When Feathers Appear....

...angels are near. Because they facilitate flight, feathers have always been associated with freedom, transcendence and communication with spiritual realms.

If I picked  up every feather I found around here, I would need an extra shed to store them all, but I do pick up interesting ones that I find in unusual places or that have interesting structures and markings. A lot of  things are said about feathers, and they are remarkably similar over many cultures. Putting on my anthropologist's hat when I found these  today, I  couldn't help musing about them.

Native Americans considered feathers to be gifts from the sky. They carried with them all the power of the birds, wind and air, and the power of the sky gods. Feathers feature strongly in the dress and the rituals of many Native American tribes.

In the Bible, feathers represent a covering of protection and a connection with the spiritual world. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge. (Psalm 91:14). A white feather often represents angels who are said to bring messages of hope and support and reassurance from other realms.

In Ancient Egypt , the feather was the symbol of of truth, justice and order, the symbol of Ma'at, the goddess of truth, justice and order. Aa dead person's heart was weighed against the weight of a feather. If the heart, weighed down by sin, was heavier than a feather, the person would not be allowed to enter the eternal afterlife.

There is a huge amount speculation about the meaning of the colors of feathers and what they predict for me personally if I find one. I  never find purple, green or pink feathers and brown ones are abundant here because there are a lot of brown birds, but I find it a stretch to believe that a found feather is likely to predict anything about the course of my own life. 

There is something very elegant about feathers and the way they are constructed.  Separating the barbs of a feather with your fingers and then melding them back together by running your fingers in the opposite direction is certainly fascinating and almost magical. 

I am willing to go so far as to see the feather as a metaphor for life...ephemeral and blown randomly about like a feather on the wind, but what makes us who we are is how we respond to what we are given.

Ironically, I found this particular feather when I was outside looking for interesting rocks. Surely they represent groundedness and stability.