The symbolism of birds

In the process of making my jewelry I have noticed a number of recurring themes. I am attracted to birds for example. I love nature, but not inclined to wear pictures of platypus or lizards although I know some people who do. Moose and deer are another icon I am drawn to but that is for another time. I have made a number of bird pieces - tuans and kiwis, from New Zealand, parrots and lorikeets from Australia and robins from the north.  I recently made a simple brass necklace with three different swallows. It sold within moments of hitting the screen. So I guess I am not the only one with this fetish! 

Yesterday I finally finished what I consider my loveliest pieces which are earrings of green budgerigars flying over the red desert of Australia, with dark smooth hematite rock drops descending towards the earth where they came from. Although quintessesentially Australian in iconography, the budgerigar symbol is really me thinking out loud. I take this idea from Jung.


Carl Jung said that birds represent thoughts while birds in flight symbolize moving and changing thoughts. Birds are generally associated with freedom and abandon. In old dream interpretation books, birds are considered lucky omens (except for blackbirds, which are generally negative). Doves and eagles are generally spiritual symbols.  Wearing something with a bird on it perhaps encapsulates the very exciting prospect of growth and thinking.