Animal Metaphor for the Gall Bladder: The Rat 鼠

The Rat is the animal metaphor for the Gall Bladder. Rats are known for their high intelligence, ingenuity, aggressiveness and adaptability. Their psychology seems to be very similar to that of humans. Interestingly, rats do not possess a gallbladder, their bile flows directly from the liver through the hepatic duct and into the small intestine. Rats also do not have tonsils. When a rat becomes stressed or ill, porphyrin will often leak from their eyes, in which case it can appear that they are crying blood. (Porphyrin is the iron containing ring base of hemoglobin.) A rat’s saliva also has a pink pigmentation.

India - Respecting the Rat

In many countries, the rat/mouse is identified with the soul, and it is thought that when the soul leaves the body, either in death or dreaming, it will take the form of a rat or mouse. In the Western world, rats/mice have been considered as symbols of bad omen evil, ill, decay, pestilence, plagues, demons and the devil mostly because of their association with the Black Plague, though there are biblical legends which do not speak highly of the Rat. It is said that Satan created the Rat and put it aboard Noah’s ark so that it could chew a hole in the ark and sink it, killing it’s passengers. In large groups, Rats are also symbolic of war.
Ganesh is often show riding, or being attended by a Rat or mouse.  Some say that the Rat is a symbol of desire and selfishness and that Ganesh riding the Rat shows that he has learned how to tame that desire and selfishness in order to be the “Remover of Obstacles.” The connotations with the Gallbladder are obvious here. The Karni Mata Temple in Northern India is dedicated to Rats, as they are believed to reincarnate as Holy Men. They are fed milk and grains by the priests there.
Just as Jupiter is the Wood planet, mice and Rats have long been associated with Jupiter/Zeus because of their lustfulness.
Chinese legend has it that the Rat brought the gift of rice to humanity. The Egyptians viewed Rats as a symbol of destruction, but also as a symbol of wise judgement because the Rat would only eat the best food.

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I'm a Chinese medicine student who uses this blog as a place to store my thoughts and occasionally rant and rave about things I trip over in life.

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