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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.

I haven't had a decent night's sleep since my mom died six years ago. (My dad died 14 years ago.) Every night I hear tapping in my room. I also experience a lot of sleep paralysis. I've heard strange things like a huge boulder coming my way and strange grunts from something or someone. I've had a couple of out of body experiences. It all petrifies me; I'm so very tired. I can't talk to anyone about this as I've learned from experience that people will think I've gone mad. I sleep with the TV on as I can't bear silence or total darkness. After falling asleep, the TV volume has turned up very loud, apparently on its own. Sometimes, objects will just fall off the chair for no reason. I've also seen what looks like a laser go through the curtain of my room. My sister has advised me to speak to the tapping and ask if it wants something, but I'm too afraid to do this. Could it be my parents trying to contact me? How can I get past this so I can get a decent night's sleep? Thanks for your time.

Rani

Susyn:

The events you describe are definitely paranormal, but it will take some action on your part to determine their source. Though you mention that they began after your mother died, it's possible that you have a different type of entity living in your bedroom.

I recommend you do a spiritual cleansing of your bedroom and the rest of your house. In the event that you're dealing with a haunting or discarnate spirit, the noises you hear should cease after this cleansing.

Here are some rituals for clearing a house of unwanted spirits:

Smudging Ritual: Light the end of a sage smudge stick or a stick of sage incense and once it starts to smolder, ask out loud that all negative spirits leave the premises at once. Walk through each room of your house, wafting the smoke around windows, doorways, furniture and electronics. Be sure to smudge near electrical outlets and light fixtures as well, for these are places where spirits love to hide.

Grounding Ritual: Salt is known for its protective qualities as well as its ability to absorb negative energy and chase spirits away. For this ritual, fill a small bowl or plate with salt and then place a clear quartz crystal upright in the center to draw and ground the spirits. You can create one of these to put by your bed as well as one for any other rooms where you have experienced problems.

Stone Ritual: Certain stones are known for their protective qualities. Turquoise, lapis lazuli and malachite are exceptionally strong, so place one or more of these stones near your bed or under your pillow. You can also wear stones in a necklace, ring or bracelet for around-the-clock protection.

Typically, when our loved ones are attempting to contact us from the other side, their efforts won't appear frightening or disturbing. Though they will often come during the night, you should be able to identify them by their image, voice or emotional presence. With the exception of the tapping, none of these events suggests that your parents are trying to communicate with you. Just in case the sounds are coming from the spirits of your parents, you might ask them to reveal themselves in less disruptive and more recognizable ways.

The tapping could indicate a spirit that is trapped and hasn't moved on in the afterlife. If you're awakened by the tapping again, you should address it by praying and encouraging them to seek the light and move to the other side. Reminding any earthbound entities that it's time to move out of limbo and on to their next phase of existence should help.

*****

Mata Maya:

Given your reference to having out of body experiences, my feeling is that you are experiencing bleed through from another dimension. There are places throughout the Earth where the boundaries between this world and other dimensions of experience are very thin. There are even openings called portals through which we can travel into other worlds and beings in other worlds can travel into or close to this dimension.

When you have an out of body experience, you shift from a state of consciousness that is identified with the physical dimension, into a state of consciousness that is in harmony with another realm of experience. When you are in other dimensions like the astral, you encounter beings, lights, objects, sounds and other things that are not perceptible to those in an ordinary state of waking consciousness.

When you are falling asleep at night or waking up in the morning, you pass through this special state of consciousness associated with out of body experiences. You don't have to be technically out of your body to be in this state of mind; in fact, you may not even realize you're in this state of consciousness. All you know is that you are seeing, hearing, and otherwise perceiving some very strange things!

Further, the more we consciously project into other worlds, the thinner the boundaries between those worlds and this one become. Someone who regularly astral projects will therefore tend to create a portal in their bedroom or wherever they practice getting out of body. Their own vibration will also shift in such a way that they become something of a walking portal.

This portal flows both ways. On the other side of it, perhaps there are beings who are experiencing some very strange ghostly activity of their own when someone from this dimension pops through in a strange or ethereal way.

It's common for people who meditate a great deal, attempt astral projection, or spontaneously project to start having all sorts of other paranormal experiences. For example, they may be doing something ordinary like washing the dishes when they see an otherworldly entity or figure out of the corner of their eye, or perceive another being who isn't physically there seemingly doing ordinary things.

Most of the time, what they are experiencing is bleed through awareness of other dimensions. Often they are the only ones aware of the things they are perceiving. This is because those things aren't here in the physical; instead, it is their awareness that is expanded to include metaphysical dimensions.

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.