Rat

“Rat” was created when I wanted to make a print with an Eostre/Easter theme. As I was considering cute and cuddly animals heralding the exuberance of early spring, I settled on Rat. Though they do have their hardcore fans, generally rats do not get their due as the adorable, affectionate and highly intelligent rodents that they are. But holding an entire animal archetype in disdain, disgust and even horror, as many do to Rat, is itself a societal perversity. It makes of Rat an unconscious symbol of the parts of ourselves we disown and cast into our collective Shadow.

As we self-actualize as individuals (and mature as groups, families, communities and nations), we learn to unpack our Shadow. When we do so we find within rich gifts. These are gifts which, at some point early in our past, became a source of shame and fear when, for a host of reasons, we received negative messages about them. We realize our full power when we integrate these gifts into our lives. When we befriend “shadowed” archetypes such as Rat, we are practicing  integration of consciousness on our own behalf and on behalf of humanity. In so doing, we are falling more fully in love with our natural world and with the soul of humanity.