How to Work with Shamanic Bird Medicine
4 Valuable Lessons from Pigeons
The Native Americans believe that organisms are born with medicine inside (like Intel, but different). Their spirit has a teaching, a potential healing power. Since, most of us don’t live close to nature, the power of birds is often lost on us, and in many cases birds are frowned upon as inferior creatures, deemed nothing more than a nuisance. But au contraire! Little observation will inform you that these animals are in fact sovereign surviving procreating feathered beauties, that thrive, eat, and sing whilst struggling daily with the unforgiving forces of nature. Where we humans depart the nest after about 18 years, a young bird is independent after a mere month. It spreads its wings, and just takes off into the blue sky. Next to this brilliant feat, the bird has its own knowing, and a very sensitive nervous system to read its environment. These senses have been sharpened by millions of years of evolution, a survival of the fittest, where environmental threats have to be detected to maximize survival. These highly adapted perceptive creatures can work like a mirror for our own states of being, reflecting to humans where we are not at peace with ourselves.
So what can Bird teach us?
Here some lessons from my shamanic apprenticeship working with bird medicine.
Preface
I’ve been up close with birds, especially urban pigeons for about 6 months or so. I feed them daily and I maintain a very intimate connection. Pigeons, I name, draw, and a dozen of them fly on my shoulders and hands when I present seeds. How did this come about? During my monthly nightly mushroom trips, which I use as my main shamanic practice, I got into contact with the Great Bird Spirit who named me Father Rooster. During this journey I deeply understood my spirit is a bird. This is not only a cognitive understanding, but also a bodily experience. Most of my trips involve periods where I need to crawl under the blankets and incubate, like a little unborn bird in an egg. I can feel blood flowing to parts of my body as if somebody was pumping up my wings. This might be hard to believe, but I honestly tell you this is how my heroic doses usually go.
After I understood I was partially bird, naturally I connected with my feathered brethren. This mainly manifested itself by feeding them seeds, grains, and nuts on the town square. The pigeons were very invitational and encouraged me to nurture them. After a month I noticed their behavior had changed and they started hovering around me. The next day I held the first pigeon eating from my hand. For another month only this specific pigeon would perch on me. But the birds watch each other and learn. And after this pigeon died (yes, it lay dead one day in the middle of the square), others acquired the trick. And since, I just love to hang out with them.
This is how I came to be working with pigeons.
Once, you have them so close on and around you, you are in the perfect position to observe. They’ll show you all kinds of things. The experience is quite intense. Not because of the birds but because of humans. Here, in my town in the Netherlands, I get binary experiences. Either I receive ecstatic people around me who want to connect to me and love the bird. Or, I get trolls (people) jumping at me from blind spots and try to stop me from bird interactions. My latest take is that it somehow triggers people really badly. The close relationship with birds, I believe, reminds them of lost parts of their own soul. The bird stands symbol for observing, freedom, adulthood, sovereignty and peace. But the truth might be even darker. These people unconsciously know, that in their current condition, a bird would never want to perch on them. (more on this later)
This ties in nicely with Mircea Eliade’s research on shamanism. The anthropologist discerns a globally prevalent ‘ascent’-motif during the initiation stages of a shaman. This takes shape in rituals high on bird symbolism representing the medicine man growing his own spiritual wings —often involving climbing trees and ladders — to become an independent sovereign mind with the power to see from the celestial point of view. There is probably no other way of understanding such a soul level change other than through Bird imagery. Psycho-Neurological talk won’t ever be able to tell the story and experience. Bird is language. Kids innately understand this as they are half animals and thus love to watch animal cartoons.
Lessons from Rock Pigeons
1. Boundaries, Sensitivity and Trustworthiness
The pigeon is very sensitive. I often see register a threat and I have no clue what they saw or heard, but they’re suddenly gone. Birds are quite jumpy. And one activating its flight response will induce it in others. They are attuned like that and will fly away in a flock.
But this sensitivity comes in play when you want one on your hand. It will only work if you have a decent level of calmness about you. Pigeons are allergic to frantic, nervous, and unpredictable people and will think twice about perching. When people approach me whilst I’m feeding, I often put some seeds in their hand to try let one eat out of their hand. Since the birds trust me, I can often ‘transfer’ them from my hand to a stranger. But it only works half the time. The pigeon makes the judgement call. Sometimes they jump on, and other times they will crawl back on my shoulder and you can hear them think: uh, uh. No, no. Not him/her. Most of the time, I’m not surprised by their choices. Open, gentle, and honest people have no problems receiving a bird. But folk with unclear intentions birds won’t trust. Kids not excluded. Pigeons know how to assess character. They are a great mirroring tool for cultivating inner peace.
2. Discerning, Naming and Introducing
Touché Montague! Names do have power. The Japanese are very good with this, and know words for things we have no words for. It allows them to see differently. Deeper. For similar reasons, I know people who read dictionaries. This magic of naming runs parallel with consciousness and understanding. As soon as you’ve given a good label, one discerns, and cuts deeper into reality. Enabling also the ability to change the world at this point.
Pigeons reflect this magic. When I see an interesting bird I take a picture of it. Later at home I might draw them and give them a name based on whatever makes them unique. Magically, the next day they will perch on me for the first time. I’ve experienced this a dozen times. Exactly like Steven Spielberg’s short story “The Mission” (1985).
Naming is the fruition of properly seeing the bird. Once it has its name, it feels respected and seen and/or only then you’ll give it the proper attention and greeting, enabling intimate relationships. This phenomenon stays illusive when you underestimate the Bird. Human-human interactions are similar. If you do not know somebody’s name, you’ll stay strangers and no intimate interactions will develop. Literally, they’ll remain a ‘some body’. To be named is to be loved.
The medicine is simply to observe, notice the features, and discern these seemingly similar birds as true individuals.
3. Trauma and Transcendence
Pigeons get kicked around a lot by humans. This can really be engrained in the culture, where on the street parents teach their children to scare, stamp at, and generally frighten the bird. This binary-bird behavior is highly prevalent in the Netherlands, and likely in other Western societies as well. Some folks have little unconscious circuits running in their brain that automatically brush a bird away. Sitting outside at a cafe this adverse pigeon culture can be easily observed.
In the beginning this maltreatment disturbed me. In cases where it happens whilst feeding the birds, I do correct people, especially children. I tend not to leave it with a correction but always immediately offer seeds so they can experience a positive style. Carrot and stick, basically.
But, I continued to feel bad for the birds when they get abused. I had to extricate myself from the belief that the bird was hurt by this event. In retrospect I was projecting my own wounds onto the pigeon. But continues observation led me to conclude that, though startled, pigeons remain unfazed by such events.
This surprised me, and I wondered why. And the answer lies, in part, in their flight capability. Birds have the sky domain to elevate their bodies to away from miserable situations. Whatever bad shit happens on the ground, they are not tethered to the cruelty of the streets and can transcend it anytime. This sounds very simple, but they harness the superior form of safety. It is said, about humans, that in case of traumatic events, the body remains on Earth but their soul takes flight and escapes. This is referred to as soul loss, and these spirit fragments need to be recovered later in life through the shamanic journeying practice of soul retrieval.
An incredible story from Carl Jung’s early work describes a young woman believing she lived on the Moon. Jung told her to return back to Earth, and she eventually did. The woman harboured early childhood trauma and her soul had escaped beyond the limits of even birds.
4. Pecking Order & Unworthiness
Pigeons fight over food. There’s not enough of it, especially not enough nourishing natural seeds. So, who’s gonna get it. The strongest fighters. These are the dominant, smart, and fearless birds that are able to secure territory (perches) and are able to repel competitors. This is one hand a physical feat, i.e. stronger, smarter, bigger, faster, more aggressive birds have the advantage. The top pigeon pecks down on its competitors and these birds peck further down the chain. This instills a psychological dominance preventing lower birds from accessing edible resources.
I have seen pigeons leave seeds in the absence of other birds. They simply won’t eat high quality delicious sunflower seeds right under their nose, because culture informed them it’s not theirs. Hence, they feel unworthy of it. Think about that. It’s like leaving a free $100 bill on the table. Some won’t grab it. How does that inform you about humans applying for jobs or dating potential mates? Some won’t even try.
But a dominant bird will slap other pigeons in the eyes with its wing. Impress them, by standing tall. And if the competition doesn’t respect, they will pinch their beak into their necks and push them off the perch. In Pigeonland this is called ‘perching rights’ and once it is established, it is barely challenged. The vital resources have been secured for top pidge.
Evolutionary these dominantce genes are promoted. Dominant pigeons own the resources, hatch eggs, feed their babies and continue to proliferate.
Reflections
These were a few of my personal experiences with Rock Pigeons. Birds have much more to teach tough. The lessons I received were selected for me. Applying Bird Medicine is a subjective art and teachings shall vary across people and one’s openness. But the ones highlighted here can definitely be identified through patient observation. The question is left for the practitioner. What will (s)he see personally?
Bird merely reflects.
Sources
- Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy — Mircea Eliade
- The Moon Girl — Carl Jung
