Bat in Medicine Cards

[minxoto]

Hi everyone :-)

I tend to pull the card "Bat" when I use the Medicine Cards that I have.

The keyword is rebirth, but I wonder if that really is right?

In my opinion The Bat never really gets born, since it returns to it's safe cave (womb, uterus), every morning.

Or is it a symbol of eternal life?

I'm thinking of the ritual words that the priests in Norway says during funerals: "From earth have you become. To earth you will be. From earth you will resurrect."

I wonder if that is so? I don't understand this.

I'm also thinking of the hindu ritual from the city of Varanasi in India where they set dead people and their corpses on fire on a raft on Ganges river - to prevent the dead person from getting reborn so they get out of the circle of incarnations.

Is that to burn in hell? Is the option a bat and rebirth?

I wonder if the one is no better than the other?

It makes me think of the song "Wish you were here" by Pink Floyd:

So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from hell
Blue skies from pain
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

Did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
Did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year
Running over the same old ground
And how we found
The same old fears
Wish you were here

[minxoto]

Now I know more of the secret of the bat. It can be summed up like this:

To the bat. That's what she said.

or as we say in Norway:

To debate. Said the bride.

[FairyCrystal]

Bat is rebirth partially cos they hang upside down like a baby before it's born.
Another reason is because they represent the ritual death of the Shaman after which he is reborn.
It's bout having to leave a part of you behind.
If you want to know more Google "Bat Power animal" or totem animal.

[Incense]

Hi Minxoto:

I think it can help to look at bat behavior. Some species return to a cave. (And some species don't, btw -- they rest their days in trees and other places. But many people know only of the cave-dwelling ones, so they tend to be the more iconic version, though lessons vary some by species.)

Cave can represent a womb, but it can also mean a safe place, a place for the retreat and contemplation that often follows some trauma or other extremely challenging time, and that precedes major growth.

The major growth that follows the time in the cave is the rebirth. It means that when you emerge from the metaphorical cave, you leave behind some things that no longer serve you. This can make Bat's lessons less than easy to go through.

Any associations that come up for you personally, like those you mention, can also become part of how Bat communicates with you personally. I think part of the joy of this is that we all can develop our own inner vocabulary with the guides.

All the best. <3