Otter Medicine
*Ted Andrews/Animal-Speak:
Keynote: Joy, Playfulness, and Sharing
Cycle of Power: Spring and Summer
The otter amuses and facinates most humans. Their playful expressions and activities capture our imaginations. Whether a sea otter or the river otter, there is a natural, joyful curiosity about them.
Once on a a canoe trip in northern Ontario, Canada, a river otter popped up about ten feet from the front of the canoe. It raised itself up out of the water and peered over its nose as if curios as to who would be up so early and coming into its playground. It would dive and disappear and then reappear off to one side or the other, as if trying to size up the situation from every angle. When its curiosity was satisfied, it dived and disappeared, going about its own activities.
Otters awaken curiosity. They remind us that everything is interesting if we look at it from the right angle. They are playful and seem to have fun at whatever they are doing.
Otters always have their homes close to the water. During the summer, they are rarely on land, especially river otters. They usually have a large home territory around and in the water, and they usually mark their homes with a scent.
Their connection to the water links them to the primal feminine energies of life--especially the pleasurable aspects of the feminine--creation, imagination, joy and love of the young. Otters remind us to keep the inner child alive or to give birth to it. They remind us that life can be fun if we approach it with the right attitude. Otters are seldom seen alone. They are either with others or playing with some object.
The adult otter has practically no natural enemies. They protect the young very well. They are agile and fast in the water, with the ability to outswim fish. If there is a threat, they usually swim away fast, but they can be ferocious fighters.
The mother otter usually chases the father out of the den when the young are born, again reflecting the otter's tie to primordial feminine and mothering energies and patterns. When the young are out and about, the father is allowed to rejoin. Usually two to four young are born, but they must be taught to swim. This task is handled by the mother. Sometimes otters show up to help awaken the primal mothering energies and responsibilities. It can indicate a need to set up your boundaries within the home and define your feminine role.
Otters are extremely agile and acrobatic in the water. They love to slide on their bellies and dive in and out of the water. When under water, the nostrils and ears close. Remember that water is an ancient symbol for the feminine and creative forces of life. An otter's activities and playfulness reminds us all--male and female--that we all need the feminine qualities in some form for the greatest joy in our life.
If otter has surfaced in your life, it may be time to find some play time. Involve yourself in some creative activity. You do not have to be good at it; just have fun with it. or are you being too playful? Are you not staying focused? Are you afraid to have fun? Are you getting too serious? Are you worrying? Do you need to awaken your inner child? Treat yourself to something special. Honor otter and it will teach you not only how to have fun, but it will reawaken a new sense of wonder at life and all things within it.
*Bobby Lake-Thom/Spirits of the Earth:
Otter is a good sign. He represents wealth, playfulness, and happiness, and also brings good luck and good health. His message is similar to Mink's. Native men and women in a variety of different tribes often used Otter and Mink skins for hair ties and decorative wrappings. They are symbols of good luck, beauty, and wealth.
*Patricia Telesco/The Language of Dreams:
Native American: The feminine power of water. Also gracefulness and playfulness.
Forgetfulness or lacking closure. Otters are known to take one or two bites from their food, then leave the rest behind when distracted by something else.
*Timothy Roderick/The Once Unknown Familiar:
Key Words: Elusive, joyful, spritely
Magical Influences: Physical flexibility; ability to take the form of another, mastery of the element of Water, healing
Personality: Otter types like to be alone, but often enjoy the company of others. When they get together with friends, they are so adaptable that they mirror their company's behavior, language, and even thought patterns. If an otter is in the presence of some other strong personality for too long, it loses its sense of exactly who it is. Otters need to set goals for themselves because they can easily lose track of where they are going in life.
*D.J. Conway/Animal Magick:
Otters are both the fresh water and sea species. They are mainly fishermen and are skilled swimmers. They love to frolic in water, often sliding down banks into streams or ponds in play. They are playful, friendly, curious about everything, and enjoy life.
The American Otter is about three and one-half feet long and can weigh from ten to fifteen pounds. It is a rich brown with lighter under parts. The otter has a broad flattened head set on a long stout neck, small ears, and a heavy tapering tail. Its short legs have webbed toes.
The otter was an important cult animal in ancient Peru and, for some reason, paired with the ocelot. The Ainu of Japan, however, think the otter is forgetful and wasteful.
To the Celts, the otter was a very magickal creature; it accompanied the god Cernunnos. Native Americans said the otter symbolized female energy because it lived in both the Earth and Water Elements. This energy could be used by both men and women. However, they also called it a Trickster being.
Magickal Attributes: Finding inner treasures or talents; faithfulness; gaining wisdom; the ability to recover from a crisis. Be sensible, but not overly suspicious, when something or someone new enters your life. Its appearance points to a need to enjoy life rather than just endure it. Social life, friends, happiness. Guidance to uncovering talents, psychic or physical.
*Denise Linn/The Secret Language of Signs:
The otter is capricious, playful, and fun-loving. Get ready for fun! Enjoy life in the moment!
*Mary Summer Rain/On Dreams:
Otter implies the recognition of inner joy generated by spirituality.
*Lady Stearn Robinson & Tom Gorbett/The Dreamer's Dictionary:
Whether in or out of the water, this animal in your dream is telling you to conserve your resources now because you've got some rainy days ahead.
*Jamie Sams & David Carson/Medicine Cards:
Woman Medicine. Th medicine held by Otter is a set of lessons in female energy. This applies to both men and women, as all of us have female sides. The Otter's hide is very often used to make medicine bags for powerful women because it represents balanced female energy.
Otter is very caring of its young and will play for hours, performing all types of acrobatics. It lives on land, but always has its home near water. The elements of Earth and Water are the female elements. At home in both of these elements, Otter is the personification of femininity: long, sleek, and graceful;, Otter is the true coquette of the animal world.
Otter is always on the move and is very curious. Unlike other aimals, Otter will not start a fight unless it is attacked first. This joyful little creature is adventuresome and assumes that all other creatures are friendly--until proven otherwise.
These character traits are the beauty of a balanced female side, the side of ourselves that creates a space for others to enter our lives without preconceptions or suspicions. Otter teaches us that balanced female energy is not jealous or catty. it is sisterhood, content to enjoy and share the good fortune of others. Anchored in the understanding that all accomplishments are worthwhile for the whole tribe, Otter people expres joy for others.
Long ago, in tribal law, if a woman were widowed, her sister would offer her own husband to the widow as a lover to keep her from drying up and not using her creative urges. This is Otter medicine, too. Envy, or the fear of being replaced, has no space in Otter's balanced understanding of sharing goodness.
Woman energy without games or control is a beautiful experience. It is the freeness of love without jealousy. it is the joy of loving other people's children and their accomplishments as much as you love your own.
It may be time to examine your feelings about sharing the bounty of your life with others. Otter may be saying that the finer qualities of woman need to be striven for in both men and women so that a unity of spirit can be achieved. This would involve the destruction of jealousy and of all the acts of anger which stem from that fear. It would mean keeping a Hawk-eye on your ego and maintaining total trust. It would mean a world full of people coming together to honor the right of each person to *be*.
If you have drawn this symbol, Otter may be telling you to become the playful child and to simply allow things to unfold in your life. It may be time to stop your addiction to worrying. Otter also teaches the importance of not hanging onto material things that would bind you ro become a burden. In looking at how you can learn from Otter's habits, you might look at the joyousness of the receptive side of your nature. Have you given yourself a gift recently? Have you received any messages in your meditations? Become Otte and move gently into the river of life. Flow with the waters of the Universe..this is the way of balanced female-receptive energy. Honor it! In doing so, you will discover the power of woman.
Contrary: If the Otter card appears reversed, you may be running from one idea to another without focus. This could also imoply that you have forgotten how to receive, and are blocking a gift from the Universe with your male side. If this is the cae, you may be embarrassed to receive compliments, to have someone hug you, or to allow your genuine personality to come out. Fear of being rejected is the contrary message of Otter. Drop the seriousness on all levels and play at life so that the fear rolls off your back. Realize that the only flow is the flow of love from the Great Spirit to you, from you to others, and from others back to you.
*Open for discussion.
*Ted Andrews/Animal-Speak:
Keynote: Joy, Playfulness, and Sharing
Cycle of Power: Spring and Summer
The otter amuses and facinates most humans. Their playful expressions and activities capture our imaginations. Whether a sea otter or the river otter, there is a natural, joyful curiosity about them.
Once on a a canoe trip in northern Ontario, Canada, a river otter popped up about ten feet from the front of the canoe. It raised itself up out of the water and peered over its nose as if curios as to who would be up so early and coming into its playground. It would dive and disappear and then reappear off to one side or the other, as if trying to size up the situation from every angle. When its curiosity was satisfied, it dived and disappeared, going about its own activities.
Otters awaken curiosity. They remind us that everything is interesting if we look at it from the right angle. They are playful and seem to have fun at whatever they are doing.
Otters always have their homes close to the water. During the summer, they are rarely on land, especially river otters. They usually have a large home territory around and in the water, and they usually mark their homes with a scent.
Their connection to the water links them to the primal feminine energies of life--especially the pleasurable aspects of the feminine--creation, imagination, joy and love of the young. Otters remind us to keep the inner child alive or to give birth to it. They remind us that life can be fun if we approach it with the right attitude. Otters are seldom seen alone. They are either with others or playing with some object.
The adult otter has practically no natural enemies. They protect the young very well. They are agile and fast in the water, with the ability to outswim fish. If there is a threat, they usually swim away fast, but they can be ferocious fighters.
The mother otter usually chases the father out of the den when the young are born, again reflecting the otter's tie to primordial feminine and mothering energies and patterns. When the young are out and about, the father is allowed to rejoin. Usually two to four young are born, but they must be taught to swim. This task is handled by the mother. Sometimes otters show up to help awaken the primal mothering energies and responsibilities. It can indicate a need to set up your boundaries within the home and define your feminine role.
Otters are extremely agile and acrobatic in the water. They love to slide on their bellies and dive in and out of the water. When under water, the nostrils and ears close. Remember that water is an ancient symbol for the feminine and creative forces of life. An otter's activities and playfulness reminds us all--male and female--that we all need the feminine qualities in some form for the greatest joy in our life.
If otter has surfaced in your life, it may be time to find some play time. Involve yourself in some creative activity. You do not have to be good at it; just have fun with it. or are you being too playful? Are you not staying focused? Are you afraid to have fun? Are you getting too serious? Are you worrying? Do you need to awaken your inner child? Treat yourself to something special. Honor otter and it will teach you not only how to have fun, but it will reawaken a new sense of wonder at life and all things within it.
*Bobby Lake-Thom/Spirits of the Earth:
Otter is a good sign. He represents wealth, playfulness, and happiness, and also brings good luck and good health. His message is similar to Mink's. Native men and women in a variety of different tribes often used Otter and Mink skins for hair ties and decorative wrappings. They are symbols of good luck, beauty, and wealth.
*Patricia Telesco/The Language of Dreams:
Native American: The feminine power of water. Also gracefulness and playfulness.
Forgetfulness or lacking closure. Otters are known to take one or two bites from their food, then leave the rest behind when distracted by something else.
*Timothy Roderick/The Once Unknown Familiar:
Key Words: Elusive, joyful, spritely
Magical Influences: Physical flexibility; ability to take the form of another, mastery of the element of Water, healing
Personality: Otter types like to be alone, but often enjoy the company of others. When they get together with friends, they are so adaptable that they mirror their company's behavior, language, and even thought patterns. If an otter is in the presence of some other strong personality for too long, it loses its sense of exactly who it is. Otters need to set goals for themselves because they can easily lose track of where they are going in life.
*D.J. Conway/Animal Magick:
Otters are both the fresh water and sea species. They are mainly fishermen and are skilled swimmers. They love to frolic in water, often sliding down banks into streams or ponds in play. They are playful, friendly, curious about everything, and enjoy life.
The American Otter is about three and one-half feet long and can weigh from ten to fifteen pounds. It is a rich brown with lighter under parts. The otter has a broad flattened head set on a long stout neck, small ears, and a heavy tapering tail. Its short legs have webbed toes.
The otter was an important cult animal in ancient Peru and, for some reason, paired with the ocelot. The Ainu of Japan, however, think the otter is forgetful and wasteful.
To the Celts, the otter was a very magickal creature; it accompanied the god Cernunnos. Native Americans said the otter symbolized female energy because it lived in both the Earth and Water Elements. This energy could be used by both men and women. However, they also called it a Trickster being.
Magickal Attributes: Finding inner treasures or talents; faithfulness; gaining wisdom; the ability to recover from a crisis. Be sensible, but not overly suspicious, when something or someone new enters your life. Its appearance points to a need to enjoy life rather than just endure it. Social life, friends, happiness. Guidance to uncovering talents, psychic or physical.
*Denise Linn/The Secret Language of Signs:
The otter is capricious, playful, and fun-loving. Get ready for fun! Enjoy life in the moment!
*Mary Summer Rain/On Dreams:
Otter implies the recognition of inner joy generated by spirituality.
*Lady Stearn Robinson & Tom Gorbett/The Dreamer's Dictionary:
Whether in or out of the water, this animal in your dream is telling you to conserve your resources now because you've got some rainy days ahead.
*Jamie Sams & David Carson/Medicine Cards:
Woman Medicine. Th medicine held by Otter is a set of lessons in female energy. This applies to both men and women, as all of us have female sides. The Otter's hide is very often used to make medicine bags for powerful women because it represents balanced female energy.
Otter is very caring of its young and will play for hours, performing all types of acrobatics. It lives on land, but always has its home near water. The elements of Earth and Water are the female elements. At home in both of these elements, Otter is the personification of femininity: long, sleek, and graceful;, Otter is the true coquette of the animal world.
Otter is always on the move and is very curious. Unlike other aimals, Otter will not start a fight unless it is attacked first. This joyful little creature is adventuresome and assumes that all other creatures are friendly--until proven otherwise.
These character traits are the beauty of a balanced female side, the side of ourselves that creates a space for others to enter our lives without preconceptions or suspicions. Otter teaches us that balanced female energy is not jealous or catty. it is sisterhood, content to enjoy and share the good fortune of others. Anchored in the understanding that all accomplishments are worthwhile for the whole tribe, Otter people expres joy for others.
Long ago, in tribal law, if a woman were widowed, her sister would offer her own husband to the widow as a lover to keep her from drying up and not using her creative urges. This is Otter medicine, too. Envy, or the fear of being replaced, has no space in Otter's balanced understanding of sharing goodness.
Woman energy without games or control is a beautiful experience. It is the freeness of love without jealousy. it is the joy of loving other people's children and their accomplishments as much as you love your own.
It may be time to examine your feelings about sharing the bounty of your life with others. Otter may be saying that the finer qualities of woman need to be striven for in both men and women so that a unity of spirit can be achieved. This would involve the destruction of jealousy and of all the acts of anger which stem from that fear. It would mean keeping a Hawk-eye on your ego and maintaining total trust. It would mean a world full of people coming together to honor the right of each person to *be*.
If you have drawn this symbol, Otter may be telling you to become the playful child and to simply allow things to unfold in your life. It may be time to stop your addiction to worrying. Otter also teaches the importance of not hanging onto material things that would bind you ro become a burden. In looking at how you can learn from Otter's habits, you might look at the joyousness of the receptive side of your nature. Have you given yourself a gift recently? Have you received any messages in your meditations? Become Otte and move gently into the river of life. Flow with the waters of the Universe..this is the way of balanced female-receptive energy. Honor it! In doing so, you will discover the power of woman.
Contrary: If the Otter card appears reversed, you may be running from one idea to another without focus. This could also imoply that you have forgotten how to receive, and are blocking a gift from the Universe with your male side. If this is the cae, you may be embarrassed to receive compliments, to have someone hug you, or to allow your genuine personality to come out. Fear of being rejected is the contrary message of Otter. Drop the seriousness on all levels and play at life so that the fear rolls off your back. Realize that the only flow is the flow of love from the Great Spirit to you, from you to others, and from others back to you.
*Open for discussion.
