Raccoon, Atí:ron, that great mischief maker and Trickster speaks of resourcefulness and playfulness. Anyone who has ever dealt with Atí:ron, also knows of her determination, a strong message for me right now. Raccoon is playful and loves to knock things off balance to see what she can get away with. She is a notorious thief, much like Crow and Coyote. It is our instinct to protect the things that we think are important from the tricksters and thieves, but it is all too often true that the things that Atí:ron and other thieves take from us turn out to be not nearly as important, certainly not as essential as we think that they are. Sometimes having things taken away from us is a gift. It gives us an opportunity to value those things that we do have. Atí:ron is not the enemy. Atí:ron is a friend. We can choose to fight against the playful thief, such as Raccoon or Time, or we can chose to play along with them. We can choose to give rather than have a thing taken from us. We can choose to let go rather than to cling without purpose or meaning.

I’m going through a period in my life in which I am working extremely hard on myself;. I’m working very hard to change so many thing about myself to become a stronger, confident and more independent person both mentally and physically. I can sense I’m closer to achieving that goal than ever before. However, sometimes I catch myself looking and prioritizing at the things I want for the now/short term (such as seeking a relationship with someone that may impede on long term goals and may not even be possible to have a relationship with this person, but I find myself desiring it so much), vs the goals I want for the future/long term. (My long term goals will put me in a much better state of being than what I’m in now, which is why it’s so important for me to accomplish them.)

With that said, I live in Florida, Raccoons are pretty common creatures. However, I haven’t seen one in years. Today, I wake up very early as usual for my morning run, and spot a raccoon on my driveway, with some food in his mouth. He doesn’t notice me right away and is just kind of hanging out. He spots me, we make eye contact. I think he could sense I felt hostile towards him (I have a small dog, and am I always worried that a raccoon or other rabid animal may get to her, so my first instinct was to make the raccoon go away) and with that he was startled ran away very fast in the other direction.

Throughout the day, for some reason, the encounter had been on my mind all day. Later this afternoon, I’m at the parking lot (that faces a small canal) of my job (30 miles north) on a phone call. I hear some rustling in the bushes, and low and behold, a raccoon appears. We may eye contact. He seemed gentle, almost as if he was lost and was vulnerable. After 15 seconds of eye contact, he goes back into the bushes and hangs out on the canal bank.

I have no idea what tjis means, and has been on my mind all day. I haven’t seen a raccoon in years, and I see 2 in the same day. The universe is definitely
trying to tell me something, but I don’t know what. Any one care to help?

Had a dream 2 nights in a row. With a raccoon on my bed. 😔 Can’t remember much details about the first dream. But the second dream I was laying on my bed with some friends and out of nowhere I see a raccoon face and I jump up. Then my friend jumped up. The raccoon then jumps off the bed and runs out my bedroom door. Which I can know what this dream means.

Several sleepless nights after my mother died at home of cancer in the early AM of May 22nd of this year – a Monday – I encountered a raccoon in the backyard. And it wasn’t like any previous raccoon encounter, which typically commenced suddenly, as a shock to all parties, and quickly ended as we scattered in opposite directions. This one was calm, involving steady, studied eye contact. Especially the proximity – about 10 feet – tugged at my heart, and eager for a diversion, I put some Doritos out for her, which were gone by the AM. This repeated itself over the course of many weeks until she eventually became a ‘regular,’ and for health reasons I switched her to dry cat kibble, whole peanuts, and fresh grapes. Eventually she introduced me to her two cubs. I named them the McCoons – Stella, Boomer & Tulip, and learned they set up house & nursery in a tall pine in our back. After dark, they eventually came to my call. I also became acquainted with a giant, lumbering & obese but quite gentle adult male raccoon who sported rolls in place of a neck whom I eventually nicknamed Sugar Bear – aka Gus – for his talent at shimmying all 30lbs up shepherds hooks to dismantle the attached hummingbird feeders only to dump nectar all over his pelt, which he eagerly groomed away. Was he Boomer & Tulips Papa? No ones kissing & telling, although if so, Stella’s apparently pretty content at single motherhood, since she never passes up a chance to go alpha on Gus’ ample backside.

Ive since learned all I can about raccoon personality, behavior, health & culture, although it never once occurred to me that our interactions represented anything more than the chance intersection of domesticated & wild trajectories. Yet in my ongoing research about all thing raccoon, I eventually encountered the subject of animal spirit guides, particularly Native varieties. And in retrospect, the emotional diversion & sustenance these creatures have provided these last 3 painful months has been uniquely, memorably restorative. I’m not conventionally religious, or even all that spiritual, although I try & envy those who are. I’m also a bit of a skeptic regarding all things wow-woo or Gris-Gris. Yet something about what I’ve read elsewhere, and even here on this board, does resonate with the timing and significance of this huge life fork I’m wrangling, which includes a permanent 1,500 mile move to care for my now ailing (and difficult) father. I’m not sure where this is going, but since I’ve never before drawn any lines among the random dots that seem to comprise my present life, I figured I’d try in words here.

It’s now 9:44pm in Alabama, and so I expect my furry buddies to come bounding over the hill any time. Thank you to everyone who’s shared their experiences with these wonderful creatures, and of course, thank you for the opportunity to finally share mine.

My parents passed away couple years ago. The house is still as it was the day they past.
Had a dream I was upstairs and a raccoon ran across the hall from my room to theirs. OMG I thought
poor raccoon has been in the house w/out any food. Poor thing must be hungry.
NOTE: I live in Hawaii and go to the house every 2 to 3 months. So I was really worried and surprised
to see it was still alive.

I had lost my fiance to a drug overdose. He was a very troubled person. It was devastating to me. This was about 7 yrs ago.
In his last year, we bought an up north recreational property. It was a dream of mine, which he helped me obtain. After he died, Id go up there and wear my rings and cry and cry.
On the 3rd anniversary of his death, I was walking, and my vision clouded up like rolling fog. The fog parted slightly in the middle, and this snarling, growling raccoon came racing at me. I stood in fear, screaming on the road, opened my eyes, and everything was normal. A message was left with me, “Stop crying over me, Im not worth it.”
What was the significance of the raccoon? It was an unreal experience, I’ll never forget how terrified I was.
—Barb Andrews