I’ve been seeing robins lately. For a while now…long enough for me to take notice. They are not subtle birds. They stand out. They stop. They look at me, clear and direct. I like that directness about them.
The first ones became prominent right after I’d set the intention of communicating from my heart. Does that seem like a trivial intention? It’s not trivial to me. Because sometimes it’s hard, to communicate from the heart. Harder than you’d think.
“The male American robin, as with many thrushes, has a complex and almost continuous song. Its song is commonly described as a cheerily carol, made up of discrete units, often repeated, and spliced together into a string with brief pauses in between. The song varies regionally, and its style varies by time of day….The robin also sings when storms approach and again when storms have passed. In addition to its song, the American robin has a number of calls used for communicating specific information such as when a ground predator approaches, and when a nest or robin is being directly threatened.” – Wikipedia
The robin’s song is often said to sound like, “Cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheer up.” This upbeat song, along with the Robin’s tendency to be one of the first birds to announce the arrival of spring, I’m seeing as encouragement to remain optimistic.
Singing is very important to the robin. In fact, territorial battles between robins are generally carried out in song. Physical confrontations are unusual and largely symbolic. Sort of like when I smack my husband for being difficult. Largely symbolic–but unlike the robin’s gestures, not too unusual and utterly ineffective.
The Robin’s eggs are a beautiful powdery blue, a color associated with the throat chakra. It’s interesting that their song is reserved for the spring, mating season, although warning calls when threatened are year round. And the poor female robins are both lighter in color and cannot sing the spring song, but do make the warning call.
There is no mistake to be made however: robins are communicators! Robins make excellent totems for writers, public speakers, and others who need to communicate with special effectiveness, or who make their living in the public eye (or ear).
Robins have notable hunting methods, too. They often hunt on the ground, with a run-and-stop pattern. Run, stop, cock their head a bit, and nab! Different sources attribute their success to visual cues of prey, listening, or using other skills. Personally, I like to think the robin is tuning in to intuition before a nab.
In mythology, Robins are frequently associated with service, sacrifice and spirituality–as when earning the red breast via injury when trying to remove the thorn crown of Jesus. Some Native American tribes considered robins to be connected to the sun because of their red breast or their brightly colored beaks, a reminder to speak only the highest truth. The white around the eyes indicated clarity of vision and prophetic ability. Robins were called upon when wisdom, understanding and clarity were required.
Robin tells me it’s time for new growth–spring IS here, and all sorts of new life is emerging. His pretty, upbeat song encourages me to remain optimistic. His emphasis on clear communication and speaking the highest truth reminds me to fearlessly do so as well. Actually, his timing is pretty much perfect. I can use both the encouragement and advice right now and am very grateful for his prescence.
Do you see robins? What do they say to you?
P.S. I’m still doing those Zodiac readings and have been really pleased with the results. So I probably will be adding them to the regular fare soon. They are just very, very practical and fun to do, too. If you’d like to get one while it’s still discounted, though, get on it!