A Visit from a Mangy Fox
A mangy fox came to visit me. Whenever a visit from the natural world seems somewhat ethereal, I always stop to pay attention. I ask myself, “What message might this visitor have for me?” I have a book called “Animal Speaks” by Ted Andrews that I refer to when I want to understand the spiritual meaning of a visitor from nature.
As it turns out, a fox has a rather universal spiritual connection in the lives of indigenous people, worldwide. The fur represents a connection to the spirit world.
This particular fox, being mangy, had a very specific message for me. At the time the fox visited, I was still getting used to my newfound spiritual connection. I felt exposed, somewhat fragile, and a bit afraid. This fox mirrored how I was feeling pretty well. The fact that the fox came out to visit me during the day, and just laid in the grass, in the shade, right at the moment I was on the patio looking out into the woods in my backyard gave it a special meaning. Foxes don’t generally come out of the woods during the day. I could feel a bit of ‘spark’ in the air, and saw it from a Jungian perspective as a synchronicity worth paying attention to.
You may or may not see unusual animal visits as anything special. You may not connect spiritually to nature.
But what if you simply paid attention? By taking a minute to notice the creatures you encounter and getting curious about what they might be inviting you to notice about yourself gives you some reflection time, and is a great way of inviting inspiration. In fall, you might notice a squirrel preparing for winter. What might preparing for winter mean to you? Or maybe you notice a particular bird flying overhead. What might it symbolize for you at this moment?
The Mangy Fox
Twice a visit by day
A fox, not to be ignored
Carrying a message from the spirit world
With her skin and fur gnarled
Exposed by mange
Now transformed
No longer the same
A shedding of the old
Invitation of the new
The fox said, “look at me.
Be bold, girl, don’t you see?
Listen, girl, hear my plea.”
With ears like a fox she listened.
Slowly her eyes noticed
And a little light glistened.
“You have taken solace there.”
“Come out now and breathe the air.”
So the girl slowly stepped out of the forest
To start anew.
