Spiritual Meaning of Rabbit and Rabbit Symbolism
Approx read time 4 minutes
Here’s something for you if you are a Rabbit lover or Rabbit has shown up for you recently. Maybe your child wants one as a pet, or you keep seeing them on the side of the road when out driving for example. However Rabbit shows up in your life it might be encouraging you to take note of its wisdom or ‘medicine’.
2023 was the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Rabbit. I never realised 'til recently that my Dad was born in the Year of the Rabbit back in 1939! Other Rabbit years include…1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999 and 2011. So if you or anyone you know were born in these years then 2023 could be particularly auspicious for them. Rabbits have often been linked to fertility and abundance. They seem to do very well at creating babies - symbolically representing passion and sensuality combined with putting energy into endeavours so that new things can be born into the world.
Rabbits have burrows and are often seen at dawn and dusk sitting on grass verges or at the edges of fields. Some will say this symbolises the connecting the lower and middle worlds of the shaman, and, as crepuscular creatures they are sometimes linked to the in-between times and that of portals, multidimensionality and time travel.
I remember reading somewhere, right at the start of my 'shamanic learnings' some 20+ years ago that Rabbits were symbolic of entering into other realities or dimensions. We've all experienced those times when we feel like time has raced (or dragged) and we often lose track of time when we're totally engaged in something creative or that we love doing - even just talking about stuff that fascinates and excites us can make time race by. But I think Rabbit's appearance can bring a whole different experience of 'time'.
I remember sharing this information about rabbits and timeslips with a friend one evening as we travelled back from Glastonbury and we subsequently saw loads of rabbits on our journey back that night. We left around 7pm for our destination and the SatNav had given us a journey time of about three and a half hours (so eta around 10.30pm). We got detoured on route due to roadworks and so wasn’t expecting to arrive back in Kent til about 11pm - we joked that we’d likely arrive at 11:11! When I dropped my friend home it was about 9.30pm. We’d somehow managed the trip in well under three hours - not physically possible, even if we hadn’t had a detour and I’d have been speeding the whole way (which I hadn’t!). Curious…
Did we BOTH mis look the clock on numerous occasions on that return journey, or did the rabbits (who popped up numerous times on the journey, including on two occasions by fields with crop circles in!) assist us and take us through a portal/timeslip or few!? I still can’t explain it to this day!
Many years ago Celts used to offer up an actual rabbit’s foot for good luck and to this day some still say “pinch, punch, first day of the month, white rabbits” before midday to invoke good fortune for the coming weeks.
There’s much symbolism around Rabbits (as there is any other animal to be fair) one of which is ‘fear’. Think of the saying “rabbit in the headlights” and you think of a startled bunny not knowing which way to go. They are prey to many (including foxes, owls and birds of prey) and so Rabbit has to be quick on their paws and keep an ear out for predators. But, flip that ‘fear’ around and you get LOVE.
Rabbits like to be together and if you think back to your childhood, it’s likely that a pet Rabbit has brought you love, smiles and calm at some point in your life. I know they did for me.
If Rabbit shows up it could be that you’re going down a rabbit hole into the depths of darkness and despair, or where there is seemingly no end or conclusion to a situation or line of questioning. If that is the case then call on Rabbit to assist you in overcoming that fear. By shifting your thoughts, and therefore your energy, to Love you will find that the fear disappears, or at the very least will subside enough not to ‘paralyse’ you. Remember that fear is usually a trick of the mind - False Evidence Appearing Real. It’s an emotion that vibrates at a frequency of contraction, but by focusing on LOVE - Love & Lightness, Openness & Oneness, Vibrancy & Vitality and Excitement & Enjoyment you will shift your frequency to one of expansion. You cannot experience a contracted energy and an expansive one at the same time, so always focus on the vibration of expansion.
So if Rabbit shows up it could be to do with:
Overcoming fear
Moving swiftly
Being alert
Good fortune & abundance
Fertility & productivity
Birthing new ideas
Excitement
Retreating/going ‘underground’ for a bit
Time as an illusion
Multidimensional travel & portals
If you enjoyed this and would like to develop a deeper connection with the animals you encounter, you will love our Journal into Animal Wisdom.
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