Spirit Lodge - Totem Animals - Page 11

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Totem Animals

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Bear Medicine	Birth Totems	Coyote Medicine	Dragon Ranks	Dragonfly Medicine	Eagle Medicine	Four Animal Helpers	Grey Wolf Medicine	Hawk
Heron Medicine	Horse	Magpie	Raccoon	Salmon Medicine	Spider Medicine	Swan Medicine	Thunder Being Medicine	Totem Loss Disc

BADGER
by CinnamonMoon

*Lady Stearn Robinson & Tom Gorbett/The Dreamer's Dictionary:
A favorable omen indicating prosperity through your own efforts.
*Timothy Roderick/The Once Unknown Familiar:
Key words: Strong, watchful, hard-working, volatile
Magical influences: Analytical ability, expansion of conscious mind abilities, mental alertness.
Personality: The badger wants no more than to mind its own business. It doesn't understand
when others don't do the same. It is serious-minded, but can have a quick and biting wit. When
the badger is angry, s/he bristles the fur to look more than twice the normal size, as well as
baring huge fangs. In actuality, badgers are berry eaters, the teeth are just for show. They use
illusion of threats to keep enemies at bay. The badger is an excellent worker and can sometimes
verge on workaholism.

*Zolar/Encyclopedia of Signs, Omens, and Superstitions:
Keep a badger tooth on your person to be sure to win at cards and to generally have good luck.

*Denise Linn/The Secret Language of Signs:
To badger means to bait or tease. Is someone badgering you or are you badgering someone?

*Brad Steiger/Totems:
Although the badger is not a large animal, it is extremely strong, with powerful claws on its
forefeet. Larger creatures many times its size will give badger wide berth. The Zuni consider the
badger the younger brother to the bear, respecting his strength and his stout heart, but criticizing
him for what they assess as a much weaker will than that of his burly, big brother. They also
envision the badger as the guardian of the South, quite likely due to the animal's ruddy coat, with
its evenly marked black and white stripes, thus suggesting a being that stands between night and
day with the color of summer.

Other Native American tribes saw the badger's incredible prowess at burrowing through the earth
as symbolic of the newborn child pushing its way through the womb. Mothers soon to deliver
prized badger paw talismans as helpers to guide them through a brief period of labor. Perhaps
because of his supposed knowledge of the subsurface world, the Pueblo saw the badger as a great
Medicine Chief, conversant with all manner of herbs, seeds, and the mysteries of plants.

The Japanese also respect the badger's strength, but most often cast him in a very negative role as
a dangerous creature capable of violent acts. The badger is also perceived as a favorite form
assumed by shape-shifting dark magicians. The badger was on the Hebrews' list of unclean
animals, but its skin was used for sandals. As a totem guardian, the badger will be a strong
protector and ally that will keep dark energies at bay. Because of its rather aggressive nature,
however, you must be certain that you remain balanced in temperament and judgment so that
violent responses to difficult situations are never encouraged.

*Bobby Lake-Thom/Spirits of the Earth:
Badger is a good sign, meaning protection, but he can also warn of danger when you are
traveling in a vehicle or walking. Badger Medicine can be warrior medicine, doctor power, and
protection power. He is courageous, tenacious, and defensive.

*D.J. Conway/Animal Magick:
A member of the weasel family, this is a tough, wedge-shaped animal with long, sharp claws and
strong teeth. The common badger is found only in North America, but there are badgers on all
the large land masses of the world except Australia and Madagascar. An adult is 3' long, 1'high at
the shoulder, and weighs over 20#. It has long, shaggy gray hair tipped with black; its eyes are
small and its muzzle pointed. A nocturnal animal, the badger lives in burrows.

The Eurasian badger was the subject of a bloody sport in England in the early part of the last
century, when it was thrown into a pit full of dogs; this "sport" was ended by law in 1850. The
badger has a stump of a tail and looks rather like a small bear. Its claws make it a superb digger.
The Eurasian badger has a white head with a black line that runs from the nose over and around
the eyes, then over the ears.

To the Chinese, this animal is a lunar yin creature, both playful and full of mischief, with the
supernatural power of shape-shifting. In Japan, the badger is a rice spirit like the fox; the windbadger
Tanuki provides rice crops and helps their growth. In European countries, the badger is
considered to be a weather prophet.

A tenacious and courageous animal, the badger is unyielding in the face of danger. To do this, it
backs into a hole or a corner where it is protected from attack at the rear. In this way it can face
down much larger adversaries. Many of the more powerful Medicine Women called upon the
power of badger for healing. To Native Americans, the badger symbolized the healing of
children and was connected with herbal magick, roots, and herbs because of its digging ability.
Some tribes considered the badger's spiritual powers stronger than the bear.

Superstitions: There is an old tale that the badger has holes in its tail, one for each of its years. If
you carry a badger's tooth in your pocket, you will be lucky at cards, gambling, or any wager.
Magickal attributes: Can teach you to fight for your rights and spiritual ideas. Revenge, wisdom,
cunning, perseverance. When faced with a crisis, don't panic but act, even get angry, in a
creative, productive way. Earth magick and wisdom. For knowledge in how to protect yourself in
a specific situation.

*Ted Andrews/Animal-Speak:
Keynote: Bold self-expression and reliance, Keeper of Stories
Cycle of Power: Late spring.

The badger is the giant of the weasel family. Those with this totem should study the weasel as
well. The badger is gray, black, and buff, with a white stripe from the nose to the back of its
head. This in itself is very symbolic of how open it is, the keeper of much light and knowledge of
other animals and the Earth.

The badger may look fat, but it is muscular and powerful. Its outer skin is loose, so it is difficult
for bites from other animals to injure it. Its own jaws are exceedingly strong. The jaws are the
symbols of powerful expression. This ties the badger to mysteries of the "word" -- particularly
the magic of storytelling. "I would ask you to remember only this one thing," said Badger. "The
stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And
learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than
food to stay alive. That is why we put these stories in each other's memory. This is how people
care for themselves."

The badger is a remarkable digger. Fast and quick, it can dig beneath surfaces easily. It can outdig
a gopher or a mole, moving rapidly through the Earth. This ties them to all earth spirits and
gnomes of lore. It also hints at the ability to see beneath the surface of all things and people. It
lives in an underground complex of burrows that are called "earths". It has several living
chambers, along with latrine and storage chambers. These earths hint at the stories beneath the
outer, the inner places, and homes of the outer world.

The badger is active both day and night. It is a carnivorous animal, living primarily on rodents
such as rabbits, gophers, mice, squirrels, and other underground dwellers. It eats many cropconsuming
rodents. It will often store the animals or parts of them in its earths. Because of this it
can be thought of as the keeper of stories of other animals.

It's basically an unsociable animal. It does not "relate" well with others--even its own kind. This
might be why stories are its symbolic means of communication. It is often easier for those with
Badger Medicine to relate through stories than to have to do it directly.

The young badgers, usually 2-3, are born in May or June. The family always separates in the fall,
when the young and the father move to find their own homes. Sometimes the father will help
with the raising of the young, but as a whole the badgers are loners and solitary. They are
comfortable within themselves and are very self-reliant. They can teach this or help those with
this totem to teach it to others.

The dachshund (badger dog) was bred specifically to hunt and dig after the badgers and to chase
them out of the burrows. Dachshund owners probably have some Badger Medicine or can easily
connect to it.

Because it is such a powerful digger, the badger has knowledge of things beneath the earth. This
includes minerals, roots, and other plants and herbs. This makes the badger also a dynamic
healer. Sometimes the badger healer is overly aggressive, but the technique is usually effective.
Badger can teach the long forgotten knowledge of roots and their mystical and healing powers.
The badger is bold and ferocious, and it never surrenders. If a badger has come into your life,
you should do some examination. Are you or those around you not digging deep enough? It may
indicate a need to get beneath the surface. It may reflect a time of greater connection to the earth
and its animal spirits. It may be telling you to draw upon the stories that intrigued you and held
you fast during childhood. They may be symbolic of things going on or about to go on in your
current life. Whenever badger shows up, there will be opportunities to develop self-expression
and reliance. It speaks of a time to begin to tell a new story about yourself and your life.