Mindful Living with Nature Symbols: Birds
Photo by Dulcey Lima on Unsplash
Have you ever heard an unusual birdsong or seen a beautiful bird flying overhead and felt like it was a message for you? Birds are powerful symbols, and they’re often seen as messengers to the heavens because of their ability to move between earth and sky. Across cultures and centuries, images of birds have embellished everything from palaces to jewelry.
How to work with bird symbols in feng shui
In feng shui, we often work with symbols to invite certain energies into someone’s home and life. While it can be helpful to read other people’s interpretations and perspectives, we also encourage you to explore your own personal connection to any symbols that fascinate you. Certain symbols on our list might have particular significance to you based on your cultural background or personal experience.
One way to work with symbols is just to notice what is going on for you when you see them. For example, if there’s a certain bird symbol that you’re drawn to, pay attention to where you are and what you’re thinking and feeling when you come across that bird. This is a beautiful practice to invite more mindfulness into your life, and it can help you tune into your intuition and any messages you may be receiving.
You can also intentionally place certain symbols in your home if you want to connect to the meaning or energy behind them. You might want to put them in a part of your home where you’ll see them often, or in a particular area of the feng shui bagua that aligns with the meaning of that symbol.
Here are a few of our favorite bird symbols and how you can work with them in your home:
Phoenix
While a phoenix isn’t something you’ll encounter when you’re out for a walk in the park, a lot of us are very familiar with this mythical bird. The phoenix rising from the ashes is a symbol of renewal, rebirth, and overcoming adversity. In Chinese culture, the phoenix represented the Empress and the dragon represented the Emperor. If you’re going through something challenging or you’ve experienced an ending and you need to start again, the phoenix can be a really supportive symbol to work with. To do this, you can add an image of a phoenix to the Li area of the feng shui bagua in your home or office. Li is the area of the bagua connected to fire and inspiration. Need help finding Li? Download our free bagua kit.
Crane
Cranes are a popular symbol in feng shui and in Asia. The crane’s gracefulness is connected to the qi of longevity. It’s also said that if you fold 1000 origami cranes, your wish will be fulfilled. If you want to work with this intention and folding 1000 cranes feels daunting, you could also fold origami cranes in a multiple of nine, like 18, 27, or 108. After you fold your cranes, you can string them together with a red ribbon and display them in a prominent area in your home. You can also work with a specific area of the bagua mandala. For example, if you wish to have more joy in your life, you can place your cranes in the Dui area of the bagua, related to joy and completion.
Ravens
Ravens are beautiful, incredibly intelligent birds. While they’re often confused with crows, ravens are bigger and they make a loud croaking sound. They have a mysterious quality to them, and they’re symbolic connectors between the seen and unseen realms. From a feng shui standpoint, their jet black feathers are connected to the water element, which has to do with wisdom, intuition, and emotions that are under the surface. If you’re feeling drawn to ravens, take note of what you’re doing or thinking about when you encounter a raven. You might also want to explore the Kan area of the bagua, which is related to water, wisdom, and career.
Mandarin ducks
Mandarin ducks are iconic Asian symbols of marital harmony and fidelity. These birds are said to mate for life, and in some Asian traditions, mandarin duck figurines are offered as wedding gifts to promote a long and happy union. If you want to work with this symbol, you can give a pair of mandarin ducks to someone in your life who is getting married. You can also place a pair of mandarin ducks facing each other in your home with the intention of reinforcing your partnership and cultivating a long-lasting, harmonious relationship. The Kun area of your home or bedroom, related to relationships and nurturing, can be a great place for this symbol.
Songbirds
Depending on where you live, you may have different songbirds near you, like sparrows, larks, cardinals, chickadees, or starlings. Just hearing their beautiful songs and seeing them flitting around outside your home can help to lift your qi. Songbirds are also symbols of communication. In the Summer Palace in China, there are long corridors with beautiful paintings on the ceiling, and many of these paintings include images of songbirds. There was a belief that you could give a message to a songbird, and they would pass it up to someone in the heavens. If you want to work with songbirds as a symbol and you have a yard or outdoor space, you can put out a bird feeder or bird bath — just be sure to maintain these things and keep them clean! You can also put an image of a songbird in Qian, which is the gua connected to helpful people and heaven. Placing songbird imagery here can be a way to send out your wishes to have more helpful people or synchronicity in your life.
If you want to learn about more feng shui bird symbols, be sure to check out our book Mindful Living: A Guide to the Everyday Magic of Feng Shui!