Tirza Schaefer | Power Animal Raccoon

Raccoon

I have loved animals as far back as I can remember. I played with my "imaginary" animal friend as a child, not knowing at the time what a power animal was. I had vivid dreams and visions throughout my life. I also felt drawn to different animals at different times in my life and when I found out about power or spirit animals, I finally understood why. Reading up on those animals and then going on shamanic journeys and meditations afforded me the entry point into the world of animals on a spiritual level. The reason I prefer the term power animal to spirit animal is simply because it feels more grounded and manifested to me. You are, of course, welcome to use whatever term you like; power animal, spirit animal, animal guide...You choose. The important thing is to have a strong, loving connection and to trust and ask your animal to teach you and share its wisdom with you.

Family First

Raccoons are medium-sized animals that are native to North America. They are grey with darker ringlets around their tails and on their white faces, wear black masks. It is a very intelligent animal who remembers solutions to problems for at least three years. It is a nocturnal creature and an omnivore.

There are five major points that Raccoon spirit symbolism teaches us:

It always puts family first. And so do you or should you do.
Taking care of yourself is important but at the same time, you cannot exclusively focus on yourself. Make sure you take care and consider others as well.
There is a difference between wisdom and intelligence, although they are not necessarily in opposition. They actually work best hand in hand so make sure that you use both.
You have a special gift of discernment and Raccoon is here to help you unearth this ability within you and make best use of it.
There are no problems, only challenges whose solutions can be found. By you. And you will when you put your mind to it.

The raccoon as a spirit or power animal stands for dexterity, intelligence, opportunity and truthfulness. Raccoon awakens you to the fact that life is not a dress rehearsal. It shows you how important it is to dive headfirst into life and live it. Raccoons are some of the most adaptable, adventurous and intelligent creatures in the forest. No matter what or where, Raccoon is there to explore and experience, always ready to set sail and go onto a new adventure.

It teaches you to live more in the moment, be present and not overthink and cripple yourself with fears and doubts but rather, boldly go and try things out. Preferably new things. Broaden your horizons and overcome your fears.

Open doors to look at what they reveal, find a new path that looks promising and don’t miss the opportunity that presents itself. When you live with this totally cool and adventurous spirit of the raccoon, you’ll never want for anything because your life is rich in the most meaningful way. Rich in wonderful experiences.

But raccoon spirit is not an adrenaline junkie. It is the embracing of the opportunity to experience yourself in relation to your environment and other people, to connect with nature in its myriad forms and to expand your horizons and with it your consciousness. Because of this, Raccoon is also a problem solver, seeing solutions that elude you, no matter how obvious they are because you are stuck in one way of thinking, your mind is fixed and Raccoon comes to blast some fresh air and blow away those cobwebs in the darkest recesses of your mind.

Another point Racoon comes to point out is to tell you to find a pleasure practice to make into more of a routine because that will inspire your creativity and sensuality. Sexual energy can be used in magic and manifestation practices and is very powerful. Raccoon teaches you to not let yourself be bogged down by the stress and cares of life so much that you forget to have pleasure in your life and, with it, creativity.

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The Magic Touch

The hands of a raccoon are very sensitive and become much more so when wet with water. These animals wet their hands in water before they touch their food. Awaken your own sensitivity by doing a short meditation each time you wash your hands. I personally worked years in catering and food hygiene and clean hands are so important to me, I rinse or properly wash my hands constantly when I prepare food, do cleaning and obviously, after using the bathroom.

The raccoon relies on its sense of touch and hearing, much more than sight. It can actually hear earthworms wiggle underground and its whiskers will tell it a lot about an object before actually touching it already. Sight is a lesser sense, seeing well in twilight but not in colour and they are not able to see very far, either. Raccoon coming into your life can therefore also be an indication for you to develop your natural abilities of psychometry, meaning being able to glean information from a body or object through touch.

Running water also helps shed negative, heavy energies and doing this more consciously, even if it is only 5 seconds of deep breathing and connecting to your inner Source while doing so is already beneficial. Be present, feel the soap, the water, the texture and temperature and the towel when you dry them.

Raccoons are also known for their intelligence and great problem-solving skills. It is time to let everyone see your brilliance. Seek out problems you can solve for others. Break things down and teach others how to do it.

Racoons love to live in nature near sources of water – not only to wash their hands- Water is life-giving, sustaining and nourishing. Raccoons eat a varied diet of small animals and plants. Water provides many food sources for this playful little animal. Spend time in nature, go bathing in streams or lakes if you can. If not, just spend time and connect in any way you can. You can breathe any old grudges you bear into a stone (say it into the stone) and drop it into a running stream or river to let it go and get cleansed away.

As mentioned earlier, raccoons are opportunists and they will look for anything they have on hand to utilise to overcome a challenge and bring about a desired end result. They are very creative that way. They are also scavengers and rummage through existing sources and information to discover creative treasures.

Raccoon wears a mask and reminds you that it is time to drop your mask, show your lover who you really are in all your glorious imperfection and be unapologetically authentic.

The Artist

Raccoon energy is at play within all artists to a greater or lesser degree. At best it indicates talent, tenacity and skilfulness with a particular instrument or creative tool, like a pen, paintbrush or a chisel, for example. The shadow side points to an unresolved issue about self-image and success. But sometimes using a stage or pen name or wearing a mask works in an artist’s favour at other times, it limits creativity.

Am I who my audience thinks I am or am I something or someone else? What if I feel it is time to grow into something more? Raccoon energy won’t let us off the hook until this creative ego fear is resolved. When the energy is in balance, you find a generous friend and exceptional artist. When it’s out of balance, it makes for a competitive and/or starving artist.

Raccoon spirit warns you that if you have always worn a mask to gain acceptance and love by and from others or are not being your true self, then that may stop you from living a happy life. Masks aren’t always bad. But they are temporary. Bear that in mind.

Another trait of the raccoon is being organised and orderly. So if you have too much clutter and your living environment is untidy, draw on Raccoon energy to get on top of things. Declutter, clean and tidy up. Oftentimes, less is more.

When Raccoon comes into your life, it is time to be also more open and outgoing. This is not the time to live like a hermit but to go out into the world, meet new people and try new things. Try it and see how much this will lift your spirits and inspire you. And with an attitude of fun and adventure, life is going to be so much better still.

When Raccoon enters your life, be prepared for some major changes and transitions to occur!