Spirit Guide of the day is Badger! Defend your beliefs and morals with stern ferociousness, but remember to not get aggressive just for the sake of it. Use your aggression by turning it into productive energies rather than simply tearing into others. This may mean becoming more self-reliant rather than waiting on others turning to negative emotions when they don't pull through. Now is a time to use persistence in order to focus on your goals and follow them through. Do not let yourself get sucked into avoidance techniques, but work towards finishing what you have put your mind to. The Badger guide is known for it's connection to reliance, bold self-expression, and as a keeper of stories. Badgers are seen as tied to words from the strength of their jaws, keeping stories and relating them as tales to learn from. The bright white streaks on it's head also symbolize the it's aspect of being a keeper of the light, open to the knowledge of the Earth and animals. Being diggers, Badgers live in underground homes full of chambers called "earths" which symbolize the connection for knowledge hidden under us and our abilities to bring them out to share with others. This underground lifestyle also shows us the importance of herbs and healing. Badger reminds us we can be healers and teachers. If Badger comes to you it could mean you need to step up as someone to aid others, but it could also mean that you may not need to work on being more self-reliant or to dig up stories and lessons from your childhood. People who connect with Badger often seem rather gruff, but hold a sensitive side within themselves they don't often like to share. These individuals are persistent types who will work for a long time in order to gain their goal. These storytellers love to share tales and take on a teaching role. They are often natural healers with unconventional methods and will avoid confrontation as much as possible, but will fight if needed.

Badgers, Taxidea Taxus, are omnivorous mammals that can live up to 24 years old. These small animals have wedge-shaped, bulky bodies in grey, black, brown, white, and even gold colors. They belong to the Mustelidae family and are related to ferrets, minks, otters, weasels, and wolverines. There is some debate among researchers on what classifies as a "true badger". While Honey Badgers are considered to be "badger-kin" there are only three agreed upon true-badgers: The North American Badger, the Eurasian Badger, and the Asian Hog Badger. The size of a Badger can range in size with a weight between 9 and 39 pounds, a length between 20 and 34 inches, and a 4 to 6 inch long tail that adds to their overall length. Various species of badger can be found throughout the world including areas of North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. American badgers are generally found throughout the Great Plains, western United States, and into both mountainous areas of Mexico and central western areas of Canada. The Asian badger lives in China, Russia, and Eastern Europe while the Eurasian badger can be found in those regions as well as throughout Ireland to Spain. Hog badgers can be found in Southeast Asia, India, and Sumatra while the Honey badger lives in southern Africa. The omnivorous diet of a badger consists of mainly earthworms and even the larvae of daddy long legs. Badgers will also consume bird eggs, fruit, slugs, small mammals, and snails. The honey badger, however, is actually a carnivore and will feed on animals larger and smaller than itself such as foxes, snakes, jackals, crocodiles, insects, and larvae. Their name comes from the habit of searching for beehives to eat the honey and their scientific name Mellivora literally means "honey eater." They even have a unique resistance to snake venom. Badgers are all nocturnal, hunting for their food during the cool evenings. Strong, broad paws and sharp claws enable them to dig burrows underground consisting of a combination of tunnels and multiple chambers called "earths." The entire burrow is called a "Sett". These Setts can be as small as 22 yards or as large as 109 yards. Badgers will use soft grasses and leaves as bedding and even create a special chamber reserved solely for bathroom necessities. While many badgers are solitary and don't care much for the company of any other creatures, there are some species that are quite social and live in groups called clans or cetes. These social badgers will often share territory. Even so far as using setts that have been used by many generations of badgers throughout the centuries. Breeding can occur anytime throughout the year for badgers, however, females possess the ability to delay implantation of a male's seed so that they only give birth once a year generally in mid to late winter. A female will give birth to between one and fives babies called cubs which remain in the birthing chamber of their sett until they are eight weeks old.