Octopus Medicine, 2019, Watercolor, painted by Angie Yingst

This listing is for an 4” x 6” postcard. These are great for altars and sacred spaces or to share with friends. Front is a print of the watercolor, and the back includes the medicine information:

Octopus Medicine is a deep, watery medicine that grabs you and grabs things to you. When we are in the element of Water, or on the Medicine Wheel, the direction of West, we can work with our own fear, emotional camouflage, desires and wants, shapeshifting and regeneration. October can regenerate a lost arm, and can teach you to self-heal. Self-healing is an important part of our spiritual journeys—learning how to heal our inner pain and difficulties. When Octopus Medicine comes in, we think about her power and model of self-healing. She re-members her body, connects with the past and future self to slowly regrow an arm. She often has to sacrifice an arm to survive, and that model for us can show us that our hurts are sacrifices for deeper growth and survival.

Octopus is a master of camouflage and can slide into very small spaces. Her ability to disguise herself is unmatched. She can change color and texture to mimic rocks, sand, and plants. She is a wonderful guide when you are healing and need to protect yourself. If you are avoiding being seen, Octopus can act as a barometer—when do you want to be seen and when do you want to hide. Choosing invisibility is often an adaptive technique for those who experienced trauma, but if it continues to a hypervigilance and a joy limiting behavior, Octopus can help you know when to be seen and when it is time to hide.

Octopus are incredibly intelligent and aware, and mine the deep waters of our emotions. I painted this Octopus for a client’s medicine work. May you enjoy her deep medicine.