Like a Fox: Tapping Into Our Intuitive Cunning

On a solo travel adventure in a part of Arizona I’d never been to before, I found myself panicking just a bit as I traversed an other-worldly landscape of white rock hills and red sand valleys. I’d veered off a popular trail in search of the beautiful views of Lake Powell, and when I turned to head back, I was disoriented.

This was my first time to explore unfamiliar territory totally alone. I knew I couldn’t actually be lost (I was no more than a mile or two from my car), but a little voice kept trying to convince me how easy it would be to break an ankle, rendering me immobile only to shrivel away unnoticed under the pounding sun.

My nerves and elevated heart rate made me tired and thirsty. I paused for a swig of water, and as I tried to get my bearings, I saw something move up ahead. This was a bleak landscape. The only sign of life I’d seen were the footprints of one tiny bird in the sand. But now, out of nowhere, a white fox was dancing in front me.

The fox blended right into the rock and bounded quickly and easily over the layers and mounds. Then it stopped and stared down at me from above before disappearing in a valley. That was all I needed. I pranced off (if one can prance calmly) in the direction of the fox, feeling guided. No longer alone.

I see gray foxes fairly often back home, almost always at night. But the white fox—research suggests it was a kit fox—was a unique encounter to say the least. Kit foxes are particularly elusive, and while they do make their homes in dens in the desert, it’s unusual for one to romp about in the midday sun. They’re shy animals and almost totally nocturnal, “rarely seen by humans” according to the National Park Service. In other words, this encounter was to be taken seriously.

What Foxes Symbolize and Embody

Native American wisdom perceives the fox as a helper, especially to motivated and active people. In Celtic culture, the fox symbolizes intelligence. Foxes are known to exhibit quiet observation and calculated risk-taking. They’re creatively intelligent and flexible; they can do whatever they put their minds to. They embody a connection to intuition—a clear knowing.

The fox may show up to encourage us to nurture these gifts within ourselves, and to remind us to trust our inner voice. For me, this reminder couldn’t have come at a more opportune time, as I was (and still am) learning to not only trust my inner voice but to begin by actually hearing it. Indeed, sometimes it can be very weak, just a whisper, afraid to speak up.

The fox imparts the knowledge that silence and solitude are the keys to finding our way—to a solution to a problem or in a more general sense. Silence and solitude. Perhaps the two most important teachers that so many of our animal friends call us to heed.

[Read: “Empaths & Animals: A Special Relationship.”]

Fox Spirit also represents an awareness of energetic boundaries. As foxes' beautiful, protective coats denote, they show themselves to us to remind us of our own invisible layer of protection: our energetic field. They help us tune in to where our energy ends and another’s begins.

Many of us can likely benefit from this tuning. So often, when we’re empathic and loving, the energy of those we love—or even just those we know—can overpower ours. But we’re able to show up for others in a much more meaningful way if we’re aware and protective of our own light energy.

What the Fox Can Show You

Each type of fox you may encounter, or meet in your dreams, holds its own insight. However, in general, foxes are known for their ability to tap into both the feminine intuitive and masculine conscious realms. The cunning of the fox can remind us of the need to use our own powers of alertness and responsiveness so that we aren’t tricked to follow the path another lays out for us, but instead discern our own way.

Physically, these creatures are so agile in their movement. For example, the kit fox I watched appeared as one with the landscape. They can encourage us to be aware of our surroundings and think on our feet—to gracefully adjust to quickly changing circumstances. When we’re in alignment with Spirit, we’re able to trust our ability to navigate our own literal or figurative landscape.

When we have a strong feeling the moment an animal appears before us, no matter how tiny or how majestic, it never hurts to pay attention and consider the significance. The message you hear from the red fox you see in the woods might be different from the message I heard from the little kit fox in the rocky desert. I believe I was being told to trust in my own power and smarts—to protect my energy, honoring it as a tiny part of the one energy that connects us all.

Is the fox your power animal? Discover how to identify and work with your core power animal and support power animals.