Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings! Today’s post is about birds and how they connect to the Otherworld and Goddess. Birds are quite obviously deeply connected to the element of air and therefore with the ideals of intellect, wisdom, and strategy. The freedom of the ability to fly all through the skies encapsulates the nature of the free spirit searching for spiritual enlightenment quite nicely! This free-spirited nature of spiritual seekers combined with the desire for intellect and wisdom are often paths to the Goddess and to the Otherworld, making birds of all sorts potent messengers for spiritual seekers.
When we look at the colors of birds, especially white, black, and red birds, we see the connection to Otherworldly Faery Animals! White, Black, and Red are all colors that have long been linked to the Celtic Otherworld, which is called Annwn in the Welsh myths and legends. White birds like Owls and Swans have long held links to the Otherworld, and in Avalonian tradition, Blodeuwedd is an Owl Goddess and the Goddess Branwen’s name literally means White Raven (linking her to another sacred white bird). Black birds like Crows (or Ravens) and Starlings also bring about a feeling of Otherworldly messengers. Crows and Ravens are deeply engrained in Celtic lore and are sacred to several deities, in Avalonian tradition, Morgan le Fay is a Goddess who is known to be able to shapeshift in a corvid and holds them as sacred! I have a personal belief that the Adar Rhiannon, the sacred Birds of Rhiannon, are Starlings specifically, which makes for another Avalonian Goddess who has black birds as sacred to her. Finally, I want to mention Cardinals as red birds that can be associated with Annwn, but this time I do not have a specific Goddess in mind that is associated with them. Instead, Cardinals are birds that are generally associated with the ancestors and the dead. Many people hold the belief that seeing a Cardinal is a message from deceased loved ones! As the Otherworld is both a land of Faery, as well as a land of the Dead, this brings my thoughts about birds as the messengers of Annwn full circle.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading this brief post about my thoughts on birds as messengers and symbols of the Otherworld. What birds do you associate with the lands of Faery? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading
- The Mabinogion translated by Sioned Davies
- Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth
- The Secret Power of Spirit Animals by Skye Alexander
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