Animal Dreaming (Kingfisher)

The Sacred Kingfisher

On Saturday morning of the Byron Bay Writers Festival I bought a book called Animal Dreaming by Scott Alexander King. 

Scott was part of a panel of speakers on a talk called, 
 Animals as Healers and Totems in Literature, which I also attended.
More about that talk in a later post.
It was my favourite talk of the two days that I was there ... and there were some fantastic talks, but this one was the highlight of the festival for me.

I pulled out the book about a week after the festival was over and wondered if a Sacred Kingfisher would be in it, and more or less it was.
There was an entry for the Kingfisher, so I decided to read just that entry without having read any of the book at that stage.
And I didn't really expect to find any answers to my  
"bird that flew into the window" saga.
Boy, was I wrong?!
I'm going to reprint the entry for the Kingfisher here, and because this is only a small blog with no money being made off it, I hope Scott doesn't mind me doing it.

Kingfisher
Halcyon Days 
Kingfishers have large heads and powerful bills.
They feed mainly on small fish and aquatic creatures.
They build their nests in tunnels dug into riverbanks and lay pure white eggs. 
Kookaburras are the largest members of the Kingfisher family.
Winter solstice, or 'midwinter' (December 21/22 in the Northern hemisphere; June 21/22 in the Southern),transpires as the shortest day and the longest night of the year.
It literally marks the beginning of Winter.
It is renowned as a festival of light and rebirth, where people gather together and engage in rituals and other celebrations.
The seven days before and after the winter solstice are known poetically as the 'Halcyon Days'; days known to be both quiet and still.
Legend has it that the Kingfisher, or Halcyon, builds its nest on the ocean during the seven days leading up to the Winter solstice, when the waters are serene, and incubates them during the seven days thereafter, after which time, it is said, they grow and develop, marking fourteen full days of tranquility.
Kingfisher heralds a time of emotional peace and quiet, when clarity will be yours and answers to difficult problems will become obvious.
The emotional pool of life will be stilled and light will be shed, affording time and opportunity to address tumultuous issues troubling your heart and mind. 
It gently prompts us to shed aspects that no longer serve and to literally start afresh.
Kingfisher opens a fourteen day window of opportunity to peacefully handle emotional situations, to speak from the heart or to openly deal with grief, pain or suffering.
Inspiring peace and gratitude, Kingfisher suggests taking time out to rest, celebrate and simplify life.
Kingfisher rekindles memories of good times past, of childhood fun, old friendships and lost love.
It brings to mind our own Halcyon Days, and provides solid reason to reminisce and speak fondly of the years gone by.
In doing so, Kingfisher welcomes healing and closure, answers to questions never asked and old scores settled.
It compels us to appreciate more deeply the beauty and innocence of our own children too, by reminding us that their time as little ones will pass too quickly and before we know it, they will be grown and gone forever.
Kingfisher asks that we celebrate life - and do what we can to ensure we never look back with regret.
It asks that we stop and smell the roses occasionally, to appreciate the little, magickal moments that only come once in a while.
To find solace in the heaven-sent times of peace and tranquility, those times of stillness that only come about every so often, is to welcome the true meaning of 'Halcyon Days' and the wisdom of the Kingfisher.

The Sacred Kingfisher messenger from
Sunday February 13th, 2011

The above entry in Scott's book hit me like a sledgehammer and re-reading the lines;"Kingfisher opens a fourteen-day window of opportunity to peacefully handle emotional situations, to speak from the heart or to openly deal with grief, pain or suffering.

Inspiring peace and gratitude, Kingfisher suggests taking time out to rest, celebrate and simplify life.
Kingfisher rekindles memories of good times past, of childhood fun, old friendships and lost love.
It brings to mind our own Halcyon Days, and provides solid reason to reminisce and speak fondly of the years gone by" 
The day the bird hit the window and I opened the door to see this stunned bird on the veranda, the first thought that came into my head was to wake my wife up and show her, but the next thought that came into my head was that I would rather wake a sleeping dragon than wake her up and put up with her flaming scorn.
So I did the next best thing and took photos of it on my cell phone, so I could show her later when she was up and about, and less lethal (not by much, though;-). 

 

I was never going to blog about this at all, I shunned the limelight like a vampire shuns the sunlight, and I still do to a degree, but I felt compelled to share this story with others out there who may need to hear it ... after all, hadn't I been reading the blogs of people that I felt had a ton of courage exposing themselves to public ridicule, and were even using their full names?
So, about two weeks (14 days later) after much thought I decided to post the photos and write up the story on my blog for others to read.
The Bird that Flew into the Window  
I was so new at doing posts that when I tried to add an extra photo in a re-edit, I somehow managed to lose the whole post.
I was so frustrated with Blogger I was almost going to forget about it.
But I knew I had to post it, because I thought there was a message in here somewhere of importance, if not for me then it was for someone who might read the post.
Looking back now, although it wasn't obvious to me at the time.
The message was for me and my family mainly, as well as for others.

February 14th, Valentines Day in Oz

I couldn't remember after about a fortnight which day the bird actually hit the window, whether it was the Saturday, or the Sunday, all I remembered  is that it was the Valentine's Day weekend, because I remembered thinking how tough it would be for my mother-in-law being the first Valentine's Day without John, her husband.
 I forgot that it was also his birthday on February 15th, the day after Valentine's Day, which made it worse.
I still had the photo on my phone of the Sacred Kingfisher, but I never had it date stamped, and not being real tech savvy I didn't know that you could track the date back of when it was taken on the phone, but my son showed me how to last weekend and I found out it was Sunday the 13th, the day before Valentine's Day, and two days before John's birthday. 
So, I've convinced myself this is another message from beyond related in some way to John. 
But I also think the Kingfisher is my totem animal (kinda), because I can really relate to it.
Whereas whilst rainbow lorikeets, owls, kookaburras and magpies are nice birds to watch and feed, the only birds that I feel an affinity with are crows, seagulls and now ... kingfishers.
"Kingfisher opens a fourteen day window of opportunity..."
It was after about 14 days later that I decided I would post any strange synchronicities I encountered in my life, whether they made much sense at the time or not, as a personal online journal that others could read along with, if they felt like doing so.
And I would try and use photos to try and back up my words  
(if I could) for the people who might like a little proof.
But at the end of the day, I don't care whether others believe my blog-posts or not, because it is primarily for me, so I can come back and try to piece them together, at a later date.

Photo: Laszlo Novak

My oldest son Kevin, is born on June 20th and my youngest son Sean, is born on July 5th, so this passage strikes a cord with me; "Winter  solstice, or 'midwinter' (December 21/22 in the Northern hemisphere; June 21/22 in the Southern hemisphere), transpires as the shortest day and the longest night of the year.
It literally marks the beginning of Winter.
It is renowned as a festival of light and rebirth, where people gather together and engage in rituals and other celebrations"
We don't have Christmas to celebrate at this time of year in the Southern hemisphere, but as a family we do cerebrate those birthdays in that time period.  

Photo: Laszlo Novak

Another book I received this week in the mail was, 
The Healing Wisdom of Birds by Lesley Morrison.
In the Kingfisher section, is written,"Kingfishers have very keen vision, both in the air and while swimming underwater, thus gaining a mastery of both realms .
They are solitary birds, and will often tunnel into sand banks several feet deep.
The medicine of the Kingfisher imparts a great need for personal space and the need to spend time with one's inner thoughts and emotions.
As rapid divers, Kingfishers jump headlong into the waters to find prey.
The person with a Kingfisher totem likewise will dive into the waters of life without fear or hesitation.
This may be a lesson brought to you by a Kingfisher totem, and there will no doubt be many new experiences entering your life that will afford you the opportunity for uninhabited exploration.
Connecting with Kingfisher Medicine
For those with a kingfisher totem, the diving behavior of this bird will be very symbolic.
In shamanic terms, the diving from the air to the underwater world represents the journey of the shaman from the upper worlds to the underworld and back again.
Spending time in or around water is an important way of connecting with the powers of the Kingfisher."

When I turned Laszlo's photo upside-down it looked
like the bird had caught a small white rabbit

So, the the little bird's visit has suddenly made a lot more sense to me in hindsight.