It's time to breathe new life into an old project. Use your creative
vision effectively and hammer out new ways to break through.
-Woodpecker
If Woodpecker has come knocking…
Woodpecker is letting you know that it
is time to really pay attention becauseopportunity is has
come knocking along with it. It is signaling you that great changes are
happening in your life and it is up to you to seize the
moment. Whether it is therenewal of an old project, the
finishing of a new project or simply a serendipitous meeting with someone in
your life. Whatever way you perceive it know
that the door is wide open for you right now and that success is your for the asking.
Woodpecker as your Totem…
You have the power of rhythm in your blood. You
are tuned to the heartbeat of the Earth and the cycles that rule it. You have
the ability to shake up the awareness of others
as well as the ability to grab every ones attention
with the simplest of words. You understand the power of your words and use them
sparingly and precisely to get your point across. You are often the first to
draw everyone’s attention to something that needs attending to.
The symbolic meaning of woodpeckers also point to a need for
creative vision. Being opportunistic, woodpeckers can see value everywhere,
even in dead trees. Have you ditched an idea or given up on a project? The
woodpecker may be trying to tell you to breathe new life into your project,
just as they build new homes into dead trees.
Further, the symbolic meaning of woodpecker indicates a return
to our roots, or having trust in our basic (gut) feelings. Dr. Carl Jung
observed the woodpecker as a symbol of a return
to the womb of creativity. In
this observation the tree is symbolic of a womb; earthy, grounded, sturdy and
secure. The woodpecker's home within the tree is analogous of a fierce
determination to return and protect that which is sacred to us.
When this bird comes pecking, it is a call for us to return to
our roots, back to the womb of our ideas and use our intellect and discernment
to follow through with our plans.
This analogy is doubly profound in the case of red-headed woodpeckers as the
color red is associated with the root chakra. Prime, protective energy. Another
clear sign for being aware of our core impulses, and our basic beliefs.
Native North American wisdom recognized the protective home-based
themes of the woodpecker too. Prairie tribes had a myth that the title of
protector of humankind was once vied for by the turkey and
the woodpecker. The woodpecker won the title because of her ability to make such marvelous nests wherein
the spiritual seed of humankind would always be sheltered from predatory threat.
Woodpecker Spirit Guide
The woodpecker can
seem like a pest to some, but I assure you he is a noble and humorous spirit
guide. Any time the woodpecker reveals himself to you in nature, this
is a good sign. He means to get your attention with his knocking on the
wood, just as if he is knocking on your head and saying "hello? Is anyone
home?" He may simply be just trying to get you to notice him. The
woodpecker's powers are similar to those of the swallow in that he is closely
related and a favorite of the legendary Thunder-birds.
Prophecy and warning
are two of the woodpecker spirit guide's most purposeful messages to you. If
you see him in a dream, realize that he perhaps is trying to warn you of an
impending metaphorical storm in your life. Maybe you are getting ready to face
a tragedy or simply a new path in the crossroads of life. No matter the
storm, the woodpecker spirit guide will warn you ahead of time. So
heed the woodpecker spirit guide's warnings should you receive them in a dream
or vision. The Sioux believed that if they were to wear the woodpecker's
feathers, this would give them more of an ability to "speak to the
thunder". I interpret this to mean that if the woodpecker spirit guide
comes to me with a message, the message is the sacred feather...and that message
will protect me from the oncoming thunderstorm in my life. As I write this,
thunder is beginning to talk to me outside my window.
If the woodpecker spirit guide comes to
you with a message, you must examine whether your life has become stale...as
stale as wood. Perhaps woodpecker is here to shake you up a bit, poke some
holes into your hard, dry exterior.
This totem is the power of rhythm and
determination; stimulates new rhythms.
Woodpecker folks are able to "ride the flow of
life" and to receive in silence. They are gentle, sensitive and dreamy
folks who tend to both absorb and reflect things around them. They are here to
learn more independence and stability.
Symbolic Meaning of Woodpecker
Symbolic Meaning of Woodpeckers
To be sure, the woodpecker is an
attention-grabber, and those who claim this amazing bird as their totem will
attest to its ability to shake up awareness.
Nothing breaks the silence of a
hiking in the woods like the urgent, rapid-fire percussion of a woodpecker's
rapping against a tree.
When I hear the woodpecker knocking,
I think of opportunity. You know the old saying "when
opportunity knocks, answer the door." That's precisely what I'm driving at
here.
Woodpeckers are extremely
opportunistic themselves. Each tree is a door, revealing tender
morsels of food (grubs and ants are their favorites). Other trees will yield
against their beak-hammering to provide great mansions for their young.
A Quick-List of woodpecker symbolic
meaning include themes such as....
Symbolic Meanings of the Woodpecker
·
Balance
·
Progress
·
Signaling
·
Returning
·
Protection
·
Initiation
·
Attention
·
Prophesy
·
Listening
·
Opportunity
·
Discernment
·
Communication
·
Determination
When the woodpecker comes tapping
into our awareness, it's also a signal to use our heads. Just as the woodpecker
uses its head (beak) to hammer out solutions (food, shelter), we too can use
our intellect in finding solutions to our own barriers.
The symbolic meaning of woodpeckers
also point to a need for creative vision. Being opportunistic, woodpeckers can
see value everywhere, even in dead trees. Have you ditched an idea or given up
on a project? The woodpecker may be trying to tell you to breathe new life into
your project, just as they build new homes into dead trees.
Further, the symbolic meaning of
woodpecker indicates a return to our roots, or having trust in our basic (gut)
feelings. Dr. Carl Jung observed the woodpecker as a symbol of a return
to the womb of creativity. In this observation the tree is symbolic of
a womb; earthy, grounded, sturdy and secure. The woodpecker's home within the
tree is analogous of a fierce determination to return and protect that which is
sacred to us.
When this bird comes pecking, it is a
call for us to return to our roots, back to the womb of our ideas and use our
intellect and discernment to follow through with our plans.
This analogy is doubly
profound in the case of red-headed woodpeckers as the color red is
associated with the root chakra. Prime, protective energy. Another
clear sign for being aware of our core impulses, and our basic beliefs.
Native North American wisdom recognized
the protective home-based themes of the woodpecker too. Prairie tribes had a
myth that the title of protector of humankind was once vied for by the turkey and the woodpecker. The woodpecker
won the title because of her ability to make such marvelous nests
wherein the spiritual seed of humankind would always be sheltered
from predatory threat.
Neat Woodpecker Video
The woodpecker may also remind us to
be mindful of our words. It has a narrow tongue, extremely
effective for picking up food in narrow places. This is symbolic for using a
narrow route to get the most profound effect. The woodpecker asks us to use
fewer words to make a stronger impact in our statement.
As we continue to explore the
symbolic meaning of woodpecker, we see communication is a strong theme. In
fact, when I hear the woodpecker, I think of Morse code, and I try to figure
out what kind of rhythmical message the woodpecker is sending
me.
It wasn't until years later I did
some research on the bird that I discovered, indeed, the woodpecker actually
does peck out signals to their kin as communication!
Drumming has historically marked the
beginning of events such as processions, honorable ceremonies, even war.
Perhaps this is why the woodpecker (and its beak-drumming ways) was often
associated with Roman battle, war and victory.
Native North American wisdom also
prescribes drumming as a means to journeying (transcendentalism), and so many
tribes considered the woodpecker as an other-worldly messenger, and
a prophet.
In Roman mythology, the woodpecker is
associated with Mars, which is a planet of energy, and initiative. The zodiac sign of Aries might be drawn to the woodpecker as
a totem animal because of its association with Mars too (Mars is the
ruling planet for Aries).
These two (woodpecker and the Ram which is the zodiac animal for Aries) have the propensity of initiation (trail
blazers, starting new projects) in common. The woodpecker is the first to
initiate communication. Consider the silence of a winter day cracked
wide open by the echoing beat of a woodpeckers beak.
Also, the symbolic meaning of
woodpecker deals with progress because she doggedly hammers at her
purpose until she sees to the other side of the obstacle. Aries are
equally determined in their purpose, often ramming through astounding odds to
obtain their goals.
Concepts of determination and drive
in the symbolic meaning of woodpecker can be stretched further when we consider
the woodpecker's love for the oak tree. Oak trees are symbolic of stability
and strength of character, read more about their meanings here.
Also in Roman myth the woodpecker was
noted as befriending the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus (who,
interestingly were fathered by Mars, the god of war). Legend states the both the wolf and the woodpecker fed the twin
boys in their infancy while they were sequestered in the wild to avoid demise
(as typical Roman myth, it's a long story, you can read it here).
And so, when the woodpecker comes
calling, it may be a sign to take some action. Here are a few
suggestions...
Guidance From the Woodpecker
·
Fly back to our roots.
·
Shelter our wisdom from predatory threat.
·
Nurture our ideas in the womb of our core passions.
·
Communicate our ideas in more creative or non-traditional ways.
·
Stop and consider the opportunities available to us at this time.
·
Look at projects in unique creative ways to bring new life to a project.
·
Use our heads (intellect) to think up innovative solutions to overcome
barriers.
·
Listen more clearly to subtle energies, there is a message that only our
intuition can interpret.
I hope you have enjoyed these
thoughts on the symbolic meaning of woodpecker. Be sure to check out the links
at the end of this page formore symbolic meanings of awesome animals and birds.
Thanks for reading!
·
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