There’s a meme going around that says something like: Be yourself!  Unless you can be a Unicorn.  Then be a Unicorn!

Corny as it is, husband and I collected unicorns for the first half of our marriage, filling up 3 wall holders – they had to be small ones:  2 inches or less.  We felt ourselves and our love as magical and unique as unicorns.  Still do but we did stop collecting.  Which is to say that up to now, I would have absolutely chosen to be a unicorn.

However.

It seems that my inner child has taken a fancy to otters who sleep holding hands to keep from drifting apart.

Everyone say awwwwwwwww.

That practice is called rafting, and they do it in groups.  Communities of hand-holding otters.  Really, just perfect.  My Spirit Animal Rising is an Otter!

Otters are playful.  Here are young otters chasing a butterfly.  I have a page from a unicorn calendar from the 70s that says:  Unicorns have been known to follow butterflies around because they believe they turn into rainbows.  AAWWWWWWWWW.

Otter as a totem:

Otter’s medicine includes woman’s healing wisdom, sensibility without suspicion, guidance in revealing ones talents, psychic awareness, faithfulness, recovery issues, understanding the value of playtime, primal feminine energy, joy, playfulness, prognostication

There are 2 kinds of Otter, the river and sea otter. They are linked to the primal feminine energies of life – the elements of both Earth and Water are present in Otter medicine.

Otters are regarded as the masters of play by the Native American and Celtic cultures. Observing an individual otter or a family of otters shows us that it’s possible to view life as a game to be enjoyed, rather than a burden to be endured. Living is not painful, it’s a gift. Life is too short to worry so much…Ina Woolcott

The animal symbolism of the otter relies a lot on its environment. As an aquatic animal, the otter is a symbol of life. Why? Because the prime symbolic meaning of water deals with the divine feminine, which is a major life-giving energy. Water (and otters) are symbolic of creativity, fluidity and transitions. The otter’s affinity to water is also symbolic of healing. Consider: Water is a purifying, cleansing element. It makes sense water-loving creatures such as the otter will share those purifying qualities too. [emphasis mine]

If an Otter has entered your life, it may be time to find some play time in your life, to awaken your inner child.  Allow events to unfold naturally in your life.  Be careful not to hang on the material things in your life that bind you or become a burden.  Become Otter and move gently into the river of life. [emphasis mine]

I read this an realize why otter has come to the fore.  Isn’t it funny how animal spirits choose us?  Otter is perfect for me right now.

I know that I am in transition in many ways:  career, health, and I guess life as I open to being enough right where I am.  And play.  time to reintroduce play.  It is so easy for me to get all serious (in order to prove ;myself to someone, or something, or more likely just to prove to myself I have a right to be here on this earth and take up space.  Some days do feel like that ( alot right now).  I know better in my head but apparently all the other parts of me haven’t gotten the message yet).

Girlfriend shared Joe Vitale (no relationship) today in a private message:   Joe Vitale said in the Mindvalley stuff that every day, several times a day, you say to yourself out loud preferably in a mirror: I love you, I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you. It’s the Hawaiian Ho’oponopono practice of reconciliation and forgiveness.

Reconciliation and forgiveness for ourselves first so we know what it feels like, and then on to the rest of the world.  Because all of us are perfectly imperfect.

What animals are rising into your consciousness?  What do they have to share with you?