26-Nov-2007
In this post I give a sample of how to approach the meaning of eagles in dreams. Think of the biological aspects as well as the mythical. Also, examine your own experiences with eagles.
EAGLES
“The eagle is the sun of my eyes,” stated the artist of “The Great Solar Eagle,” and so it has been for many peoples from the time eagles were observed.
The eagle stares without blinking at the sun. Because eagles fly closer to the sun than any other bird, they were compared to the way spirits in prayer soar to God. They detach from earthly matters and with their wide perspective and closeness to the Light and Source of All, gain oracular wisdom.
Eagles often swoop down into water and swiftly retrieve fish to eat. This trait has been compared to the way God plucks souls from the ocean of life. On the other hand, the ease with which eagles are quick to seize and kill weaker prey has been compared to the devil’s cruel and greedy grasp of souls. Both ideas are perhaps combined in the Amor-Psyche story, wherein the eagle comes to Psyche’s aid in obtaining a bit of the water of the unconscious without getting trapped by the surrounding demons.
Because of eagles’ closeness to heaven, they were believed to be intercessors between the gods and humans. They carried souls upon death into the afterlife. In the Iliad and the Odyssey eagles bear messages to and from the divine. If eagles appear before an event (e.g. battle), they may be a good omen, but since eagles are often present at a kill, they may foreshadow tragedy. Eagle feathers were used by shamans on sick or troubled persons in the belief that eagles during spirit-flight would carry away the dis-ease.
The Sun-Gods who incorporated the strength, courage, and penetration of eagles in their symbols include: Zeus, who in the form of an eagle, carried off his beloved prince Ganymede to Mount Olympus; Vishnu, who in the Indian epic Ramayana, used Garuda as his divine mount after the bird stole the gods’ immortality; Horus of Egypt, Mithra of Persia, the Viking Odin, and Jesus Christ. Also, since eagles looked so noble and imperial, they were adopted as the emblem of leaders and warriors the world over. King Solomon of the Old Testament, military Rome, Napoleon, and the United States are prime examples.
The Aztecs believed that when warriors died in sacrifice, their eagle-god, Huitzilopochtli, fed on their hearts. In the 12th c. they also looked to an eagle for a sign about where to site their capital city Tenochtitlan and followed one that landed on a cactus while feeding on a snake. This place is now Mexico City.
Eagles in flight are fascinating to follow. They can soar for hours, using slow mighty wingbeats followed by long glides on the wind thermals. In mating, a pair swirl and spiral together from great heights, cawing, sometimes clutching each other, sometimes spinning around in dazzling aerial feats.
Because eagles soar so deftly among the clouds, they were thought to consort with weather powers, sometimes even depicted carrying lightning bolts. The American Plains Indians called them Thunderbirds. They used eagle feathers in head-dresses and eagle bones in pipes in order to take on the power of the eagle as well as in the sacred purifying ordeals of the Sun Dance.
Eagles are sometimes depicted with two heads. In 3 B.C. the double-headed eagle was associated with Ningursu of Lagash, the Babylonian god of fertility, storm and war, by a people who lived in a valley surrounded by mountains and were sometimes threatened by dangerous storms and floods. They both revered and feared eagle powers. The dual image of the eagle was also adopted by the Hittites of Asia Minor and later Austria. Furthermore, the double-headed eagle was used to illustrate how positive qualities of majesty and courage could, when pushed to the extreme, turn into the negative qualities of oppression and pride. Thus, courage becomes vainglory, and virtuous wrath becomes merciless murder.
On a lighter note, the influence of the eagle can be seen in the game of golf, where a score one below par is called a “birdie” and two strokes below par (usually an amazing two for a hole) is called an “eagle.”
While eagles generally would have long lives with their chosen mates, the American Bald Eagle was nearly snuffed out in recent decades by people’s use of DDT and overhunting. Vigorous respect for this and the other species of eagles - the beloved Golden, the largest of all Harpy, et al - are necessary to keep them visible and present among us.
