Hey there everyone ❤️ This is a great topic @missy & @rambo & one I can share what's close to my heart.
Making our way towards Halloween (which they are starting to somewhat celebrate down here in Australia!) I have an unusual 'paranormal' story to share that's not particularly creepy so to speak, but much more on a spiritual level for me.
It's about finding feathers.
Through my adult life I noticed it much more. When I am in need of guidance, am going through a stressful time, or need some type of reassurance I'm on the right path, a feather appears, right in my path. It's a very special totem for me, & they ALWAYS appear just when I need them as an intimate reminder of something. This feather was found when I lived in Northern California, it's a red-tail hawk feather. I was living without electricity in a small cabin where we were growing copious amounts of weed in Humboldt county, around '96. I was walking down to the closest neighbour, about 2 miles down the road, to use their landline phone, to ring one of my best friends back in Colorado, to ask if I could somehow move back with them, I was struggling. Like REALLY struggling, & needed to get out. On the way back from the phone call I decided to 'bush-whack' my way back and take a very unfamiliar path. That's when this feather appeared for me. I moved within a week back to Colorado.
Native Americans wore feathers in their headdress to represent their communication with the spirit world. They believed finding feathers was a sign of new beginnings and rebirth from spirit.
I personally find them as an indication I'm on the right path, or that I'm doing the right thing in what's confusing me in life. I take them as a sign from my friends and family that are no longer on earth, that can guide me gently with these beautiful treasures if I pay attention, or call on them for help. When I find them, it's not a coincidence it's a consciousness.
Here in Australia we are lucky to be surrounded by amazing tropical & unusual birds, & especially because I live rural, I come across many feathers, but seriously, only when I need them! I can go weeeeeks without finding one. Earlier this year when I was trying to decide if I should quit working at the local pub, I had worked there for about a year or so. It was fun as hell but an extremely toxic environment for me. I was taking all sorts of white drugs, drinking insane amounts of alcohol, & neglecting my family life at home like I never had before. During this tough contemplation period I found literally about 30 feathers within a few days, like I was being BOMBARDED by the spirit world, telling me YES YES YES you're doing the right thing here!
It certainly helped me make a decision that was one of the smartest I've made in awhile.
When I quit smoking weed, 5 months ago now, I was struggling. I was having a really hard time with detoxing and overwhelming dreaming, & cravings and mental health and EVERYTHING. I found a feather pretty well every single day in those first few weeks. Thankyou universe!
Feathers often come to me when I'm thinking of someone I've lost that I love very much. Or, a few weeks ago, when I was visiting my dear friend Klaus in hospital who recently passed away. I arrived back to the Canberra Glassworks, where I was working that afternoon, & had worked countless times with Klaus. He was on the board of this facility and had a huge part of setting it up, and had also asked my partner and I to move from Sydney to Canberra to build the facility from the bottom up in 2007. We made a massive life decision to move down there, on the word from Klaus that this would be an amazing opportunity, which it was and had been over the last 9 years. I was in tears, had been crying the whole way back in the car from the hospital. Watching someone with brain cancer slowly dying is very hard to take on emotionally. When I got back from the drive I was trying to compose myself for an afternoon of glassblowing when, bam. There, RIGHT at the back door, no where near any wildlife whatsoever, was a feather, in my path. Perfect timing. I've heard of people finding feathers inside of houses, or even a story of one in an elevator for someone. I love them and I love the symbolism of them.
I've heard lots of times, 'when angels are near, feathers appear'
I have a black cocotoo feather tattoo that means the world to me. My friend did the drawing for me, & she has a white cocotoo feather tattoo on her other arm. Black cocotoos are a special native bird that appear for me when I need that extra bit of comfort or support, and trust knowing they always do turn up for me. I'm so lucky.
Feathers mean a lot to me, & also some of my glass-related friends. We had a friend pass away in Seattle, and there's a special screen print made in his honor, I have one on my favourite hoody, my SG blackheart burlesque hoody that I screened on my pocket last summer when I was at Pilchuck Glass School.
I also have a beautiful felt feather a mutual friend of this lost soul made me as well..
I like to think of my favourite Disney movie, Dumbo and his magic feather, which helped him to fly!
Do you have any stories of finding feathers? Would love to hear anything you have to share about what feathers mean to you. Sometimes if you start to take notice, & find them, you'll see that they symbolise something important for you, or what's going on in your life. ❤️
Xoxo Harvest
