The fourth animal from the Wild Unknown Animal Spirit deck is the Lizard. Coming after the Scorpion, with its fierce and fiery energy, we need to find some stability, which the Lizard encourages. There needs to be a bit of a metaphorical cooling off.
With the Scorpion, we recognize how the spirit within (as we are in the element of fire) needs a passionate push to transform. We need the drive and competitive edge with Scorpion, energies that fuel our brave discovery and provide deep meaning in our lives, often through close relationships or careers.
All of that with the Scorpion is beautiful, but now the Lizard encourages a simmer rather than a boil. The Lizard is here to remind us to be soft with our inner fires. We need to channel instead of burning white-hot all the time.
Because the Lizard sits at number 4 in the fire element, we have invitations to create stability within the spirit. The numerology of 4 speaks to strong foundations, discipline, and supportive energies, here within our spiritual, or energetic self.
Sensing the Subtle with the Lizard
The Lizard is one of the animals that holds a deep conversation with adaptation and evolution. They exist on every continent except Antarctica, and have a myriad of survival skills to use. From Google, some incredible facts about Lizards are:
- Tongue-Smelling: Lizards like monitor lizards and tegus smell the air with their forked tongues, just like snakes. [1, 2]
- Toss the Tail: When threatened, many lizards can detach their tails (autotomy) to distract predators, which will then grow back over time. In some species, the mother will even return to eat the discarded tail later! [1, 2, 3]
- Super Speeds: The basilisk lizard, also known as the “Jesus Christ lizard,” can sprint across water at over 11 km/h without sinking. [1]
- Atomic Tongues: Some chameleons can accelerate their tongues from 0 to 100 km/h in under a tenth of a second to catch prey. [1
- Wall-Defying Grip: Geckos have millions of microscopic hairs on their toes that allow them to hang upside down and scale perfectly smooth surfaces. [1, 2, 3]
- Extreme Scales: The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard, weighing up to 366 pounds. They feature serrated teeth coated with iron to help them take down massive prey. [1, 2]
- Legless Lizards: Though they look like snakes, legless lizards (like the sheltopusik) are actually lizards. You can tell them apart because lizards have eyelids and ear openings. [1, 2, 3]
- Solo Reproduction: The Mexican whiptail lizard is an all-female species that reproduces without needing a mate. [1]
Just as the first fun fact about Lizards states: the Lizard is a card of sensing the subtle. With their evolved sense of “smell”, they gather scent particles on their tongue, which transmits information to the brain about the situation and the scenery. They can use this sense to distinguish predators from prey. A helpful skill, indeed!
In a metaphorical sense, this card is about sensing situations in your own life and creating a foundation that supports the needs of your spirit. The Lizard in real life is highly sensitive, and it is not different from this card. This is an invitation, a reminder that we need to sense in our bodies and spirits, attuning to this internal voice so that we may honor what it says to us, and not merely from a survival or needs-based point of view.
The Lizard is a channel. In real life, it is a channel to our ancient past, and speaks to survival for the future. Within the card, the Lizard is a channel towards dreams and deeper meanings. We need the dreams, art, poetry, and spiritual muses just as much as we need to eat, drink, and sleep. If I challenged you to not use any sort of artistic channel or creation, your life would be boring as shit. The lizard teaches us that a spiritual foundation, one where we create and channel from the subtle and whispering muses within, is just as needed as an external physical foundation.
Guidance from the guidebook
Some key references from the guidebook
Keywords / phrases: Instinctual, Sensitive to the Subtle, Dreamer
When in balance: artistic, telepathic, spiritual
When out of balance: elusive, non-committal, flaky
To bring into balance: a creative project
Following the guidance from the guidebook, working with the Lizard is to remove yourself from the external noise and commotion, and find a place that allows the quiet, subtle, and instinctual voice within to be heard, understood, and followed. When this card comes forward, it may speak to a need for simple spiritual connection. Especially if you are feeling burned out or worn down, it is time to rekindle the fire within and create that needed stability.
This card may also indicate that you feel or sense things on a much deeper level than other people…. I know I do. As a highly spirited child who is now a highly spirited adult, I know that if I do not get ample time to connect to myself, I start to feel like I am burning the candle at both ends. This need within me has created issues with relationships, who want me to be always ready and available for adventures, drinks, or hang-out time. I cannot live this kind of life. I need time with a good book and a cup of tea. I need time to be in nature. I need time to play, garden, or try new artistic things.
That is the medicine of the Lizard. Creating a foundation for the self requires strong boundaries and a knowing of when it is time to remove yourself from the external world so that you may connect and create from the sensitive place within. This card is about becoming aware of your needs, and having the wherewithal to pull back and away when it is time for you to replenish your energetic battery. The Lizard gets easily overstimulated and needs time to recharge. When working with this wonderful animal, make it a priority to know when to pull back so that your inner muse may speak to you.
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Ashlie McDiarmid
Hello there! I hope you liked this blog post. As a tarot and oracle reader, my goal with my blogs is to offer you content, resources, and access to the tools that have transformed my life.
I believe that your own intuition is the deepest form of knowing, but here in my little corner of the internet, I share insights based in intuition and instinct. I share my love for nature, witchcraft, and the wild spirit.
- If your spirit is at home in wild places
- If you feel the need to claim your autonomy as ritual
- If you want to more deeply trust your own intuition
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