I have recently questioned the lessons of the totem of squirrel, as I’ve been almost in a warrior frame of mind with one little guy that is quite frankly driving me “nuts”. The little critter is raiding my bird feeder on a regular basis even though I put a feeder out for him and his little friends with the stuff he is supposed to like to eat.
So, I decided that maybe this little squirrel is actually in my back yard for more than just the food. Maybe he is representing his animal spirit and trying to teach me some lessons. One would be patience! However, patience is not the main message of brother Squirrel.
As a Native American totem, the squirrel holds the power of gathering in its realm. That shouldn’t be surprising since we see squirrels in the wild gathering items for use at a later time. The lesson for our spiritual journey is to reserve something that we might need in the future. It could be a judgement or an opinion that needs to wait its time. It also might be something as simple as food or candles for when the lights go out during a storm. Basically, one important thing to learn from squirrel is to be like the Boy Scouts and always be prepared.
Squirrel Mug
or search for more squirrel items at
With the economic times that we are all living in, the message of being prepared for the future rings true for many of us. As with so much in nature, we should always remember to keep things in balance and to use moderation in our “gathering” of things. In other words, don’t go “nuts” about the gathering and preparing.
Squirrel sometimes also comes to us to let us know that we have gathered too much and it is time to lighten our load. That load might consist of actual things that we could get rid of but it can also be thoughts or worries, pressures and stresses that do not serve us and we need to let them go.
The totem of squirrel reminds us that the spiritual things that we gather should always be put in a safe place…the untroubled heart and mind. Our wisdom and caring should reside in that safest of all places. We then discover that our preparation for the future gives us the freedom of knowing that all is taken care of in its own time.
These lessons make sense for me at this time in my life so maybe I should be a little more forgiving of the little guy who spills the bird feed all over the ground.
Sometimes it helps to have a Squirrel calendar to help us connect with this furry little critter if he is working with us as a totem animal.
~Mitakuye Oyasin~ We are all related
Rodney the squirrel has been a hilarious entertainment in my yard since the death of my dog in February, 2024.
He rearranges his feeder, pushes up the plexiglass door, frequently pushes it out altogether.
My dog Jasper could open the front door of my house.
Rodney dug a hole to collect water at a soggy place in my sloped yard, just like Jasper did.
Rodney loves sunflower seeds and peanuts. He stores peanuts all over the yard. He also buries sunflower seeds that sprout all over my yard.
Jasper buried his bones all over the yard.
I wonder if Rodney and Jasper are spirit mates?
I was just now in the middle of asking my spirit team for help and see this squirrel going crazy on a branch in front of me. I took out my camera to video it, and then looked up what the squirrel may be telling me.
This article came up first, and resonates immensely. Thank you💞
My daughter and I had an encounter with a squirrel on Thanksgiving day 2017. We gave it some sweet cake because that is what we had. Oddly, when we were walking away, we found an apple, broke it and offered that as well. Until it stopped to eat, it stayed within half a foot of us (well me. My daughter is terribly afraid of squirrels). I took several pictures of him/her, but, strangely, none of the pics ever showed up in my phone. I would love to understand why.
Lately I have been more observant of what is happening around me to receive messages of where the road should take me. I totally believe that animals can contribute to these messages. While putting flowers on my mom’s grave today as I drove up I noticed a squirrel at her grave sight that ran behind the stone next to hers. The squirrel stayed there for quite awhile and then I lost contact when I went to get her plant out of the car. When I arrived home once again I noticed another squirrel that was hanging out where I had her pot sitting since yesterday before I put it in the car today. Both squirrels were laid back, not fearful of my presence. I have a lot going on in my life making important decisions where to live, relationships, and the anniversary of my son’s death. I had the internal feeling the squirrel was sending me a message, just not sure what. I welcome all feedback you may have.
Hi JoAnn, thanks for stopping by my post about the squirrel totem. When you read the post did any of the messages ring true? My instincts think that brother squirrel has come to tell you that it is time to “let go” of some things; most specifically emotional stuff. From your message it would appear that right now you are carrying around a load of stress.
Wow, this is a huge coincidence. Yesterday we watched a squirrel outside my Mom’s window, where there’s a bird feeder. My husband has had to use strong ties to fasten the seed dispensers as the first time we set it up the squirrels stole them!! Within a minute of topping up the bird seed and the peanuts, the squirrel was there. Hanging upside down, feeding on peanuts
Now all I have to do is figure out what message he was bringing us.
Thought provoking post Bev and I love the image 🙂
It wouldn’t surprise me that Brother Squirrel would be working with both of us at the same time. Personally, I think he is telling me that I have gathered too much and need to let some things go…both material things and some inner stressful things. We have several squirrels but it is just this ONE that is testing my patience. He has done everything but “flip me the bird” and stick his tongue out at me.