Legend: Hippo

Whoops! I got a little out-of-alphabetical-order! Permit me to take one small step back...we need to cover the Hippo!

 Please see the Introduction To Rabbit Hole Legend A-Z post for information about sources and purpose

Hippo: Mainly seen on the Cover of the Magical Mystery Tour, and in the movie, itself. It's a source of great mystery as to who was in the walrus costume, and who was in the other costumes, as covered by another blogger at Wizards, Buses and the Physiodelic Church. There is a ton of speculation around what the Walrus symbolizes, and that leads to wondering what the other animals symbolize, as well (See by post on Birds to learn more about the Parrot, and the up-coming posts about the Hare and Walrus). 

""The Hippo has had a very bad press when it comes to its symbolic significance.

It was generally believed that the creature generally preferred to mate with its own mother, while the Egyptians gave one of their evil deities, Typhon, the head of a hippopotamus. Generally, the animal is felt to be a cowardly and irreligious character." (ISS)

""The hippopotamus symbolizes brute animal strength in the Book of Job,  where it appears under the name of Behemoth, a land creature corresponding to the Leviathan of the deeps. Both appear as awesome symbols of forces that illustrate the puny strength of humankind and its need for divine help.

In reverse symbolism, the Egyptian hippopotamus goddess Tawaret is depicted as an emblem of protective strength." (1,001S)

"A red hippo represented the Ancient Egyptian god Set; the thigh is the 'phallic leg of set' symbolic of virility. Set's consort Tawaret was also seen as part hippo and was a goddess of protection in pregnancy and childbirth, because ancient Egyptians recognized the protective nature of a female hippopotamus toward her young. The Ijo people wore masks of aquatic animals like the hippo when practicing their water spirit cults." <Source>

"The Hippos wisdom includes power, emotional depth, creation, imagination, healing, proper use of aggression, ability to move gracefully through emotions, protection of family, mother-fury when needed, birth of new ideas, lucid dreaming, spirit contact.

The hippopotamus is sacred in both Egyptian and African traditions. Its name means ‘Water Horse’, and it spends nearly all day in the water, and when not in water obviously on land. This is the ancient realm of birth, power, creation, imagination, and healing." <Source>

"The Hippopotamus symbolizes both fertility and destruction.[...] Pregnant Egyptian women depended on the hybrid, but largely hippopotamus goddess Taweret for protection and Amenti, "the bringer forth of waters" was one of the several Egyptian aspects of The Great Goddess. The male hippo, by contrast, because it frequently did damage to crops was a manifestation of inimical forces in the world and was linked to the evil Seth." <Source>