Animal Signs: Sparrow

Change seems to be all around these days.  Everyone is talking about  feeling shifting and movement as actions, outcomes and events are  accelerated in pace.  In my part of the world today we've gone through just about every weather pattern except the "hot and sunny" phase.  One day we have green grass that doesn't make sense around here for January, the next day it's covered with snow, only to be replaced in the same afternoon with rain that washes it away - maybe a layer or two of freezing rain in the middle. I'm not sure the animals are too happy with this up and down and all around stuff, but I guess they make their adjustments. Maybe they are smart enough to just not fight it, think about how it might be different, or question that it doesn't seem right to be raining after a snowstorm.  It just "is what it is" to them maybe. Hmm...

I was feeling the wind pick up and switch again and seeing the slushy accumulation of "stuff" and wasn't feeling very inspired to write. I went out to deliver some hay to the critters and 6 or 7 sparrows greeted me from the hay pile.  They didn't seem scared of me really, just a little annoyed that I had dared enter their "shelter from the storm" area.  They said a lot to me, but I'm afraid I didn't quite catch it.  So I wondered if Sparrow was a animal spirit or Power animal and considered there might be a message there- like a topic for the blog...

Sure enough, Steven Farmer in Animal Spirit Guides, includes Sparrow. He suggests the presence of  Sparrow is a signal to look for the nobility in the most common of things, including yourself.

Sparrows are a very common bird. They flourish where other species fail. The don't seem to mind the rain and snow and extremes of weather. They don't fly off and look for an easier place to rest. They know their self-worth. They are evidence that even a little bird can triumph.

P.D. Eastman wrote and illustrated a  wonderful children's picture book  in 1960 called Are You My Mother?.  In the story a mother bird sitting on her egg in the nest feels the egg about to hatch and goes out in search for food for her new arrival. While she's gone the egg hatches and a small bird (that I'm going to take as a sparrow!) is born with a big attitude. He doesn't decide he's abandoned when his mother isn't around, he doesn't worry about where she might be, he just takes off in search of her. He knows she must be looking for him. He never doubts that. Having never seen his mother (or himself) he has no idea what his mother looks like so he keeps asking everyone, and thing, he meets if they are his mother. He encounters a cat, a hen, a dog, a cow, a boat, a plane, and finally a bulldozer before he finds his mother.  It works out in the end, but I won't spoil the surprise. The point is, this little sparrow (I think) has full confidence in himself. And that never wavers no matter what anyone says to him.  He can't fly so we walks; with his head up, full of poise and self-esteem. And that's the energy of the sparrow.

Farmer writes that Sparrow energy is a signal you might be in very productive and prolific times. I think that speaks to the energy cycle we all seem to be in. During this time of intense change and rapid energy, it might be wise to draw on Sparrow energy to remember you can hold hold your own, be a survivor, comfortable wherever you happen to be. Whether that's safe and secure in the nest, or walking along a dusty road looking for a connection, it's all about the unshakable belief in self.

On the Animal Totem website http://www.linsdomain.com/ , the song sparrow is said to reflect the chakra energy awakening from the heart and throat. The Sparrow reminds us to love ourselves and feel confident we are speaking our truth from the heart. Maybe it's time to sing your own song and sing it loud. If you need a bit of inspiration, go to another website http://www.toronto-wildlife.com/Birds/Sparrows/sparrows.html , click onto the audio and listen to the song of the sparrows.  Ahh....

You might want to try some peppermint cheesecake like Rachael did in Sweet Shack & Bach Bar, http://pixiedusthealing.blogspot.com/2011/12/its-here-sweet-shack-bach-bar.html to help you sing. Bach Flowers might help you as well. Rachael tried Mimulus, Agrimony and Cerato. Or you might want to just curl up with a good book sheltered from the storm of energy, safe and secure in yourself and your place in the world. Even the littlest bird has a great song to sing.