A. Venefica’s Weblog: Symbolic Meanings

This post on symbols of motherhood comes to you as part of the motherhood synchroblogging project sparked by Ailia, author of Paleothea: The Ancient Goddess blog. 

She’s lassoed some fantastic authors to discuss the subject of motherhood within each blogger’s niche (a full list of participants is disclosed at the end of this post).

I chose symbolic birds associated with motherhood as my topic and here is my post:

From Cybele to the Virgin Mary, motherhood is near and dear to the mythological core of humankind. 

The bird world is rife with the symbols of motherhood.  Indeed, the bird language of symbolism sings of mothers in touching, subtle songs that lull each of us into comforting, dreamy thoughts of nourishment, security, and an assurance that (just like mom says) “everything will be alright.”

Sappy?  Maybe.  But there is no denying the correlation between bird symbolism and that of motherhood:

• Nurturing
• Safety
• Security
• Protection
• Love
• Satisfaction
• Provision
• Compassion
• Healing
• Growth

To wit, here are just a few common cultural bird symbols linked to motherhood:

The Dove:
Associated with peace, love and tranquility, the dove is a companion of Venus (Roman goddess of love).  The dove is also a common symbol of the Virgin Mother Mary and is portrayed in Christian art as a representation of selfless love and the sacrifice every mother makes for the well-being of their offspring.  More on the dove here.

The Magpie:
In Australian Aboriginal lore the magpie is symbolic of provision, motherly love and protection.  Legend has it that when the world was created, the sky was pressed too tightly to the land and light of the sun could not shine fully upon the earth.  The magpie took pity on humans (fumbling in darkness), and gathered sticks to pry an opening between the earth and sky so that mankind could have light.  Here the magpie is the mother of light and allows for the regeneration of mankind.  More on the magpie here.

The Pelican:
The pelican is another symbol of motherly self-sacrifice in order to provide for her young.  Myth indicates pelican mothers fed offspring on her own blood, assuring their well-being at the cost of her own life.  In reality, the pelican regurgitates food for her babies, and in doing so,  blood from the macerated fish spots her snowy white breast – hence giving the impression of piercing her own chest to let blood as sustenance for her young.

The Sparrow:
The sparrow is a symbol of fastidiousness, comfort and simplicity.  In European lore, the sparrow is symbolic of domesticity and competent homemaking.  The sparrow is also associated with love (motherly and otherwise) as we see her again associated with the goddess of love, Venus. More on the sparrow here.

The Swallow:
The swallow is symbolic of hope, fertility and renewal of life.  Another symbol of the love goddess, Venus, the Roman’s believed it was extremely unlucky to harm a sparrow.  Further, the Roman’s believed the swallow to be a totem bird to mothers in sorrow as it was said the swallow embodied all the young, innocent’s who died during childbirth.

The Vulture:
Believe it or not, the vulture is a symbol of motherhood because these (often maligned) creatures are impeccable caretakers of their young.  Indeed, the Egyptian hieroglyph for “mother” is the same as vulture.  Further, the Egyptian mother goddess, Mut is often depicted with the vulture in ancient art of the culture. The Egyptians observed the vulture as an excellent mother – to such an extent it was thought all vultures were female.   

I hope you have enjoyed these symbols of motherhood inspired by the bird realm.  Perhaps you might enter this spring season with a new view of our fine-feathered friends, and find a few mother-figures of your own in the bird world. 

Or, perhaps the bird realm will inspire you in unique ways as you honor the Mother (in all her aspects) this mother’s day (May 11th).

For more inspiration, check out other participants in the Motherhood Synchroblogging project here:

• Between Old and New Moons: The Great Mother from Asia Minor to Rome
• Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism
• Goddess in a Teapot
• The Aquila ka Hecate: Motherhood
• Full Circle Earthwise News: The Great Mother Goddess
• Mythphile
• Stone Circle
• Women and Spirituality
• Frontiers of Wonder
• ReligionThink

Note: The deadline for the synchroblog post is 4/1/08 - this list will be revised as more participants roll in.