When A Jade Cicada Comes into your Life, GRAB IT!

Cicada Symbolism ~ Rebirth, Authenticity, Eternity

Cicadas are the longest living animals, which immediately cause them to be an obvious and appropriate symbol of longevity in animal totems. This and rebirth are the most common themes associated with the musical cicada, and these symbols are interpreted as highly personal. They speak to individuals directly, not only through their song but in the messages that their lives send.

Cicadas as spirit guides aid in the development, recognition, and emergence of the self throughout the various phases of the life cycle.

They have a long and transformative life cycle themselves, which is why they are associated with the past and present, metamorphosis, reincarnation, and change. Their appearance and calling may come later in a person’s life, after a period of isolation and seclusion, just as this insect experiences in nature.

After staying underground for much of its life, the cicada insect breaks free and loses its shell. This serves as a direct calling to people who need to come out from hiding and break free of the restrictions that you put on yourself – “to shed your skin”. The Cicada symbolism shows a person’s ability to deeply reflect and be reborn as a new, better individual who can express him/herself honestly.

Often times, you may find it difficult to understand and be comfortable and honest with your true self. You may feel completely and utterly lost and do not know where to look. Ironically, the information and insight that individuals seek usually lies just below the surface anyway, guarded only by blockades that we’ve created for ourselves.

When the cicada animal totem emerges from its life underground, it symbolizes rebirth into a new life, but also places importance on examining what can and should be resurrected from the old life. Re-examining elements of the past does not necessarily need to hinder growth and progress in the future. If you can learn one thing from the past, that knowledge will prove useful in a positive re-emergence into the future. 

These songstresses can teach you the commonly neglected art of communicating with yourself. Cicadas are strong communicators and inspire the same trait in people through their songs. They have a very distinct sound that is all their own, which symbolizes the need to channel your own voice and march to the beat of your own drum.

The Cicada spiritual totems thus help you to understand and be in tune with yourself by aiding in uncovering deep truths and thoughts that have been forgotten. After putting you in touch with your own voice, they aid in connecting it with your most heartfelt desires.

Because of this, you are enabled to behave and live in a style authentic to yourself. You can attain the rewards of all of those desires, as long as you are patient with the cicada symbol’s teachings. While your own voice is of the utmost importance, the cicada also requires a balance of speaking and listening. Although they play their own individual songs, they do so in harmony with their community by listening to their surroundings and others around them.

The cicada symbol’s themes of communication and self-discovery also have solar connections. They are heat-lovers who expose themselves in the hot, summer months. The summer season and the radiant sun that accompanies it symbolize light, expression, and nourishment, all of which are things that you need to take care of yourself.

Without light, nothing can live and without expression, you cannot nourish your soul. The cicada meaning shows that summer is the time for you to be aware of your self-nourishment. Are you warming your heart and the hearts of your community with positive expression and passion?

If not, it is time to reassess and illuminate yourself. You must let your own light grow inside of you before you can connect with those around you in the way that a community of cicadas join their individual songs in harmony.

NOTE:  The cicadas come out of the ground every seventeen years. On a scientific level, this is to emerge when their predators are low in numbers. On a deeper level, 17 is actually, in numerology, the number 8. The symbol for eternity is a sideways 8. In China, 8 represents the totality of the universe. In the English alphabet, the number 8 is perfectly balanced. Its energy encourages balance in us, resolution of dualities.
       Traditionally the number eight is a symbol of power and leadership, material gain. Financial and material abundance have the capacity to come  more easily during this season of the cicadas, but the key is, it will come to you only as much as your commitment to rebirth and authenticity come too. Like the cicadas, we who are ready and willing will shed our old skin, and emerge as a truer version of ourselves.