The Hummingbird
The hummingbird brings us the gift of beauty. The ruby throated hummingbird is one of the most common species in North America. This energetic little bird migrates 1800 miles from the Eastern US to spend winter in Central America. This distance alone indicates the hummingbirds stamina and perseverance. They can show us how to go the distance without becoming depleted.
When hummingbirds mate, the male claims a territory and attracts a female to it. When she appears, he does a courtship dance, flying back and forth in a perfect arc. The arc symbolizes a luminous bridge connecting one life to another. Male hummingbirds start the process of procreation and the female completes it. The arc then becomes a circle, a cycle of completion. When the hummingbird flies into our lives it can indicate a need within ourselves to complete a specific lesson that we have been avoiding. Once the mating act is done the males go to look for other females. The mother lays and incubates the eggs for the required 16 days and then raises the young by herself. The number 16 is important for those with this medicine. It represents change within a 16 day period.
Hummingbirds flap their wings at the fantastic rate of 90 beats per second during normal flight and up to 200 beats per second during courtship, giving them their humming sound. They have excellent maneuverability in flight. They can hover in the air, fly backward, forward and sideways. The hummingbird flies everywhere because it cannot walk well. Hummingbirds have the advantage of seeing things from all angles and can show us how to expand our perceptions.
Hummingbirds are small but expend so much energy flying that they require large amounts of sugar rich flower nectar to stay alive, having to eat twice their body weight a day. Because of its small size and its high degree of activity, it loses body heat quickly, so it must digest food quickly. Those with this totem need to watch their own sugar levels and take care of their digestive system.
The hummingbird serves to remind us of the beauty and wonder of the world. While their speed and sound may sometimes startle us, they help pull our attention out of the mundane so that we can acknowledge and appreciate the beauty of Creation.
