Raccoon: The Masked Bandit by Starlitenergies
Raccoons are
incredibly adaptable, so they can be found in a wide range of climates and
habitats. Swamps, marshes, banks of lakes, ponds, rivers and streams, in the
vastness of the desert and prairie, in the seclusion of forests, on the top of
mountains and the bottom of canyons, and in cities and suburbs. Raccoons are
happy anywhere from a whole in the ground to a cubby in a loft. They are found
in North and Central America, Europe and even Japan. Raccoons don’t really have
much of a range, they don’t wander too far, raccoon symbolism is all about
being flexible and adaptable with what’s available. The message I get is stay
close to home and find sustenance, even wealth, wherever I am.
Raccoons are
omnivores, and will eat anything, plant insect, trash or animal. The vegetation
in their diet is thought to consist of apples, acorns, berries, citrus fruit,
wild grapes, nuts, corn, figs, plums, wild grapes, peaches, even cherries. When
it comes to meat raccoons love invertebrates which make up most of their diet,
but they do treat themselves to frogs, fish, crayfish, rodents and bird’s eggs
when they come across them. In the winter when food is scarce, they don’t mind
rummaging through human waste or eating roadkill so basically whatever they can
get their little paws on. He teaches luck, curiosity and exploration. He will
help you to explore all the options that you may have in certain situations in
order to get what you what. He teaches patience and making wise decisions.
You have
everything you need… A quote comes to mind:
“Everything
you need you already have. You are complete right now; you are a whole, total
person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else. Your completeness
must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your own personal
reality” – Wayne Dyer
These round,
fuzzy creatures with bushy tails and the characteristic black fur mask may look
like cuddly bandits, but there’s no denying they can be formidable when
approached.
We should be
cautious about approaching them; they’re a common carrier of rabies, ringworms
and leptospirosis according to The Human Society. Although only one person has
reportedly died from a raccoon bite.
So back to
that mask, according to PBS Nature one theory is that the black mask around a raccoon’s
eyes help deflect glare and helps with night vision. Raccoon is marked from
birth and has the reputation for being a trickster and night time bandit in
disguise.
Raccoon teaches
us about the nuances of disguise and what we do when we think we’ll go
unrecognised. In movies, cartoons and drawings the archetype of the thief is
pictured so often with a black mask. In many legends, raccoon is busy stealing
things under the cover of night or out from under the noses of blind people.
Raccoon symbolism is closely linked with what we might be blind to or what
others are blind to in us.
When we wear
a mask, or watch a character in a movie wear a mask there is the unwritten
understanding that the wearer is attempting to escape the consequences of their
actions. Even the thief who is robbing from the rich to give to the poor like
Robin Hood still have to hide and evade because they are operating outside of
the law.
In the end,
raccoons in legends are always caught and marked as thieves as evidenced by
their face mask and ringed tail. In our world, we may escape without any
consequences, but we will still have the inner doubt that plagues us. What if
someone did find out? Raccoons have the sweetest, charming little faces and
they aren’t above playing the innocent to get away with something they want. Is
it worth evaluating how you use a disguise to get away with things? Having said
that, sometimes it is necessary to wear different masks in life, they’re
different aspects of our personality, at work I’m a professional, with strong
boundaries and a level head, at home I allow my emotions and passions to flow.
There is a
splash of white all around the edges of the black eye mask of the raccoon. This
can point to an inherent goodness shining out, a need to be recognised for the
light we are in the world. Sometimes the masks we put on aren’t necessary and
can be born of a shame that requests healing.
According to
National Geographic, raccoons are about as big as small dogs; they can grow to
about 23 to 37 inches (60-95cms) and weigh 4 to 23lbs (1.8 to 10.4 kilograms).
They aren’t
very social creatures; they sleep during the day, making them nocturnal. During
the winter they tend to sleep more, but it’s thought they don’t actually
hibernate in the traditional sense. They do however lose around 50% of their
body weight according to the University of Michigan’s Animal Diversity Web
(ADW). This speaks of their determination and cleverness, they prepare as best
they can with what they have and then, they stick around and tough it out.
Raccoon comes along when we’re not really connecting, he reminds us that it’s
ok to be shy but after a certain period of time, when you get to know people
better, you can be very sociable, and people do enjoy our company.
Perhaps
surprisingly these creatures are very clean, raccoons have been spotted washing
their food in streams and even digging latrines in areas they frequent. He
helps us to wash our hands of our wrongdoings before enjoying the incredible
opportunities that surround us.
Babies are
known as kits or cubs, they can usually be spotted in the early summer, mother
raccoons can have between one and seven kits after a gestation period of 60-73
days. As a group a mother and her kits are called a nursery. They are
protective mothers, teaching us about protecting those that are dear and
precious to us.
For the
first two months of their lives, kits live in the den and are weened at 7 to 16
weeks. At 12 weeks, they start to roam away for whole nights at a time; they
become completely independent at 8 to 12 months, and live around 2-3 years in
the wild according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. He
teaches us about our relationships with others, are we holding on too tight? He
also teaches us about independence and letting go.
According to
ADW raccoons can run up to 15mph and can fall 35 to 40 feet without injury.
They also have 5 toes on their front paws, which act much the same way as our
hands and fingers.
They have
lightening quick paws to grab aquatic creatures, pluck mice and insects from
hiding places, and invade bird nests to take tasty eggs. He helps us assess how
we handle situations.
He is known
for going on night time raids!
We all steal
from time to time, be it something as simple as a pen or as invisible as the attention
of another. Stealing energy or time from another person, even stealing from
their reputation by mentioning their name wears away at the fabric of who we
are over time. Raccoon teaches us how to notice the tell-tale signs in
ourselves of when we are snatching up little bits that might not be ours, he
helps us move further into integrity.
Image - Wikipedia
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