Tuesday 2 June 2020

Pagan Eye: A Pair of Parakeets on a Fruit Tree


I photographed this pair of parakeets from my window yesterday. Parakeets have been common in parts of London since the 1990s, but I've only seen them in my own area - around Crystal Palace and Penge - for a few years. They are obviously not native to the UK. Despite various urban legends of the origins of London's flocks of these brightly coloured birds, they probably bred from pets that got loose. The past couple of years, a pair have regularly roosted in trees outside my house. While I'm not getting out much, watching wildlife from my window helps keep me in touch with the natural world and feels good for the spirit.

In an earlier blog post I wrote: "Seeing a parakeet flying in the wild symbolises freedom - but can also indicate a lack of analytical thinking. Maybe it is time to let instinct lead the way out of a situation that is really only a gilded prison." At the moment, I'm not suggesting we should give up social distancing. Many people, especially the vulnerable, really need to stay in lockdown to keep safe.

However, parakeets can also represent freedom of the imagination and creative inspiration. That's the definition given to parrots - similar to parakeets - in The Animal Wisdom Tarot by Dawn Brunke. She writes: "Parrot is playful and intelligent and promotes creative expression." Both parrots and parakeets are natural communicators as well as being sociable, and at the moment could encourage us to find new ways of getting in touch with those we love when we can't meet in person. Dawn adds that this card indicates "a quick-thinking problem solver who loves to learn, devise plans, and develop new ideas."

On each Pagan Eye post, I show a photo that I find interesting, with a few words about it. I'm not quite sure what I'll be including - it could be a seasonal image, a pagan site, an event, or just a pretty picture. If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to badwitch1234@gmail.com Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself and you must confirm that you are submitting it for A Bad Witch's Blog.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/05/pagan-eye-fox-cub-in-my-garden.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/03/pagan-eye-parakeets-in-regents-park.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/05/review-animal-wisdom-tarot-boxed-set.html

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you ,that brings back memories when mu Daughter and Son in law lived in London we used to see them
Norm