59. ~ Porcupine ~

If the porcupine loses its quills or they become broken they can replace them. Porcupines are known for the quills on their back and tail. They primarily feed on twigs, leaves, pine needles, mistletoe, and on the inner bark of some trees. They are basically night creatures. There are one or two babies born at a time which like many other animals are born in late spring. Porcupines make a grunting noise. They have short rounded ears, four toes and somewhat of a thumb on each foot. Their legs are short and strong, and they are experts at climbing. A porcupine's quills are filled with air. When it is feeling alarmed or sensing danger, it will hide its face between its fore-paws. Then a porcupine lowers its head and shoulders, points their back end at their enemy thrashing its tail side to side while erecting its quills. The porcupine will target the enemy's head and face area and then let fly its quills. The quills have sharp barbs making them hard to remove. Porcupines have an excellent sense of smell. Babies are called "porcupettes." The Latin name means "a quill pig." Between one and four babies are born to mother porcupines. They live about five to seven years, and weigh up to thirty-five pounds (16 kg). Porcupines walk very slowly. Those trained in handling porcupines claim that when a porcupine is held by its tail, they are harmless.

Medicine:

Porcupine medicine is painfully clear, it means to be careful in all areas of one's life. Ask yourself what are you trying to hide your face from? Why are you feeling vulnerable? Porcupines remind us that even though someone looks tough on the outside, they maybe just the opposite on the inside. They tell us to take our time in our decision making unless we are being faced with an absolute urgent situation. Porcupine medicine teaches that if we just take time to turn our thinking around we often find a better solution.