Jersey Devil Symbolism & Meaning

Want to understand a situation you’re in and its underlying cause? Do you need to stand up for yourself or others? The Jersey Devil, as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal, can help! The Jersey Devil enables you to tear through the blindfold holding you back from seeing the truth while helping you discover your hidden inner strength. Delve deeply into Jersey Devil symbolism and meaning to find out how this Spirit Animal Guide can enlighten, inform, and support you!

Jersey Devil Table of Contents

Jersey Devil Symbolism & Meaning

Jersey Devil or “Leeds Devil” comes bursting forth into the world screaming and straight out of the pages of American Folklore; the legendary cryptid is a frightening monstrosity which, according to lore, lives in the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey. Initial reports of the beast emerge from the darkest shadows of the human imagination in the mid-1730s. During this period, a series of strange events give rise to the multiple sightings of the chimerical creature: Events of historical, religious, and political significance.

The Jersey Devil is a two-legged creature with cloven hooves. The same feet are common in mammals like the Pig, Goat, and Sheep, but they are also a feature people have long associated with the Devil in Christian Cosmology. For an Animal, the cloven hoof offers the creature incredible traction on steep terrain; it’s a characteristic linking the beast to the Earth Element. But the beast also symbolizes sure-footedness when moving through otherwise precarious conditions.

The creature’s ability to fly is because of its Bat-like wings, which ties the Jersey Devil to the Air element, the expansion of the intellect, and wisdom. The Leeds Devil has two horns protruding from its head, symbolizing the beast’s ability to sense its environment and tune into the psychic realm for insight. Its arms taper off into two hands with treacherous talons. Adding to its alarming appearance is the fact the creature has a pointed tail and reptilian or leathery skin. Some reports claim it looks like a Kangaroo, Dog, or Wyvern-like in appearance. The symbolism and meaning of all the latter mentioned Animals, real-world and mythic, may provide more insight into the Jersey Devil’s meaning when it appears as an Animal Ally.

Jersey Devil Spirit Animal

If you are lacking confidence and need a serious boost in your self-esteem, the Jersey Devil may arrive as your Spirit Guide. The creature’s cloven feet ensure it can stand sure and proud without the worry of losing its footing. As an Animal Ally, the Jersey Devil also appears to people who bend too quickly to the will of others or who should stand firm with their convictions. When the creature enters as your Spirit Animal Guide, its message is, “Stand proud. Say what you mean and mean what you say!”

Jersey Devil may fly into your reality while letting out an alarming scream, especially if you need an awakening. If you feel you’ve been out of touch with the realm of Spirit or as if the deepest parts of your heart, mind, or spirit are in hibernation, the Jersey Devil arrives just in time to stir up stagnate energies and help whip you back into shape! Likewise, the creature appears to those who have yet to recognize their own powerful psychic defense system; part of the Jersey Devil’s Medicine involves making you more aware of the energetic and vibrational influences within and all around you.

Jersey Devil Totem Animal

With the Jersey Devil as a Birth Totem, you are confident, bright, and not afraid to express yourself or your personal preferences. People consider you a person who demands respect, and if people refuse to listen to you, that’s when you make sure your voice is loud and clear. As you move through life, you will never accept it when others ignore you. But your presence and aura are so powerful you’re apt to intimidate some people you encounter. Learning how to pull back some of your energy so you can increase your circle of friends and allies is a test you’ll face throughout your life.

You prefer isolation over socialization, feeling your elusively lends to your mysterious nature. With the Jersey Devil as your Totem Animal, you are quick, a fast thinker and the word “efficiency” is your middle name. Eloquence is one of your many gifts, but if you use it for bane, you may tell falsehoods or engage in melodrama. You have cat-like balance and movement. You’ll likely be into dance, gymnastics, or sports involving superior balancing skills.

Given stories leading to the sightings of the Jersey Devil, you may face persecution of your religious or political beliefs in this lifetime. Otherwise, you might defend people who experience oppression for the same reason. Your mantra is, “We are all born free and with the right to choose what we believe.”

Jersey Devil Power Animal

Invoke the Jersey Devil as a Power Animal when you need help digging up information, separating truth from fiction, tearing away the blindfold preventing you from achieving clarity, or ripping through obstacles standing between you and the success you know you deserve. Jersey Devil has long claws ready to help shred through veils of illusion, self-deceptive thoughts, and old ideas or belief systems.

Petition the energetic influence of the Jersey Devil whenever you are looking to balance your mood or emotions, stimulate your intellect, explore the subconscious realms for past life discovery, or to make a more powerful psychic connection between yourself and others. The wings of the Jersey Devil make it a master of the Air Element and anything corresponding with it; its surefooted stance makes it a master of the Earth Element and all under its rulership. You can call on the Jersey Devil when you want to expand your intellect, or receive messages from the realm of Spirit through the dreaming mind.

Native American Jersey Devil Symbolic Meanings

Per American tales, Jane Leeds, who is often called “Mother Leeds,” was a mother of twelve children living in Pine Barrens in Southern New Jersey. Much to her chagrin, she discovers a thirteenth child is on the way. Perhaps it was triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number thirteen, that makes her utter a curse aloud about the Devil she carries in her womb. It was in the same year in 1735 when friends gather around Mother Leeds in labor. A storm moves in on the horizon. Mother Leeds gives birth to a normal child who then transforms into the horrific Jersey Devil. The creature growls and screams while whipping at everyone in the room with its pointed tail. It then flees the scene by escaping through the chimney and heading into the Pines Barren Forest. The story ties the Jersey Devil to fear of the unknown, devilry, shapeshifting, and the uncanny.

Another variant of the same tale depicts Mother Leeds as a witch and the child’s father as the Devil. Historians theorize that such tales stem from an ongoing battle between Benjamin Franklin, the author and publisher of “Poor Richard’s Almanac,” and Daniel Leeds, a Quaker and publisher of a competitive almanac. Leeds’ work came into scrutiny by the Quaker community when it published the almanac with esoteric astrological symbols.

Several years pass as Leeds’ interests in the Magical Arts increased; the Quaker community shuns Leeds and begins associating him with devilry. Ben Franklin, at one time, calls Leeds a “ghost” even though Leeds was still very much alive and well. The term served the purpose of mocking Leeds for his interests in the occult. What made matters worse is when Leeds puts the family crest on the front of his almanacs: A wingless Dragon or Wyvern featuring two clawed feet.

Jersey Devil Dreams

Seeing a Jersey Devil in flight symbolizes escaping from uncomfortable conditions or a hostile environment in your waking life. If you see the Jersey Devil hopping along while leaving tracks on the ground in your dream, it symbolizes self-examination, a life review, memories rising to the surface of your awareness, or experiencing old emotions anew.

When a screaming or growling Jersey Devil flies into your Dreamtime narrative, you might have to defend yourself or others in your waking hours. The same dream may warn you of a period where others may find your personality or aura too powerful or your viewpoints too imposing.

Jersey Devil Symbolic Meanings Key

  • Balance
  • Clarity
  • Confidence
  • Eloquence
  • Ethics, Beliefs, & Convictions
  • Expression
  • Intellect
  • Psychic Training
  • Shapeshifting
  • Spiritual Awakening

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