Yes, this turtle does have a tail. Terrapin - Part Four:
And this leads to the last bit of this story. We went and bought a new car and sold our old one. While I was waiting, I pulled out my Moleskin purse journal - which is my lo-tech pda - and jotted down the following thoughts:
Aloha Terrapin 7/29/06
Syd Barrett spins and floats and loops and bobs between my ears. Round and round my brain. Terrapin tune, crystal blue. Dear sad Barrett, I miss you ~
Last night - uninvited but not unwelcome - a visitor, a traveler, a totem, a sage - a SYMBOL of so much. I named him Pilgrim Atlas. A terrapin turtle over twelve inches long - scuffed up - broken back - years of life unbowed - but out of his territory. Did he leave the low water to travel closer to the stars? Turtle - symbol of so much. Beginnings and Endings - Animistic Atlas - the lesson of patient STEADY progress amid hellos and good byes. You must leave one life to find the next one. Turtle - a Moon deity with a year of moons upon its back. Turtle - longevity, Tenacity - long life and determined nature. Terrapin - of moon and water. In Feng Sui a turtle in your back yard means blessings on your home: long life, abundance, protection from negativity. All things I need. And what an auspicious time! It is time for me to bid farewell to my old mobile shell and welcome my new one. Pilgrim Atlas came to tell me yes to change. Time to move from some of the low waters of my life and strive for the stars. ~
3 comments:
I love your writing....I get lost in the stream-of-consciousness of it...always have...
Hey--I remember in the Toni Morrison's Beloved, there was some symbolism involving turtles. Do you remember it? Did you get it? I never could quite figure it out...
Thank you honey! I can't remember any turtle symbolism in Beloved really. Hmmmm ... all I can remember is that scene where Beloved and Denver see turtles mating and Beloved reacts to it and then later mimics how the turtles mated when she has sex with Paul D. But I can see where turtles would fit in with some of the themes of the book - endurance, stregnth, longevity. Hmmm ... seems to me also when I was doing that research on turtles something about when turtles are stacked on each other it represents family in some Asian cultures. Maybe I will try and look it up later and see if there is something I am forgetting?
Can I double post on my own blog?
:-)
I was correct - sort of - if THREE Turtles are stacked on top of each other, they mean family. It represents Past Present and Future generations. And if they have coins etched into their shells it is supposed to help you pass down your wealth to future generations.
How cool is that?
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