Animal Symbolism
of the Turtle
Animal symbolism of the turtle deals with:
- Order
- Creation
- Patience
- Strength
- Stability
- Longevity
- Innocence
- Endurance
- Protection
Those with the turtle as their animal totem can relate to the "sure and steady" message this creature brings to our lives. It is also a powerful totem for protection as withdrawing into it's shell is an amazing self-defense mechanism.
The turtle has few predators, which gives it an innocent energy. This also increases its lifespan, and so holds the symbolic meaning for longevity in many cultures.
Because of its seemingly wide-eyed, long-lived, carefree attitude the turtle is often thought to be the wisest of souls among the animal kingdom. We would all do well to take this as a lesson and move at our own pace as the turtle does.
Furthermore, the turtle takes its wisdom one day at a time - not reacting, simply accepting and moving on in its natural methods. Again, this is a powerful analogy for humankind, and we would benefit from adopting the same behavior pattern.
Tutles share an association with water, which lends meanings of motion, intuition and emotion to the myriad of more symbolic meanings of the turtle. Other associations for the turtle include:
In China and Japan the turtle is a symbol for longevity.
In Asian myth the turtle represents cosmic order:
- Its shell is symbolic of the heavens
- Its body symbolic of the earth
- Its undershell represents the underworld.
Furthermore, it is considered to have brought about the creation of the universe from its parts.
Divination or foretelling has been known to be conducted by reading a turtle's shell and underbelly. These parts of the turtle are said to depict a map of the stars and sacred writings. Furthermore, most turtle shells are divided into thirteen sections which is associated with the thirteen phases of the moon in a year.
I hope you have enjoyed this page on animal symbolism of the turtle.
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