In this second post on the The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit deck, and in following the order of the guidebook, we are working with the Animal Spirit of the Earthworm.
Don’t be so quick to potentially write this card off as lesser than the Bear, our first card and introduction into the deck as a whole. The Earthworm will reveal many great invitations for use in your life. The whole point of this series where I break down each card in order is to show how the deck builds on itself from one card to the next.
We first started with the Bear, the introductory and awakening card. The Bear invited you to wake up and start to move toward the light. The Bear invited you to consider how you are awakening and yearning to grow in this moment.
Now that we have shaken and stirred the slumber from our bones, we are now being asked to find our beautiful inner vision, and bring it forward with confidence. In the element of Earth, both of these cards speaks to using your body, actions, and resources to strengthen and fortify. The Bear was the stirring into action. The Earthworm is taking that stirring and moving, however slowly, into the growing light to share and give what is within you.
Card #2: The Earthworm and finding confidence to share and speak
As the second card of the Earth element, and past the waking of the Great Bear, the Earthworm presents a dichotomy of energies. On one hand, the Earthworm is vulnerable, and perhaps even a little undervalued and undermined (sorry, Earthworm…).
Their fluid and soft bodies can make them easy prey to all manner of creatures, earth and airborne. Yet, in their small, unseen ways, they give such gifts to the ecosystem. The Earthworm moves slowly, but now awakened, it starts the beautiful process of give and take. The Earthworm stirs and moves towards new potentials, leaving a trail of gifts in its wake.
The Earthworm is the card of new beginnings, a continuation from the Bear. However, with that new beginning comes a rising energy to do, be, act, and impact the world around you. It is literally the card of creating an authentic symbiosis with the energies here in this moment. The Earthworm, as the undervalued giver and enactor, also represents the natural challenge that comes with this first rise into motion. The Earthworm represents the novice in the surroundings, the newbie that is working hard to move very little, or so it seems….
The Earthworm represents not just the stirring of the self as a newcomer, but also the growing and fertile energies here with you. When worms are present, they represent the promise and gift of Spring. The soil is warming, which means that growth for all is possible. The Earthworm as an animal and as a symbol represents this coming into the moment. As we awaken and begin to move, it is only natural that the world around us feels that momentum, shares in its beauty of new things to come. The Earthworm teaches us that sometimes we need to look a little harder to see the glorious gifts of a fresh start. The Earthworm reminds us that just because something brings gifts in smaller packages, sometimes these are the most special.
One of the things that is so important to remember when working with this card is that new beginnings and being a newbie in a situation can naturally bring up fear, doubt, and dismay. We have all been in situations where embarking on something new sounds beautiful, until the momentum starts, and then we feel out of our depths. We look around and see the tracks left by the giant bear, and wonder how we could ever compete. When working with this card, you are given a gift to learn not to look elsewhere or outside for validation, but to let the internal stirrings that move you into action be enough to keep going.
Guidance from the guidebook
Some key references from the guidebook
Keywords / phrases: Shy, Hesitant, Reluctant to Share Inner Vision
When in balance: Earnest, Intelligent, Valuable
When out of balance: Self-conscious, Apprehensive
To bring into balance: Speak up, Risk Embarrassment
Following the guidance from the guidebook, working with the Earthworm is all about coming into your own. It may feel weird, scary, impossible, even. It may seem like the steps that you are taking will never bear fruit or manifest the vision that you hold so dearly within. However, when the Earthworm appears, it is saying that you are in the right place, on the right track, and to trust that eventually that which you seek will unfold.
One word that I would add to the keywords of the Earthworm is SENSORY. From this article, published by the Science Learning Hub, it states, “Earthworms have a head, though they have no eyes, nose or ears. The earthworms’ skin provides some of the services we normally associate with our own sense organs. Light-sensitive cells are scattered in their outer skin, mainly at the ends of their bodies. They allow earthworms to detect light and changes in light intensity. Earthworms don’t use a nose, mouth or lungs to breathe like we do. Instead they use oxygen that is dissolved in the moisture on their skin and from the surrounding environment. Earthworms cannot hear but they can sense vibrations.” Science Learning Hub link
Earthworms have to use a sensory analysis to perceive changes in their surroundings. In taking this into a personified state, the invitations with this card ask you to use your senses to change and ground you. Do not let fear or doubt disrupt your path. Take a few deep breaths. Do not let the darkness keep you from moving. Follow the light. Trust that your inner vision is worth sharing.
The guidebook says that to bring into balance the energies of this card, you should speak up and risk embarrassment. There is no way to grow or experience the spectrum of possibilities in the comfort zone. You must step past that line. To be brave and risk looking like a fool is the way to build your confidence and strength. You have to just do it. In time, it gets easier. One final thing that the guidebook says that I think is so important to remember in working with the Earthworm is that the beginner’s mind can offer so many gifts that seasoned perceptions lack. Let the newbie in you try to find joy in this space where possible. Like growing up, you can’t ever fully go back.