Bunyip Symbolism & Meaning

Need to figure out if someone’s telling the truth? Want help discovering your soul’s mission? Bunyip, as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal, can help! Bunyip teaches you to see through fabrications while helping you connect with the higher self for spiritual guidance! Delve deeply into Bunyip symbolism and meaning to find out how this Animal Spirit Guide can inspire, support, and awaken you!

Bunyip Table of Contents

Bunyip Symbolism & Meaning

Straight from the fantastic narratives of Australian Myth comes the Bunyip: A creature lurking in the waterholes, rivers, streams, bogs, and marshlands in Australia. Stories of the creature originate from the Wemba-Wemba (or Wamba-Wamba): The native people in Riverina, Mallee, and portions of New South Wales and Victoria.

Bunyip’s physical description varies from one reported sighting to the next. In the late 1840s, the Moorundi people described a “dreaded” creature with the body of a gigantic Starfish dwelling in the Murray River. Many reports of Bunyip compare the beast to Dogs or Seals swimming in the water, while other sightings suggest the creature has a small head and lengthy neck.

When described as a Dog, Seal, or a strange mix of the two, Bunyip has a brown or black coat of fur and measures up to six feet long. Bunyip has no tail, but it has the whiskers of an otter or seal, and a head that looks like a bulldog with two pronounced ears.

Those depictions involving the long-necked variant suggest the Bunyip features the same brown or black fur coat and measures five to fifteen feet long. The creature has a neck measuring about three feet long complete with a full mane; Bunyip also has the head of an Emu or Horse, big ears, and two tusks. The beast calls out with a thunderous roar to make its presence known.

It was in the early 1800s when the first sightings of the Bunyip first appear. The creature’s name reveals its frightening nature. “Bunyip” translates as “evil spirit” or “devil.” The word “Bunyip” also refers to “fakers, imposters, and humbugs.”

An 1845 report suggests Bunyip hosts a long bill with the legs and body of an Alligator and the head of a Bird. The creature takes the life of its victims by hugging them to death. Once in a body of water, Bunyip then takes on the characteristics of a Frog swimming, but when on land, it walks upright on two legs. When standing, the creature nears thirteen feet tall.

The origins of Bunyip remain in debate, with some scholars drawing links between Elephant and Leopard Seals and Bunyip. Other scholars theorize a connection between the creature and extinct marsupials like the Palorchestes, Nototherium, ZygomaturusZ, and Diprotodon; this assertion comes from the belief fossil bones may be the inspiration behind the tales of the mythic beast.

In an article appearing in “Australian Birdlife” in 2017, Karl Brandt suggests Bunyip sightings stem from real-life encounters with the Southern Cassowary. Brandt bases his assertion on an 1845 portrayal of the Bunyip describing the creature as having the head like an Emu, a colorful chest, strong hind legs, and razor-sharp claws. The Bunyip also had jagged protrusions like a Stingray’s bone. Here, Emu and Cassowary symbolism may provide additional insight into the symbolic meaning of Bunyip.

Bunyip is a “between creature.” While its primary habitat is water, it is amphibious, so it can also function on land. The Aborigines navigate through bodies of water using flippers or fins. Bunyip corresponds with the Water Elements symbolizing dreams, imagination, emotions, and the subconscious. It also corresponds to the Earth, symbolizing power, grounding, and manifestation. With its ability to move between land and water, Bunyip signifies adaption, change, transformation, and transitioning through states of consciousness.

Bunyip Spirit Animal

If you are unclear about your life’s path or soul mission, Bunyip arrives as a Spirit Animal to help you find your path; Bunyip can navigate the murkiest waters without losing its way. The creature can guide you into the most profound depth of your subconscious so you can connect with your Higher Mind to rediscover your purpose. Since Bunyip is a land and water creature, its energetic influence is also excellent for aiding you with trancework or entering altered states of consciousness.

When your emotions are holding you back or overwhelming you, Bunyip swims in as your Spirit Animal to help you pull yourself out of the emotional rut. Bunyip is at the ready to help you rid yourself of old emotional codes threatening to drag you under.

Bunyip Totem Animal

If Bunyip is your Totem Animal, you’re a night Owl at heart, enjoying the quiet the night brings and the free flow of creative ideas coming to you in the wee hours of the morning. You prefer solitude over socializing with others and only trust those closest to you.

With Bunyip as a Totem, you are a human lie detector and are always on the lookout for those who might be duplicitous or disingenuous. When you fall in love, you demand the utmost loyalty. You have trouble letting go when a relationship ends.

Those people with Bunyip as a Totem have a love for water and may pursue swimming as a pastime or sport. You adapt well to sudden changes and from one environment to another. When you have something you want to express, you have no problem finding your voice.

Bunyip Power Animal

Call on Bunyip as your Power Animal when you want to protect what you value. Bunyip lets no one encroach on its territory. It will defend itself and the waters it dwells in aggressively; it’s a powerful Animal Ally when you need to safeguard your sacred space and what you treasure.

Invoke Bunyip as a Power Animal when you want to see through people and their behaviors. Bunyip is not only a Master of Disguises, but they can sense imposters, fabrications, and hypocrisy. Bunyip is an exceptional aid when you want to surround yourself with honest people and avoid those with bad intentions. The mythic beast helps you listen to your intuition and learn to trust your gut.

Aboriginal Bunyip Symbolic Meanings

Legends tell of the Bunyip lying in wait to ambush those who linger along the banks of the waters where the creature dwells. The Bunyip stalks people, taking them by surprise in an ambush-like attack, only to devour them. Some scholars suggest the more frightening tales associated with Bunyip were children’s tales told to keep them away from the waterside. Other lore tells of the Bunyip’s peaceful nature; in the milder depictions, Bunyip is a shy herbivore and avoids interaction with humans.

There haven’t been any sightings of the Bunyip in a hundred years. Scholars dismiss past sightings as being nothing more than a legend or based on a mistaken identification. But a recent discovery of ancient rock art inside a cave in Mount Difficult Range depicts not one, but four Bunyips in red ochre.

Bunyip Dreams

When Bunyip appears in your dreams, look at its physical presentation to draw additional meaning. For example, if Bunyip appears with the body of an Alligator, you might face a situation where you need to don on your emotional armor to prevent from having your feelings hurt. If the creature has the head of an Emu, you will soon have sudden epiphanies or inspiration that lead to a flight of ideas.

If a Bunyip howls in your dream, it serves as a warning. Consider the howl of Bunyip as an effort to awaken your awareness. In your waking life, you may not be seeing something that’s right in front of you, or you may not be listening to something you need to hear.

When a Bunyip is swimming in the water in your dream, the imagery relates to your current emotional state. If the water is clear and smooth, you have no emotional obstacles holding you back from happiness. If the water is murky, you may have mixed emotions about someone, or you may have trouble deciding how you feel about a situation or person. When the water is dark, you have unresolved issues you need to deal with to free yourself from your emotional chains. When a Bunyip ambushes you, your dream reveals you are spending too much time trying to rationalize things, and you are avoiding your feelings.

Bunyip Symbolic Meanings Key

  • Aggression
  • Defense
  • Disguise
  • Earth Element
  • Emotions
  • Hiding
  • Intention
  • Strength
  • Truth
  • Water Element

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