During my second week of my exciting new job with child protective services, I walked into the office at 8:00 a.m. to find my co-workers and supervisors running around screaming hysterically. One nearly mowed me down as she pushed past me to get out the door. Those who weren't running were crouched under their desks. I seriously wondered what I'd gotten myself into. People had warned me that the job would be stressful, but this was a bit much! Several people hollered at me to "Get down! There's a bat!" I looked up just in time to see a frightened creature with a four foot wing span desperately trying to find a way out amid the fluorescent lights.
Later that day, a security officer explained that we were a rest stop in the migratory path for this species of bat and that infestation had been a problem each fall for the past several years. It took several more years to get rid of them, but not before we had another visit when we thought they had been gone for about a year!
Each year in June, Devil's Den State Park in northwest Arkansas hosts "Bat-O-Rama," a weekend of programs dedicated to one of the world's least understood creatures, the bat. Much like bees and wasps, the majority of bat species do not deliberately attack people unless they are threatened. Bats do not head for human hair just to become entangled in it! As with any unvaccinated animal, bats may carry diseases and this is their only threat to humankind. I visited the beautiful, fascinating caves at Devil's Den a few years ago and learned that the park is focused on preserving bats. Although the park has a high bat population, we did not see one during four days of camping there.
In movies and literature, bats fly through bedroom windows and turn into villainous humans who climb into women's beds. Sexy little neck nibbles turn deadly when they suck the blood from their victim's bodies. Bram Stoker's Dracula depicts vampires as drinking only the blood of virgins. In Interview With The Vampire, Lestat and Louie feed from both men and women to stay alive and an entire swarm of vampires devour one woman on a stage. Queen Of The Damned is laden with images of vampires as beautiful, sexy, lusty creatures. Frequently, these fanged, cloaked creatures are incredibly good-looking and are sexually appealing to their victim.
Early Christianity viewed bats as "birds of the devil" due to their kinship to rats. Because they are active only at night, bats were associated with darkness and sexual lust, the tools of the devil. The pagan god Pan, with his horns and cloven feet, is a symbol of wild freedom and fertility. His image has been defamed by association with the devil in Christian history. While Pan is mischievous and indeed lusty as he celebrates nature and sexuality, he is not a "dark" or evil figure.
Blood is a symbol of life. Some individuals recognize psychic vampires as people who drain psychic energy.
Vampires drain blood from the body, causing death or immortality in the form of the supernatural living dead. Is someone draining you dry? Are you so drained that you feel like a zombie? Perhaps it's time to take a look at the relationship. Are you putting too much energy into a project, behavior or job that just isn't working? Has something or someone sucked all the life or passion out of you? You may want to confront your "demons" or end the relationship or project altogether.
In retrospect, I sometimes feel that the bat in the office was an omen. That job did drain me of my idealism, passion, energy and health. I gradually gave up my dreams of saving the world. When people asked what a social worker was, I answered that we were "overworked, underpaid and don't do anyone any good anyway." I was "burned out" within five years and resigned, but it was a valuable learning experience both personally and professionally.
May all your dreams come true!
Author: Parthena Black
Source: Bella Online
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Parthena Black is a professional social worker and ordained minister with experience in tarot and runes. For private spiritual counseling and intuitive readings via e-mail, please visit her at oymygoddess.com.
