Stillness 9-17: There’s a lovely hummingbird that’s been visiting my yard this summer and last night I dreamed of a hummingbird. In my dream, it flew around me, spoke to me, and then landed on the back of my hand and walked lightly up and down my arm for a while as it addressed me.
Hummingbirds are magical in reality and in dreams. When you see one, you feel you must stop to watch it glide, flit, hover, and grow utterly still in mid-air, then swoop off into sunshine. When you dream of one, you listen. What do you hear?
Humming, first of all. Their name comes from the sound their wings make—wings that move up, down, and around in a unique infinity pattern from 50 to 200 times per second (!), depending on where they are and what they’re doing. When they’re migrating on their 3,000 mile journey, they can travel for 500 miles at a time, at a steady pace of 30 miles per hour.
In shamanic lore, hummingbirds teach of the healing power of love—specifically attuned to our heart chakra. According to Ted Andrews, hearing their vibrating hum can even give us a sort of healing internal massage that can restore inward health and balance in our heart chakra.
Hummingbirds inspire in us adaptability, resiliency, playfulness, and optimism. Also, creativity, enjoyment, and lightness of being. Seeking the good, the sweet, and the beauty of every moment. Living in the present. Dreaming of a hummingbird is about lightening up, enjoying life, opening our heart to love and to the potential power in tiny things.
Hummingbirds are surprisingly independent and fiercely protective of their turf. They migrate on their own, not in a charm or glitter of hummingbirds. They teach us about courage.
In the Andes of South America the hummingbird is a symbol of resurrection. Hummingbirds don’t just flap their wings: they move them in the pattern of the symbol for infinity , a symbol for continuity and eternity.
For me, hummingbirds are particularly magical because of their stillness. Their wings move so fast they appear still. When they hover in mid-air, they appear still. It’s another stillness meditation, where we can move between worlds without moving. We can be in motion and yet our still, eternal self remains what and who we are.
Here are more fascinating things I learned about hummingbirds: They’re extremely adaptable, and they’re the only birds that can actually fly backwards. Hummingbirds have no sense of smell but they see colors! The ruby-throated hummingbird is particularly drawn to ruby-colored flowers. The average weight of a hummingbird is around four grams (a nickel coin weighs 5 grams). Their eggs are the size of a coffee bean.
Unlike in my dream, a hummingbird only uses their tiny legs for alighting, perching, scooting sideways. Sometimes also for scratching and preening. So in reality my hummingbird wouldn’t have walked and hopped up and down my hand and arm—it would have alighted there and rested. Were you wondering what a group of hummingbirds is called? You’ve heard of a flock of geese, a murmur of swallows, a murder of crows… A group of hummingbirds can be called a charm, a bouquet, a hover, a shimmer, a tune, or a glitter of hummingbirds. So now you know.