Image: Photograph by Henry Ausloos, Animals, Earth Scenes
Beloved Relatives,
Hedgehog came into my life
in the midst of strife
given like a present
making my life more pleasant
teaching how to cope
to undo the knot in the rope
so that I can flow
and grow
into the flower that I am to be
fully and totally free
I gave you back your breath
you give me joy instead
we roam together
through all different weather...
Sung by Southern Season, Song of Heaven
Oct 26, 2010 Southern Season Song of Heaven
Beloved Relatives,
I had a dream. I was with the people where I made the drum. Suddenly Stefan said to me. I have a body of an hedgehog. Do you want it? I said yes. I want to have it. I will honor it. So he put it in a bag. When I did hold the bag he came alive. So I took him out of the bag and took him home.
At home I wanted to take care until he was strong enough to be set free again. But my oldest daughter put him in the water with me while I was taking a bath. I did not notice at first so again he died. I took the little body an did cpr (coronary pulmonary resuscitation) on it ... Again he became alive ... I saw the water coming out of his little mouth and he was shining and so much stronger then before...
Blessed Be
Elder Green person, Spiritual Embrace
Blessed Song I give to you, to know the Sacred Blue. The home that we long to know true, the loving Blue (heart knowing relatives). Where distance is just a call, when you need all that's water fall (tears) and spring will light up inside your heart to find the blue, red illumination's call (finding your spirit) ... aho ah, may your spirit fly from heaven upon rolling hills!
Image by Anastasiya Malakhova, Valley of the Hedgehogs
Hedgehog's Wisdom Includes:
This little creature packs a powerful symbolic punch with animal symbolism.
- Wisdom of the female elders, bonded to Mother Earth
- Fertility, protector of the garden
- Resurrection, Victory
- Second sight "rebirth of vision of the dark space"
- Gentle Inner Self
- Defense against negativity
- Enjoyment of life, Intuition
- Understanding weather patterns, knows rain, the element of heavenly tears
- Spiritual Power, Anointing
- Energy, Vitality
- Confident, Strong and Protective
- Perception, Receiving and Allowing
- Intelligence, Resourcefulness
- Solar animal symbolism deals with creatures that correspond with the sun - also known as fire sign animals. Roles within the rays of the sun. Fire animals can light up your life and provide ignition to whatever you need set into action. Specifically, invoke solar animal symbolism when you need to:
* Blaze a trail
* Sparkle with confidence
* Illuminate on your path
* Be a beacon in leadership
* Need a spark of inspiration
* Need the flames of passion stoked.
* Outshine the competition in your trade
Hedgehog Meanings and Thoughts on Animal Symbolism Related to the Hedgehog. Image by Kerry Hartjen, Rudolph the Red Nosed Hedgehog
Same goes with those who honor the hedgehog as their totem - these people always land on their feet and go through challenges with the same calm, cool practicality as the hedgehog does. The hedgehog is also symbolic of fertility and being connected to the earth. It's belly is close to the Mother (earth, that is) and this close proximity is symbolic of its connection to earth and all that is fertile. The hedgehog's tendency to curl up in the fetal position is also a message of centering, and connecting with the source.
Further, central Asia and parts of Iran associated agricultural abundance, fertility and the gift of fire to the hedgehog. In these cultures it is considered a solar* power animal, and is strongly connected to the energy and vitality of the sun. This may be further understood when we think of the hedgehog's splayed spikes look much like the spanning rays of the sun.
Being a nocturnal creature, the symbolism of the hedgehog deals with intuition, psychic ability, prophetic dreams and visions. This is because the night deals with concepts that are cloaked in shadow - a realm that is not altogether clear. That the hedgehog's active time is at night is symbolic of "second sight."
Another testimony to its spiritual power is the hedgehog's natural resistance to snake venom. This is carries extreme importance with many Native American Indian tribes and is seen as a symbol of victory over evil. This attribute is also a portent of resurrection, life after death, or defeating death completely.
Hedgehog teaches defense mechanisms against negativity along with showing how to enjoy life and to walk the earth with a sense of lightness and a sense of wonder. Hedgehog shows when to act with tenacity and strength to get things accomplished. He can aid in balancing emotions with actions while lending wisdom when to work and play. Are you taking opportunities that could make you happy? Are you letting people bring you down? Hedgehog can show you to be confident and move with strength.
The Hedgehog teaches how to be on the defense and how to protect yourself. It shows how to protect the soft inside – your inner self. Hedgehog shows how to be gentle, yet protective at the same time.
How to build defenses and protective barriers that discourage negative people.
It also is the symbol of the Wisdom of the Female Elder, with close ties to Mother Earth. People with a Hedgehog totem often understand weather patterns – they know when it will rain. Hedgehog: Often, the hedgehog helps others bring down their guard to be more accepting of others and life.
The Greeks and the Romans attributed intelligence to the symbolism of the hedgehog as they witnessed the creature knocking off grapes from vines and rolling on to them - essentially "toothpicking" or spearheading the grapes on their backs and carrying them away to dine on at a later date.
Thank you http://www.animalspirits.com/index18.html and http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-hedgehog.html
Hedgehog (Erinaceus Europaeus)
mammals they have adapted to a nocturnal, insectivorous way of life. The name 'hedgehog' came into use around the year 1450, derived from the Middle English 'heyghoge', from 'heyg', 'hegge' = hedge, because it frequents hedgerows, and 'hoge', 'hogge' = hog, from its piglike snout. Other names include 'urchin', 'hedgepig' and 'furze-pig' .
There are some 15 species of hedgehog in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Hedgehogs have also been introduced into nontraditional ranges such as New Zealand. The hedgehog was named because of its peculiar foraging methods. These animals root through hedges and other undergrowth in search of the small creatures that compose the bulk of their diet—insects, worms, centipedes, snails, mice, frogs, and snakes. As a hedgehog picks its way through the hedges it emits piglike grunts—thus, the hedgehog. Some people consider hedgehogs useful pets because they prey on many common garden pests. While on the hunt, they rely upon their senses of hearing and smell because their eyesight is weak.
Hedgehogs have a coat of stiff, sharp spines. If attacked they will curl into a prickly and unappetizing ball that deters most predators. They usually sleep in this position during the day and awaken to search for food at night. Hedgehogs hibernate in cold climates. In deserts, they sleep through heat and drought in a similar process called aestivation. They remain active all year in more temperate locations.
These solitary animals typically couple only for mating. The young born each year, in litters ranging from one to eleven, remain with their mothers for only four to seven weeks before heading out on their own. Among the predators females must guard against during this period are other male hedgehogs, which will sometimes prey upon the young of their species. Hedgehog mothers have also been known to eat their young if the nest is disturbed, though they sometimes simply move them to a new nest.
Physical Description
Hedgehogs are easily recognized by their spines, which are hollow hairs made stiff with keratin. Their spines are not poisonous or barbed and, unlike the quills of a porcupine, cannot easily be removed from the hedgehog. However, spines normally come out when a hedgehog sheds baby spines and replaces them with adult spines. This is called "quilling." When under extreme stress or during sickness, a hedgehog can also lose spines.
A defense that all species of hedgehogs possess is the ability to roll into a tight ball, causing all of the spines to point outwards. However, its effectiveness depends on the number of spines, and since some of the desert hedgehogs evolved to carry less weight, they are much more likely to try to run away and sometimes even attack the intruder, trying to ram into the intruder with its spines, and rolling as a last resort. This results in a different number of predators for different species: while forest hedgehogs have relatively few, primarily birds (especially owls) and ferrets, smaller species like the Long-eared Hedgehog are preyed on by foxes, wolves and mongooses.
Hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal, although, depending on the species, they may be more or less active during the day. The hedgehog sleeps for a large portion of the daytime either under cover of bush, grass, rock or in a hole in the ground. Again, different species can have slightly different habits, but in general hedgehogs dig dens for shelter. All wild hedgehogs can hibernate, although not all do; hibernation depends on temperature, species, and abundance of food.
The hedgehog's back is made up of two large muscles, which control the positioning of its quills. There are about 5,000 to 6,500 quills on the average hedgehog, and these are durable on the outside, while being filled with air pockets on the inside. The hedgehog uses its quills to protect itself from predators, using muscles which draw their quilled skin to cover their full body, and pulling in the parts of their bodies not covered, such as their head, feet, and belly. This form of defense is the hedgehog's most successful, but is usually their last resort.
Hedgehogs have many alternate defense mechanisms. In most situations a hedgehog will flee rather than confront a threat, rolled up in a ball or not. All hedgehogs possess the stamina to run, many can make 4.5 miles per hour or better, and are particularly adept at climbing steep walls, trees, and fences and even swimming. Hedgehogs are fairly vocal and communicate through a combination of grunts, snuffles and/or squeals, depending on species.
Hedgehogs occasionally perform a ritual called anointing. When the animal encounters a new scent, it will lick and bite the source, then form a scented froth in its mouth and paste it on its spines with its tongue. It is unknown what the specific purpose of this ritual is, but some experts believe anointing camouflages the hedgehog with the new scent of the area and provides a possible poison or source of infection to predators poked by their spines. Anointing is sometimes also called anting because of a similar behavior in birds.
Similar to opossums, mice, and moles, hedgehogs have some natural immunity against snake venom due to the protein erinacin in the animal's muscular system. In captivity, hedgehogs tend to get along with dogs, cats and other pets. On the rare occasions when they do feel threatened by these animals, the hedgehog will roll into a ball until the threatening animal disappears. Still, care should be taken to protect hedgehogs from particularly large, aggressive, or mischievous pets.
Thank you http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/hedgehog/ and to to read more visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog
Why There Are Bans on Hedgehog Pets1. Hedgehogs are tough pets to keep: they're insectivores, so feeding them properly can present difficulties to families accustomed to feeding pets kibble or canned food. They're also nocturnal, and require a lot of space to roam (they have trouble adapting to enclosed areas)—and thus relatively difficult to care for. They don't have much resistance to climate variation either. For these reasons, they have a high mortality rate, as far as mammalian pets go.
2. The species is threatened in some countries. They're protected in Spain and France, and the hedgehog is endangered in England.
3. The hedgehog isn't endemic to North America—which means buying one for your home is encouraging an overseas pet trade.
That said, there are far worse pets to keep—and that little hedgehog really is pretty darn cute.
4. The hedgehog has taken such a hit in population size that continuing trends would lead to its extinction by 2025. The spiny mammal has to brave traffic, pollution, pesticides, and garden chemicals in its struggle for survival.
Pray With Elders around the World
Warriors of Earth, my heart knows this girth, the place we do roam, under the sun. We are mortified (pain you suffer) at your love, how you always know how to dug (enduring for us). And we are here to pray, that you are living and okay. We always love your heart, bigger than any part, because you gift to us, the most exquisite love. And we are always in your awe, powerful art. The soul that learns to love, deeply like a sea. We are honored by your breeze. God set them all free! We share the world not alone, but warriors who know the sun, always helping at any chance, to be hallow upon this ground. Our animals, do need us, including the loving heart. Sow love your neighbor too, so he will have a clue, to love the animals through and through!
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