I didn’t know what this creature was at first when I saw it Sunday morning as it walked ever so deliberately and ever so slowly up our sidewalk toward our front door. I don’t recall encountering something like this before. Though John said he sometimes sees smaller ones in our yard when he is cutting the grass.

After sharing a photo of it on my Facebook page the overall consensus is that it is a salamander. A few thought perhaps a Gecko, but after a search on Google I believe this to be a salamander.

I found it interesting when I first looked at it up close that it reminded me of a stretched out frog because its skin appeared slimy and its face reminded me of a frog also.

Since Sunday I’ve been pondering what the message could be from Salamander because it was an unusual sighting for me. Though I will say some have shared with me that they’ve been seeing them often!

My first insight because Salamander had been walking quite slowly, was that I needed to slow down in the thoughts that had been whirling through my mind the moment I awoke that morning. While I don’t want to get into specific details it made sense for me as I was going down a rabbit hole of imagining an outcome I don’t even have all the facts to yet.

Reaching for one of my favorite books to learn about animals, Animal Speak by Ted Andrews, I learned that often salamanders are lumped into the reptile family, but they are actually an amphibian. He goes on to share that “Amphibians lead a double life, which is significant and should be meditated upon by anyone with this totem.”  The word amphibian comes from two words. Amphi means double and bio means life. They live on both land and in the water.

What stood out to me that Ted says about amphibian is, “On a more physiological level, they can also reflect a need to learn to use the emotional energies (water) constructively (land).”

A salamander is sometimes confused with a lizard when it is more closely related to a frog. This means it needs to stay in moist areas. Amphibians also don’t drink water, but that it is directly absorbed through their skin. Those with this totem need to be around water for their health and well-being.

This resonated for me personally as I’d just set the intention Sunday morning that I was going to get back into the habit of drinking more water. I have a small notepad on the kitchen table that I’m keeping a tally and my goal is to drink 64 – 80 oz. of water each day.

I’ve noted in the past that when I stay hydrated it keeps me more grounded. There are some changes happening and I sense Salamander appearing was a message to be sure to have my grounding practices in place as I navigate some emotions and anticipated changes that have been coming to the surface.

Being born under the sign of Cancer, with two other planets in cancer also, this has been something I’ve had to learn and how to be with all my feelings while also not letting them overwhelm me so that I can move forward from a more constructive place of thinking.

While I’ll continue to ponder about Salamander to see if there is more for me, I’m glad for the help insight so far gained. And for anyone else who may have needed to hear this wisdom from Salamander I hope you found it helpful too.

P.S. It is also interesting to note that the reading I did yesterday also included Frog – about transformation and cleansing. Salamander being closely related to frog, I see this as another reminder of the importance of keeping a cluttered mind to a minimum by allowing what needs to come to the surface and doing the necessary inner work to heal it and do so without self-judgment and being open to the possibilities of what the transformation process can bring us.

P.P.S. Someone else just today posted a note on my Facebook post with the photos of Salamander that I shared on Sunday that reads, “They are everywhere this year! What is their message to us?”  

I’m being called back to the fact they are amphibians and when split into two words means double life. When we look at what we’ve been going through in 2020 I can’t help but feel this is about not leading those double lives anymore. At the heart of who we each are, we’ve known deep in our souls what truly matters, but we got lost along the way, caught up in going along with what society expected, falling into the trap of trying to be like everyone else and forgot the ability we each have to tap into trusting that we do know who we are and what we want for our lives. 

Perhaps you’ve heard other teachers share that we are remembering (re-member-ing) ourselves back into being. In essence, coming back to who we are and not living a life we think we should, but rather live the life that we know at our core is who we are.

xo,

Barbara

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