KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

The Healing Wisdom of Birds: The Spirit of the Dove, by Lesley Morrison

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

The dove is one of those birds whose imagery seems universal. It is a symbol of hope, purity, and faith, but many people would never think to look any deeper into its complex and ancient past. While researching for my book, The Healing Wisdom of Birds, I poured through a vast pile of mythologies, goddess images, and religious associations centered upon birds and found a history of the dove much more intriguing than the modern day archetype.

If we cast an eye back toward the civilizations of ancient Crete, Egypt, and Greece, we can see the dove predominate as a cultural icon, harmonizing the apparent duality of sexuality and spiritual love. Although revered as a symbol of peace in many places, the dove was usually seen as the embodiment of the Goddess and her divine powers. In Mycenaean iconography, the dove and goddess motif appeared as early as the 16th century BCE. This icon later spread throughout Greece, eventually evolving into the Greek goddess Aphrodite, the world’s favorite deity of amour. Aphrodite (Venus in the Roman pantheon) had the dove as her primary bird companion—not as a symbol of hope or faith, but as the profound essence of fertility that springs from sexual and emotional love.

In the ancient Minoan pantheon, the goddess who overruled fertility and procreation had the dove as her sacred bird. The dove personifies the idea of union with the source of life that sexual energy and spirituality both strive to fulfill. It is an enduring symbol of the soul but at the same time reveals the connection between earthly love and the human need to reunite with the divine. Doves, like the goddesses they adorned, have brought together the fundamentals of the human experience in mythologies, art, and many religions, unifying divine love with erotic love into one spiritual experience. This reveals to us the undeniable relationship between the two aspects of human nature.

But later cultures downplayed the dove’s role as the sacred image of sexuality and, as time passed, alienated the dove from its primal symbolic foundations. The dove remains a lingering presence in the modern world, adorning holiday cards and church paintings, but the dove carries such a complex wisdom that is long-cherished and universally celebrated. As the epiphany of Aphrodite, the dove was a potent force of fertility and higher love. Later, this bird came to be the sacred bird of Bacchus, the Roman god of fertility, wine, and ecstasy. Many of these associations are distant today, and frowned upon by more "conservative" organizations and religious belief systems.

But why the dove? How does a quiet, ground-feeding little bird come to evoke such potent imagery from culture to culture?

It is not a high-flying predator like the hawk, or an entertainer like the blue jay, or a graceful swimmer like the swan. And yet its mythologies abound and its presence celebrated for its quiet, humble, and unrivaled purity. The dove mates for life, expressing that old-fashioned ideal of loyalty and true love. They are affectionate and amorous birds, and demonstrate unconditional love toward their companions and their young. The dove reminds the universal mind of the contentment and joys of domestic bliss.

But it seems to signal something higher and more esoteric than just domestic simplicity. It is a purpose to be found, an ideal to pursue, and a gentle nudge toward the light of something more divine than ourselves. There are, of course, many such birds that inspire the human heart to inner exploration, but the dove carries a unique place in the grand sphere of bird symbolism. In the Tarot, the dove is seen nesting in the goblet on the ace of cups card, gracefully depicting the everlasting life of the spirit and the quest for the Holy Grail. When we look at history’s spiritual avatars, like Buddha, Christ, Mother Mary, and many powerful deities in comparison, like Zeus, Inanna, Venus, and Hachiman, we find the dove perching nearby as a loyal companion and sometimes, an alternate form.

Many stories of divine visitations include a radiant white dove as a symbol of God, or alternately, the spirit of God. In the Bible, John the Baptist commented how the spirit of God descended upon him like a dove (Matthew 3:16), and most people know of the dove’s role on Noah’s ark, signaling dry land after the flood. Many cultures, even today, have symbolically released doves as a gesture of freedom, hope, and most predominantly the release of the spirit from the confines of physicality after death. A more contemporary ceremony involves the releasing of doves at weddings to signal the promise of fidelity, love, and a peaceful home (although this is not a practice that holds the doves' best interests in mind).

Although the dove has such an extensive symbolic past, the bird’s fame, particularly as the symbol of peace, was solidified in 1949 by Pablo Picasso, when the World Peace Congress in Paris chose his lithograph, La Colombe ("The Dove") as its emblem. From that point, the dove became the symbol of the peace movement, and has remained such an integral part of the human psyche ever since. Many people in the busy modern world walk by such birds, indeed all birds, with very little thought as to what they once stood for. Researching over forty birds for The Healing Wisdom of Birds, I was cast back in time when everything had some kind of otherworldly meaning, when each individual bird was once a god or goddess, or carried a powerful message to the human spirit.

I hope the distant past of bird symbolism finds a new light in the world. As they inch closer and closer to environmental disaster, birds need a voice in the desolate wilderness of civilization. So the next time you wander outdoors, cast an eye upward to see what wise and ancient creature may be watching you from its perch—it may just be a god in feathered guise.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2011. All rights reserved.

Back in my high school days, I saw a black male shadow in my room, sitting beside the window. This experience left me horrified for a long time. I always have goose bumps for no apparent reason. A few months ago, I decided to practice meditation for relaxation. At that time, I started to hear a high pitched sound, then later on, very soft, faraway voices that I couldn't comprehend. I also saw pictures and images with my eyes closed and once with my eyes open. These frightening experiences led me to ask the universe to stop all these things at once since I couldn't take it anymore. Suddenly everything was back to normal. A year ago, a reputable local psychic told me that I'm also psychic. I have always been interested in psychic stories and experiences. What I want to develop is precognitive ability. Can I just choose to develop this particular ability and none other? Thank you for your help and guidance.

Marissa

Susyn:

It's not unusual to be frightened when first encountering psychic experiences; in fact, that's one of the reasons people often try to repress or ignore such events. Because they have no one to talk with about these experiences and no way to control them, people naturally feel uncertain about them.

Everyone is psychic on some level. With the proper direction, we encourage our gifts to grow. You are free to focus on the powers you want to develop, but you must accept that by doing so, other abilities will awaken as well. It's said that information is power, so your best recourse is to study with an individual or group to learn how to control these events and protect yourself.

When I began to develop my psychic gifts, I too was scared of some of the things that were happening. While I loved expanding my knowledge of tarot and astrology, I sometimes found myself channeling, which frightened me. When I tried to ignore or repress it, I began to develop some physical problems.

After a few years of immersing myself in the world of metaphysics, I sought out other channelers to learn how to control these events and use them to help others. Once I realized that this gift would help my clients and that I could be just a transmitter instead of being influenced by these spirits myself, it was easier to embrace these gifts.

You have the ability to see and hear spirits as evidenced by your seeing the shadow of a man beside your window and hearing faraway voices. This is a gift you can develop and use to help other people. Whether you need to warn them about something or relay important messages, surrounding yourself with light and protection will keep these events from affecting you personally.

Initially, I recommend you keep your focus on the gifts you want to develop and explore the many divination techniques employed by psychics to see which ones you are drawn to. Becoming part of a group of evolving metaphysicians or training with a professional whose talents you respect will create a safe environment for you. Once you are under the guidance of an advanced metaphysician, you will be able to explore any aspects of psychic practices you find intriguing.

To open up and develop your psychic gifts, you simply have to spend time each day in study and practice. As you learn to trust your gifts and share them with the world in whatever way Spirit would like you to use them, you'll begin to relax and enjoy your journey. Good luck on your path to enlightenment!

*****

Mata Maya:

It is not possible to prevent the development of some senses and abilities while pursuing the development of related senses and abilities. This is like wanting to travel to Australia and see nothing but Koala Bears. When we go exploring in new territory, we can't control what we will encounter; to experience exciting new worlds, we must have courageous, adventurous hearts.

However, I am thinking that what you are really wanting is to be able to only have positive experiences - to not have anything happen that is frightening or upsetting to you ñ and this is far more doable. It is possible to have a very smooth, pleasant journey through psychic development. The way to achieve this is to first study, understand, and work with natural spiritual law.

If instead, you put developing psychic powers first, it's a bit like deciding to sail a boat from South America to Africa without first charting a course, learning how to sail, and studying how you might deal with some of the challenges that may arise.

The first things to know are that you are creating your own reality all the time, and like attracts like in the Universe. If you are fearful, you will tend to attract frightening experiences. Because many people are frightened when they first encounter strange phenomena, stories about scary experiences abound. If you are full of faith and expecting only the best, however, it will be natural for you to have a wonderful time.

It's common to be both intrigued by psychic experiences and drawn to them at the same time. At some point, your interest will grow stronger than your fear, and you will feel drawn forward into psychic territory. The faster you are able to lose your fear, the smoother and more positive this journey will be.

There are many things you can do to accelerate this process. Since it's normal to fear the unknown, the more you study psychic matters and grow familiar with this area of exploration, the more confident you will tend to feel. It can also be very helpful to study with someone who is highly knowledgeable and experienced in psychic and spiritual matters.

I can assure you that the only thing you have to fear is fear itself. With this in mind, there is no need or reason for you to limit how your psychic abilities manifest for you. Trust that you are always safe, remember that everything happens for a good reason, and allow your passion and curiosity to lead you to the information, lessons, teachers and experiences that are just right for you.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.