The Sophisticated Symbolism of Feathers

The idea that truth can be symbolized by a feather is exciting to me because it seems that, usually, a lot more goes into human truth than what one sees at first glance.

The ancient Egyptians were onto this symbolism, as you can see from the weighing of a feather against one's soul in the scales at the time of death. The symbol of the feather often appears in their hieroglyphics as Ma'at and as the head of Thoth.

One of the reasons it appeals to me so much is, I think, because I see now as an old person how very long it takes to understand all that goes into a true statement about human realities. Last night, for example, I happened to see a film version of Frankenstein and saw so much more in it than I had ever seen before. I am able to see so much more in the classics now than I could fifty years ago.

A feather is like that. It is composed of small, almost insubstantial elements. These elements accumulate in large numbers and you get a feather, and enough feathers give you a wing, and a couple wings enable you to soar.

The feather symbol thus is an apt symbol for the accumulated acts, no matter how small, that are true and built into consciousness.

The Native American Indians sometimes would have

just a single feather on their heads and sometimes would have a very large headdress full of them. The elaborate ostrich feathers of the Cavaliers' hats indicates their traditional status. You often see even today a small feather in the hat band of a fedora, on the left hand side, indicating a certain worldly sophistication.

Feathered ear rings must have some connection to thoughts. I notice, too, that devils and dragons usually have wings that are not made of feathers, like bats' wings, although that is not always the case. There is more to this than I have understood.