Topping the ridge, the first tentative blossoms of Hepatica, Spring Beauty and Bloodroot were showing speckles of pale purple, Spring green and pure white contrasted against black earth and leafless hardwoods. The sight was almost surreal to the eye after 6 months of steel gray Winter. There was a slight breeze that brought the smell of fresh Earth and clean water. Spring Peepers, Wood Frogs, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Canadian Geese, Robins and Sand hill Cranes were just a few of those filling the air with their songs. I experienced the innocence and wonder many of us had as children when a pattern was revealed to us, something we had not been able to sense before but knew to be the truth in our hearts. It felt good and it
felt balanced and once again it was confirmed that we, as Humans being part
of this Earth are indeed made from the same star stuff as the animals, plants, water and rock around us. We are connected, even if in this day and age of restless and stress filled cities we are unable or limited in our abilities to feel that connection, or experience it firsthand.
How does all this relate to the Frog Totem? Why was the Frog chosen as a potent Totemic symbol over the Millennia by so many Aboriginal and Native societies? To do this we must first understand some of
the basic Mythology of the Frog as a symbol of water, metamorphosis and transformation in Shamanic societies. In the Americas, Totems were not just fancy or flight or the ignorant symbolism of what is now often referred to as primitive cultures, but a way of teaching those peoples so intimately linked to the patterns of Nature around them. It taught that clean water is essential not just to our health, but to the health of all we are connected to and depend on. The Frog as a symbol of rebirth, fertility and renewal are encapsulated in their belief systems, obviously due to their direct experience of spring over the millennia. Spring is the time to seek a Mate, to rear your young and plant crops. Frogs are also thought to represent ancient wisdom and cleansing of the spirit. This wisdom is passed on through the use of Totems, they were, and are a teaching tool essential to the culture that uses them.
Sacred Nature with Matthew J. George
Photography (c) Matthew J. George. All Rights Reserved