Apropros of "lightening up" – our theme for this issue, I'm reminded of advice attributed to Yogi Bhajan, the great master who brought Kundalini Yoga to the west, to the effect that "to be sane we need to laugh and sweat everyday." I'd add that we can also benefit —and maybe get some laughs while we're at it—from understanding the medicine and the messages connected to the animals that cross our path every day.

Waking into Wonder

If I had been awake earlier, before embarking on what I refer to as my mid-life birth in my late 30s – I may have noticed the animal totems in my life. I may have wondered about the buffalo, horses and wolves featured in the Native American art I began collecting in my early 20s. Aside from trying to understand my natural affinity for bison, a symbol of abundance and manifestation through right living, I did not delve into the mystery of the animals I was calling.

At the Native summer festivals near my family home it was the buffalo and wolves that kept me transfixed between the stories of the wisdom keepers and the raptor flying exhibitions. Tired family members, clutching their emu oil guaranteed to fix most any ailment and ready to head home, would roll their eyes as I headed off for one last visit with the buffalo.

Innocently enough, animals began appearing in the poetry I was writing. Skunks, horses, buffalo, wolves and, of course, the ever present and exhausting coyote, started popping up – gifts from my intuitive self.

I enjoyed them without really understanding their antics or the wisdom of their medicine.

Jungle Cats

That all changed as I began practicing kundalini yoga and prepared for my Reiki Master attunement. A lush dreamer all my life, I began waking exhausted after a night of extreme dreaming. Beautiful but (seemingly) menacing jungle cats were trying to gain entry to my home, the home where I resided for eight years beginning when I was 10, a home with three entrances. Night after night, the cats would arrive – female lions, leopards, tigers, jaguars and panthers – sleek, powerful and scary in a multitude of stripes, spots and solid colors ranging from buff lions to ebony panthers. In the dreams, I would rush to a door to block a cat from entering. Just as I would have one door secured, other cats would make a run for another door.

Then, one night, they were in the house. There was no struggle, they had just entered from another part of the house and were moving freely about. Amazingly, I relaxed. I had surrendered to my fate and everything was okay.

One day I casually mentioned it to my kundalini yoga teacher, explaining why I was so tired. “Oh, your power animals are coming out,” she observed.

I described what was happening to my Reiki teacher. What kinds of cats, he asked. I described them, adding that there was always a sleek black panther mixed in with other cats that varied. He agreed with the yoga instructor and further told me that many people in the healing arts have a black panther as their totem.

Familiar with Medicine Cards, I decided I needed to learn more and turned to the classic Animal Speak by Ted Andrews, which remains my animal totem bible.

Jungle cats are symbols of power and female energy. Black panthers in particular can represent awakening kundalini and not only stepping into one's power, but according to Andrews, reclaiming one's authentic power. And awakening to a heroic quest.

I understood why organizations such as the Black Panthers and Gray Panthers, took the animal as a symbol for their organizations.

Parade of Animals

Once I moved to Maine, animals continued to populate my dreams but more and more, I was encountering the real deals in everyday life. And not just your common animals like deer but moose, fox, coyote and even a wolf, which astonished me.

Less than a month after landing here I saw my first flock of wild turkey, crossing the road as I made my way to a friend's home for Thanksgiving and I laughed out loud, thinking these birds are really pushing their luck today.

The dog tangoed last fall with a skunk just outside the back door. Skunks, like wild turkey, are plentiful in Maine and all about respect – respect for ourselves and for others, and self-esteem. Peaceful but fearless, skunks walk softly but pack a big bottle of perfume. My basement has housed a hibernating snake – a symbol of rebirth, healing, creativity and transformation. That recent snake reminded me of the snake that crossed the dirt road in front of my car years earlier as I made my way onto Native land.

When Outside Creatures Appear Inside

Nothing prepared me for my latest animal encounter four days ago. I was awakened by some light disturbance. Small crashes and chimes sounding. At first it seemed I was dreaming, as usual. But the noise continued and my next thought was that perhaps an expected storm had blown up and I needed to get up and close the windows. But then I became aware of a whooshing sound traveling from my room to the guest room across the hall.

I live in a house that is over 200 years old with an extreme roof pitch. In the bedrooms one can only stand in the center of the room – so there was not a lot of flight space between the night visitor and me.

In a moment of cogent knowing – a thought registered in my unconscious brain and I woke. There is a bat in the house! I need to go downstairs and get a broom, not wanting to think about what I might have to do with that broom. I gingerly made my way out to the hall and looked into the darkened guest room and saw the unmistakable herky-jerky silhouette of a bat in flight. I fled downstairs, certain the bat was on my tail. Armed with a broom I returned upstairs and thought I could make out a brown outline stuck to the screen. I removed a fan from the window and managed to close it. I quickly closed the door to the room. I returned to my room and determining it was bat free, shut the door and tried to sleep.

A Blessing or a Curse?

The next day I could not find the bat anywhere. I grabbed Animal Speak and learned that bats carry big medicine as a symbol of transition and initiation with shamanic implications. Opening of powers to override fears and awakening of keen audio perceptions to discern truth.

Eventually I spied the bat between the closed bedroom window and the screen. I raised the window and opened the screen about eight inches, hoping it would smell freedom and flee.

It did not occur to me to fear the bat until I mentioned it to some friends. They carry rabies and can bite you without you knowing it. Hang up the phone and either go to the ER or call a doctor, they urged. I called two native Mainers who felt sure I would know if a bat bit me. The woman clearly thought I had bats in my belfry. "Wacky city girl" she must have said to herself.

I did not have time to share several raccoon experiences, including being a camp counselor in The Pine Barrens of New Jersey, where raccoons routinely interrupted our sleep by entering tents and because of rabies potential were captured and removed from the campsite by the game warden. Unlike a bat – if a raccoon bites you, you know it!

Our Voice or External Voices?

I spent the day gathering information. On the surface the entire bat situation seemed ridiculous. Timid by nature, a healthy bat will do everything in its power to avoid human contact, preferring mosquitoes.

I learned more about bats and rabies that I cared to know. (For information see www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh) Finally, I called the state Disease Control hotline at 800-821-5821. My choices were to have the bat tested, get a series of rabies shots (which are no longer given in the abdomen and not as painful as years ago) or do nothing and hope for the best.

Basically, I had to determine whether to listen to external voices and if so, which ones; risk a roll of the dice or trust my gut that I was being asked to take care of myself.

I called the county communications number provided by the kind epidemiologist and told the operator I needed the animal control officer. The bat was not easily accessible to me and I knew capturing it would definitely warrant a bite, if it hadn’t already happened. Within moments, Police Chief Ron Young – also the Animal Control Officer and the Emergency Management Director for my town – called back. After conferring with the epidemiologist, he and Officer Jason Trundy arrived.

Grateful for Help

I cannot thank those two men enough. In recent weeks there was a referendum on whether to keep a full-time police chief and three part-time officers on staff – which passed by a slim margin. If they weren’t around, I would have been out on a limb trying to get help from an overburdened county system. Not for a moment did either of them, or the state epidemiologist, ever make me feel foolish – even though I did. Still, I’d rather be a middle-aged fool than a dead fool.

All this happened on a Friday. I did not fret over the weekend. Once I

made the decision to act and take care of myself, I knew that whatever the outcome – everything would be okay. By Monday afternoon the call came saying the bat tested negative for rabies at the state public health lab in Augusta.

Now I am coming to terms with guilt over the demise of my innocent winged messenger. Wondering if the gift of its medicine still applies, or not.

© 2008 Teresa Piccari

Center bat picture courtesy of www.misfitsrehab.com a rescue center for misfit animals in Maine.

Teresa Piccari is a writer and teacher living in coastal Maine. She is the proprietor of The Village Scribe, a professional writing service, meeting professional and everyday needs. She teaches workshops including creative writing, memoir and journaling. She is a traditional Usui Reiki Master who practices and teaches the ancient healing art. Her business and practice are located at The Wellness Center, 71 Elm St., in Camden. Contact Teresa at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (207) 344-7070.