Salamander as a Totem

[Nau7ik]

I know that Salamanders are the elemental inhabitants of fire. Man is said to be unable to successfully communicate with them because of their fiery nature, everything is turned to ashes in their pretense. Incense smoke can a means of communication I think. Or that their presence can made to be felt through the medium of the “ethereal effluvium” of the incense smoke.

The salamanders are as varied in their groupings and arrangement as either undines or the gnomes. There are many families of them, differing in appearance, size, and dignity. Sometimes the salamanders were visible as small balls of light. Paraclesus says: “Salamanders have been seen in the shapes of fiery balls, or tongues of fire, running over the fields or peering in houses.”

Medivael investigators of the Nature spirits were of the opinion that the most common form of salamander was lizard-like in shape, a foot or more in length, and visible as a glowing Urodela, twisting and crawling in the midst of the fire. Another group was described as huge flaming giants in flowing robes, protected with sheets of fiery armor. [...]

One most important subdivision of the salamanders was the Acthnici. These creatures appeared only as indistinct globes. They were supposed to float over water at night and occasionally to appear as forks of flame on the masts and riggings of ships (St. Elmo’s Fire). The salamanders were the strongest and most powerful of the elementals, and had as their ruler a magnificent flaming spirit called Djin, terrible and awe-inspiring in appearance. The salamanders were dangerous and the sages were warned to keep away from them, as the benefits derived from studying them were often not commensurate with the price paid. As the ancients associated heat with the South, this corner of Creation was assigned to the salamanders as their throne, and they exerted special influence over all beings of fiery or tempestuous temperement. In both animals and men, the salamanders work through the emotional nature by means of the body heat, the liver, and the blood stream. Without their assistance there would be no warmth.

—The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P Hall

I like the fiery element. It’s the closest to the spiritual realms. In Hebrew the letter Shin does double duty by representing spirit and fire.