wandjina Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Been having a string of coincidences/synchronicities involving octopuses, more generally cephalopods...especially squid and cuttle-fish like creatures.I have always admired cephalopods, the most intelligent of invertebrates. The most expressive of molluscs For me, there has always been 'something' about cephalopods. Seems I'm not the only one ;)Terrence Mc Kenna had some interesting things to say about cephalopods...though I cannot recall the details, it was something to do with their skin...ie, that their mood is reflected in the colour and texture of their integument.How would we fare if we could not hide behind appearance? Or be able to emanate rippling chromatics, project gnarly protuberances, coil into a ball or ooze flat as a pool of water. Sometimes we do I suppose...though not with as much ease, at least in our everyday lives.Kaleidoscopic 'mood' skin, three hearts, a 'brain' or 'brains' distributed throughout the body (what may the implications be for consciousness if ones limbs were capable of thought?...which is not to say they aren't, reference to holographs etc blah blah)....blue blood, incredible flexibility, jet propulsion...and those eyes...those amazing alien eyes. CCan anyone remember a doco from a few years back on cable....it was a series, CGI, like 'Walking with Dinosaurs' in reverse. Hundreds of millions of years in the future, humans long gone...and the hypothetical organisms and ecosystems that could foreseeably evolve and inhabit future Earths.Highly speculative...but based on postulations of reputable paeleontologists, evolutionary ecologists and biologists of other stripes etc. fascinating.Anyway...in one episode future cephalopods are explored. One genera/species leaves the water for the trees...arboreal selection pressures lead to similar adaptations as in primate evolution...most especially on development of binocular vision/CNS. Apparently cephalopods are regarded as one of the most likely candidates for 'higher evolution', to become 'advanced' (its all relative i suppose...but an appealing hypothesis don't you think?)I would love to see this doco again..but cant find it or remember what it was called. Can anyone shed some light? cheers.Invertebrates, I am in awe!Seems we hear alot about insects, insectoids and mantids etc...but what about other arthropods (eg Crutaceans, Chelicerates-spiders, scorpions etc), worms (alot weirder than you might think...eg polychaetes) and molluscs....i know they're not so popular, but slugs are cool IMO, especially the predatory ones like Limax sp ...and of course octopus, squid and cuttlefish.I'd be really interetsed to hear about experiences with other 'totems' or animal archetypes. Do you consider yourself to have a totem, or 'relate'/'connect' to a particular animal? Or are you too rational for this kinda palaver and just have an unusual favourite animal that you admire or respect.Bring on the animal stories!!from http://www.sayahda.com/cyc3.htmlsome great stuff on animal totems:The OctopusOctopus live in dens, crevices on the sea floor, or holes they dig under large rocks. They are night predators and feed on crabs, sea snails, and other small fish. An adult female has a short life span approximately one to one and a half years. . There are over 100 species of these solitary eight armed animals that live on the ocean floor. They range in size from one inch up to 23 feet. Adults lay 1000’s of eggs at a time. They watch over the eggs for several months without ever leaving the den. Exhausted by breeding and starved by the vigil over her eggs the female octopus usually dies before or shortly after the eggs hatch. In the world of the octopus the cycle of life and death is continuos. The Greeks believe the octopus represents the sacred spiral of life, always evolving and ever changing. Near death and out of body experiences are common for those with this totem giving them the skills necessary to help others transition into spirit. They make excellent hospice workers and death and dying therapists.The agility of the octopus is surpassed by none. Since they don’t have bone attached to the muscles in their legs they can squeeze through openings no bigger than a penny. If the octopus loses an arm it will regrow another one. Flexibility and regeneration are some of its teachings. The study and practice of Yoga would be an excellent therapy for those with this medicine. The most unusual feature of the octopus is its 3 hearts. One heart pumps blood through the body and the other two-pump blood through the gills. This attributes to their constant high blood pressure. Octopus blood is blue and a poor carrier of oxygen. The rare condition known as a blue baby is associated with octopus medicine. Because of these physiological oddities the octopus has poor stamina and an inability to struggle offensively or defensively for very long. Heart conditions are common in those with this medicine so caution is advised. These unique creatures of the sea have excellent eyesight but cannot hear. They are believed to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates. Those with this medicine are clairvoyant at birth but have difficulty hearing or responding to the voice within no matter how hard they try. When octopus swims into your life it is asking you to let go of your inefficiencies, stop trying so hard and focus on fine tuning the skills that are naturally yours. Octopuses are experts in the art of camouflage and teach us how to utilize this skill for our own benefit. These fascinating creatures can change colors to mirror their surroundings and alter their skin texture to match the texture of sand, rocks or other surfaces they are on. They also squirt black ink into the water clouding a predator’s visibility so they can escape unharmed. The octopus is a powerful totem to have. By following its lead we learn how to move through life safely, securely and without struggles. i like cockatoo too.and lastly...how cool is this/these creature(s):pyrosoma pyrosome story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apothecary Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 I have been reading HP Lovecraft recently.For anyone with a fascination for Cephalopods, you might enjoy the imagery of his 'Call of Cthulhu' and various other weird short stories like Dagon.https://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Cthulhu_and_R&key=48fa4ae050e4401c2717ac73433b8958b9fc44b8d97fb178d3122e84358a735dRarrghghghhgghgh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramon Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Used to enjoy eating octopus until I found out how smart they are. Anyway a few months ago I was in a altered state on a small unihabited island in Moreton Bay.I was walking out to my friends boat about 200 meters away with my friend ( also in a similar state )About 20 meters away from us a jet of water erupted about 2 feet out of the water.Walked out to see what had caused it and a octopus about 3 feet across was sitting there.Just stopped and watched it fascinated by it, and it started to come towards us.It eventually came right up to me and touched my foot but my friend was filming this on his mobile phone and he moved to get a better shot of it and frightened it off.The next morning when we where returning home also had a couple of dolphins start hanging around the boat we where in so I took out a pilchard and offered it to them and one came and took it.Spent about 20 minutes hand feeding one of the dolphins ( the other never came to take the fish )Been out the a number of times and have never seen another octopus or had dolphins come up for a feed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chemakazi Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 (edited) I keep squid, cuttlefish and a few occy's and just managed to get the squid to breed (Euprymna Tasmanica), cephs are very amazing inverts. Through my study of them ive noticed some have very distingishable personalitys, some are very reserved, others very flamboyant quite like humans. The way they hunt, socialise, breed etc is all done differently depending on there personalitys. I can spent alot of time just watching them, they get to know you as a "friend" and will often "beg" me for more food and come up to the glass to say hello and i guess u could say "socialise"Few pics of mine, ( i have about 14 of them )Laying eggs:Burying and using tentacles to put more sand on topLarge Mother:Hunting:Stoners: I also keep blue ring octopus, its another amazing ceph, although not one to mess with or take lightly, its a very lethal creature that demands respect.Its venom contains interesting stuff:maculotoxin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, hyaluronidase, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine, taurine, acetylcholine, and dopamine. Edited January 5, 2007 by Chemakazi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apothecary Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Octopamine is an interesting one.Also found in Citrus aurantium, along with synephrine (and some other not so nice chemicals) which are both amines related to noradrenaline (effects are supposed to be similar to ephedrine but not as potent). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobriquet Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 I personally love the cuttlefish which is an amazing creature.It balances the flexibility with a bit of substance - the cuttlebone.They also have the most amazing skin colouration which is able to be changed at will, together with fluctuating fractal patterns which it uses to signal others. A beautiful demonstration of complex neural pathways almost like you can watch the animal's brain activity on a canvas.I wouldn't mind keeping some in the future if I ever get around to learning more about their upkeep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PD. Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 some creatures that have held my fascination for years................https://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://kaweahoaks.com/html/solifugid_face.jpg&key=943fc1b93be05f8770477d92374072d25adafedd37625fd3a121438cc26a3171"wind scorpion" aka "sun spider" https://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://biology.usgs.gov/features/learningrm/images_lr/watrbear.gif&key=d72e949900043be5c9b6d73cf4004bdea7d0771052e2b609e4cf5db9eed45a2f"Water bear" the size of a pin head. https://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://www.ecopix.net/ecology/resources/shieldshrimpc.jpg&key=26ff62df6a26959e601b11f6ee89884da7ed0c67c032c3f0dff0c0ea7d817303https://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://www.paconserve.org/rc/sp/images/fairy-shrimp.jpg&key=29e512464c5e10d58269390c080049d82f0c28cfb3bcfed43783731169219927"Shield shrimp" and "Fairy shrimp". I used to find lots of these on my parents property as a kid, i now realise that if i had of looked after these little "sea monkies" back then, i would prolly still have them as pets now. https://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://www.peatlandsni.gov.uk/images/wildlife/aquainverts/scorpion_tn.jpg&key=943a8cab3de142b1d60fed8080078872f03711140cc37211f37830c2db94c888https://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://www.nanfa.org/akiweb/163.JPG&key=5ffb704ca788bd0774fe13f87ef09557dc95c62895d45af8007dbe20f81cc9bc"Water scorpions".......... i played in water lots when i was growing up.The only wild animals i can think of that i have contact with these days are the families of Choughs (pronounced "chuffs") i talk to whilst walking through the bush looking at mushies.https://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://photogallery.canberrabirds.org.au/images/Chough_White-winged3_Fullagar.jpg&key=cbc3eb311f945924c7a4be85236566af1980c7114990d406a8acb54228bc7521very talkative little fellas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesq Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Wandjina:My girlfriend and I have been talking about this recently...My guess is that it is a push by the cephalapod conciousness for more understanding, and it is a very sensual and unobtrusive seep into our conciousness, unlike many other Conciousness groups who are infiltrating our state of mind in much more overt and violent means.As we move closer to the evolutionary point of convergence we will see more sentient creatures, making inroads into our psyche through our creative outlets, media and subconcious... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Μορφέας Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Cuttle fish are AMAZING, I saw a doco on them a while ago, fasinating animalsIv always been interested in the pharmacology of aquatic plants.. Thnking about it, Iv read absolutly nothing on the subject.Is there psychedelic aquatic plants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chemakazi Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 sobriquet you need a marine tank set up with good filtration and a protien skimmer, trickle / reef filter with the tank properly cycled. Also its recommened you can keep marine fish or have kept marine fish and know how it works before keeping them as they are a more advanced invert.A 2ft tank is sufficent for a couple of them, you cant keep fish with them because they will eat them, ive seen mine take prawns n fish 3 times there body size no problems at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
occidentalis Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 A marine biology researcher told me about something that happened during her PhD research which involved watching starfish move around a tank all night. This took place in a lab full of aquariums with many different creatures in them. Obviously this was pretty boring and she regularly fell asleep, and once she was awakened by a sound. She looked up to see an octopus crawling along the floor. It climbed up a metal stand and jumped into a tank containing fresh water, with goldfish in it. The octopus caught one of the gold fish, climbed back down, crawled across the concrete floor, climbed up a stand on the other side, and got back into it's own tank.She mentioned this to her professor, who refused to believe her. However, the janitor reckoned he'd seen it lots of times and even claimed the octopus was able to undo a screwtop jar containing fish food and help itself.Amazing animals, you are very luck to be able to look after them Chem . Perhaps one day I'll set myself up with something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nil Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 I also keep blue ring octopus, its another amazing ceph, although not one to mess with or take lightly, its a very lethal creature that demands respect.very cool!! are you required to be licensed to keep haplochlena? i have never heard of anyone keeping them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chemakazi Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 No theres no license required that im aware of. In my opinion you should have to have a license to keep one, they are very lethal creatures and you really need to know what u are doing. Ive seen them for sale in pet shops in sydney, its usually only the greedy ones that sell them other more reputatble shops wont keep them because of how dangerous they are. Its a beatifal invert but the death factor just doesnt warrant it, better to keep a dull looking normal occy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mescalito Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Very interesting information thanks for that!I love your setup chemakazi too :drool: As for totems, mine seem to be predominantly birds and insects/arachnids....one day I'll actually carve a totem-pole or get a tat to honour these guides.There is a book on american totems called "Animal Speak" which is a great read and has helped me through some tough times, and there is an Oz version too!Once I get some 35mm film developed, I'll post pics of a lorrikeet that followed me incessantly as I packed the last of my belongings into a truck to move a few years back to see me off.For me the Owl,Crow and Eagle show up just when I need them and adapting the american guide I've had success in overcoming some major obstacles....I've had feathers fall at my feet and made them into a ritual necklace.I like how enceph's like snails have one foot too <___base_url___>/uploads/emoticons/default_newimprovedwinkonclear.gif .P.S. you shouldn't eat your totems as food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apothecary Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 She mentioned this to her professor, who refused to believe her.Her professor must be a jerk, because there are plenty of documented cases of Octopi in marine biology aquariums that escape to feed on whatevers in nearby tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzito Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 (edited) Rarrghghghhgghgh.lol@Apothecary. That was a great caption for the Cthulu beast. I have always found Cuttlefish, etc amazing since I did work experience at Sydney Aquarium in year 10. You can stand there for 1 minute watching a group of small cuttlefish, and you will probably see 1000 different colours! They change colours at a ridiculous rate, and I think a tank of them would be awesome to watch whilst Edited January 5, 2007 by Benzito Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
occidentalis Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Her professor must be a jerk, because there are plenty of documented cases of Octopi in marine biology aquariums that escape to feed on whatevers in nearby tanks.The event took place in the 70s IIRC, but yes, the essence of the story was that her professor was a jerk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandjina Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 wow Chema.... that is so cool! I would love to keep some cuttlefish or other cephs....down the road at gordons bay Ive seen schools (is that the correct term?) of cuttlefish, shimmering and irredescent....exquisite. Little ones are so cute, yours are gorgeous! would love to see some pics of your blue-ringed octopus.Interesting what you and you partner have been discussing Mesq...resonates with me. For me cephalopods, perhaps especially octopus, feel motherly and sensual, sensuous....but then, they may also have hooks and razor sharp beaks! Cephalopods are wily predators, not algae nibbling vegetarians ;) Powerful.I love crafty octopus stories from aquariums etc...one of the most famous comes from an aquarium in NZ if i recall correctly....an octopus was pilfering lobsters...refined tastes! And ive heard from a number of sources that they can definately open screw top jars, also that they go mad if not provided with adequate stimulation...so keepers often give them toys, change tank set up etc. Out of curiousity, does anyone know what the octopus represents in other cultures? Google seems heavy on 'dream dictionary' hits...im more interested in what cephs symbolised to, for eg, the Ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Polynesian, Native American, Aust Aborigines etc and other peoples.On another note....save the tree octopus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nil Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 No theres no license required that im aware of. In my opinion you should have to have a license to keep one, they are very lethal creatures and you really need to know what u are doing. Ive seen them for sale in pet shops in sydney, its usually only the greedy ones that sell them other more reputatble shops wont keep them because of how dangerous they are. Its a beatifal invert but the death factor just doesnt warrant it, better to keep a dull looking normal occy i agree you should have to be licensed. that's shocking. tanamount to keeping atrax robustus and i know quite a few people who keep those as well. fortunately they aren't found in pet stores! i'm a spider person....i kept a latrodectus hasselti for a couple months until she made an eggsac. of course, once that hatched they all had to go bush. is it true the bite of haplochlena is totally painless? have you heard of anyone being bitten? are they terribly defensive creatures or fairly docile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chemakazi Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 is it true the bite of haplochlena is totally painless? have you heard of anyone being bitten? are they terribly defensive creatures or fairly docile?they say its supposedly painless, by the time you notice u have its usually to late as your breathing shuts down. I dont know anyone myself who has been bitten but theres a few reports for australia for them. They can be both docile and defensive depending on there personality. All cephs have complex personalitys just like us humans - some are curious.. docile.. extreamly defensive / angry. One occy i had was just pure hate, all it would do was bear its beak at you through the glass with its arms up in its attack position ALL the time. Scary little dude lol. One normal bimac occy i have is very playfull. He knows when its feeding time and will sit at the top of the tank when i take the lid off, if i dont pay him attention and feed the other fish he squirts water at me lol. Sometimes he puts one of his arms out of the tank in vain attempts to grab the feed bag. He is a real playfull character, they are very intelligent animals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FungalFractoids Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 I enjoy having inter-dimensional psychedelic cephalopods suckling at the synaptic centres of my brain. It makes me feel good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Μορφέας Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 (edited) Body massage therapy maybe? Edited January 23, 2007 by tepa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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