Spirit Lodge - Totem Animals - Page 113

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Totem Animals

Page 113

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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

OCTOPUS
By Mouse

The octopus has a built in defense system to guard against negative attack. She teaches us to
guard against those negative persons and situations that might otherwise harm us. Octopus
People often experience very emotional dreams as well as a lot of emotional healing through the
Dream State. Finally octopus teaches us to approach all things not with the intent to destroy, but
with universal love, strength, and faith.

Intelligence
Moving rapidly away from danger when needed
Proper use of smoke screens (ink) in evading enemies
Destroying negative barriers
(from: www.owlsdottir.com/totems/power_animals.html)

Octopus: Goddess energy and moon cycles, protection by being able to put up a smoke screen,
can move fast when danger is approaching, can get past negative barriers, intelligent
(from: www.freehomepages.com/mistymoon/powanilist.html)

CinnamonMoon:
From my notes… *An octopus has eight legs, which invokes the power of eight while propelling
to the depths of the subconscious emotions. It is a powerful symbol of transformation. In Cretan
art, the octopus represents the mystic center of the universe and the unfolding of creation. Does
someone in your life seem tenacious or even grasping toward you? Are you tenaciously trying to
grasp many different concepts or projects at the same time? Are attachments in life keeping you
from free movement? In nature the octopus is shy and retiring. Are you shy and afraid to show
your true colors?...

Denise Linn/The Secret Language of Signs.
*The octopus is found in all temperate and warm seas. Sometimes it is called the devil-fish.
There are about 50 species of octopi ranging in size from 1" - 28'. They all have 8 arms armed
with two rows of suction disks, large prominent eyes, and jaws that are sharp and beak-like. The
octopus can rapidly move itself from one place to another by forcing jets of water through its
body. The octopus can change colors rapidly if alarmed. Most of these creatures are no larger
than an orange, but one from the Pacific Ocean was measured at 28' across the tentacles.

The octopus has been painted on Cretan jars and is seen in many examples of ancient Aegean
art. To the Greeks and Minoans, this creature symbolized the sacred spiral of the Goddess and
was related to the spider web. As a creature of the Great Mother, it represented Moon phases,
feminine powers, and the cycle of life and death. However, it was sometimes used to represent
faithlessness after the patriarchal societies took over.

In the art of the Celts and Scandinavians, the octopus is always shown with its arms straight out,
not curved as in Mediterranean art. It was an ambivalent creature to these cultures, symbolizing
the cycle of life and death, but also the dark, malevolent power of total destruction. In Japanese
lore, it is caled Umi Bozu, god of the sea. Because of its firm grip, it represents love. The
Samoan held the octopus to be a sacred creature. Hit was an octopus of goddess of Micronesia.
Magickal Attributes: Understanding the cycle of life and death. Destruction of negative things,
destroying negative barriers. Removing people who are deliberately and harmfully obstructing
you, not by destroying them but by moving them on to other places....

D.J. Conway/Animal Magick
*Being entangled by a very possessive personality. Many hands make light work. Have you
sought out assistance from those you know are capable of helping you right now? An alternative
figure for the number 8, a wheel, and a circle. Inconsistency of words or actions, especially when
you feel pressured. The octopus, like the chameleon, changes color under stress. Deceiving
others through appearance. Both Pliny and Aristotle hypothesized that the octopus changed its
colors to fool its prey. Creativity gone awry. In oceanic cultures, the octopus holds a place in
creation myths, but often those that don't come out quite right...Patricia Telesco/The Language
of Dreams

*Octopus warns of spiritual flailing; a situation where one is randomly reaching out in all
directions for whatever spiritual idea he or she can grab onto....Mary Summer Rain/On Dreams

*Ted Andrews/Animal-Wise:
In the Pacific Northwest, among the Nootka, is the tale of Octopus Woman who had eight long
braids. She walked along the shore collecting clams. Raven saw her and flew over to try and
bother her, thinking it would be great fun. He repeatedly kept asking a single question, though he
knew the answer, "Are you digging for clams?" Octopus Woman never answered.

When Raven poked his beak into her basket, knowing full well that it would aggravate her more,
she suddenly stood up. The eight braids became arms with four of them she grabbed Raven.
Holding him tight with the four arms, she used her other four to grab onto a rock at the
shoreline. Holding Raven tight in front of her she began saying repeatedly, "Yes, Raven, I am
digging for clams. Yes, Raven, I am digging for clams."

She held him tight, repeating this sentence as the tides came in. Raven struggled, apologizing
until the water engulfed them and Raven died. Crow would eventually bring Raven back to life,
but he never bothered Octopus again.

The octopus appears in various Dragon or Whale myths. It appears in Cretan art, and is related
in some ways to the spider web and the spiral of life. Both the octopus and spider are reflective
of the mystic center and the unfolding of creation.

In Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, a giant octopus attacks the ship.
Though a tale of fiction, the intelligence and power of the octopus applies is most amazing. The
octopus is one of the most intelligent animals. It is a cephalopod, soft but strong, with a bulbous
body and eight arms. The bag-shaped body (mantle) contains a remarkably well-developed brain
and nervous system. The eyes of an octopus can adapt to rapid changes in light as it moves from
depths to near the surface. They easily learn to discern shapes, remember events, and carry out
certain techniques.

The octopus is a bottom dwelling animal, hiding in crevices during the day. It does most of its
hunting at night, often reflecting that the nocturnal energies and rhythms are lilkey to be more
productive for those to whom this is a messenger or totem.

The eight arms are significant. In traditional numerology, 8 is the number of power, money, and
authority. The octopus shows us how to get what we want in intelligent and efficient ways,
reminding us of how much more we are capable of accomplishing than others accomplish at this
time. The octopus can even grow a new arm if it damages one.

The octopus can change its color to blend in with its surroundings in less than a second. It can
distinguish colors by their light sensitivities and an also mimic texture of the terrain it is
crossing. It uses stealth to capture its prey. This often heralds the need to be stealthy and
intelligent about our own endeavors. We should camouflage what we are doing until we have it
within our grasp.

The female can lay as many as 150,000 eggs, a reminder of the many different creative things we
may become involved in when the octopus appears. The female will not leave her nest during the
time it takes for the eggs to hatch, which can be from 4-6 weeks and she does not eat while
guarding her eggs. Many starve to death during this time. When an octopus appear in our life,
we must remember to take care of ourselves while we work. We should not immerse ourselves so
deeply in our tasks that we forget to take care of ourselves.

The octopus is a rather messy animal whose lair is often recognized by the pile of discarded
shells outside its entrance. It is almost as if the octopus is so wrapped up in its task of thinking
that it can't be bothered with mundane household labors. This same characteristic of "messiness"
is often found with those to whom this animal is a totem. The octopus teaches how to use our
intelligence, stealth, and ability to camouflage our activities to succeed and thrive.

Are we acting without thinking? Are we neglecting daily responsibilities? Are we doing too much
thinking and not acting upon the ideas? Are we being too open about what we are doing? Do we
need to be a little more cautious and camouflaged?

Northernwolf:
nothing magical but these came up.
Octopuses have very good problem solving skills and are intelligent creature ( problem solving
wise ).

They can pass in tiny spaces since they can flatten their bodies and stretch it out.
They can spew ink to get away from predators

And most of them change color depending on their mood, so it's not only camouflage but a
reflection of an emotional state.

I'm not sure now accurate my information is though since I'm recalling this by heart and it's
based on documentaries that I have seen a long time ago.

But I do remember that smaller ones do change color quite a bit. They have a lot of different
pigment cells that can create intriguing patterns.