BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Native American Bats

Last week, when I was cooking for a client at her home for a week, I went up to my bedroom after dinner and found a bat in it. It flew at tremendous speed from the open window towards me, round behind me and back to the window then back to me again in a loop, at least 20 times before it settled on the bed for a few seconds and then flew away into the open again. I was shocked but thrilled. I wondered what the significance of a bat might be in Native American culture - is it a particular symbol?

Hi Isabel and welcome to the Native American forum. This is an interesting story you share with us, thank you. The bat in Native American symbolism is of intuition, dreaming and vision.

The bat was bringing you a message, probably to pay close attention to your dreams, or your intuitions (gut feelings about something).

You are very fortunate to have received such a message. Keep us updated on anything that comes to mind in relation to this message from your little friend.

Dear Phyllis

I wonder whether the bat was using me as a messenger? Can that happen? I was working at the same house this past weekend when this occurred to me, as there is a lot of emotional turmoil going on there at the moment, so perhaps the message was about the house and its inhabitants. I have read that the bat is also a symbol of death and rebirth, and new beginnings, which would make a lot of sense in this instance.

Hi Isabel,

The bat is powerful medicine and is symbolic of rebirth in Shamanism. A person learning to become a Shaman will go through a ritual of symbolic death, where they die to the old habits/identity of themselves and are reborn. This is their way to let go of any fears or habits/patterns/beliefs that no longer are needed or wanted in their new life. The "death" in this case is not physical death, rather it is letting go of something in order to gain a new and beneficial way of life.

It is possible that your little friend was using you to pass on the message to someone else in that house. Maybe someone in that home needs to let go of something that is hindering them from growing spiritually.