Animal symbolism is often underestimated and people don’t quite see the point in it. But, animals can teach us so many things about ourselves and the entire world.
Their behavior might be simpler than ours but we are also creatures from the nature that can behave instinctively and almost animal-like. Animal symbolism is often a lesson that teaches us about our own behavior and we shouldn’t dismiss it as something irrelevant.
Ancient cultures believed and worshiped animals. They were the only way to explain everything that was happening in nature, so people gave them celestial characteristics and saw them as gods. Even though we don’t see animals in such a serious light today, many stories and ancient myths can teach us a lot about life.
Heron or Blue bird is a beautiful bird that inhabits areas near fresh water. These gorgeous birds can be found all around the globe and many cultures incorporated it in their symbolism and culture. Heron’s appearance was especially alluring to people, that is why it has been used as a symbol in many stories and ancient myths. Art, literature and culture are full of Heron symbols and motifs.
Spirit Animal and Totem
Animal symbolism is especially important when it comes to spirit animals and totems. Their characteristics that are derived from their behavior and appearance are what create spirit animals and totems. To determine your totem animal, you have to look around you and notice the world around you. Your spirit animal can also come to you in a dream or during a meditation session, because they are always present in our mind and soul.
Spirit animals guide you through life and help you fight against problems that you face. When you are aware of your spirit animal, you are aware of your positive and negative characteristics. After you get to know yourself well, you can go through life with more certainty and resilience.
Totem animals show us our positive and negative characteristics as well. Goal of a totem animal is not to guide you through life, as much as they are there to help you get to know yourself. Our ancestors used to call upon totem animals to help them when times were tough.
We can do the same today, because totem animals are going to help you get in touch with your inner feelings. Totem animals can help us become stronger and more familiar with our inner strengths.
Spirit animal
As a spirit animal, heron or blue bird is best described by these words:
- Balance
- Exploration
- Life
- Quiet
- Vigilance
- Tact
- Renewal
- Path
- Underworld
- Wisdom
- Power
- Diversity
- Aggressiveness
- Self-reliance and
- Self-esteem.
People guided by this spirit animal are very confident and this is something everybody notices. These people love to be in center of attention no matter what is the occasion. They simply enjoy spending time with new people and capturing their attention. They are masterful diplomats and talkers, and they can adapt to any social group.
Another positive characteristic of a heron spirit animal is wisdom. These people are extremely clever and can get used to any change. Their intellect allows them to be on top of every situation. Your friends and family love coming to you because you always have a good advice for them and you know how to resolve almost any situation. Your words are always highly valued and resonate with other people.
You love having balance in your life and anyone who tries to make a chaos in your life won’t have a nice time. Even though you seem peaceful, you can be very aggressive and tell others what is your true opinion. You tend to keep a positive balance between your work and personal life. People born under this totem animal are very graceful and elegant. Their behavior is simply sophisticated and they draw attention on themselves everywhere they go.
Every situation in your life is well-thought of and you plan everything ahead. When you draw a step you can predict what is going to happen next and others often think that you know more than them. This is extremely helpful skill in business but also in your personal life, because you tend to control your emotions well and think more with your brain than with your heart.
Totem
Heron totem symbolizes activity and moving. Your mind is constantly working and thoughts go through your mind in great speed. You are very aware of everything that is going on in your life and nothing can pass by you. Others often see you as reckless and unstable, but in reality you are very stable and your life is always in balance. It is simply a matter of you look at it and how others perceive things.
You are jack of all trades and people often ask you for advice. People are not necessary in your life, but you do like to socialize and share opinions with them. As a negative characteristic, many mention your aggressive behavior. When things don’t go the way you want them to go, you tend to lose your grip and start a chaos. Even though these situations don’t happen often, you can be quite scary to others when it does happen.
Symbolism and Meaning
Heron or Blue bird can be found all over the planet. This beautiful bird is a symbol of confidence and power. We already dug into spirit animal and totem symbolism, and now we are going to look deeper into the cultural depictions of a heron bird.
In ancient Greece, Blue bird was considered to be a messenger. These birds, according to ancient myths, carried messages from Odysseus from the goddess Athena. In Celtic culture, Blue birds were also depicted as god’s messengers and as very intelligent birds.
In ancient Egypt, heron birds were associated to the god Ra. These beautiful birds always sat on high places and their shadow would often appear on the water when they were flying. Other myths told a story about herons rising from the ashes and creating themselves. This cultural depiction was similar to the one of Fenix bird and some cultures kept it until today.
Aztec culture was also marked by Heron symbolism. They were seen as incarnations of sun and associated with the god Huitzilopochtli. The Bantu tribe in Africa, looked at Blue birds as god’s creatures. According to an ancient legend, a mythical creature Bumba vomited on the Earth and created many living things, among them the white Heron bird. To tribes in Africa, the Heron bird was very important and often used in shamanic rituals.
In India, Blue birds are seen as carriers of good fortune. They love seeing Herons because this is a good sign that happiness is close. In Maori, Blue birds are considered to be highly intelligent and smart birds and in Philippines their walk is often recreated in spiritual ceremonies.
To Chinese people, Blue bird is a symbol of gracefulness and strength. They often link this bird to female energy, because the Heron bird is a perfect example of feminine elegance and power. To people in North America, in Native American culture, the Heron bird was a symbol of intelligence and wisdom. Many cultures used Heron symbols to express grace, power, confidence and strength.
Heron symbolism is still popular today and they are often used as tattoo symbols. Their symbolism and meaning still varies from one culture to another, but the basics are similar. They are perfect examples of how a person can be both elegant and powerful at the same time.
Dreams about Heron, Blue bird
As symbols in a dream, Herons and Blue birds can be both positive and negative signs. Interpretation of a dream often depends on other symbols and objects we dreamed about, and not just the central symbol that we are interested in.
Seeing a Heron, Blue Bird – If you saw a Heron in your dream, his means you are very secure about your position in life and no one can mess that up for you. Things are simply going in your favor and it has been going on like that for quite some time. You finally feel good about yourself and your life, and you wouldn’t change anything.
Heron, Blue Bird crossing your path – If you saw a Blue bird crossing your path in your dream, then you can expect a good period ahead of you. Things in your life are going to start to improve and you will be able to feel true balance in your life. This dream also indicates that your finances are going to improve, so you can start searching for options to invest money or earn it. In any case, money will be simply falling into your hands.
Dead Heron, Blue Bird – If you saw a dead Heron bird in your dream, you can be sure that something negative is about to happen. Things in your life are about to get out of control, and making them fall into place again will be hard. Perhaps you need to talk to someone and get a good piece of advice on how to resolve this situation and overcome difficult problems.
Conclusion
Heron or Blue bird is a symbol of grace, elegance, power and confidence. In other cases, they can be seen as sometimes aggressive and tactful but most of their representations are positive. These gorgeous birds definitely draw attention on themselves and are always graceful. Many cultures around the world incorporated these birds into their culture and art, and gave them an important position and symbolic meaning.
Herons or Blue Birds are important symbols even in popular culture, and people often use them to express these strong symbolic meanings.
