Spiritual Forums - ELEPHANT POWER ANIMAL

ELEPHANT
Elephants are large mammals of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. Traditionally, two species are recognised, the African elephant (Loxodonta Africana) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Elephantidae are the only surviving family of the order Proboscidea; other, now extinct, families of the order include mammoths and mastodons. The largest living terrestrial animals, male African elephants can reach a height of 4 m (13 ft) and weigh 7,000 kg (15,000 lb). All elephants have several distinctive features the most notable of which is a long proboscis or trunk used for many purposes, particularly for grasping objects. In addition to their trunks, their incisorsgrow into tusks, which serve as tools for moving objects and digging and as weapons for fighting. The elephant's large ear flaps help to control the temperature of its body.

African elephants have larger ears and concave backs while Asian elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs. Elephants are herbivorous and can be found in different habitats including savannahs, forests, deserts and marshes. They prefer to stay near water. They are considered to be keystone species due to their impact on their environments. Females, cows tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. The groups are led by an individual known as the matriarch, often the oldest cow. Elephants have a fission-fusion society in which multiple family groups come together to socialise. Males, bulls leave their family groups when they reach puberty, and may live alone or with other males.

They communicate by touch, sight, smell and sound; elephants use infrasound and seismic communication over long distances. Elephant intelligence has been compared with that of primates and cetaceans. They appear to have self-awareness and show empathy for dying or dead individuals of their kind.

African elephants have larger ears, a concave back, more wrinkled skin, a sloping abdomen and two finger-like extensions at the tip of the trunk. Asian elephants have smaller ears, a convex or level back, smoother skin, a horizontal abdomen that occasionally sags in the middle and one extension at the tip of the trunk

The trunk, or proboscis, is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, although in early foetal life, the upper lip and trunk are separated. The trunk is elongated and specialised to become the elephant's most important and versatile appendage. It contains up to 150,000 separate muscle fascicles, with no bone and little fat. The muscles of the trunk connect to a bony opening in the skull. The nasal septum is composed of tiny muscle units that stretch horizontally between the nostrils. Cartilage divides the nostrils at the base. As a muscular hydrostat, the trunk moves by precisely coordinated muscle contractions. The muscles work both with and against each other.

Elephant trunks have multiple functions, including breathing, olfaction, touching, grasping, and sound production. The animal's sense of smell may be four times as sensitive as that of a bloodhound. The trunk's ability to make powerful twisting and coiling movements allows it to collect food, wrestle with conspecifics, and lift up to 350 kg (770 lb). Can be used for delicate tasks, such as wiping an eye and checking an orifice, and is capable of cracking a peanut shell without breaking the seed. With its trunk, an elephant can reach items at heights of up to 7 m (23 ft) and dig for water under mud or sand.

Ganesha is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India. Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning.
Elephant’s message is one of subtle power, they are the largest land mammal and yet they have grace, intelligence, and are very tactile and sensitive animals. They are very sociable and family is the most important thing in an elephant’s life, elephants like humans have been known to grieve when one of their kinds dies. They defend each other and their young to the death. Like the elephant you need to stand up for yourself using your own subtle power, instead of charging back at the prey, use your smile and your guile to stand up tall and look them in the eye. Most prey back down when we stand and look into their eyes, non verbal contact is much more intimidating than any words.

Like the elephant you are very tactile and sociable, like an elephant never forgets, you are very thoughtful and like to remember small occasions and celebrate them. You can survive on your own if you have to but you would much prefer to have a large family around you. If you are alone right now you can be assured that it will not be for long, spirit knows that you need to socialize and when you let spirit know that you are ready, then and only then will you come across your mate and once you find them, they will be your mate for life.

You are a very cultured person, your interests are very varied, you love anything that brings out your creativity, and you also have an interest in the sciences. Alchemy and the esoteric fascinate you and you like nothing more than to unravel the mysteries of life. Your wisdom grows as you grow older, you have known some very harsh winters along the way, these trials and tribulations have not made you bitter, they have sent you inside yourself and now you depend solely on your own vision of things rather than someone else telling you what is right or wrong.

As Ganesha is the god of beginnings, so you have had to start over many times. Like the elephant, you do not forget your past, you don’t live in the past, but you revisit it to replenish your wisdom. Time has taught you patience and instead of rushing into things, you have learned if you take things slowly, you give yourself more time to get your Barings and take in your surroundings; this way you do not make the same mistake twice. You are very good at removing obstacles in front of other people but when it comes to yourself you sometimes lose trust in yourself. You need to learn that the wisdom you use for other people can equally work for you too, wisdom is not selective when it comes to who is worthy and who is not, everyone is worthy of wisdom. You have earned the right to use your intuition in what ever manner you choose to!

Lots of animals have emotions that are very similar to humans, the elephant and the whale maybe more than most. One lives in the sea the other on land. Together they make up the duality of existence, land is solid, water is not, these two magnificent animals have power in different ways, an elephant could not exist in the sea and the whale could not exist on land. We face our prey depending on where our power lies, your power lies in both your emotions and your grounding, show your power to the world and let them see both sides of your beautiful soul.

Call on elephant when you are overcome with grief or very intense emotions. When you feel your creativity has dried up and you need a little help to enable the beauty to flow through you again. Elephant will help you to stand up to your full height and look the world right in the eye. Keep mementoes of elephants near you or wear them as jewellery to give you strength and courage when you need it.

Characteristics: subtle power, strength, courage, intellect, creative, wisdom, patience, sensitive, sociable, spiritual, defender of the weak.

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