Armadillo, Pagan Symbol of Boundaries

Armored Kin Represents Empathy, Protection and Discrimination

Aug 19, 2009

Power and totem animal Armadillo also has a Mayan legend and a story created by Rudyard Kipling. Learn to create an energy shield using the animal's medicine.

The armadillo, the only mammal with a true bone-plated shell, originated in South America and migrated to North America. The twenty species belong to the order Cingulata, family Dasypodidae. Their closest relatives are anteaters and sloths. Only one species, the three-banded armadillo, can roll itself into a ball. Others rely on speed or digging to escape danger from its primary predators, big cats and coyotes. Armadillos have poor eyesight and rely on their hearing and sense of smell to detect food or predators. These mammals are good swimmers and can hold their breath for four to six minutes.

They’re omnivorous and eat vegetation and insects. English King George II was given an armadillo as a present and kept it content by feeding it hard-boiled eggs. During the Great Depression, armadillos were nicknamed “Hoover Hogs” by people who ate them. The name was a slur against President Herbert Hoover, who had promised chickens in everyone’s pots. Instead, the US was caught up in the Great Depression.

Armadillo, AmerIndian Symbolism

In Native American symbolism, the medicine or power is that of the three-banded species. Keynotes are empathy, personal protection and discrimination. The armadillo’s cycle of power is year-round.

Armadillo teach people to place boundaries. People learn from the armadillo, who, by rolling into a ball, is protected from attack. This teaches people how to consciously define emotional and physical boundaries. The medicine includes understanding one’s personal boundaries, respecting other’s boundaries, carrying one’s protection all times and using it as necessary for one’s well being and understanding one’s own vulnerabilities.

Other lessons that the armadillo teaches involve how to protect oneself, when to let defenses down and when to let others into one’s space. Another closely related lesson is adjusting one’s rhythms and senses to know what’s safe and what’s not. Empathy, discrimination and being grounded are also part of the armadillo’s symbolism.

When the armadillo appears, it’s time to define one’s space. A person may have difficulty saying no and, thus be taken for granted. One must learn to guard one’s personal space and allow entry only when it’s desired.

Armadillo in Legend and Fiction

The Aztec name for the animal was Azotochtli, which means turtle-rabbit. Later, the Conquistadores called it "armadillo," Spanish for "little armored one."

According to an ancient Mayan legend, the first armadillos were created to teach a lesson in humility to a couple of minor deities. Hachakyum, the Mayan Sun God, sat the two disobedient deities on a bench in front of all the other gods. The bench was changed into a pair of armadillos who immediately jumped up in the air, tossing the two wayward gods onto their backsides in disgrace.

British author Rudyard Kipling wrote in one of his stories for children that the armadillo was born out of a pact between a turtle and a hedgehog. In order to escape from predatory Jaguar, the hedgehog taught the turtle how to curl up into a protective ball and the turtle taught the hedgehog how to be more armored. The result was the first two armadillos, which utterly confused a bewildered, hungry Jaguar.

How to Create an Energy Shield Using Armadillo Medicine

To use the armadillo's power, draw a circle on a piece of paper and visualize it as a medicine shield. Write down all that’s desired, things that want to be experienced and those which bring joy in the circle. The shield reflects who one is and what one will become on a subconscious level.