Native Americans are close to nature, and, because of this connection, they see Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, in everything. This belief system creates a balanced life where messages from the spirit world, or from above, are all around them.

Today we often lose touch with what’s happening around us. In order to receive messages from the spirit realm, we have to become more aware and watchful. Communication can be manifested in flowers, rainbows, cloud formations, certain smells, or even from a feather fallen from above.

As Mary Dean Atwood states, “Sightings or finding feathers or other power items happens for a reason. Be alert to the hidden message. Questions are often answered.” (Atwood 103)

Feathers have always been full of symbolic meaning, especially to those who are close to nature and our Earth. Considered messages from the spirit realm, when you find a feather on your path, pick it up and take time to ponder its meaning, or message. It may be just the resolution to problem you may have.

Why would a feather be an answer to a problem? Because the symbolism here is that feathers come from the spirit world above. Black Elk, the Sioux Indian chief, believed they came straight from the Great Spirit or Wakan Tanka and believed they actually were Wakan Tanka. (Brown 34)

Maybe you are troubled and have heavy thoughts that you would like to have resolved. The feather is a symbol of peace of mind. If you find a feather, this is a special connection, a link between our physical world and the spiritual world.

Grandmother Twylah Nitsch, a wise woman from the Seneca tradition, also known as Yehwehnode, meaning “She Whose Voice Rides on the Wind”, believed that messages were all around us, especially in the form of feathers. She said, “…when one finds a feather it is a message of peace. No matter where you are walking, if you happen to walk along and you see a feather, pick it up, hold it, and bring it close to your heart. It is a special message of peace to you. If you are walking along and you are thinking of something that might be puzzling, and you are moving it through your mind and you pick up a feather, hold it and look at it. It can often bring a thought of wisdom in connection with what you’re thinking about.” (McFadden 109)

If you don’t find one while you are awake, you may find one in a dream. I received a dream recently in which I found a feather on a sidewalk and led several children who were walking with me to a woman who was trying on a pair of shoes. I told her that her shoes looked comfortable, but she told me that there were times in everyone’s lives where their shoes aren’t so comfortable. She explained to me that there are many times in life where your shoes don’t fit, and that you will eventually find a pair that fits. The feather in my dream was so large and vivid with color and the feeling so good when I awoke, that I realized I had experienced more than just a random dream, but a message of wisdom from the spirit realm for a time in my life that troubled me.

David Chappuis is the writer of Midnight’s Edge: The Spirits of Sleepy Meadows and 3 other books in the series.

 

Citations (further reading)

– Atwood, Mary Dean. Spirit Healing: Native American Magic & Medicine. New York, NY. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 1991.

-Brown, Joseph Epes. Animals of The Soul: Sacred Animals of the Oglala Sioux. Rockport, MA. Element Books Limited, 1997

-McGaa, Ed. (Eagle Man). Mother Earth Spirituality: Native American Paths To Healing Ourselves And Our World. New York, NY. HarperCollins Publishers, 1990.

-McFadden, Steven. Profiles in Wisdom: Native Elders Speak About The Earth. Santa Fe, New Mexico. Bear & Company Publishing, 1991

-Hausman, Gerald. Turtle Island Alphabet: A Lexicon of Native American Symbols And Culture. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1992