Bat as Spiritual Guide, Animal Totem

I've been sleeping with bats since I moved into this house last October. Well actually, given the fact that bats are nocturnal and I am not, we really only rest together each night between the hours of 5:30am and when I wake in the morning. Taking into consideration that the bats also leave during the winter months to live somewhere warmer than under the the shutter outside my bedroom window, gives us even less time to be together.

But together we are, and only two feet separate my pillow from their roost where they hang upside down quietly during the day and cause a racket in the very early morning when they return from foraging all night. They outside and me inside the house. Apart yet together.

Living and sleeping near these bats is the closest I have ever come to being with any wild animal and because I feel that everything the universe offers up has relevance, I wanted to understand what wisdom or meaning bats were connected to and why suddenly I found myself in such close proximity to them. What I discovered immediately resonated with me. Doing a quick search on bats as animal totems, I found that because bats are highly sensitive to their surroundings, they are considered by Native Americans as a symbol for intuition, dreaming and vision. Some other words associated with bat animal symbolism are- illusion, rebirth, inner depth, communication, journeying, and initiation- all words associated with the focus of my life as of late.

Bats as totems encourage one to pursue spiritual growth by letting go of ego, doing inner work, renewing thoughts on a regular basis, and loving enemies as ourselves, all leading to the rewards of self-improvement. Because of bats ability to see where others can't, there is also a psychic component to this totem.

Since moving into this house last October, surrounding myself with the natural world outside my windows, and living just feet away from bats, I feel as though I have been on a spiritual journey of sorts, yet not able to pinpoint or understand it. Recognizing the bats as some kind of sign offering up direction on my journey allows me to see my path more clearly. To offer up a hint of understanding that quite possibly I am on the right path. Going forward, I just need to continue to lean into what the universe is bringing me and see where it takes me.

Helpful websites on the topic of bats and bat totems can be found here:

-Bat as Animal Totem.

-Bat Conservation International.

-Bat Conservation and Management.

Maybe you have an animal guide or totem. What animas do you see in your midst? Do they speak to you? What could they bring to your life? Consider the possibilities...