A newt in the wild

[jbatenhorst]

I had an interesting encounter with a newt the other day, which is why I joined this group. First of all, I am not completely incapable of scientific thought, but I do try, whenever possible, to lean on my intuitive self to find answers to things. Thereby, I took a class with Frank Cook - a shaman/witch/plant lover spiritualist. Frank took a group of attendees at the Lake Eden Arts Festival (or LEAF) on a short visualization exercise in the woods near Black Mtn. North Carolina last weekend, May 12.

While out in the woods, Frank had us close our eyes and imagine ourselves going on a journey to our "inner garden" where a plant would speak to us. Long story short, I saw a rhododendron. I then took some time to think of the rhododendron and approach it and found a rock. I knew intuitively that I was supposed to turn it over. When I turned it over, I found a small, dark brown, almost black salamander/newt, with a large, round-like head, webby feet and darker spots on the side. In particular, what I found interesting about this newt, was its eyes. They were cloudy rather than clear and looked to be covered by some sort of film.

The creature did not run away but let me scoop it up into my hands. I pulled it up into my hands and had a moment of understanding with it ("We will not harm each other.") Then I put him back to the ground, patted him on the tail and he shot under ground into a nearby hole.

I've looked into figuring out what sort of creature he was by using the NC website for amphibian species and the closest picture I've found indicates that he was a mole salamander...I'm just not sure. Also, I was wondering if there was any information on the site about newt-totems or mythical meanings of newts. Ok, I'll stop wasting my employers money and get back to work. Any help would be great. Thanks!

Josh

 

[Otterwoman]

HI Josh,
This forum is all scientific/ practical and doesn't get into that stuff at all. However, being a Neo-Pagan myself and mostly interested in animal spirituality (see my "userid") I've got quite a few books on animal spirituality and have even read them. Do you have or have you read any of Ted Andrews' books? That's a start. I come from a literary background and I can help a bit with the mythology and symbolism but as far as helping you identify what you saw, I don't have the expertise, but there are a lot of people here who do.

Salamanders have long been associated with fire/born of fire, and ancient writers also believed them to be poisonous (they were right only on the latter point). It is thought that because salamanders spend time under logs and in moist places, that when a log was thrown on a fire and a salamander came running out, it was "born of fire," not escaping it as it would actually have been doing! Also the bright markings of many species (notably, the eponymous "Fire Salamander") suggest the brightness of fire. This also links them symbolically with dragons, as does the poison.

Ted Andrews, in _Animal-Wise_, more logically associates salamanders with water (i.e. not fire) and "unique inspiration and assistance." The water association also connects them to the dreamworld and our emotions. "When a salamander appears, as with all amphibians, there is transformation about. The difference is that the salamander reflects assistance coming for that transformation from somewhere outside of us, either through an unexpected person or through a unique resource within our environment that inspires a creative and successful approach." Because salamanders are very sensitive to environmental conditions, they also signify the "importan[ce] to maintain or develop a
more compatible relationship with our environment and those within it."

In heraldry the salamander signifies "courage that cannot be destroyed by the fire of affliction" (J.C. Cooper, _Dictionary of Symbolic and Mythological Animals_ ). This same book, however, says that newts were regarded as harmful. According to this book, the Goddess Ceres once "transformed a youth who mocked her into a newt," a theme taken up later by Monty Python.
Other sources concentrate on the mutability of amphibians, seeing the capacity for change represented by the process of metamorphosis that salamanders (and amphibians in general) undergo (and don't forget about the greatest amphibian metamorphosis of all: the frog becomes a prince!).
Maybe the vision suggests that you yourself are about to undergo great changes, you may have some assistance, and/or it might have to do with environmental issues.
Or, maybe a salamander is just a salamander, and you will be gardening in your yard, and come across a salamander.

Stop snickering, all you scientists!