armadillo's best offense is a strong defense.
The early armor was often heavy and made it awkward to move in, in spite of the protection. The armadillo teaches how to carry your protection with you and how to use it on ly when it is necessary. They have an ability to protect without causing undue harm to others. The armadillo can reflect past-life connections to the knights, or the need to develop the same qualities and characteristics that the knights possessed.
The armadillo links those with it as a totem to other animals--including those which prey upon it, and these should be examined as well. The armadillo is often preyed upon by big cats and coyotes. They will often flip them over to expose the underside. The armadillow will also sometimes bask in the sun during cold periods. They tend to fall asleep at such ties, on their backs with their undersides exposed. They are thus more vulnerable. Along health lines, the armadillow teaches those with this totem to ebe extra cautious in dress and covering during times of cold, or there will be a greater susceptibility to illness. Again there is the issue of protecting against exposure to certain climates.
The spotted skunk and the burrowing owl benefit from teh armadillo. both will make their homes in abandoned armadillo dens. It is not unusual to find that an individual with an armadillo totem will have friends who have skunk and owl totems also. There is a positive relationship. The Aztecs callled armadillo "rabbit turtle." the qualities of both are somewhat embodied by the armadillo--especiall in its appearance. An armadillo as a totem can also reflect a past-life connection to the ancient Aztecs.
The primary diet of armadillos is invertabrate insects. In one summer it can consume 200 pounds of insects. Ants and earthworms are a large part of its diet, and the qualities of them should be studied as well.
When threatened, the armadillo will roll itself up into a ball, covering all its vulnerable areas. If an armadillo has strolled into your life, you should be asking yourself some questions. ARe you not protecting yourself as you should? Are others around you needing protection? Are you being too sensitive and protecting yourself from attacks that are not there? Are you imagining attacks or being too sensitive to the energies of others?
The armadillo has a tremendously powerfu sense of smell. It can smell insects six inches underground. This strong sense of smell has ties to higher forms of discrimination and psychological stimulations. Anyone with the armadillo as a totem would do well to work with aromatherapy and development of their own sense of smell. Do thins just not smell right? Do people or situations smell fishy? Learning to trust what you smell is part of what the armadillo can teach.
The sense of smell also has ties to the sexual energies. It is a strong stimulant to the sex drive. The armadillos only pair for mating, and then they go on their way. the usual gestation period is around eight to nine months, just as with humans. Unlike humans though, if distressed, the armadillo can dely giving birth for up to two and a half years.
This reflects much about the energy that comes with an armadillo totem. It usually signals that the opportunity for a new birth is coming within the next 8-9 months. It will be important, though, not to roll ourselves up and hide from the opportunity for fear we may be vulnerable. On the other hand, if we are too worried and stressed to act upon the opportunity, its movement can be delayed for up to two years or more. Armadillo can show you how to adjust your rhythms so that what you wish to create will orccur at the safest time.
The armadillo can move fast if it needs to. it is also a good swimmer. It will swallow air and inflate its intestines until they are able to float. Other times they will hold their breath and walk on the bottom of streams and other natural water sources. They can hold their greath for up to six minutes.
This and their ability to dig reflects the ability of the armadillo to teach you how to move from one dimension to another. It can teach you how to move through all elements. This can be linked to specific forms of mediumship, in which the individual is able to move conscously into new dimensions and stay protected all the while. It hints of an ability to explore and walk the threads of life and death, and work with the spirits of the dead.
It also hints of the ability to explore the emotional sides not often exposed, even though individuals with this totem may be reluctant to do so. if in the position, they can explore many emotional and mundane aspects of themselves. They hoften try to keep these more sensitive aspects of themselves protected and hidden. It will be important for those with this totem to learn when to expose these more subtel sides and when to cover them up. This is part of what armadillo teaches.
Oftentimes individuals who are extremely empathic will have an armadillo as a totem. An empathic individual's body will become a barometer for whatever is experienced. If around someone with an ache or pain, empathics will experience it within their own body as if it is their own ache or pain. This can lead to an actual manifestation of the problem. Empathic individuals are very susceptible to outside influences--physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. This heightened sensitivity needs to be controlled and balanced. Armadillo can teach you how to do this or show you how to help others in this position.
*Open for discussion.
