The eagle is and always has been a bird that fascinates us; it is so big, so powerful – and so beautiful that it floats across the sky with such ease and confidence! As a result, it appears in many theologies and native belief systems in symbolic form with a range of different meanings. The strongest sentiments regarding this bird are probably the Native American golden and bald eagles , the two species found in North America, but they are far from the only ones who admire them so much. The eagle features distinguish it from all other birds in the sky.
Here are some of the eagle traits that make them great symbol animals
1 – Because of its size and sheer majesty, the eagle is naturally regarded as the “king” of birds. It is therefore not surprising that it has been the symbol of rulers (and gods!) for thousands of years. The ancient Romans and Greeks made it the companion and symbol of Zeus/Jupiter, the king of the gods, and Native Americans believed it to be the earthly incarnation of the great Thunderbird spirit.
2 – Also on the subject of rulers, as a top bird predator, the eagle is the “ruler of the sky” and Native American legends claim that flapping the bald eagle’s wings brings rain from the sky while lightning bolts shoot from its eyes.
3 – Those super sharp eyes also give a strong message of mental toughness and agility and an immensely clear vision. After all, an eagle can spot a rabbit moving almost a mile away, or a fish swimming underwater from several hundred feet – this kind of clarity of vision is something we can only dream of, but that shouldn’t stop us from trying.
4 – The mythical bird, the phoenix, is modeled on the eagle and through this, in a reversal of attribution, the eagle acquires the attributes of rebirth and baptism. In the Bible, the eagle, as a symbol of God, is given this omnipotence and sometimes symbolizes the strength of God’s faith, presumably due to his own strength. hence it often appears as the back of a pulpit, or as decoration in a church, on scripture, or elsewhere. It is also occasionally made a symbol of Christ by being a conqueror of the serpents – and, due to its ability to fly upwards, a symbol of his ascension.
5 – Christians also make the eagle a symbol of various other things – first, the association of an eagle’s flight with prayer; then, because Aristotle claimed it could look directly at the sun when ascending, it became a symbol of contemplation and spiritual knowledge; and finally (and very confusingly) it is the symbol of both Pride, one of the seven deadly sins, and Justice, one of the four cardinal virtues!
6 – Native American wisdom sees virtues in the behavior of the eagle. For example, when it hunts, it does so not only with great skill, but with efficiency – “work smarter, not harder,” as the current idiom goes, and one will be able to fly as high in life as the eagles of the heavens!
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7 – The Greeks also saw the eagle as a “solar” animal, a symbol of masculinity as well as authority and domination. Depicted with a bolt of lightning in each claw, it could be seen as a symbol of sexual energy as well as a warrior’s strength, courage and fearlessness.
8 – The Celts associated the eagle with water, perhaps because they would have seen sea eagles as well as other species fishing off their shores. These include the eagle’s amazing ability to see clearly into the water from enormous heights, which could be linked to a large part of its culture.
9 – In alchemy, the eagle was considered to represent the primordial matter at the beginning of the alchemical process; For the alchemists, the eagle loosens the fire with its wings and encourages the development of the new matter as it is created from the original matter.
“If we destroy its habitat and thus permanently remove it from our world… that would be our loss.”
10 – In Aztec and Mayan lore, the eagle is the bearer of the veil of night that spreads darkness over human consciousness at the end of each day, and of course part of the rising sun, the glorious celestial force that makes the world shine again.
It’s not hard to see how many of these symbolic associations have been made with this glorious creature, and there are likely to be many more in the years to come. These unique eagle traits set it apart from all other birds.