Yellowjackets: Why Taissa Eats Dirt – Real-Life Phenomenon Explained

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Yellowjackets.

Apart from the girls’ sacrifices and eerie connection to a creepy symbol, one of Yellowjackets’ greatest mysteries is why Taisa eats dirt – which is actually based on a real-life phenomenon. In the series, both the adult (Tawny Cypress) and teenage (Scream 2022 actor Jasmin Savoy Brown) versions of Taissa are shown eating dirt while she sleeps, though she isn’t aware of this happening yet in the wilderness in Yellowjackets season 1. Taissa eating dirt is another supernatural mystery during the girls’ time in the wilderness, which is all the more significant considering Taissa is the biggest non-believer of the symbol as a teenager.

The first time Yellowjackets shows Taissa eating dirt is when she is caught by Lottie in episode 6. While it was at first unclear whether this was just a dream, the idea that Tai was unknowingly eating dirt was foreshadowed earlier in the same episode when Van pointed out Tai having a lot of dirt under her nails, but Taissa didn’t have an answer. While Yellowjackets’ 1996 timeline hasn’t shown anyone but Lottie catch Taissa sleepwalking and eating dirt yet, this habit has continued to follow Taissa into the present, where her son Sammy sees her sleepwalk and eat dirt in the tree outside of his window at night.

Considering Taissa’s dirt-eating habit hasn’t been explained in the show, it’s been a source of speculation and theories for Yellowjackets viewers. Whether it connects to the supernatural powers in the wilderness, Taissa’s own mental state, or an inherited trait similar to her grandmother seeing the man with no eyes, Yellowjackets season 1’s story is using a peculiar real-life phenomenon as an intriguing aspect of Taissa’s characterization. Here’s a breakdown of the history of dirt-eating in real life, why Taissa eats dirt in Yellowjackets, and why she only does so while sleepwalking.

Dirt Eating: History & Practice Explained

The real-life habit of eating dirt is known as geophagia, which was identified as a phenomenon centuries before Yellowjackets’ inclusion of the urge. While eating dirt has been linked to pregnancy, famine, poverty, mental illness, and psychological reasons, geophagia is most commonly associated with stomach issues and nutrient deficiencies. Interestingly, many of these causes for feeling the urge to eat dirt can apply to Taissa’s Yellowjackets story. One of the most common afflictions associated with eating dirt is pica, which is when people have the urge to eat substances that are not food, most commonly dirt and clay. With pica, the person typically overindulges in these items. There are various cultures around the world in real life where eating dirt is a common or sacred practice, but the logic behind the geophagia connects back to the most common reasons, which is due to the need for certain minerals and nutrients found in dirt and soil. However, eating dirt in real life has more harmful effects than potential benefits.

Why Taissa Eats Dirt in Yellowjackets

It seems that the primary catalyst for Taissa’s dirt-eating habit is stress, as she first begins the habit when in the stressful situation of trying to survive in the wilderness, then returns to it in Yellowjackets’ 2021 timeline when the stress of the campaign and Jeff secretly blackmailing them takes a toll on her. Taissa isn’t pregnant nor is there any indication that she had done so beforehand for cultural reasons, so eating dirt is most likely a product of her stress, malnourishment, and possibly pica. Taissa having pica would also make sense considering there are instances both in the past and present when she doesn’t eat food and others bring this to her attention, suggesting she instead receives her nutrients subconsciously when she is sleepwalking.

While these reasons have more of a logical basis, it’s also entirely possible that Taissa eating dirt correlates to the supernatural events they were tied to back in the wilderness. Yellowjackets’ season 1 finale reveals that Taissa has (possibly unknowingly) killed the family dog, destroyed Sammy’s doll, and made a sacrifice to the symbol in a secret room in her basement. Taissa eating dirt may be due to her trauma from being in the wilderness, with her unconscious mind taking her back to the symbol’s supernatural influence. While Taissa has only just recently realized that she has been eating dirt again, Sammy has seen her do so for quite a while – referring to her as the “Lady in the Tree,” or the “bad” version of Taissa. Considering Tai doesn’t realize she was sleepwalking unless her Yellowjackets son Sammy mentions it or she wakes up with dirt in her teeth and blood on her hands, it’s possible something is controlling her in her dissociative state.

Why Taissa Only Eats Dirt While Sleepwalking

The aspect of Taissa’s Yellowjackets habit that points to it being supernatural is that she only does so while sleepwalking. It’s possible that Taissa was possessed by whatever force Lottie speaks through while out in the woods that still has a hold on her today. Since Tai never eats dirt while conscious, it seems that the force can only take hold of her while she’s asleep and thus has less control over herself. When put into this dissociative state, Tai also makes ritual sacrifices to Yellowjackets‘ symbol, suggesting that something still has an influence under her subconscious but only when she’s asleep. While there are examples of people eating while they sleepwalk, eating dirt is a very specific habit for it to only happen while asleep. If Tai was really suffering from pica, she most likely would also be doing so while conscious and during the day.

Yellowjackets’ making Tai eat dirt while sleepwalking in both the past in present – when she’s far more nourished – hints that her geophagia is due to a mysterious force from the wilderness having taken over her consciousness while sleeping. Since Tai also has hallucinations of seeing a wolf, biting her own hand (likely connecting back to Yellowjackets’ episode 1 scene with cannibalism), creating a shrine, and climbing trees, it seems she is still affected by the same presence that likely possessed her in the woods. Taissa has likely been doing this ever since she left the wilderness, but the symptoms are exacerbated by her stress, which likely makes her more vulnerable to the influence of Yellowjackets’ mysterious forces. If it’s not about a supernatural force possessing her, it may just be that her deep-seated trauma from surviving in the wilderness only manifests outwardly while she sleeps.

About The Author

Jordan Williams
(809 Articles Published)

Jordan Williams is a Movie/TV Feature Senior Staff Writer for Screen Rant. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Media Studies.

Jordan is based in Seattle, Washington and enjoys exploring the natural beauty the PNW has to offer. She runs on coffee and classic movies, taking pride in having watched every film on AFI’s 100 Greatest Films list and every Best Picture Oscar winner.

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