Spirits of this Place

Horned Lizards

My father took this picture


These two are both Short-Horned Lizards Phrynosoma douglassi
They Range from semiarid plains high into the mountains. Frequents a variety of habitats-short grass prairie, sagebrush, and pinion-juniper, pine-spruce, and spruce-fir associations. The ground may be stony, sandy, or firm, but usually some fine loose soil is present. More cold-tolerant than other horned lizards. They are live-bearing; as many as 3 dozen young in a litter.

Range: Extreme South Canada to South Durango; Western Arizona and east of Cascade crest in Oregon and Washington to East Kansas. Chiefly a mountain dweller in the southern part of its range. To above 10,000 ft. on San Francisco Peak, Flagstaff Arizona.
A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians
Robert C. Stebbins

      Now I am sure you are now asking yourself what in the three worlds horned lizards have to do with Druidry?
      Well, these little fellas helped me to understand a whole different type of animal that I wasn’t use to dealing with; reptiles. I had been around horses, cattle, dogs, and cats, but not reptiles.
      When I was a child, as many children do I caught lizards, but none were quite as dear to my heart as the horned lizards. A friend and I caught the lizards and brought them to school on several occasions. We got into trouble, and then there were the times the little fellas got loose and took off across the room! We had to get them before the teacher saw them or they got squashed! (No lizards met such a fate fortunately).
      I also had to come up with ingenious ways of catching red ants. I think the most effective method I came up with was to put a piece of cheese in a jar, and then when there were many ants in the jar (before they carried off the cheese) I would try to pick up the jar, and put the lid on with out being stung by the ants on the outside. The horned lizards also would eat grasshoppers, and occasionally turtle food.
      The large lizard in the photo I named Petite (she was quite a bit smaller when I named her). The small lizard is Morte, Petite’s son (I think he was a male), the poor little fella had a death wish or something there were many times that he almost got squashed or some other sort of painful death (again he never met any such fate).
      No before I go much further I must tell you that I would catch the lizards and keep them for a few weeks and then let them go. Maybe a few days later or weeks I would catch another lizard and keep them a little while, and then let them go. I did this for several years, but stopped when I got to high school.
      I don’t know if this is natural behavior or some sort of unique rapport that I had with the reptiles, but sometimes they would return to me. Petite did this on several occasions, and as you can tell one time she had babies. I had another horned lizard that I called Mama that retuned to me as well.
      The Payson Zoo use to be next door to my house, and one time the zoo keeper had the brother of a friend visiting. This gentleman was a Herpetologist (a person who studies amphibians and reptiles) from England and was very interested in my activities with the lizards, it seems as if I was able to keep the lizards alive in captivity for extraordinary lengths of time. (I don’t know this information is all after the fact from what my parents told me).
      There is a story in Pourquoi mythology that tells of Ma'ii the coyote eating Horned Toad's corn crop, Ma'ii then eats his cousin and claims the farm for himself. But from inside, Horned Toad plays tricks on Ma'ii until the coyote vomits him, and promises to leave him alone forever. The horned lizard is also a symbol of wisdom much like the serpent of Celtic mythology.
      I treasure the time the lizards spent with me.

You might also want to note that horned lizards are an endangered species, and it is against the law to have them (Yes, I did break the law when I was a child apparently).

Horned Lizard Conservation Society
Toad Land Jewelry
The Toad that's not a Frog
The Horny Toad
Texas Horned Lizard


Sugu-ik Oof the Saguaro Maiden


One very important spirit or Land Vattir is the Saguaro Maiden (I believe her real name is Sugu-ik Oof). I believe that the Saguaro is VERY important because Arizona and parts of New Mexico are the only places it grows in the world. I periodically make offerings to saguaro cactus. In Tohono O’odham beliefs strength was measured by the ability to go without water in the arid climate. The first saguaro was made when a young woman sank into the earth and rose back out as a giant cactus.


Mayahuel


Another important spirit (I guess she would be a goddess), although I haven't had any contact with her is Mayahuel the Agave plant. The Aztecs thought so highly of this plant, that they often painted Mayahuel, a fertility goddess, sitting within the leaves of the plant nursing a baby. It has been used for centuries for things like house building, clothes, rope, food, and drink (they make Jose Quervo and mescal out of this plant). The agave/century plant/yucca all generally have long, sturdy leaves bordering with sharp spines, they sort of look like a large grey aloe vera.