The axolotl is a very unique type of salamander. We’ll get more into that with the facts because there’s a lot to delve into. I tried to write it in paragraph form, but there was so much information that it got messy. Lists are so much neater.
First, I want to note that the axolotl is critically endangered. There are only 50-1,000 left in the wild. There are about 1 million in captivity though. Why? Axolotls are found in only one area, which is the Xochimilco lake complex near Mexico City. With the expansion of human civilization, there has been an increase in pollution and some of their territory has dried up completely. For example, Lake Chaco was a major habitat for axolotls, but it has destroyed. Other threats are overfishing since they are considered a delicacy and introduction of invasive species like perches.
There is a big self-preservation reason to push for the axolotl to survive and not go extinct too. They are very important to researching regeneration because they can regrow limbs and organs. Other species can, but they are one of the few that are able to be bred year round and quickly. This makes them very useful in finding ways to help our own medical field. Specifically, their genetic makeup could hold clues towards curing age-related diseases and aging in general. Not immortality, but to make it that our bodies don’t break down like they tend to do.
So, what are some axolotl facts?
They have a rare condition called neoteny. This means that they don’t lose their larva features when they become adults.
The larva features they keep include feathery exterior gills and a rear dorsal fin.
Axolotls still grow lungs, which they use to get air from the water’s surface.
Unlike other amphibians, they are 100% aquatic and do not leave the water.
They come in brown, black, albino, grey, and pale pink colors.
Axolotls are larger than other salamanders.
Their skeleton is made mostly of cartilage instead of bone.
Aztec mythology says that the axolotl is the god of fire and lightning in disguise.
Axolotl regeneration has gained attention because their new limbs regrow perfectly and there is no markings between new and old flesh within a few weeks. This makes it highly efficient.
They can regrow the same limb up to five times.
Their genome is 10 times the size of humans at 32 billion DNA bases. Two genes have already been identified in connection to regeneration.
Axolotls reach sexual maturity at 6 months.
They are also called the Mexican Walking Fish.
The axolotl is 1,000 times more resistant to cancer than mammals.
Time for some Google Image Searched pictures and YouTube videos.
This week did have a terrible disaster . . . At least, it was a stressful headache.
So, I mentioned in last weekend’s goal post that I was going to work on a James Bond puzzle. I actually finished it Tuesday night and started gluing it. I couldn’t get the wax paper underneath, so I tried to do a quick layer of glue on top to seal it enough for an easy move. It seeped through and started drying to the table within 2 minutes, which is faster than it usually does. I was scrambling to clean everything and shift the puzzle when it fell off the table and . . . folded in half. So, I spent the rest of Tuesday night separating puzzle pieces before they were permanently fused to each other. The rest of the week was putting the chunks and solitary pieces back together. Finished it last night, but the whole thing is warped and ugly when you get close to it. Really liked this puzzle too.
The rest of the week was the usual stress of working and parenting. With my son having Lego Robotics until 4:30, I had time after work to do some biking or run errands. The trade-off was that he had to stay up later to do homework. So, there wasn’t much fun and relaxation to be had. I mean, I had only enough time each night to fix part of the puzzle and watch an episode or two of ‘White Collar’. Needless to say, I didn’t get any writing or much blogging for August done.
Speaking of writing, Do I Need to Use a Dragon?is still on pre-order as a 99 cent eBook on Amazon. It’s so hard to write promos for a ‘how to’ book once you’ve filled up one month with the obvious. August is slowly sliding away from the direct promos on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The topics are all about writing, but not ‘how to’ specifically. I’m doing my best to make connections though. Summer sales tend to be iffy anyway, so I don’t know how hard I have to push since I don’t have a marketing budget to sink into this project. Preparing myself to simply be happy that it’s published and going to see the light of day.
To be honest, I’m still trying to recover my energy from Covid. My stamina is definitely not what it was in early April, which meant I should have taken it easier. I figured there wasn’t a point since I was bustling at work. I might as well have continued the biking (aching legs) and giving the same amount of energy I usually do with my son. Finally pulled a 70 minute biking week for the first time since mid-April, which is a good sign and I hope to keep it going.
Unfortunately, me not getting through a lot of August blog posts means that I couldn’t tackle Phi Beta Files. I finished a character during a break since I realized I left her half-finished. Juggling the idea of using today for August posts and tomorrow to finish this grouping of characters. That leaves me the long-term supporting cast and then the 6 collections to plan out. Since I don’t want to touch the next Darwin outline until Memorial Day weekend, I might as well push some idea ahead.
A lot of it will depend on what happens this morning too. I have a doctor appointment, which is a 3-month follow up. I was supposed to lose a bunch of weight or I’d be put on medication. Back in March/early April, I was starting to shed pounds. Then, a run of birthdays, holidays, gatherings, stressful days, and then Covid hit to knock me back to where I started. It’s frustrating that it took a little more than a month to drop 9 pounds, but it took 3 weeks to gain 7 pounds. Hearing more about the medication I’d be put on makes me want to avoid it too because I don’t like the sound of the side-effects. Seems it needs me to exercise and be on a good diet too. If I have trouble doing those things in the first place then the medication isn’t going to work. There are the side-effects issue too with some of them making my work day a high risk situation. Guess we’ll see what happens today.
In more positive news, my son had his last chorus concert of middle school. He got to be one of the soloists when they sang ‘Hamilton- My Shot’. His part was the person who is shouting around 3:14 in the video above. He then was with 2 others to do more of the backup stuff for the students who sang Hamilton’s part. It was a lot of fun to watch and I’m very proud of him. Today, he has a NYSSMA performance too. NYSSMA is a state music event where students can sign up to perform for a judge and get a rating. He’s singing ‘Over the Rainbow’ and he’s supposedly got it down pat. For some reason, he won’t sing when I’m around. Another big milestone though.
Only other big event of the week was my Life Skills class got a tour of a nearby Amazon distribution center. No pictures allowed, but it was really cool to see what goes on to get the trucks ready. Our students were great and well-behaved. One kept our hosts on their toes with questions that they had never heard before. My favorite was ‘what is the cheapest thing you can buy on Amazon?’ and one of the people was determined to get an answer. Found a screw for .56 cents and free shipping/handling. After the tour, we got lunch, which was me and one student getting ramen while the rest got pizza. Then, a small walk around Barnes & Noble before heading back. Overall, a great trip and a nice end to a crazy week.
Goals of the week?
Keep on recovering.
Keep on helping my son with schoolwork.
Keep on working my students.
Keep on watching ‘White Collar’.
Keep on working on August posts.
Keep on trying to get to Phi Beta Files.
Keep on biking.
Keep on puzzling.
Get pizza for lunch tomorrow even if doctor tells me I shouldn’t because I feel like I deserve a slice or two for working so hard.
This probably isn’t going to be a long post. I felt like sharing some of the books I used when I was looking into animal symbology. There was a third book, but I don’t remember the name or author. So, I couldn’t find a picture. A shame too because that one had mythical creatures like dragons and phoenixes in it.
Now, I don’t know anything about the author or much behind what was in the books. I picked these up in college when my interest was piqued. I got one of the books at a Barnes & Noble that was about 30 minutes away from the campus. Another one I got in a New Age store in Syracuse that some friends went to. I really didn’t delve that deep into the uses, but would open to a random page and read up on an animal. I was amazed at how it wasn’t just general animals, but specific species. One type of eagle would mean something different than another. There were shared meanings, but enough of a difference to see that seeing one instead of the other in nature was important. I tried to carry that over to my writing too.
At the time, I was playing around with tons of ideas too. There were three that this really connected to:
The various barbarian tribes of Windemere. I was making a list of tribes and each one had a different animal. So, I was using the symbology books to help me design the tribes. I wanted each one to be unique in how they viewed the world. For example, Timoran Wrath comes from the Snow Tiger tribe. So, I looked at what the tiger meant besides courage, which included generosity and observation. This got added to Timoran’s personality as well.
I had another story that never got off the ground. I called it ‘Kin’ and had actually come up with it while in Israel for a summer. The concept was that the world has changed and been overtaken by nature. Humans continue to exist with tree cities while creating more tribal cultures. One way to make money and gain power is to become a ‘Kin Fighter’. These are people who have discovered their spirit animal and bonded with the ethereal being to gain their abilities. They use these powers to battle in a competition. I had the hero be a young man who came from one of the poorest cities or was an orphan. Bounced him around a bunch of animals, which included a velociraptor at one point. It wasn’t until I used the above books that I started getting a better idea and gave him a red panda . . . The idea still didn’t work.
The final idea is another lost concept. It’s actually what I call ‘Keys of Eden’ and involved a character or two trying to collect special animals. The reason varied in the versions from restoring peace to the Garden of Eden to saving another kingdom. I had the animals talking and used the books to come up with their civilizations. At one point, I took a Pokemon route and created 100 beasts that had to be collected to save the kingdom. It was all in a notebook that I must have lost during the crazy move from Florida to New York. A shame too because I keep wanting to tinker with that idea from time to time.
So, where did those books go? I have no idea. The third one disappeared too. I thought they were on my resource shelf above my desk, but they aren’t. I checked my library and found nothing. I’ve got a feeling that they were packed up with my ex-wife’s similar stuff and I never got them before she moved out. That pretty much means they are long gone and there’s no point in buying new copies. I’m not doing anything with animal symbology right now. Still, it’s a fun rabbit hole to jump down if you’re curious.
(This one I remember because I still talk about this issue. People are always quick to give advice. They don’t always think about how easy it is to put that advice into practice. Best example is when you’re told to JUST take 30 MINUTES out of your day for exercise to be healthy. Tell this to someone who is waking up before dawn and not being able to rest until 9 or 10 PM. They’re probably not going to jump at the end by waking up earlier or staying up later. Seriously, why do people think sacrificing sleep is the answer to time issues? Anyway, you get the point.)
It is the easiest thing
To tell someone
The actions they must do
Opining like a sage
Making the impossible
Sound like common sense
The truth
Is that we are merely talk
Spouting pure advice
That one can take
Or toss into the trash
Depending on their mood
We rarely think
Of the fretting chooser
The one who will soon act
And change a point of life
Reaping consequences
Both dark and light
It is worse
When the chooser is trapped
Crying to get out
Yet too weak to move alone
Fearing either choice
Until paralysis sets in
Friends and family
Swarm like gulls
Chattering their views
Some are wise
While some are blind
All miss a subtle point
It is easy to give voice
When you are not the trapped
Orating what to do
From the safety of the fringe
Ignorant of all emotions
That the chooser is at war with
Above you see a breakdown of what a tiger can mean in various situations. There’s much more to it than that and you may find a difference in symbolism throughout cultures and groups. That makes it a little difficult to use in fiction, but not as much as one would think. Why?
Well, the most common reason someone would research the symbolism of an animal is for inspiration. The author is working with fiction, so there are going to be some licenses being taken. It might not even be apparent when the story is finished since this is something that can lie beneath the surface. Saying flat out that a tiger is in the story to be a sign of the main character’s adventurous spirit is rather clumsy. It’s not a massive info dump, but it’s kind of like pointing a neon sign at something that doesn’t need that much attention. Not unless the character is on a spirit animal quest or discovering the meaning is plot essential. If not then you can keep it to yourself and avoid angering various groups who take animal symbolism very seriously. As they should in my opinion.
Now, what are some ways you can use animal symbolism?
Cultural Creation
In fantasy, you may want to create a shamanistic culture. To make that work, you will need to consider the connections between people, nature, and spirits. I’m simplifying things here, so know that’s reality is more complicated. Anyway, these cultures can talk about the meanings of animals and why it’s important. You can make stuff up on your own, especially if you don’t work with real animals. Yet, reading up on animal symbolism can help you get an idea of the system and beliefs that are behind it. You will see what kind of things animals can mean and how it relates to their habits. Some resources will show how people connect the animal’s symbolism to how they are used either as a resource or a neighbor. For example, the tiger being a courage and willpower makes it a common animal used for a test of manhood in coming-of-age stories. The first live-action ‘Jungle Book’ had this way back in the 90’s. This is the one with Jason Scott Lee and no talking animals. Good movie.
Another aspect of a fictional culture that animal symbolism can be used for is connecting to spirits for power and help. You may see people online talking about a ‘spirit animal’, which is kind of what this concept is about. Only it’s more in-depth, serious, and not a cry for attention. In some cultures, a person will meditate or go into the wilderness in search of the animal that connects to them. It can be multiple animals too. The idea is to not look for anything specific, but to see what finds you. I don’t know of how this actually worked or if this was a real thing, but this is how it can go in fiction. The character would wander around until they find an animal that they connect to. If you research the symbols of various animals, you will be able to bring more focus and variation to the rite. This can also help you gain some guidance on how the character will act in the future.
Monster Creation
This is fairly self-explanatory. If you’re trying to create your own monsters, you may want to use parts of real animals. A way to help decide on what to do or figure out some habits is to look up the animals’ meanings. You may see that one of them fits what you want better than the others, so you can have the monster be more of that animal. This can also create a symbology for your fictional creature. Consider that if we do this with our wildlife, wouldn’t citizens of another world do the same with their own? This is a fun part of world-building and can be used to enhance any characters who may use powers and magic from nature.
Spells
There are schools of magic that involve animals. This can be summoning, nature-based, spirit-based, druidic, or whatever you wish to call it. Maybe the caster adopts the power of the animal they are calling forth. While you don’t need to know what they can symbolize, it can help with adding more facets to the magic. This means that the animal can be summoned or connected with for more than physical abilities. Going back to the tiger, a caster may call forth such a spirit for a boost of courage. You also have magical rituals and spells that require ingredients. Those tend to come from animals, so knowing the meanings can help you narrow down what you want to use in your story.
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These are just the three ways I’ve used animal symbology. It isn’t necessary, but can definitely help when you need something to help narrow your focus. It can even help in other genres if you want to play around with dreams or animals.
Legends of Windemere 