Wednesday, November 19, 2008

75. ~ Swan ~

Swans have a bill about as long as their head and of equal breadth. The nostrils are placed about mid way up the bill. They have a long neck with twenty-three vertebrae. Swans have fully webbed front toes, but the hind toe does not have any membrane. The keel of the breastbone is very large. They chiefly feed on vegetables, fish-spawn, roots, and the seeds of aquatic plants. Their average size is five feet in length and they weigh roughly thirty pounds. They can be located on ponds, lakes and rivers. The swan is the most beautiful, and graceful of all creatures. The trumpet swan has fluffy white feathers and a long, elegant, arched neck. Swans have very short legs. They are extraordinary graceful swimmers. They seeming glide across the surface of the water like Barbara Ann Scott ( a Canadian Olympic Gold ice skater). One cannot help but appreciate this waterfowl. These large beauties are a little piece of heaven here on earth. Swans are very powerful birds, and live a long life of up to eighty or ninety years'. Swans have an extra sensitive bill. Their wingspan is between seven and eight feet. The male is called a cob, and a female is called a pen. Baby swans are called cygnets.

Medicine:

Swans teach us to be sensitive! Swan medicine encourages us to gracefully engage in life. They tell us to exhibit a gracious presence. They teach us to love with unabashed feelings. They tell us to be of long commitment to our life partners. Swans say, remember to be spiritually strong and empathetic when we or others are swimming the waters of bereavement. I believe that swans can sense when a human has lost the life of a beloved one. They remind us to move on in our life, but in the same breath to seek out and hold on to our wonderful memories and the wonder of the world around us. Swan medicine teaches us to give warmth to those who are encountering cold waters of life. (I have personally encountered an amazing experience with two Canadian swans which I named Melody and Harmony. These two swans swim together, watching over all of those who visit and lay to rest at a cemetery.

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