Charles Darwin spent 40 years studying earthworms.
40 years trying to understand how something so seemingly simple could play such a meaningful role in our ecosystem.
His last written book “The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits” combined his experiments, notes, and ultimately the discovery of bioturbation (the process of moving soil naturally through burying, mixing, and ingesting) among other findings. This man was doing the work. And I am sure he never saw it coming. A true example of never knowing where life will take you. Thanks, Charles.
“Worms are historians, covering the remains of one civilization and preparing the earth for the next.” Charles Darwin
Now, I am less interested in how earthworms reacted to light, sound, and vibration — but deeply fascinated by what they tend to symbolize broadly, and how I have also interpreted their meaning in my life as of late.
Seemingly, the fascination began in recent months when I started pulling a card from my Animal Spirit deck nearly every day. The first time I pulled the earthworm card I resonated deeply with it.
Yes, I am reluctant to share my inner vision. Yes, other people around me seem wiser or more experienced and those feelings tend to block me from doing something new. Yes, when in balance I feel intelligent and when out of balance, apprehensive. And, yes, mastery does take time and I am on the right track. Yes, yes, and yes!
But the card was not a one-time-pull. I kept pulling, and pulling, and pulling. In one singular day, I pulled the card 4 times back-to-back. Yesterday I pulled the card, and today again. For nearly 4 months I have been pulling this card endlessly.
SO WHAT DOES IT MEAN? WHAT DO EARTHWORMS SYMBOLIZE? HOW CAN I CONNECT WITH THEM?
After some friends advised me to go find some worms, I started to dig in the big pot of soil that is home to my living room plant. And there they were, burying themselves beneath the soil. Blending in but shining when the sun hit them just right. I pulled a few out and just watched as they moved around on my hand. I felt like a kid again. Remembering how much I loved the smell of Ohio after it rained in the spring and summer. How much I loved digging in the ground to find worms, wild spring onions, and the perfect type of dirt for my “nature kitchen” recipes.
The moment the worms started moving on my hand I wanted to cry because I wasn’t scared or grossed out, I had never been. And for that connection to nature, I will always be so thankful.
After watching them move, on my hand and in the soil, a few of my own Darwin-esc observations came up:
I love the way they move. It is a wiggle of sorts — and typically around obstacles in the soil. They move as if they know exactly where they are going. A determined sense to go deeper and to find their way around the things stopping them from their destination.
They always are trying to find their way back to the soil, a place that is grounding. Grounding energy is my anchor because I love the opposite so much. I love being on the go, adrenaline, and adventure. Maybe too much sometimes. So, seeing how they crave the ground itself (in this case the soil in my pot) really reminded me of the importance of this type of energy in my own life.
Some portions of their bodies are transparent and some are concealed. It reminds me that there will always be parts of me that nobody will ever see or know. While also allowing me to realize that transparency means a lot in how I wiggle my way through the world (and how those around me do as well).
I love that they are exposed to the sunlight after it rains. They are vulnerable to predators (such as birds) and humans stomping around on the sidewalk. I think there has always been a vulnerability that comes with the sun. Less clothing, sweating, sunburns. It is a stepping out of sorts that I want to continue developing a better relationship with.
They remind me that I am going to make my way through. I will find my way. If I dig a bit deeper into myself or into subjects I am passionate about, I will never be led astray.
The work of going deeper keeps us alive. It allows us to regenerate who we are. Just as they regenerate the soil that we so deeply rely on. I will become that soil one day and the worms will help decompose me. I will become them, and they will do the work of keeping future generations around. Everything is cyclical.
The thoughts about worms continued to follow me as I was reading the March 1970 edition of The Whole Earth Catalog. Always being led to the right place and the right time.
To read that earthworms have 10 hearts made my 1 heart flutter. Their hearts are working endlessly to keep all of us alive. That is true love. The highest form of love in my eyes has selflessness at the core. Nature encompasses that to the truest degree and I think my connection to it will be the highest form of love I have ever received. Oh, and the fact that they are bisexual. Of course, they are.
I think it is easy to overlook the systems that are constantly showing us love, especially when they are just a bit beneath the surface. So, this is a letter to myself to always dig a bit deeper and to pay attention to the small stuff. It is always bigger than what it seems.
Oh, and here is a tune to listen to as you play with some worms
Xx
