The PELICAN myth is one of a mother pelican who, in order to feed her young, rips a hole in her breast and feeds them of her own flesh and blood. Let's live Pelicanly!

PELICAN: Myth has it that the pelican was believed to feed it's own babies with it's own blood which the pelican caused to flow by piercing it's own breast. Therefore it became the symbol of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

A medieval myth about pelicans: "There were no pelicans in England and therefore people in the middle ages depended on traveller's tales about them. They had this belief that pelicans, when food was short, would peck at their own breast in order to feed the young with their own blood. Why did they think that? If you've ever seen a pelican with fish in its beak there sometimes is blood running down the side of this huge beak, not because it has pecked itself, but simply because it is coming from the fish. So the pelican became a symbol for the blessed sacrament, Christ feeding his faithful people with his body and blood."

In its natural habitat the pelican is a large, social bird with a particular manner of fishing. In myth and legend, the story of why the pelican plucks his or her breast has changed slightly over the centuries due to the Christian influence; however, it remains a symbol of devotion, sacrifice, charity and piety. The pelican has been depicted in art and was manifested in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Alchemically, the symbol of the pelican was an image for the Philosophers’ Stone and, thus, has implications for the process of individuation.

Posted by: fadachi at 08:33 | link | comments (1)