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who were
being tested. One test took them to a labyrinth of huge bats
overseen by Camazotz, the god of the bats. He had the body of
a human, the head and wings of a bat, and carried a great sword
by which he would decapitate unwary wanderers. It is a symbolic
story, with imagery that reflects transition. It implies a loss
of faculties if someone is unwary of the changes of transition.
It also holds the promise of rebirth and coming out of darkness.
The bat
is a symbol of the challenge to let go of the old and create
the new - death and rebirth. To many this is distressing, thus
so much negativity around it. They symbolize the facing of fears
- entering the dark on the way to the light.
An old European
belief was that human souls take the form of a bat when they
leave the body during sleep. This led to the belief that pagan
dead might become bats, searching for the means of rebirth or
the blood of life (of course, being a link to vampire imagery).
European
Christian artwork gave demons bat wings, an echo of earlier
imagery. A 1350 fresco in Campo Santo in Pisa showed the Death
Goddess as a long-haired woman with a scythe flying over the
world on bat wings. The description of her was "Old shadow
of earth, ancient shade of hell".
Bats as
totems represent an ability to discern the hidden messages and
implications of other people's words. Listen as much to what
is not being said. Trust your instincts. The nose is the organ
of discrimination, and with its sonar located in its nose, the
bat reflects the ability to discriminate and discern the truth
in other people's words.
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