Okay, so I expected nice, furry mammals...

In many shamanistic practices it is said that if you are intentionally seeking to know your totem animal, it will come to you - especially during a vision quest or while traversing the wild places. Most emphasize that it will come to you three times.  As with everything else, these "friends" change overtime, although many of us have a few that remain our major totems throughout our life.

I have had the opportunity to soar, crawl, swim, leap and stalk with many guides over the years - my main allies being those who see and feel in the dark.  I am grateful for owl, bat and recently bobcat and their guidance in being able to intuite, go deep, take risks, sense accutely and ferret-out what is often housed in the unconscious or in dream. 
Most important to me is the Owl...I have been struck in the hair by the owl three times - twice in the Hoh Rainforest while hiking in the Olympic Peninsula in WA state and once hiking up Mount Erie in Anacortes.  Owl continues to be ever-present in my life.  I currently have several Great Horned Owls hooting me to sleep over the RV and one Screech Owl making its presence known while gazing at the stars from the hottub.  Yesterday, while cheerfully walking up a hill in the fashion of Winnie the Pooh (in his renowned sceen where he states, "Tut, tut, looks like rain" -- I saw his friend "OWL" peering down at me from high atop a Sycamore tree.  
 
But a tick?

Come-on...no way.

Lime's Disease...I've read all about it due to what has happened on THREE occassions.  Twice in WA state, so no worries as the disease isn't prevalent there.  Both ticks had attached themselves to my side, at my belt line, and upon removal had left a nasty hard spot that did, thankfully, disappear with time.  I was always fascinated by the fact that both of them attached at the exact same site.  ....BUT THREE???  Now there's something amiss here.

The Pinnacles pest I just picked up (who I now am having to consider a teacher) was just beginning to attach at the very same place.  I pulled him out just as he was embedding his head.  Again, I had a hard knot...but no head left within and he couldn't have been there more than a few minutes or so.

So, my musings today MUST BE in honor of the tick attempting to make its presence known to me.  Ha!

What is the tick to represent?  (If you have insights, I'd appreciate hearing them.)  This is what I found out...(taken from ANIMAL TOTEMS: THE POWER AND PROPHESY OF YOUR ANIMAL GUIDES by Millie Gemondo and Trish MacGregor)
The tick asks what is attacking your joy and pep in life.  Are you not paying attention to your health?  Tick symbolizes the common sense need to be careful, even about small things. Like a tick, fear can be a parasite sucking life from you. Do what you want to do, take sensible precautions, don't let your fears cripple your enjoyment of life.

Over the past months, I've been working consciously to put my fears aside (dealt with closed spaces by going splenking in the Yoni cave in Hawaii and the Cathar caves in France - dealt with my fear of driving a big rig now pulling 42' across America and opened a woman's ritual chanting the powerful Hawaiian "E Ho Mei" ...and thankful my voice didn't crack!)

So, I guess Tick arrives with perfect timing...
...and yes, mom, I'll be very careful in the future!