Spirit Lodge - Totem Animals - Page 108

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Bear Medicine	Birth Totems	Coyote Medicine	Dragon Ranks	Dragonfly Medicine	Eagle Medicine	Four Animal Helpers	Grey Wolf Medicine	Hawk
Heron Medicine	Horse	Magpie	Raccoon	Salmon Medicine	Spider Medicine	Swan Medicine	Thunder Being Medicine	Totem Loss Disc

MUSSELS MEDICINE
By CinnamonMoon

Animal-Wise/Ted Andrews
Mussels
Keynote: Strength in attachments and perseverance

After starting life as free-floating larvae, youn mussels or "spats", eventually settle on suitable
rocks and spend their lives anchored there. It is not unusual to find that those for whom mussels
appear are soon to find the attachment and anchor themselves in it--be it a personal relationship,
a new home, or an occupation. These always indicate strong attachments that are difficult to
break once formed.

A mussel secretes from its foot a sticky substance that hardens in contact with seawater to form a
thick thread made up of a mass of filaments. These threads are so strong that only the roughest of
seas can tear the mussel away from the rock. For those for whom the mussels are prominent, it is
usually a sign to stand firm no matter how rough things may seem to get around you. Mussels
cannot go in search of food, so they are often found below the low tide mark where they are able
to feed constantly. Mussel people have a unique ability to find a home or job that will provide
them long-term nourishment. Mussels take in about ten gallons of seawater a day, filtering out
the plankton. This reflects the ability to filter through the difficulties to find the nourishment
necessary to survive, whatever is necessary to withstand and hold on. Their efforts are usually
rewarded. The fan mussel is anchored to the seabed by golden threads that were once harvested
and made into a cloth of gold. This is a reminder of the gold that awaits those who persevere in
their efforts.

A small silvery fish, known as a bitterling, remarkably lay their eggs in fresh water mussels,
providing excellent protection for their eggs. Female bitterlings grow an egg-laying tube that
trails behind her. She inserts her eggs through this tube into the respiratory tub with which the
mussel draws in water. She repeatedly nudges the mussel's mouth until it gets used to it and then
she lays her eggs. The male bitterling swims past and releases sperm, which are inhaled by the
mussel and fertilize the eggs in its gill chamber. For a month the eggs develop in the shell, then
the young bitterlings swim out of the breathing tube into the river. The mussel spawns at this
time, and the mussel larvae hitch a ride on these bitterlings until they are ready to settle.

Mary Summer Rain/On Dreams:
Mussel refers to spiritual protectiveness, perhaps bordering on reclusiveness.
This is all I have in my reference books on them