Stillness 7-26: These past few nights a fox has been touring our yard, making its penetrating and distinctive call as it moves invisibly through the shrubbery and twilight that cloaks it. The fox is a creature of magic and the supernatural. Because it comes to visit during the “between times,” it is known as a guide to fairy realms. The Temple of the Fox in Peru is a 33-foot stepped pyramid temple from over 3000 years ago that aligns mysteriously with the sun and constellations on the equinoxes and solstices. In Persia, the Fox was a sacred creature, for it helped those who died continue on their journey in the afterlife. Fox totem healing has to do with shapeshifting, invisibility, and the power of the magician.
The fox is also a major figure in the wonderful book called Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Here’s a conversation between the Little Prince and the fox, who has asked the Little Prince to tame him so that they could be friends:
“What does that mean—‘tame’?”
“It is an act too often neglected,” said the fox. “It means to establish ties.”
“To establish ties?”
“Just that,” said the fox. “To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will unique in the all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world…”
“I am beginning to understand,” said the little prince. “There is a flower…I think she has tamed me…”
Much later, after the fox has been tamed, he tells the Little Prince his secret:
“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important … You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose.”
I have been thinking a lot about that these past few days.