The opossum has lived on earth for more than seventy million years, making it one of the oldest surviving land mammals. Considered vermin by most due to their tendency to raid garbage cans, opossums are good creatures to have around because not only are they virtually immune to rabies, they also eat disease-carrying ticks. Estimates say that a single opossum can eat as many as five thousand ticks per season. In addition to eating ticks, they also eat roaches, rats, and dead animals, earning them the nickname “nature’s little sanitation engineer.”
Key Attributes
Strategy, shyness, ability to confuse an opponent, diversion, cleverness, intelligence, and the element of surprise.
Chakra Interpretations
Root
The opossum typically doesn’t create its own home; it moves into burrows that have been abandoned by other animals, hollow logs, brush piles, woodpiles, or even human attics. You may have a love of old houses or at least those that have a lived-in feel. Finding a fixer-upper that you can make your own might bring you a lot of joy. Another trait of the opossum is that it doesn’t stay in one place for very long, which may mean you don’t have any desire to own your own home. You prefer the freedom of being able to move on whenever the urge hits. The opossum is as fastidious as a cat, so even if you do live in an old house, you tend to keep it as clean and germ-free as possible.
Sacral
Because the opossum’s tail is prehensile, it can be used almost like a hand. While the opossum can’t hang from it, it can be wrapped around tree branches to help with climbing and used for carrying bundles of grasses and other materials. As far as projects or artistic pursuits are concerned, it may be fun for you to think outside the box and try different ways of doing things. If you are right-handed, you might occasionally try using your left just to see if you can or using both hands at the same time. The opossum’s hind feet look much like human hands, so you might even try something crazy, such as using your feet to draw or paint. Another aspect of the opossum is that it is a solitary creature, so it is very likely you are too. Your passions are probably more directed toward creative pursuits or work than having intimate connections. Those times that you do seek intimacy are usually for physical release only, and you’re okay with that.
Solar Plexus
As mentioned, the opossum can be as fastidious as a cat, especially when it comes to grooming and cleanliness. You may be the kind of person who likes to shower several times a day or who at the very least washes their hands frequently. One of the things an opossum is known for is the ability to fake being dead, which is where we get the expression “playing possum,” and it is an involuntary response induced by extreme fear. If something in your life is causing you anxiety to the point where your actions are frozen, I encourage you to seek outside help. Another aspect of the opossum in this chakra may be telling you to trust what is in your gut (pouch), but to make sure you don’t hold on to it after it is time to let it go.
Heart
If you have opossum in this chakra, it could mean that events or circumstances in your life have brought you to the point of such extreme hurt or fear that your heart has become frozen. Understandably, some things in life are so hard to handle that shutting down is necessary to survive and heal. Just try to make sure this doesn’t become your permanent state of being. At the same time, if this is the case for you, don’t go by anyone else’s schedule for when you should “get over it”—only you can decide that. Another aspect of the opossum in the heart chakra has to do with an opossum’s natural immunity: it’s a reminder to not let the actions or words of another hurt your heart, no matter how venomous.
Throat
The opossum in this chakra could mean that speaking or communicating makes you scared stiff, or that you are the kind of person who smiles to hide your fear. If this is the case, try to determine if your fear has a just cause, and if not, take a breath and try to be brave. Another possible meaning has to do with the opossum’s diet. As mentioned earlier, they are known for eating very distasteful stuff. This could mean that you are able to take in information that many people can’t handle. It may also mean that you are the one who must hear other people’s complaints or who has to clean up situational messes that other people make. You don’t necessarily enjoy it, but you know it must be done and you know you do it well.
Third Eye
Not only do opossums have poor eyesight, but they don’t hear very well either. They depend on their sense of smell for survival. You may have a hard time with traditional meditation or visualization exercises. If this is the case, try adding incense or an essential oil with a pleasing scent to help you tap into your inner sight. Another possibility for the opossum in this chakra is that you don’t depend on just what you see to distinguish the truth of a situation. If something doesn’t “smell right,” trust that instinct; it may be more accurate than your eyes.
Crown
The fact that an opossum spends the first part of its life in momma’s pouch offers an illuminating way for you to rebirth your spiritual self. Doing a meditation to help you see the world through the eyes of a young soul could be a profound reawakening. Another possible meaning of the opossum here is that you are fearful of opening to your highest self, so much so that it freezes you with fear. Know that it is where we all come from and where we are all going. Take a breath and try to understand that Spirit loves you and is there to help you.