Monday, November 17, 2008

53. ~ Opossum ~

Many people simply call it a possum. There are more than sixty species of the opossum. The females may have up to eighteen babies. They are cousins of the koala and the kangaroo. Mother opossums have a pouch outside of her abdomen. The opeing is a slit that is found lengthwise on her underbelly. If you discover a dead female be certain to look in her pouch for surviving babies, which live there until they reach two to three months of age. From three to five months old, the mommas' will carry the babies on her back. Possums are cute with their little black eyes, pointed noses of soft pink, and their grey-black fur coat. Howerver, when they are frightened they will hiss, growl, show their fifty little sharp teeth and then resort to playing dead if all else fails. Opossums can weigh between six and twelve pounds. They have a ten inch tail and a body length of up to sixteen inches. They resemble the house cat in size. They will live to be four or five years' old. A mother opossum has thirteen nipples. Possums don't dig holes. They do prefer to stay in one place for only two to three days. They are very slow walking creatures. Possums do 'not' jump, and they do 'not' hang by their tails. They have lived on Mother Earth as far back as the dinosaur. The Algonquin Indian name for this creature is 'apasum,' meaning white-face! Adult possums prefer to live on their own.

Medicine:

Opossum medicine teaches us to have a strategy. They teach us to be on the alert for someone trying to deceive us. Perhaps we are deceiving ourselves. Possum medicine say sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. The medicine of an opossum warns of being lured into a bad situation. The possum always asks us to look inside ourselves and bring out into the open anything we may be hiding or covering up. Opossum medicine teaches to watch for the number thirteen when this animal strolls into our life.

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