My sister used to have a terrier who would torment a nest of possums in her back yard. She would hear the dog’s high-pitched barking and whining and the hiss of the possums from the house. One day she was reading in her den with the back door open when she heard some rustling outside the door. She was engrossed in her book and believing the noise came from the dog, she didn’t bother looking up, but the sound seemed to be getting louder. As she looked up she was face to face with a fat possum. It glared at her with its beady close-set eyes. Its nasty long rat-like tail swished. It’s pointy snout was aimed at her and the tiny pointed teeth looked menacing as the animal hissed at her. Where was that dog when she needed him? She shrieked and jumped up, rushing to close the door before the animal could get into the room and do whatever it had in mind. Did it smell like garbage or was that her imagination? She felt the door brush the animal’s snout as the slider clicked into place. It was terrifying.
Last weekend I had a Psychic Reading from a friend who is a Medium. He had asked for permission to enter my energy sphere and had spent the week peering around in my unconscious mind. I had warned him to buckle his seatbelt before he entered my and my family of origin’s energy field, as it could be dangerous! I come from a family of crooks and oddballs and I wondered all week what my friend would find there that would help me understand myself better. I dreaded the idea that anyone in my family would come back as my Spirit Guide, as I would be lead to places I did not want to go. We started the reading by going into a deep meditation, and then he spoke.
Imagine my surprise and horror when he told me right off the bat that my spirit animal was a possum! I thought of the ugly, sneaky night-dweller with its horrible pointy teeth and its hideous tail and its long snout, and its stink from living in crawl spaces, and I almost cried! “The possum is my spirit animal?” I questioned. “Please tell me what this means! What is the significance of the possum?”
He said he did not know the significance, but he was sure about my guide being a possum. “Is this a bad thing?” I asked. “Dunno,” he replied.
When I told my friend Julie about the possum she was shocked. “OMG!,”she said. “I had told Brooke earlier today, ‘what if her spirit animal is a possum’?? What then?” She had guessed correctly! Unconsciously she had known about the possum connection.
I have to say I was disappointed with the spirit animal. Possums are ugly, scary, and sneaky. They get into hen houses and kill chickens, and they are dirty. Was that me? I had hoped for a butterfly or a dragonfly. But no.
Abby reminded me, however, about what I had learned from potter Andrea Freeman when her son was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. Possums are helpful, strong, and resilient. They eat tons of ticks a year, kill poisonous snakes, and are not susceptible to poison ivy or other dangers.
Abby looked up “Possums as your Spirit Animals” on the internet, and I grew prouder and happier. Possums are adaptable to changing situations, are creative, and tricksters. They make excellent teachers!!! I thought back to my years of teaching and how when faced with ornery juvenile delinquents, I was able to match their energy and come up with new ideas on the fly when what I had planned had not taken flight. I have a whole new respect for possums and am happy to be part of their rodent family. Who knew?
