Recently, at the Louvain Burn Festival, a frog found its way into our tent—a ‘Platanna’, also known as the African clawed frog or claw-toed frog. The son of the guest farm’s owner showed us how this frog moved inside its own skin, and I recognized this unique feature as its medicine.
Powerful swimmers, platannas are found throughout the swamps, wetlands, ponds, lakes, and slow-moving rivers of South Africa. They are almost entirely aquatic, leaving the water only when forced by drought or other significant disturbances. These frogs are highly adaptable; during droughts, they can bury themselves in mud and wait up to a year for rain, or use their powerful hind legs to travel quickly on land in search of new water sources. Unlike typical frogs, platannas lack tongues and teeth, relying instead on their hands, feet, and large mouths to feed on a wide range of prey, including their own tadpoles if necessary. Their sharp claws on the last three toes of each foot help them tear up larger prey. With poor eyesight, platannas use their sense of smell and specialized lateral line organs to detect vibrations and pressure changes in the water.
According to Ted Andrews, Frog medicine represents "Transformation through Water and Sound" (p. 356). Frogs are highly attuned to sound, thanks to a tympanic organ over each ear canal that allows them to recognize specific sounds and their locations. People associated with Frog medicine potentially have this sensitivity to sound and vibrations.
Water is an excellent conductor of sound. The call of the frog is the call of the waters. If a frog has hopped into your life, it may be a sign that you need to reconnect with the water element. Ted Andrews suggests that perhaps the old waters in your life are becoming dirty and stagnant, and you need to call forth cleansing rains. Are you becoming mired in the mud of your day-to-day life? Do you need to dive into some fresh, creative waters? Are you feeling waterlogged, bogged down, or drowning in emotions? Emotions are often associated with water, and individuals with frog totems are particularly sensitive to the emotional states of others.
“Amphibians are cold-blooded like reptiles, needing the environment for a heat source. Their temperature fluctuates with their surroundings. Those with amphibian totems will find themselves being just as sensitive to the environment.
Amphibians, like some reptiles, will shed their skin as they outgrow the old one. The skin is usually eaten by amphibians though. This shedding of the skin is very symbolic of transformation, resurrection and rebirth. Any totem which does this usually indicates the same kind of rebirth energy about to manifest within your own life.
Amphibians usually go through metamorphosis of some kind. This is most obvious in frogs and the change from egg to tadpole (polliwog) and then to frog. Most people with amphibian totems can pinpoint specific periods in their life where major transitions have occurred or been triggered. They are very definable stages. If amphibian totems show up in your life, you may need to ask yourself in what stage of development or metamorphosis are you presently.
Amphibians do not drink water. Water is absorbed directly through the skin. Individuals with amphibian energy strong in their life will need to be around water.”
Sources: Ted Andrews (1993) Animal Speak, p. 352
https://www.aquarium.co.za/news/meet-the-platanna-strange-feet-stranger-frog
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