Last night, looking out at my dock on the little canal I live on in Florida, I was appreciating my wild fish “pets”. I recently installed an underwater glow light that attracts the fish in swarms. Schools of tiny bait fish near the surface are nipped at by the large catfish, mullet and a few shy nook circling beneath them. Since my betta fish literally jumped out of his bowl a week ago (needless to say he didn’t survive), these guys have become my focus. It’s like having an aquarium in my backyard and it fascinates me to watch the ever-changing water scenes at night in the green glow.
So as I stood at my sliding glass door, smiling, I was about to close the blinds for the night. A small animal ran up onto my deck. I thought it was a cat and almost shooed it away. But then I noticed the tell-tale black mask. And quickly another raccoon joined the first. These newcomers came right up to my sliding glass door, stood up on their hind legs and peered in at me for a few seconds. Wow! They are so cute! Then they scampered away.
It was such an unusual event. I’ve never seen a raccoon at my house. Something told me to explore the symbolism of raccoons. I’ve learned that often an unusual animal, bird, insect appearing is some kind of a sign for me to ponder. I’ve worked with the symbolism of butterflies, dragonflies, deer, owls, dogs, and birds in the past. Never the raccoon. The mask must be a clue to the meaning of the messenger’s appearance.
My copy of Ted Andrews’ wonderful book, Animal Speak, and others about animal symbolism were long ago passed on to friends. These are some of the books that can help you get clues to animal symbols in your own life:
I took to the Internet and found some clues about the raccoon’s meaning. The raccoon can be emblematic of masks, hidden knowledge, secrecy, shape-shifting and transformation. That really resonated with me. I’m so zeroed in on transformation and self-exploration right now as I gear up for my next master’s degree course at Atlantic Universityon transpersonal tools for self-assessment.I remembered the only mask I have in my home is a beautiful purple-feathered Mardi Gras mask from New Orleans. Gazing upon it in a new light, I wondered what it would feel like to be at a ball with this mask on…anonymous. How would I act? Would I feel empowered to be different? Bolder? Wilder? Quieter? I realized I wear many masks psychologically in the form of roles at work, family, hobbies, with different groups of friends. How do I use these “masks” to affect my behavior in various environments? I can see that I do change and shape-shift a bit depending on the mask I’m wearing. Is that a good thing? Or not? Could I put on a new mask, psychologically, and allow myself to change to become more of what I want to be? Much to contemplate.
What about you?
