FROG MEDICINE

…. Croak…Ribbit…Trill

…and no, I’m not talking about Kambo. That’s a tangent for another time.

I’m talking about frog medicine as in interacting with them and learning from them. You don’t need to partake in a substance to experience the wisdom of the frog.

When we take time to interact and learn from animals beyond what google tells us, but in our own lives and through our own personal experiences, we meet a connection point granted to us by the natural world, a gift or mutual exchange…something greater than humans just “taking” something for their own desires.

Nature initiates us when we honor it.

Outside of the obvious symbolism as gleaned from the screens we peruse searching for messages or answers there is the natural world exemplifying how to just be what we are, who we are as individuals.

There are 4 ways Frogs have been medicine in my life, here are some insights:

SOUND
I picked up a little wooden toy at a vintage shop that makes frog sounds. It was so intriguing, you just run the little wood mallet over the carved wooden back of the little toy and it produces a sound that strangely resembles, quite accurately, the scratching throat sound of a frog. It’s funny how loud something so tiny can be, isn’t it? Kind of like songbirds flittering around on tree branches heard a mile away.

Picking up the wooden toy brought back memories with my grandpa where he taught us how to make weird frog-like scratching sounds with our throat. The croaking sound frogs make is multifaceted, from warnings of predators, claiming of territory or attracting a mate. When you relax the throat and move your tongue to the upper back part of your mouth, it sort of emulates one of the sounds that frogs make when they puff up their chin and make a bubble.

I don’t know why we did this when I was child, but we thought it was funny. It probably wasn’t good for the voice in actuality, but when you’re hopping around like a frog on the playground, sound effects are mandatory.

There are a lot of frogs in the area I live in now and as dusk comes each night so do croaks and trills ring out announcing to the day dwellers that it is time to rest and the night owls can come out to play.

Let the sounds of these tiny creatures remind you that your voice also echoes out into eternity.

TOUCH
I never thought I’d fulfill the fairytale of kissing an actual frog but after I got over my fear of holding them I figured what the heck, it couldn’t hurt, right? 😊 My prince hasn’t arrived yet, but if he’s operating on toad time, then I get it. Haha!

It wasn’t until I had a pool in the backyard that I understood the necessity to rescue frogs that find their way over to the large cauldron of water and can’t get out.

At first, I would get a net and try to reason with them that I was a friend and there to help. Needless to say, they didn’t listen and their attempts to run from me sometimes left them bloated with water and on the bring of death.

Eventually, I figured out that I had to earn their trust in a different way and the way to do that was through picking them up and getting to know them. Some of them would pee on me, but it wasn’t that bad, better than duck poop. Some of them would wiggle so much I could hardly hold on to them. In time, as I became more comfortable, so did they. Now, I just pick them up and try to take them back over to the pond near some water OR to a tree if it’s a tree frog. I’ve noticed they don’t always wiggle so much anymore. I think they know I’m a friend and won’t be using the frog gigger I found in the barn unless we reach apocalyptic times, to which I cannot make any promises at that point.

The thing is, when I wasn’t afraid of them any longer, they weren’t as afraid of me. There’s a lesson in that to be interpreted in a multitude of ways, I’ll leave it for you to decide exactly what that is.

MOVEMENT
Frogs are rain shamans, calling in and celebrating the moisture that nourishes health and growth. The Jumping amphibians know when to conserve energy and when to chill, when to lay low and blend in like camouflage with the environment and when to stand out and let their voice be heard.

Frogs long reaching limbs show us that it’s necessary sometimes to be bold by taking great leaps forward, that progress need not always be slow and steady, but sometimes a grand jump into the unknown.

Are we staying coiled back in the comfort of a life of lounging around or are we willing to spring forward in a giant leap…maybe a bit of both?

HUNTER AND HUNTED
If you are gen-x like me, then you might remember the Atari game of Frogger.

In this game you used the joystick to help the frog navigate through traffic without getting splattered by a speeding car on the highway. It required agility, rhythm and precision because when things sped up, the odds went down that the frog could make it across and to the finale.

Along the way there were not just cars, but alligators and snakes. We had to tap into our inner frog wisdom and help that digital frog navigate the murky waters and predator filled landscape of uncertainty and danger. Like life in this very moment, that is the wisdom of the frog, remembering that safety doesn’t exist in this grand adventure of life, not really…though it can be cultivated inwardly, we each have a role to play out through our own unique expression and we get to try to fulfill it or sit safely by the pond….the ending will still come….will we reflect on the journey we risked taking….will it be visceral and tangible or only in the imagination of days appreciated for whatever they brought forth, both the fear….and the quenching rain.

Frogs remind us it’s ok to attempt to hop into our potential, to transform from a wee tadpole into a toad that knows….they show us that we have to be willing to step into the unknown and take risks even if that means we find ourselves in a pool where it feels like we’re drowning….they invite us to get in touch with the sounds of our true voice, even if it’s a bit scratchy or strange.

On a random side note, I remember watching a frog smoke a cigarette one time…it really bothered me that a human would do that to an animal for their own amusement. I think this gave me insight early on into the cruelty of humans…. the things they do for a laugh, out of boredom, just because, or in complete disrespect of the natural world. I can’t deny it was an unforgettable sight, but maybe today that little frog gets some redemption, even if only in Spirit.

Ribbit on,

Angela

NOTE: The video above is my usual trek to help them get back to their home. I took all of the photos as well, one was a frog hanging out on the gate to the mailbox…he was so cozy I let him be and climbed the fence instead….the toad was huge and looked like he was giving me the A-OK hand sign. :)