Crocodile and Alligator Energy

I often dream of alligators. I’ve dreamed of them for years. In these dreams, typically there will be a river or stream that has alligators lined nose-to-tail all the way down the banks on either one or both sides of the river. Sometimes they’re along the side of the road, which also happens to be a bank to a body of water. Occasionally there are lakes, or very wide rivers.

The alligators (and sometimes crocodiles) are always a looming energy over the atmosphere of the dream, yet they never make any effort to get to me nor behave in any menacing way. I am often very close to them. The feeling is one of extreme caution and watchfulness, but no fear, more a wary respect. The one time I recall any menacing movement, there was one single alligator in a swimming pool with me. It swam toward me and I left the water.

It was suggested a couple of years ago that alligator/crocodile could be a shadow totem for me. This rings true. Yet until now I’ve only made cursory efforts to learn what that could mean. Tonight I found this site, with the information below.

Crocodile and Alligator Energy

In ancient Egypt Crocodiles were venerated as gods. At shrines in Kom-Ombo in Upper-Egypt and in Crocodilopolis (Fayum) they were even hung with jewelry and gold bracelets and mummified after their deaths. Crocodiles were believed to bring the rains which overflowed the Nile and left potent mud to fertilize the lands. At the same time, they were feared for their destructive power.

This alliance with the processes of Birth and Death and Rebirth, gives crocodilian people a Plutonian energy of transition and transformation. Their life’s lessons often center around the many small deaths they go through as they grow and change. [Emphasis mine.] Like the ebb and flow of the Nile, the crocodilian must learn to release the past and bring in the new, but without drowning and destroying all in their wake. They have great creative power, given by the fertile mud in which they bask. Yet they must learn gentleness, so that they do not crush their own children within their jaws.

The association with water, and the fact that their eyes can peer above it, gives crocodilians the power to see above emotion (water) and to find the logical (air) answers. They may be seen as “cold-blooded” by others. In actuality, they are creatures of emotion, which they often hide from others beneath their thick and gnarled skins.

As slow as they might be to act upon their own emotions, crocodilians will guard their nests with ferocity. Threatening the “children” (whether a loved one or a creative project) of a crocodilian will bring a swift and drastic response.

The myth of Crocodile Tears is also an important one for Crocodillan people. Often one of their lessons is to learn to be truthful with themselves and others about their emotions. There may be a need to cry and release. Or the person may reflect one emotion to others, while feeling another.

Crocodilian people can be masters of “ready stillness.” Often they seem to be drifting aimlessly. They have found that it is best to wait and drift up on a problem or situation, carefully timing the attack. Once the answer is within their grasp, they lunge forward and hang on until the problem is wrestled into submission.

If a Crocodile or Alligator lunges too soon, their prey may escape. Until they learn this lesson, crocodilian people may thrash against the need for stillness and inaction. It is imperative that they learn the “zen of right timing” — that all things occur in the time which is best and proper.

Alligators and Crocodiles may have been part of the genesis of legends of Dragons. Like Dragons, crocodilians are often the guardians of great and powerful treasures of knowledge and wisdom. Yet it is imperative to treat the wisdom gained with great respect lest it swallow you whole.

Connecting with Alligator and Crocodile

To bring crocodilian energy into your life, try some of these exercises:

Water (Emotional):

Write poetry or draw pictures of crocodilians.
Hang pictures of crocodiles and alligators around your house or work area.
Wear crocodilian jewelry.
If you feel the need to snap at someone, take a moment and breathe.
Take a boat trip into the swamp. Allow yourself to just drift and relax.
Play in the mud.
Allow yourself to cry.

Air (Mental):

Read books about crocodilians.
Analyze your emotions. See where you are not being truthful with yourself or others. See where you need to develop a thicker hide or where you need to stop snapping at yourself or others.
Practice seeing each emotion, and each of life’s deaths and births as a growing process. Look for the treasure that lurks within.
Utilize the vast creative powers of your mind. If you wish to make a change in your life, you have many options. What are they?

Fire (Dynamic):

Practice stillness and waiting.
Wait until the moment is right, then strike & hang on!
Practice “right timing.” Know that things will happen when they are supposed to. “Waiting is.”

Earth (Physical):

Utilize your creative powers. Plant a garden, or make something.
Wear aventurine and malachite, and other fertility stones.
Wear jet, obsidian and onyx and other releasing stones.

Spirit

Let go of something that has been holding you back – a past hurt, a fear, anything unhealthy. Try this exercise: Go to a lake, swamp, the ocean or other body of water. Pick up a stone and visualize the thing holding you back. Project that idea into the stone. With all your strength, fling the stone out into the water. Let the thing holding you back go with it.

Allow yourself to give birth to something you desire. You have the power to create what you wish.
If you need an answer, meditate, blank your mind, and allow the answer to bob to the surface – it will.

From this site, an excerpt:

They only eat when they are hungry and do not consume food unnecessarily. Waste is not a part of alligator medicine. Those with this totem should be careful about over consumption. Digestive disturbances are common with alligator medicine people.

The eyes of the alligator are positioned high on their head allowing them to remain relatively hidden beneath the water and still see above it. Symbolically, this hints to clairvoyant abilities.

Hiding in the water ties the alligator to the emotional body of man. The alligator holds the teachings of the discovery and the release of emotions that are locked beneath the surface.

The power of alligator is its power to survive. They have no known predators. If alligator shows up in your life or in the dreamtime it might be telling you to take care of yourself and secure your basic survival needs.

Alligators come together only for reproduction. They have distinct individual personalities. Those with this totem are usually loners and only join together in groups when mandatory. Alligator medicine people can be great leaders. They know how to survive in any situation and are strong enough to hold their ground.

These fascinating creatures digest their food slowly. Those with this totem should remember to digest and assimilate all experiences thoroughly before moving forward in haste. Alligators teach the art of patience and appropriate timing. They know when to hide beneath the water, peak above it, or take action and snap.

And a short bit of information from this site —

Primal Energies

The Crocodile or Alligator totem contains the unbridled creative forces of the world, the fury and ferocity of Primal Energies. It is the symbol of creation and destruction.

The Crocodile or Alligator is the keeper and protector of all knowledge. She is the primal mother in whom all knowledge rests and waits to be born. People with a Crocodile or Alligator totem have the opportunity to develop new wisdom but they must be careful not to be consumed by this wisdom. Study each bit of knowledge carefully before going on to the next.

Care of the eyes is important for Crocodile or Alligator people. Also beneficial are breathing techniques like those practiced in Yoga.

When a Crocodile or Alligator shows up, look for an opportunity to touch very primal energies. There will be an opportunity for new knowledge and wisdom.

From a site too stingy to even allow me to copy/paste with credit (“function disabled!”), I find —

Creation/destruction, birth/death, beginning of a new period and the death of the old, knowledge is transformed by a new level of growth, hidden wisdom awaits. Alligator can teach you ancient knowledge that is currently hidden and gives strength to create your own opportunities. These guardians and protectors of wisdom will show how to move in the waters of the Self. Are you seeing things as they are and not what they appear to be? Are you [so] consumed by the knowledge [that] you are becoming unbalanced with meditation and quiet time? Alligator’s breathing awareness will help in balancing out transformations.

It’s not that special … And finally, a nice paragraph from here.

Alligator: For the dreamer, alligator spirit signifies the presence of an individual who is willing to acquire personal power through a quiet, inner patience. Alligator’s gift is awareness of the dangers, lurking below the surface waters of our emotional body. For alligator, the key to survival is the suspension of judgment, even in the face of the great unknown. This is the path of ancient wisdom, for alligator recognizes that we are all seekers of the soul.

I remain intrigued. In completely unrelated news, I sprained my ankle today. Go me!

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