I realize that trying to write about birds as a symbol is like trying to write about any large classification; the difference between dreaming of an eagle and a penguin probably trumps the similarities between them. Yet there are some generalities, at least among birds that fly, that can be discussed. As humans, we have an archetypal association between sky and heaven, and between sky and spirit. Birds, therefore, are often seen as the messengers between the mundane, everyday world and the world of spirit. Water birds bridge spirit, everyday, and the unconscious. We have this association in habits of language: “a little bird told me” is a phrase common enough to show up on greeting cards.
Not too long ago, I heard a dream from a friend that had a penguin in it. The same day, my daughter told me that a friend of hers had told her a dream with a penguin in it. The dream world tends to work this way, for those of us who hear more dreams than other people, and I always take particular notice when the same symbol comes to my attention this way, especially since before that day, I couldn’t recall having ever heard a penguin dream before. My first association was with male Emperor penguins, who hold their eggs on their feet to protect them from the ice for weeks and weeks, so if it were my dream, nurturing Father energy is represented. Because penguins are excellent swimmers, they move in the ocean, a symbol of the unconscious, and so could be symbols of growing awareness of dreams and the motivations of the unconscious self.
This is a very different energy from my projections on the Steller’s Jay that I posted on Monday. Jays are opportunists, stealing from people’s picnics or other birds’ nests. They can be loud and raucous, ruthless, and greedy, but also intelligent and visually attractive. If one shows up in my dream I want to see where I have acted in these ways. Crows are similarly intelligent, but also playful and attracted to shiny objects. Hummingbirds have strong, fast hearts, incredible speed and maneuverability, and can also be stunningly beautiful.
Of course, like any dream symbol, the meaning will depend a great deal on context. But next time you dream of a bird, consider what kind of bird it is and what qualities you associate with that kind of bird, and you’ll be on your way to greater understanding.
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9 thoughts on “Birds as a symbol”
What a great discussion. I am wondering what your associations are for cranes and also for flocks of birds, say geese?
Hmmmm. I’m trying to remember bird dreams, and can only remember one, from about thirty years ago. Seems like the symbols in my dreams are a fairly small subset of the possible ones.
Anyway, I dreamed that a crow had a lacy golden sword, and I stole it, and it hounded me demanding it back. I was living in the trailer where I was living at the time, and was in my car in the driveway and the crow was trying to get at me. It was pretty scary, and I felt very guilty for the theft. I used the sword later in my Lorliale stories as the sword of investiture, because it really was a very cool-looking sword.
Kim, my first association with cranes is with balance, but I also checked a couple of symbol books that I like and found “justice, longevity and the good and diligent soul” (from A Dictionary of Symbols by J. E. Cirlot) and “a messenger of the gods; the ability to enter into higher states of consciousness,” “longevity, protective motherhood, vigilance.” (From An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols by J. C. Cooper) I also think of how paper cranes have become a symbol of wishes for good health. As for flocks of geese, I think about how they work together, taking turns in the lead when they fly. We have the expression “silly goose” but in fact geese can be aggressive and mean. I checked a book I like called Animal Speak by Ted Andrews, and he mentions Mother Goose and the association of communicating through story. Because they’re migratory, they remind me of traveling, and they mate for life, so are symbols of fidelity. Flocks of birds in general make me think of psychic communication, because however they move as a single unit, their method of communication is mysterious enough to humans that it looks like psychic communication.
Karen, I love the imagery of your dream! Both crows and swords for me are signs of intelligence (as all sharp blades are), but crows are also tricksters and opportunists, so when I imagine this dream for myself I imagine I’m reclaiming my intelligence from some place in myself that held it for me until I needed it back, but like all worthwhile things (at least in fairy tales) it requires some effort to reclaim.
Not that you asked for my projections, but there they are. 🙂
Thanks, Laura. It was sooo long ago that I have no idea what was going on in my life at the time. Possibly I was taking care of my new baby after grad school, in which case your interpretation makes sense.
Today I was sitting in our school’s memorial garden, mostly because it’s a pleasant place to be, and I counted 13 robins in the tree nearby. Not sure what it means, but it did make me take notice, since I don’t remember ever seeing so many in one tree before. I think of robins as being birds of good omen.
Ironically, I had the first bird dream I remember for ages last night. I was in a grange hall looking out a ground-level window and saw a bird looking in. It looked like a wild turkey, except it had ear tufts like an owl that make its face triangular, and it had lovely colored feathers. I said out loud, “Hello! I’ve never seen a bird like *you* before!” Then I went outside, and saw a young woman in a very elegant two-wheeled card being pulled by an ostrich. Only as I looked more closely, the ostrich was actually young woman who couldn’t walk, and was being wheeled by the young woman in the back peddling the cart. I think they were sisters.
Two wheeled *cart*
Karen, I love it that you had a bird dream! It made me think of the phrases “bird of a different feather” and “putting the cart before the horse.” Thanks for sharing your dream.