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Grasshopper:
*Ted Andrews/Animal-Speak:
Keynote: Uncanny Leaps Forward

Although the ancient Hebrews saw the grasshopper as a symbol of the scourge, in other societies it held a position of honor and respect. In China grasshoppers and crickets were symbols of good cheer, good luck, abundance, and virtue. Some even believed that relatives would come back to life as a grasshopper or cricket, and they would construct small cages for those they would find. Even to the ancient Greeks the grasshopper was a symbol of nobility.

As its name implies, the grasshopper moves by leaping and hopping. This is also how it escapes. Grasshoppers have a tremendous jumping ability and they can leap horizontally up to twenty times their own body length. For those with this totem, it is important to get off the haunches and move. Take a chance, take a leap forward.

The hind legs of the grasshopper differ from the rest of its legs and the legs of other insects. They are extremely long and large. The hind legs have delicately controlled muscles. Those with this totem will usually find that things don't move or flow the way they do for other people. Progress is not usually made step by step. Instead, others may seem to be progressing while you seem to be sitting still. Do not become discouraged. When grasshopper shows up, there is about to be a new leap forward--one that will probably carry you past the others around you in your life.

Grasshoppers have an instinct for finding the sunny sides of mounds and other places so they can be exposed to the sun. They have a knack for being in the warmth and light and knowing when to make their leaps. Trust your own instincts and rhythms if this is your totem. What works for others will not necessarily work for you. (Also remember that what works for you probably will not work for anyone else.)

Listen to your own inner voice to know when to make your moves in any area of your life. Grasshoppers possess a tympanic organ on the front legs. As they breathe, this organ is activated. By moving the legs in different directions they are able to locate a sound's source. This connection between sensing sounds and the legs is highly significant. Trust your inner voice.

Those with grasshopper totems have an uncanny ability to leap into successful ventures. This becomes even more true when they learn to listen to that inner voice and follow their own instincts. Sometimes grasshopper can show up if we are not listening or if we are afraid to make the leap off our mound. Many times such fears have to do with the fact that "no one else has done it this way." Grasshopper people have to learn to make new leaps. Life only becomes difficult when they refuse to move. At such times they may feel as if they are experiencing a scourge themselves. Remember a grasshopper always leaps up or forward. It doesn't leap backward.

*I'm going to do a separate thread for Ladybug.