swan meaning | The Healing Path of the Raven & Wolf

I am asked all the time about the meanings for different bird superstitions.

Here are a few I’ve been asked:
What does it mean when you see 6 hawks flying overhead?
What does it mean when bird flies in your house?
What does it mean when you see 3 magpies?
What does it mean when you see 2 doves?

This list goes on and on with all the different kinds of birds there are… so I’ll stop there.

There have been superstitions tied to birds for centuries. Who know where each one originated with but somewhere down the line someone said to another this means this and that means that and so on and so fourth.

The Magpie rhyme is a good one: One for sorrow, Two for joy ,Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret, Never to be told.

Here are a few others I found online:

If a bird poops on your head it is a sign of good luck.
Don’t become a sailor if you kill an albatross, as superstition states you will get lost at sea (we just think you shouldn’t on principle).
It is good luck if a blackbird makes a nest on your house.
If you see 5 crows, sickness will follow; see 6 crows and death will follow.
To avoid bad luck tip your hat if you see a magpie.
Whatever you do to a robin will happen to you, so be nice!
It is bad luck to see an owl during the day.
A kingfisher is a very lucky bird.
Three seagulls flying together, directly overhead, are a warning of death soon to come.
Sparrows carry the souls of the dead, it’s unlucky to kill one (again, we think killing any birds is wrong).
When a swan lays its head and neck back over its body during the daytime it means a storm is coming.
Having a wren around will prevent one from drowning.
A bird that flies into a house foretells an important message. However, if the bird dies, or is white, this foretells death.

These are all superstitons that many of us have grown up being told to believe as truth. All these things do is contaminate our minds with rubbish. A bird is a bird and a bird does what birds do. They fly most often in groups so if you see 5 or 6 crows .. well those crows are mostly likely family and they just like hanging out together. If a bird flies into your house, it probably didn’t mean to and is suddenly thinking “Holy Crap, get me out of here!!” . If a black bird makes a nest on your house, it just likes where you live too. Are Kingfishers lucky? yep they get to hang out at the lake and fish all day … lol, that’s pretty lucky if you ask me. Is it bad luck to see an owl during the day? Ummmm well not to me.. when I see one in the day I feel extremely blessed, because I get to photograph it!!

It’s hard to get rid of the ideas we were always told to believe. It can be done. Just change the way you see those things.

When I see a bird or two or three or however many…. I get excited and happy. I am usually with my camera and the opportunity to photograph these beautiful feathered friends is something that makes me really happy. It’s nothing to do with omens, luck or anything else. It’s simply an encounter with a bird. That is just doing what birds do.

So what else have you been told to believe that might not really be true?

Many Blessings,