Armadillo: Boundaries

Animals use equipment, instinct, and intuition to set protective boundaries. Skunks use aroma "therapy," porcupines armor themselves with quills, and many creatures have hard shells. Some animals know when to run; others know when to pursue.

What the animals do naturally, humans must learn. Some of us make of our psyches virtual open houses, in which anyone who chooses to is free to wander, camp out, and generally avail themselves of our energy. Others, having been exploited or abused once too often, lock the door and throw the key away.

Many of us fear that if we set boundaries, we'll be considered mean, selfish, ungenerous. We may have first heard these words during childhood, when our attempts to protect ourselves were misinterpreted and discouraged by others (especially adults, especially parents and teachers).

While the animals mentioned above can help us in setting boundaries, one honored for that purpose in Native traditions is Armadillo. This word means "little armored one" in Spanish, and its armor consists of overlapping bony plates, covered by horns. When threatened, this animal rolls up in a ball to protect its unarmored, vulnerable underside.

These plates are supple, unlike rigid medieval armor. Meditating on Armadillo medicine can help to guide us in flexibile boundaries: knowing when to protect ourselves and when to allow vulnerability.

Armadillo also can remind us that though curling up in a ball protects us from outside forces, it can't protect us from the ways in which we undermine our sense of protection. When we are all enclosed, in fact, our self-doubt, lack of confidence, and fear gets trapped inside the armor. These may be the qualities that have us allowing others to invade our psychic space ("They won't like me if I don't let them") and is also related to the more subtle but highly common tendency of sensitive people to soak up the vibrations and emotions of others.

We need to allow a vulnerability to ourselves, to our fears. By letting them out into the open, we get a chance to look at them and allow them to leave. We learn that true compassion doesn't involve being an emotional sponge, but in creating a clear space that can refresh and encourage others.

Armadillo is available in power stones.