Squirrel Pagan Symbol of Gathering and Activity

Power Animal’s Medicine Includes Preparedness and Playfulness

Nov 13, 2009

The squirrel's lessons are that there are no insurmountable obstacles and to balance life. She's the subject of legend and an autumn symbol, gathering food for winter.

More than two hundred species of squirrels are native to all continents except for Australia and Antarctica. The largest is the Indian giant squirrel which can grow to three feet long.

Although most live in trees, some species live in burrows or tunnel systems, where they hibernate during the winter season. There are flying squirrels; however they don’t fly like bats do, they glide. The most common fur colors are grey and red although there are black squirrel varieties as well.

Squirrels are omnivorous and eat nuts, acorns, leaves, berries, roots, seeds, plants, insects, bark, eggs, baby birds and small animals. Their primary predators are raptors including owls and hawks, foxes, wildcats, raccoons, and opossums. Fleeing from these animals is the squirrel’s primary defense. The social rodents chatter to warn others of impending danger.

Squirrel Symbolism

Her keynotes are gathering, preparedness and activity. Her cycle of power is year around and peaks in autumn. She symbolizes problem solving, resourcefulness, storing for the future, planning ahead, balance in giving and receiving, playfulness, warning, discovery, change and getting rid of what isn’t needed, be it objects and/or negative emotions, memory and beliefs.

Squirrel’s Lessons

The squirrel teaches people there aren’t any obstacles that can’t be surmounted. Any problem or threat can be overcome by going into a higher place of the mind and forming a plan of action.

The squirrel is one of the very few wild animals who is trusting enough to eat from a person's hand, so one of her lessons is for people to learn to drop their defenses, and learn to trust more. Another lesson is that there’s time for everything in life. The balance between rest, work and play is crucial to harmony and well-being.

Squirrel Lore

The Pennsylvania Dutch believe that when her tail is extra bushy and her fur is thick, the winter weather will be severe. People in some European countries think that people lose their hunting skills if they kill a squirrel.

In some parts of the UK, squirrels are called tree rats. Whether it is considered good luck or ill luck to kill one varies with the location.

Choctaw Legend of the Black Squirrel

The Choctaw believed an eclipse of the sun was caused by a mischievous black squirrel who would try to eat it. The only way to prevent this was to scare the rodent when he was ready for a solar meal. When the sun began to darken, members of the Choctaw Nation would shout that he was trying to devour the sun.

Women’s and children’s shouts mingled with ringings of discordant bells and the sounds of tin pans and cups being beaten. Men stood in front of their homes that had river cane and plaster walls and thatched roofs, firing rifles at the black squirrel. The cacophony continued until the sun reappeared and the people believed it was safe from being eaten by the black squirrel.

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