Woolly Bear Caterpillar as a Messenger Totem

When a little Woolly Bear Caterpillar crossed my path today, I got to thinking about what it's appearance in my foot path could mean.

And since I'm a fan of going with personal experience, inner work, and building up trust in my own intuition, I wanted to lay out what seemed obvious before spending much time looking into what others have written about the Woolly Bear Caterpillar as a a Totem.

The first two things that come to mind, are it's striking colors: Red and Black.

Both colors are associated with Saturn, Fire, Earth, Root Chakra, Summer, Fall, the Devil card, the South, and the Void.

Being a Caterpillar of any kind, gives an obvious association with Metamorphosis; Transformation; Death and Rebirth.

Being so small and usually hidden, suggests an importance to be aware of "unseen" elements around you, and when it shows up in your direct walking path, it's saying "watch where you step!" or "Look before you leap" or "It's time to modify your usual path".

Because Woolly Bears are one of many kinds of beings that hibernate in the winter, there is an association with preparation for a moderate lengthened period of hardship, that will go by much more pleasantly with diligent preparation in food stores, diet, shelter, and comforts needed to rest.

And since Caterpillars cocoon themselves upside-down to go through they're Metamorphosis, that links them to the Hanged Man card and the Four of Swords; rest, sacrifice, voluntary transformations, Divine paths, and time for "inner" work.

The Woolly Bear specifically, has a unique feature, in that it can remain a Caterpillar for up to 10 years if it must, to wait for the perfect conditions for it to become an Isabella Tiger Moth, breed, and then die.

Just the length of time they are willing to go to wait for the right conditions, gives them an association with Capricorn; which means another link with Saturn.

It also gives them Predictive powers, as they must be able to read the signs around them each spring, to know if the upcoming summer will be worth their transformation; which takes months, and then must result in viable eggs being laid before it dies. In order to do that, the little Woolly Bear must be able to forecast and divine the future; which it's very good at. Good enough that there's even common folklore that says you can use them to predict what our winter weather will be like.

And if there's enough truth to that, the one that placed itself in my path, could've very well been saying "this winter will be mild, but still cold. It's time to prepare for it."

All that being said, as a Theme Totem, Power Totem, or Animal Guide, that suggests that you either naturally have psychic or prophetic abilities, or that Woolly Bear is offering you it's own such abilities for a time.

If you're already a reader or diviner in some form, it could be saying now is a good time to do some divination.

Next, it's good to think about, that in it's overall life journey, a Caterpillar is a bug that's all about LOVE; with the Woolly Bear getting extra emphasis on that, because of how long it's willing to hold off on its transformation; remaining both solitary and celebrate until then, to be sure that it will find it's best mate within the same year it's metamorphosizes into a Tiger Moth.

That could indicate that there is some inner and outer work you need to do, before you will find your best mate.

Or it could be saying that now is a good time for solitary work, "you time", self care, home projects, time spent in nature, andor work projects.

And speaking of diligent hard work, I'm sensing another Capricorn connection; which is also connected to the Caterpillar, because Capricorn is one of the only signs to evolve from one being into another; from deep sea fish to mountain peak goat. Capricorn is also the "Architect" of the zodiac, which connects to the Caterpillars careful building of it's own houses.

Though because the diligent work of the Woolly Bear is so deeply tied into food and the stubborn pursuit of love, there's also a strong connection with Taurus.

It's need for 'perfect conditions' also gives it a link to Virgo.

And since we're on the topic of Earth, because Caterpillar can't yet fly and spends most of it's pre-meta life on the ground, under rocks and on trees, it's a very "grounded" being.

That link, along with it's many links to abundance and slow moving life style, connects it also to the Empress card; another connection with Taurus. The message from that could be similar to "slow and steady wins the race".

And although as a Caterpillar it's mostly a "ground" being, because it was born from a flying being, and spends all it's life preparing to become a flying being again, it will always be a being of "two worlds", which is a great medicine and often a property of totems aligned with shamanic type paths; much like duck, platypus, crow, frog, vulture, woodpecker, ant, fly, dragonfly, etc..

Being that the Woolly Bear turns into a Moth rather than a Butterfly, there's also strong links to the Moon, Nighttime, Shadow, and flying towards Light.

Tiger Moth in particular, is a predator, which gives an association with hunting, skill, and courage.

There are many other associations with Caterpillars in general, and over the next few days, I'll spend some time researching known myths and information about the Woolly Bear Caterpillar as a Totem in any form, to come back and add to my own thoughts about their messages.

Until then, if Caterpillar or Woolly Bear has come across your path or entered your dreams, please share your experience and thoughts with us, in the comments below.