Bat Spirit Animal Symbolism & Meaning

Written by Kristen Holder
Updated: June 7, 2023
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Bat Spirit Animal infographic
Bat Spirit Animal infographic

If a bat spirit animal crosses your path or chooses to enter your life, it’s important to know the symbolism and meaning behind its appearance. We’ll discuss important facts about these animals and what they mean to you in your life.

Bats are considered fearful vermin in today’s culture, but they were revered by some ancient humans. Spirit animals come into people’s lives as regular focal points or passively in dreams.

Bats are important to the ecosystems they inhabit because they play various necessary roles. Their feeding habits make them pollinators, their diets allow them to disperse seeds, and they control insect populations.

We’ll go over bat spirit animal symbolism and meaning now!

Bat Spirit Animal Symbolism

Animals That Stay Up All Night - Bats

Bats are a symbol of the dark and the underworld.

©Rudmer Zwerver/Shutterstock.com

Bats are a symbol of the dark and the underworld. They live in underground caves, they see in pitch blackness, they sleep upside down high above the ground, and they’re active at night. Their lives and habits are opposite the normal habits of most humans.

Bats are seen as animals that linger out of sight in the shadows. Behind the scenes, in their unfamiliar world, they sow the seeds that keep ecosystems flourishing by day. They’re dark and perhaps diseased, but without shadow work, the day isn’t productive.

Bat Spirit Animal Meaning

FRUIT BAT

The bat encourages you to engage in works in the background that create visible foundations.

©Here/Shutterstock.com

Recognizing that the bat is your spirit animal will take an understanding of what it means to be informed by bats in your life. Below we’ll discuss the meaning of a bat as your spirit animal. 

The Positives

The bat seeks shelter and rests in the dark shadows of the world, but they quietly provide the fodder needed for life to flourish in the light. Infant bats are nursed by their mothers, showing the bat’s nurturing nature. The bat encourages you to engage in works in the background that create visible foundations.

Bats can see in the dark because their eyesight is enhanced, and they echolocate. That means people with bat energy can read a room well, and they are good listeners.

Bats are the only mammals that sustain flight. Other mammals glide for long periods, but they cannot truly fly. Perhaps because of this, bats are seen as psychopomps in some cultures and are represented in religious art from around the world. They’re common on funerary objects.

Psychopomps are guides from the living world into the afterworld. While they do not inform anyone about what exists beyond the veil into the afterlife, they guide the newly dead to where they need to go.

Bats sleep together in huge groups, so people with bat spirit animals prefer to be surrounded by their friends and loved ones. Crowds of strangers are best avoided, however, since bats live in the shadows.

The Negatives

Bats are often misunderstood, and so are people who are drawn to bats as spirit animals. While those with bat energy are usually kind, it’s easy to make a bad first impression. You may appear to others as rough around the edges and a bit weird.

Some bats are carnivorous. This allows them to harbor terrible diseases, like ebola and rabies, and it’s taboo in large swaths of the world to touch bats or consume their meat. The idea of bats being unclean or representations of evil are not uncommon, especially throughout Christian history.

Those with bat energy go against the grain and do as they please. This is freeing psychologically, but it causes conflicts with authority. Instructions and rules are frustrating, but confidence provides the foundation needed to function in society.

What Does It Mean if I Encounter a Bat?

Encountering a bat, whether it crosses your path or flies overhead, could be a sign that you’re in transition or that rebirth is taking place. Bats come out at dusk right as light slips into darkness. They charge head-on into this change without hesitation to devour whatever hides in the black.

What Does It Mean if I Dream About a Bat?

Bat Header

When you see bats in a dream, it means that change is coming.

©iStock.com/Geza Farkas

When you see bats in a dream, it means that change is coming. Half-hearted efforts without commitment will not be tolerated.

The risk is heightened, but the reward is worth it. The bat sometimes shows that you’re on the wrong path as it stands at this moment. You might as well consciously follow its lead elsewhere if it tries to lead.

Bats often show up in prophetic dreams, so pay close attention to the content of the entire dream, especially if a deceased loved one is present. You may learn something that will help you navigate the future.

Is There a Bat God or Goddess?

Yes, there have been gods and goddesses associated with bats throughout history. Bat spirit animals may be related to these deities and others.

Camazotz

Camazotz is a Mayan bat god from the Late Post-Classic period. In the K’iche’ language, Camazotz translates to death bat. This bat represents sacrifice, night, and death as it’s a servant to the gods of the underworld.

In one story, Camazotz encounters 2 important twins facing trial in the underworld. The twins had to sleep in a place called the House of Bats, where bats circled all night. To protect themselves, they climbed into their blowguns.

When one twin popped his head out to see if it was morning, Camazotz took their head. The gods would use these heads as a ball in their next ball game.

Minyades

The Minyades were 3 sisters driven insane by Dionysus in Greek mythology. They refused to join the cult of Dionysus because it was hedonistic. Their refusal to party with the cult angered Dionysus, so he drove them mad by transforming himself into different beasts.

The Minyades were so out of their minds that they began offering up sacrifices to Dionysus, including their sons. The god Hermes witnessed this and felt bad for the sisters, so he turned them into bats. This allowed them to fly away and free themselves from their tormenter.

Lakshmi

Lakshmi is a Hindu earth goddess associated with bats and other animals. She is a nurturer that represents the bounty of nature. She is a goddess of prosperity, fortune, pleasure, and the power to obtain these things.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Jay Ondreicka/Shutterstock.com


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About the Author

Kristen Holder is a writer at A-Z Animals primarily covering topics related to history, travel, pets, and obscure scientific issues. Kristen has been writing professionally for 3 years, and she holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of California, Riverside, which she obtained in 2009. After living in California, Washington, and Arizona, she is now a permanent resident of Iowa. Kristen loves to dote on her 3 cats, and she spends her free time coming up with adventures that allow her to explore her new home.

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