Spirit Animal – Badger, The Teacher

Our Ancestors in Europe, North America, and in Africa, have regarded Badger with awe, with superstition, and with malice.  This, to me, seems reasonable since Badger clans so closely represent human clans or tribes.  And, the behaviour of Badger should put us in awe of her, because she is such a brilliant teacher.

Badger has long been revered for her fighting prowess.  She will take on wolves, bears, and a pack of dogs. She fights with her long, sharp claws and with her teeth.  She hears extremely well because she is near sighted.  This means, however, that she is prepared.  She will choose to fight from a place where her back quarters are protected.

She is also very strong.  Since her mainstay diet is roots, grubs, earthworms, and creepy crawlies that reside under rocks and logs, Badger needs to be able to shift the rock or log that is often four or five times her weight.  She uses a rocking motion to set the object to move, proving that she has a basic understanding of the physics of motion.

 

Picture of American Badger from Wikipedia, with thanks!

 

Men have found Badger to be very cunning when they hunt her.  She knows how to become invisible.  She seems to be able to confuse dogs by mixing up her tracks and spraying a musk to cloud the area.  She knows how to use streams and culverts and hollow logs or deadfall to rise up off the earth and move to a different location.

Badger will fight to the death to protect her young.  And, she did need to protect them because around the world, people still eat badger meat to gain some of Badger’s strength and wisdom.  Instead of eating her, many would do much better to ask her to come and teach them her ways. 

           Picture of badger from www.cwsd.org, with thanks.

 

As a teacher, here is what Badger says:  

1. Spend less time mourning what you do not have, and spend more time looking at the ways that you may acquire what you need.
2. Eat simply! The more that you eat that which is away from where you live, the more you weaken your body.  This allows outsiders to come in and take what is yours.
3. Bond with your family.  In times of distress, they are the only ones that you can truly count on.
4. Teach the children well – how to find food; how to defend themselves; how to become invisible.  The world is full of predators.  Each parent is tasked with keeping the child safe for that child is the legacy of our line.

Ask Badger to come in to teach you in dream time.  She will oblige if she finds you worthy.

Judy@angelsandancestors.com  See the new download at www.legionsofmichael.com   See the updated pages at www.angelsandancestors.com  See the blog from February 19, 2009, Spirit Animal - Badger