Spirit Lodge - Totem Animals - Page 99

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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

MEERKAT
By BearInMind

I didn't see anything on them in our Totem Library, so I just wanted to "try my hand" at Meerkat
before I do any research, to see how far from the mark I am. First off, they're really very cute
creatures to watch! Oddly, though they're called "Meerkat," their offspring are called "pups."
This reminds me that they are "community creatures" a better term fails to come to mind. What
*did* comes to mind was that they are a matriarchal group who live in a family that works
together. This could probably be compared with a pride of lions, a pack of wolves, but my
feeling is that it is more closely compared to Prairie Dog. Did I mention how cute they are?

They go out and forage for food together, and bring nourishment back to their offspring.
Although they leave their pups in burrows while they go hunt for food, they are left with
babysitters a family member or two takes turns staying behind to watch over the young during
the day. Knowing this, I am left to assume that they are rarely left alone and prolly wouldn't do
well surviving if abandoned. The territory in which they live is filled with burrows they dig to
sleep in, move around their territory and I imagine, to escape predators, going in one end and
coming out another. I'm not sure if that part is true ~ that they use their burrows in that way, but I
just thought of that. Anyhoo, their digging these burrows reminds me of some of the lessons
Badger teaches.

They have black rings around their eyes, which bring to mind the lessons of the "mask" Raccoon
bears. They mate for life, but I cannot quite recall the significance in that :dunno And finally,
another factor that stands out for me about Meerkat is that they are more than one color, and that
reminds me of the lesson of integration that multi-colored animals teach.

Can anyone help straighten this out, or perhaps provide *real* information on Meerkat
Medicine? What is above is straight from me ~ what I imagine about their Medicine from what
little I know of them.

XanthosGriffin:
I'm totally mad about Meerkat. I read a book by a nature photographer who studied them for a
few years. They're amazing and yes.. too CUTE! You did a good job of listing everything that I
thought of about them! All else I can think of is... they have strict rules and laws. I watched this
show where a "teenage" Meerkat got pregnant - the group snubbed her and refused to let her
join them. They like to stand together and watch the sun set and rise. That always seemed almost
"spiritual" that's about it. Oh, they eat poisonous things like snakes and scorpions without much
harm. I used to have links to Meerkat as a totem, but that was ages back. I'm not sure I have any
of them anymore. My computer has crashed and been upgraded three times since then. I seem to
remember them being listed as a strong female role-model animal/totem.

“Meerkat Totem:” Maternal nurturing, caretaking, watchfulness, ability to live communally,
sacrifice for the good of the group.
That’s all I had saved.

SwanFeather:
I love Meerkats, too! Many years ago my daughter knew how I liked them and bought me a
stuffed Meerkat for my birthday that sat at my pillow for a looong time. (Well, she twisted her
father's arm to buy it for me and presented it to me with a Meerkat grin on her face.) She also
bought me a Meerkat nightshirt when I went to hospital years later. So, I'd say Meerkat has
walked, or skittered, with me for a long time.

BIM...if you ever get a chance to rent the Discovery Channel's video/soap opera named Meerkat
Manor, grab it! It's wonderful. They are amazing creatures. Very intelligent and are the only
other mammals who are known to actively teach their offspring besides humans. They will also
sacrifice their lives for their offspring.

CinnamonMoon:
My reference books showed nothing on the Meerkat unfortunately. However, from the Animal
Spirits website I found: Meerkat/Suricate's Wisdom Includes: Maternal nurturing, Caretaking,
Watchfulness, Ability to live communally, Sacrifice for the good of the group.

From Animal Medicine Powers website I found:
Meerkat - Meercat is a member of the Mongoose clan. This little animal lives in the Kalahari
desert and is the only social animal on earth with absolutely no hierarchy. All of the clan live in
total and perfect unity. In their harsh desert environment the Meercat tribe sticks together, for
united they can stand against snakes and other predators much larger than themselves. We
invoke Meercat to find our own devoted community of like-minded people and to inspire us to
live in peace and perfect harmony with each other.

From drstandley.com
Meerkat's Medicine: Unity, Hierarchy, Like-Mindedness