July 11, 2016: Synchronicity!

Synchronicity is the word of the week, apparently.  I decided to pull a Wild Unknown Tarot card, and got The Hanging Man reversed.  The cool thing is that the image on this card is a bat.  Here are my thoughts regarding this card:

The image on this Major Arcana card is fitting: a bat hanging upside down, wrapped cozily in his wings, with red, glowing eyes.  This bat appears at first glance to be totally surrendering to his upside-down pose, but actually he is quite alert, looking around and perceiving all.  Perceiving all from a unique perspective, and maybe seeing things that we aren’t seeing from our right-side-up view of the world.  The bat is not forced to assume this hanging position; he actually chooses to see the world this way, and is able to benefit from his choice.  And when he is ready to move on, all he has to do is let go, and he is immediately, effortlessly, able to soar.  Since the card is reversed, it’s not time for me to do this yet, but it sure is nice to know that the opportunity is there.

Here is some information I found about Bat as a totem animal, from several different websites:

A Bat totem is a call for the end of a way of life and the beginning of another.   The keywords associated with this totem are Transition and Rebirth.  Bat is telling me to face my greatest fears, and to release those parts of my life that are no longer needed.  This transition, like all transitions that require big changes in order to manifest, is really scary (“better the devil you know . . .”), but I can’t continue my spiritual growth until I let go of all that useless junk I’ve been carrying around.  Bat is encouraging me to do that. 

Bats are cool; they use “echo location” in order to swoop through the night.  Bat is reminding me that I have the ability to be perceptive – to pick up on subtle messages and to hear what is not being said out loud – and I should make use of those abilities.  I can hear my inner voice (obviously), and I need to see the messages I “hear” as being important and valid.  Bats are able to move through the darkness with swiftness and grace, and when I feel “in the dark” I need to tune into my more subtle senses with greater precision in order to do the same.  Perhaps a new way of looking at the issue at hand will bring new answers.  “Face the darkness before you and you will find the light in rebirth.”

Bat’s wisdom includes shamanic death and rebirth, initiation, viewing past lives, pollination of new ideas, transition, understanding grief, the use of vibrational sound, camouflage, invisibility, ability to observe unseen, and working with secrets or hidden knowledge.  These are valuable tools for me right now.  Bat also reminds me that all kinds of yoga are beneficial, especially any practice that involves energy flow or awakening the kundalini, and this corresponds nicely with what I’ve learned about the metabolic discipline and aerobic activity connected with Calcination.

Bats are often misunderstood and feared, probably because they are creatures of the night and have a strange winged appearance. They are associated with vampires, but despite the Bela Lugosi movies we’ve seen, bats rarely bite unless threatened.  The largest bat species on the planet is 100% vegetarian, eating only fruits and vegetables.  Bats have needle like teeth and can sometimes be rabies carriers. Rabies is an infectious disease of the blood that can cause a person to go mad.  Bat is reminding me that fears that are permitted to spread unchecked will in the end saturate my whole body and all its systems, and could bring a kind of madness into my life our life.  I need to face up to all my fears.

Bats are masters of regeneration.  When the air becomes cold, they immediately go into a hibernation mode. When warmed up again, they are totally unharmed, unique for a warm blooded mammal. Bats are extremely adaptable because their senses, feeding, flight and mating rituals are perfectly matched to their particular environment. The message for me here may be to assess my surroundings to see what bounty is there for me for the taking, and then adapt or change my own patterns so I can attract and receive that bounty.

I found this on one website: “Bat flying into your life signifies that transformation of the ego self is about to occur, the end of a way of life and the start of another. This transition can be very frightening for many, even just to think about. But you will not grow spiritually until you let go these old parts of you that are not needed. Facing the darkness before you will help you find the light in rebirth. The bat gives you the wisdom required to make the appropriate changes for the birthing of your new identity.”  I can feel Haftorang nodding.

“Teach me that death can hurt much less

If I accept it as no end,

But see it true, just another view
Of life continuing round a bend.”

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