The Rat
Rats would probably not be so successful if it weren't for humans. Our living habits have provided them with homes and food and we have eliminated many of their predators. Because of this rats hold important teachings about waste, over consumption and survival for those who have this totem.
Rats can eat a quarter to a third of their body weight a day. They gnaw on things to keep their teeth, which are always growing, short and sharp. Pack Rats are famous for collecting things. They have been known to strip a sealed cabin in the woods of everything that they could carry. One species is called the Trade Rat because it leaves a stone in the place of what it takes.
Black Rats carried the fleas that led to the Black Plague. In Norway some years ago, hungry rats infested a bird sanctuary and ate, among other things the birds. They even managed to grab seagulls and hold them down while killing them.
Those with this totem are survivors. Their tendency is to hoard what they have because they fear that they don't have enough. This fear prompts them to acquire large quantities of things and fight aggressively to maintain what they have acquired. Rat medicine people are not selfish but they can appear that way to those who do not know them well. Holding onto everything and being the pack rat is their way of feeling secure in an insecure world.
Fortunately rats adapt well to environmental changes and can survive on just about anything. They hold the teachings of resourcefulness. Their fear of not being provided for can be healed by participating in supportive group activities, meditation and prayer.
The other side of Rat is that it reflects back to us our own human capacity for greed, taking so much that others needs are denied. They will sometimes overeat and throw up rather than let food go by. They will dispossess other small animals of their homes if they can, wanting no competition for food. They truly personify humankind's imperialistic drives, which are making life on the planet more and more tenuous. If Rat has come to you, look at ways you may be participating in wasteful consumption or fear based emotions and begin to change your habits appropriately.
