Peacock Symbology and Myth Part 1

What a wondrous bird the peacock is, turning heads and capturing our imaginations the world over! 

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I myself have only seen one in person a couple times on farms or petting zoos since they are not native to the Americas. However, for the last week or so, peacocks have been popping up everywhere! To add to this synchronous symbology, they are also sacred to the goddess Kuan Yin, who has recently come into my life. I need to only open my eyes to look, she says, and miracles, compassion and synchronicity are abound.

(The tapestry/art thing I got for christmas, beautiful!)

It started with a Steemit post, and then I got a peacock onzie for Christmas and a big peacock tapestry, and more Steemit peacock posts, there is now no doubt that the famous plumage of the bird has caught my attention! The messages could not be clearer, I should look into this, am I being called to something? What does the peacock have to say to me?

I adore researching mythology so I am jumping right in. I am excited to share this with my friends and followers on here as well, lets learn something together!

What myths and stories surround this animal? What does it symbolize, what does it want to say to me?

First off, what is a peacock anyways? Belonging to the pheasant family, the peacock is a male peafowl, and the females are called peahens. It is only the peacock that has the plumage, used to attract mates. The more eyes/feathers and the better the dance, the more peahens a peacock can attract to mate with. Peahens on the other hand are more camouflaged, perfect for hiding and taking care of their young in the underbrush. They are still particularly beautiful birds, even so. Peafowl have been around for many thousands of years, and seem to be rather adept at surviving. 

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Peacocks are considered ground feeders, and eat a variety of plants, bugs and small critters like mice or snakes. There are blue peacocks native to India and Sri Lanka, and green ones in Java and Burma. Another kind of peacock lives in the rain-forests of South Africa, called the Congo peafowl. Peacocks can be quite aggressive if need be, which may have helped them survive so long! (National Geographic)

Many things about the peacock have been admired for a long time, and sometimes feared as well. In some places and times, its feathers are considered to be bad luck (such as in Greece, where the eyes were to similar to the 'evil eye') and in others, it is considered to be good luck and a bringer of fortune. The many eyes on the peacocks colorful, hypnotizing plumage are able to see back and forwards in time, and may symbolize compassionate watchfulness. Other key words include beauty, immortality, rebirth and renewal, confidence, dignity and integrity, self respect, love, wholeness and easy goingness. 

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The many eyes may speak to us waking up and seeing the truth, of confidence in ourselves and of self respect. Although the odd sound the peacock makes can be frightening or unwanted, many have described it as somewhat laughter like. Maybe we are taking life a little to seriously, and need to laugh and admire the beauty around us! Confidence in ourselves and the ability to laugh at life are important traits, personally I think I shall take both messages into consideration!

The peacock struts his stuff, and walks his talk! May we be called into integrity, and into the truth? Going hand in hand with confidence, dignity and integrity are key to being the best you you can be. When you walk your talk, many doubts are washed away. It is important not to doubt yourself! 

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Sometimes the peacock is also associated with the phoenix, who rises from the ashes of himself. In this way, peacocks are often also seen as symbols of resurrection, rebirth, renewal and immortality. The peacock renews his tail feathers every year, just like us humans who renew ourselves with relaxation and gratitude every yule time. 

The peacock seems to be bringing lots of positive messages, but he was not always seen that way. In many cases the peacock was also associated with misfortune and sin.

There are various versions of the same story, but the general idea is that the peacock either let the devil into the garden of Eden, or was also tricked by the snake into eating the forbidden fruit and banished as well. This is an interesting thing, because the peacock is alternatively seen as a guardian of paradise (or a guardian or royalty) and may be depicted eating a snake! Various religions have various ideas. Something got confused here! Furthermore, the peacock can also be associated with negatives such as pride and vanity. It was useful as a lesson to young boys and girls, apparently.

 “Little boys and girls, be not like the peacock, proud and vain, on account of your beauty and your fine clothes; humility and goodness are always to be preferred to beauty.” - Reverend Dick

Personally I think that the peacock really is about unity in both good and evil, and that as in all things, harmony is key. To harmonize confidence and humility! To be both beautiful and good, and to have dignity without excessive pride. These are the challenges that the peacock asks us to take on, with eyes wide open!

Let us end part 1 of peacock symbology here, and soon in the next post we will get into mythology! I found this nice and short documentary about peacocks, if you live somewhere where they are not common like me and would like to see them in action and hear their voice. It is sorta charming, and there are baby peafowl too, so cute!

Thanks for tuning in Steemit! The next part will be on soon! Keep on Steemin on <3