- Keynote: Industriousness, Order and Discipline
- Symbolism: Patience, Stamina, Planning, Energy, Communal Living, Storing for the Future, Group Minded, Perseverance, Step by Step, Teamwork, Industrial Creativity, Dynamism.
- Number: 12
The tiny ant is an example of determination and hard work. Despite its size, the ant is a constant reminder that nothing comes easy in life without diligence and willpower.
The skill and undaunted efforts of the ant community reflect much about what this totem can awaken. The ant is the teacher of how to build, how to become the architect of your own life. It can show you how to construct your dreams into a reality. It will show you that the greatest success occurs with persistence.
Because the ant queen normally lives for twelve years, those with ant totems may find that the cycle of industriousness and building of goals may increase over a period of twelve years. The cycle of twelve – days, months, years, will be of significance. For those who are into numerology this would be a beneficial number to study if the ant is your totem.
If the ant has shown up in your life, examine your own industriousness. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you disciplining yourself enough to accomplish the tasks at hand?
- Are you or those around you looking for the quick and easy way?
- Are you neglecting important activities?
- Are you laying a good foundation?
- Are you adding new structures (education, hobbies, jobs, etc.) to your life with each passing year?
- Are you being patient with your efforts?
- Are you being patient with yourself? With others?
- Are you making things treater and more difficult than they need to be?
The ant can teach you how to harness your own power to design and recreate your life and its circumstances from the ground up. Ant can show you how to best work with others for the good of everyone. Ant teaches us that regardless of circumstances, if the effort is true, the rewards will follow ~ in the most beneficial time and manner. Ant is the promise of success through effort.
Ant Power
Summon the ant power animal whenever you feel you are following the wrong path in your career. It will help you understand that you must work diligently and collaborate with your coworkers.
Ant medicine will help you overcome the challenges with patience and courage. Organization and discipline are also required to conquer the obstacles laid on your path. Ant medicine will help you focus on your tasks and understand what matters. Teamwork and unity are also important lessons taught by the ant power animal.
Finding black ants in the kitchen or seeing ants in the house should not worry you. It is a sign that your power animal answered your invocations.
The meaning of ants as power animals is linked to the idea of community and unity. The Ant power animal urges you to keep and consolidate the relationship with your loved ones.
Ant Medicine
Ant People are learning to trust Natural Law and that reward is just over the horizon. It’s similar to “can’t hurry Love” or “haste makes waste.” Patience is of the utmost importance right now so that you have more time and noticed opportunity to prepare for your ultimate success. Ant People are drawn to completing projects that benefit the community as a whole and they work in complete cooperation with those around them. Ant People typically have a lot of weight riding on their back.
When Ant Medicine grabs your attention it is asking you to cooperate with your tribe (co-workers, family, projects, etc.,) in unity and patience. Ants are resolute and unwearied little creatures. Although they are tiny, they are indeed mighty. They have a strong skeleton on the “outside” of their body (exoskeleton) with specialized muscles that give them their strength. Ants can carry 30 times their weight, which would be equal to a 150 lb. person carrying a bulldozer on their back at 19,500 lbs.
The typical way to stop ant medicine is to literally stomp on it or fumigate it. If an ant is stomped on, it will emit pheromones that will draw more ants to the area. In short, ant medicine is unstoppable, tireless, patient and unified.
Ant’s message is about working non-stop toward your goals and forging ahead for the Good of the whole. Are you working on a project that benefits a larger audience? Have you been ignoring your tribe? Ant medicine cooperates with the tribe in harmony and wisdom toward a common goal, knowing that patience will be rewarded. Have you been cooperating with yourself on your own personal projects?
Ant Myths and Lore
Despite its apparent insignificance, the ant was one of the teachers of the wisest of kings, Solomon, and is a sacred creature in Islam.
Given the habits of the ant, it is no surprise that this tiny creature is primarily a symbol of industry. Because it often carries seeds and grains, in Ancient Greece the ant was sacred to the Goddess of the Harvest, Demeter. However, the industry of the ant seems to be concerned with one thing, the storage of material goods. Therefore, despite all its hard work, the ant is a symbol of materialism to Buddhists.
The teamwork of ants is notorious and many tiny ants together can shift loads far heavier than they are. The ant is a good example of the “sum of the parts being greater than the whole,” and for Hindus this represents the idea of the Godhead.
In Cornwall, England, locally known as Meryons or Muryans, were once thought to be fairies in the last stages of their earthly existence. Legend said that these elfin creatures went through many gradual transformations, always becoming smaller and smaller, until finally, after living for some time as Meryons, they disappeared altogether from this world.
According to one tradition, the Cornish fairies were once Druids who refused to accept Christianity and so were condemned to lose their human status. Another tale says unbaptized children took this form after their death, being safe from Hell because of their innocence, but unable to enter Heaven because they were not christened. In both versions of the legend, they eventually became Muryans, and hence it was considered very unlucky to destroy an ants’ nest.
Old English folks associated the ants with the Underworld and death. Since the ants build complicated structures under the Earth’s surface, it is expected for their spiritual meaning to be linked to death.
Ant was also part of Greek mythology. The Greek word for ant is myrmekes, and it was believed that people Thessaly were descendants of ants. Another Greek myth speaks of Myrmex, an attic girl who was very dear to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. When the goddess invented the plough, Myrmex claimed she made the discovery. For this audacity, the goddess transformed the girl into an ant.
Because ants appear to be highly industrious and motivated, they have long been a symbol of work and industry. Partly this is due to the Greek tales of the ant, such as is found in Aesop’s Fables. Their wisdom and intellect in their endeavors is often acclaimed.
This diligent insect is an essential figure in Native American folklore and mythology. The Hopi people believe that the first world ended in fire. During this calamity, the Ant People saved the Hopi by taking them to underground caves.
People from northern California believed that ants could predict earthquakes, and it was forbidden to disturb their anthills. The Cherokee had an Ant Dance among their tribal traditions. According to a Salish legend, the Ant woman won the daytime from the Creator after defeating the Bear in a dance contest.
In South America these insects were often depicted as warriors due to the South American fire ants’ painful sting. Some of the initiation rituals included young people exposing themselves to ant bites.
Kuba people from Central Africa have a beautiful legend about the creation of the world and the white ants’ appearance. It is believed that Nyonye Ngana, son of the creator god Mbombo, created the white ants but died shortly after. The ants dug after black soil to bury him and thus transformed the Earth’s surface.
The Kabyl and Berber tribes from North Africa tell a story about the ant who taught the first humans how to use grains and plants. The first man and woman lived underground, and the ant showed them how to grow wheat and make bread.
The Maasai people appreciate ants due to their courage and healing powers. The powerful jaws of the driver ants are being used as stitches by the Maasai moran warriors.
Ant Dreams
According to many psychologists, dreaming of ants is related to the work ethic. Because ants are so industrious, it is considered bad luck to dream of them. This is a sign that you are overly concerned with prosperity and material possessions.
If you dream of ants on your clothing, or coming into your home, you will have petty annoyances. To watch ants is to indulge in activity; usually a lot of small jobs. An anthill in a dream is a sign of avoidance of work. Dreaming about ants crawling all over your body means that somebody is annoying you.
Dreams about ants flying, or an ant bite represent your need to free yourself from the daily routine. A dream about fire ants means that you have some regrets related to past actions or experiences.
When speaking of the dream interpretation, ants’ color is also an essential factor to take into consideration:
- Dreaming of red ants means that you might experience some difficulties or anger in your work relationships.
- The red ant dream meaning reflects some minor insecurities that make you feel uncomfortable.
- White ants in dreams symbolize hidden issues are happening right under your nose.
- Black ant’s dream meaning is related to minor displeasures that you deny or ignore.
Leaving aside the different interpretations, dreams about ants might be a sign that your spirit animal responded to your call. Perhaps you feel unimportant and neglected; therefore, the ant power animal comes to guide you through the obstacles.
Ant Superstitions
It was said at one time that if a piece of tin was put into an ant nest when the moon was new, it would turn into silver, provided that it was inserted at a certain fortunate moment which varied in different parts of the country.
- It is an indication of prosperity if ants build a nest close to your front door.
- It is considered a sign of bad weather when ants are noticeably busier than usual.
- An ant bite represents arguments and quarrels.
Black ants are considered quite auspicious. So if you see black ants roaming around your house then it means that soon there will be a sharp rise in your wealth. One the other hand, red ants are considered to bring bad luck. Red ants in the house means loss of wealth.
Although black ants are considered auspicious and indicate happiness, peace, prosperity, they should not be present in a huge numbers. If they are breeding in your house then take appropriate steps to show them the way out.
- Black ants coming out from a rice box means you will soon get money from somewhere.
- If ants are found in places where you store your gold jewelry, it indicates that you will get gold items.
Red ants are associated with the devil and believed to bring bad omen so if you see them in your house, so immediately remove them. However, if red ants exit from your house with their eggs in their mouth then it is a good sign.
If one found the red ant on their path then crossed or even jumped over them then that was a sign of bad luck and possible danger that day.
If ants are coming from the North direction then it indicates happiness and if they are coming from South then it indicates profits. Ants marching from East means you might hear some negative news and if they are present in the West direction then there are high chances that soon you will go abroad.
In most traditional African traditions, there were many beliefs that were linked to the ant. This was in relation to sowing and harvesting. It was thought that the ant can help predict good and bad weather, this was associated with direction in which the ants were moving. For example, if ants moved from east to west in a group then in was an indication that the harvest was near. On the other hand if they moved from west to east then in was an indication that the rains were approaching and thus people were supposed to prepare their fields for sowing.
- To see an ant cross ones path is generally a positive omen.
- To see ants running away from you denotes that someone will be speaking about you to others.
- If an ant fights with another then this suggests that an enemy will be near you within the next week.
- To see a number of ants in a row on the floor (a trail of ants) and this trail goes under a door or chair, this is a sign that you have not told the truth to someone during a conversation.
- If the ant has been stepped on, it is a sign that one will die within a year.
Some Interesting Ant Facts
There are many types of ants, some of which are solitary, but most of which are part of a larger community. Though drudgery is often associated with them, this is far from true. When by themselves, they display simple and uncomplicated behavior patterns. Within the community, there is a repertory of activities and behaviors.
Ants live everywhere on Earth and thrive in most ecosystems. Their ability to modify habitats, exploit resources, and defend themselves made them successful in different environments.
Fire ants specialize in exploiting disturbed habitat, and they’ve thrived in part because humans have done a lot of disturbing. People tend to hate and fear them but this seems a little unfair, since opportunistic fire ants will devour termites, ticks, weevils, mosquitoes and other major threats plants, property and people.
Ant colonies, known as anthills, are some of the most impressive structures found in nature and are good examples of structured organizations. The worker ants are skilled architects. They build complex homes, galleries, and even vaulted ceilings.
The familiar dirt mound around which smart humans cut a wide swath is actually a solarium that collects heat to warm its residents. The tunnels below it hold anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred thousand of the highly territorial critters. A mature colony can encompass approximately 300 feet of underground foraging tunnels – about 20,000 ant body-lengths. On a human scale, that’s the staggering equivalent of 20 miles or more.
Ants are social. Much of their work centers on community activity. The primary activities are gathering, hunting and growing. Yes, some ants do farm, growing a kind of fungus. Ants also participate in food exchanges within the community, and they will often make slaves of other ants to perform labors.
The queen ant has wings and the ability of flight until fertilized. Once she is fertilized, she pulls off her own wings, sacrificing her own flight for the birth of newborns. The queen usually dies after twelve years.
Odds and Ends
While living in Cornwall, I was told you could eliminate ants from your home by talking to them and asking them to leave. More than twenty years later I remembered this when we moved to a new home and found it infested with ants. I told the ants I didn’t want to poison them, but would have to if they didn’t leave. To my family’s astonishment, the ants left within twenty-four hours.
The common saying, “having ants in ones pants.” This term has been used to describe being impatient or a worrying person. It was an ancient term that was used to describe someone who was jumpy and ready to go.
Sources
- The Encyclopedia of Superstitions
- Aunty Flo
- Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols
- Dr Standley
- World Birds
- Gypsy Dream Dictionary
- Laura Lenhard
- Times of India
- Animal Speak
- Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic
Leave a Reply