Swan Pagan Symbol – Love, Grace, Soul and Beauty

Graceful Swimming Movements Influenced Symbolism, Lore and Art

Oct 18, 2009

Both AmerIndian and Celtic lore feature the ugly duckling who was transformed into a beautiful bird, so it's not surprising it's symbolic of grace, among other qualities.

Swans, the largest waterfowl, are members of the avian family Anatidae and can live up to thirty-five years. Males are cobs, females are called pens, and babies, cygnets. They spend much of their time swimming in ponds, lakes, rivers and coastal bays.

Swans need a considerable tract of water to takeoff. They tread softly on the water’s surface, flapping their wings, until they have enough speed to become airborne. The birds eat plants, small aquatic invertebrates and insects in water and on land. Their long necks allow them to feed underwater without diving.

Swan in Legend and Lore

Swans are subjects of an AmerIndian Legend and have roles in European legends and tales. Hans Christian Anderson created the children’s story, The Ugly Duckling. Some adults enjoy the Richard Wagner’s opera, Lohengrin, in which the hero rides in a swan-drawn boat.

Leda and the Swan is a Greek legend about Zeus turning into a beautiful swan and seducing Leda, Queen of Sparta, who gives birth to twins, Castor and Pollux. This myth inspired artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Matisse to portray swans in paintings.

Another legend is that swans sing a beautiful song just before they die, the origin of the expression, “swan song,” which refers to a farewell appearance. There is the modern myth is that swans are monogamous; they aren’t.

Celtic Symbolism of Swan

Eala, as the Celts called Swan, is associated with Samhain and travel to the otherworld. She is an animal of the threshold, representing the part of humans which is able to journey to this realm. Eala signifies otherworld inspiration and love coming into one’s life. Her hide and feathers were used to make tugens, the Bards’ ceremonial cloaks.

AmerIndian Symbol, Swan

The swan signifies grace and teaches people to surrender themselves to the universe’s rhythm and to discard the body to enter dreamtime and that humans can be at one with all of creation, trusting spirit will protect them. She brings in times of altered states of awareness and further unfolding of intuition.

One of Swan's lessons is to learn to surrender to spirit’s power and accept transformation, healing and the ability to know the future.

The Swan in AmerIndian Legend

AmerIndian legend holds that the bird, in her ugly duckling body, soared through dreamtime to search for the future. She became confused as she was by a pond, looking for the portal to this realm in an alien landscape.

Dragonfly, a symbol of illusion and guardian to the entry to other states of consciousness, flew by. Swan asked him what the strange twirling black hole was; he told her that it was the entrance to the otherworld. He also explained that she had to ask for and earn the privilege to do enter the otherworld; he also told her to accept what is in the future and not try to alter the future.

Swan weaved magick as she tried to break the pond’s illusion. Suddenly, she was in the midst of a whirlwind in the water’s center. She emerged several days later. Dragonfly was stunned by her appearance. She was graceful, had white feathers and a long curved neck. Dragonfly asked her what happened. She told him that she learned to surrender her body to the power of spirit and was transported to the place where the future lies. She saw many wondrous things on the sacred mountain because she accepted the state of grace and had earned the right to enter dreamtime.

Animal Symbolism Articles Related to Swan

The copyright of the article Swan Pagan Symbol – Love, Grace, Soul and Beauty in Paganism/Wicca is owned by Jill Stefko . Permission to republish Swan Pagan Symbol – Love, Grace, Soul and Beauty in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.