This morning, while doing the Sun Salutation, a Blue Jay flew onto the little bird feeder we have in our backyard, which is barely able to handle the droves of finches that congregate there (my husband calls it the smorgasbord for the feather express). He was swiftly knocking all of the small seeds out of the way in search of the larger sunflower seeds. I opened the door and quietly reminded him that he was much too large for that feeder. Of course he flew off the feeder as soon as I opened the door, but rather than flying away like the less fearless finches, he perched on the fence and looked at me quizzically. I went back in the house and grabbed a handful of seed and proceeded to place it on the table outside while suggesting to the jay that he may find the table easier to navigate. I went back into the house and without missing a single beat of his bird heart, the jay was on the table having his fill of sunflower seeds.
Those who know me know that I love the mystery and magic of the universe (yes, I said magic), and that everything is a sign to me. So without a pause, I went directly to
Ted Andrews book, Animal- Speak
and, once again the universe did not disappoint.
Blue Jay it seems is symbolic of the Proper use of Power. The name Jay comes from the Late Latin gāius, or gāia which is a name for Mother Earth. In fact, in Greek Mythology, Gāia, the Goddess of the Earth (from the formless, void came the broad-breasted Gāia) not only conceived, but birthed (may I add, without the help of a male, I’m just saying), Uranus and married him to boot, the prodigy whom from said union were the Titans. Whoa…who needs coffee when you have all this going on?
So, now I know that Jay’s name is symbolic of the Earth and Heaven –Uranus is the Father of Heaven and birds represent heaven ‘cus of there feather’s- hence the title, messengers of God) and that speaks “much of the intrinsic power associated with the Jay. It has the ability to link heavens and earth, to access each for greater power. T.A. Animal speak pg.121
There’s more…
Jay is often thought of as a thief, I remember my mother lamenting the “nasty Jay’s and there git,git git” scolding voice, chasing the other birds away. And yes, those qualities are true but he holds other lessons to look at. Firstly, that fearlessness, not unlike his cousin the Crow, is a tremendous attribute. Carpe diem!!! If we live in fear we miss out on all those scrumptious sunflower seeds!!!
The Jay’s lesson to me is about not abusing or squandering my power- I’m getting goose bumps. In Andrew’s treatise, he speaks of the problem with dabbling in both worlds, of spirit (heaven) and physical (earth), that one may dabble without becoming a master. I cannot tell you how much I relate to this. If you have noticed on my blog, I dabble in a lot of things. Last year was the first time I truly committed to only pursuing one vehicle for expression, jewelry, and even that was commingled with printing and bookmaking, painting (enamel) and assemblage (albeit still under the jewelry umbrella). And for those who read these words and do not know me, I am a seeker and I study about many philosophies about the meaning of life. My spiritual practice is made up of a number of tools which help to keep me grounded and inspired.
And there is so much more… but I will not bore you with more details. Suffice it to say that I have been given a gift from that Jay, not only of inspiration for art work (I’m on my way to the Art Clinic to do some drawings of Blue Jays which will eventually turn into jewelry in case you were wondering if I was wandering off my path), but also tremendous food for thought about how I have been approaching my life’s path. Blue Jay stays around for winter so that means I have time to pursue this line of thinking and he’ll be around to support me.
as there are many variables involved in getting a good face. I have a large pile of not so great pieces that go along with this assortment of little beauties. That is the price for not practicing the craft. I have learned my lesson.
Cuba Red
Buddha Mango
Eggs
Big Sky
A couple of weeks ago I went up north to hang with my family and my mom took Ruth for a day so I could go to San Francisco with my cousin Teresa. Now Tia lives in Santa Barbara, but she used to live in SF when I was a wee teenager. I used to take the ferry from Marin (where I grew up) and walk the streets (window shopping). I loved it. At 16, when I got my license, my parents let me borrow the car and I would go hang out with Teresa, aka Tia. I learned how to drive pretty well on those hills driving a stick!!! Oh, and I know how to parallel park too.
Below is the pulled pork sandwich we shared. (Notice Tia's coconut? I had a Thai iced tea.)
Below is the most wonderful salad we shared. It is called Tea Leaf Salad and is beautifully served with dried lentils, dried garlic, jalapenos,tomatoes, sunflower seeds and fermented tea leafs- all on a bed of Romaine Lettuce. The waiter (very cute) brought it to the table, squeezed the lemon and tossed it for us. It was the best!!!! (Tia and I asked the waiter if we could taste the tea leaves before he tossed it-they were fantastic!!!!)
Can you see the City in the background? Before we ate lunch we visited the Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum and were given a private tour of the John Baldessari exhibit http://www.baldessari.org/ which, had I not gotten the docent tour, I would not have understood or appreciated. I love art- and even more when I understand where the artist head is at while creating. One of his pieces is a page full of the sentence, "I will not create boring art." And it wasn't!!!!
