Magpie Spiritual Meaning & Symbolism

Magpies make quite a racket. Bunching up, they fill the air with gossip-like chatter. And many can pick up and repeat fragments of human speech.

Being a garrulous bird, communication is central to what a magpie represents.

Magpie also adapts well. Not only has it settled into cities.

Counting tales tell us more about how magpie works.

Eight magpies suggests you still need to polish something. Nine hints at romance or at some lasting bond — in keeping with what magpie stands for.

You'll find both sides to magpie's meaning: it represents both luck and devotion and deception — two sides of the same coin in that respect.

Magpies are drawn to shiny things, so if they come into your life they'll remind you that your focus is on looks more than substance. If you've been chasing after something that's attractive but not especially useful — or if you've gotten too distracted by the world around you, so that the important things you actually want are slipping away — magpies will help you take a look around and fix that.

Magpies are colorful and bright, and you can use those same qualities to help other people see what's important to you.

The magpie is a very cautious bird in nature, but it warms up fast to people. If a magpie comes into your life it may be telling you to get out there and talk to new people. This sounds intimidating for some, but if you push yourself it's worth it.

If you were born with Magpie energy, others may experience a side of you that seems quiet at first. But, once you get started, it's almost impossible to shut you up!

When Magpie is in your life as a totem or soul companion, it means you'll often come across as someone who knows a surprising fact for every occasion.

Friends may tease you about this, but you have a collection of interesting facts and wisdom because your curiosity has led you down many interesting paths.

Magpie people are natural leaders.

They're the kind of people who know how to finish what they start.

This energy of Magpie helps them make good decisions in spite of odds being against them.

The promise of using these gifts as a leader is something that drives Magpies as a soul companion.

Lean on the power animal of the magpie if you've started to forget your dreams and goals in pursuit of material comforts and career achievement. The animal totem magpie can help bring you back to balance between your physical body, your mental energy, and your spiritual connection.

The bird's energy alerts you that being overly concerned with success can prevent you from growing as an individual or fulfilling the purposes for which your soul is incarnated. If you obsess about money or power, for example, this obsession might take you away from what really matters.

The bird is also useful if your words aren't coming out as clear as they ought or if people are ignoring what you say. The magpie can help you speak more effectively so that people will listen better, consider what you're saying more seriously, and respond positively rather than hostilely.

Magpies were a topic of fascination in ancient Rome, home to philosophers whose records hinted at the bird's intelligence. They spoke of magpies pondering the meanings of the words they heard, weighing their ideas and exercising reason like beings with human minds.

By late fall, both parents come together to build a silky but strong woven dome with only one door. Then the male remains devoted throughout his mate's three-week incubation and throughout her tending to young, so strong that these pairs stay bonded for life.

Some commentators read this as a symbol of partnership.

The symbolism of magpies in dreams tends to involve numbers and behavior. In fact, the type and behavior of the magpies you see in your dream can help you understand what's going on in your life.

Here are some examples:

If three magpies fly together in your dream and you are pregnant, tradition says that you will have a daughter. If four magpies fly together, the traditional interpretation is that a son is on the way.

Six magpies indicate good fortune coming.

Magpies singing in your dream can mean you have a song to sing. This is the song of your own heart, its voice telling you something important. Perhaps this is a song to carry into meditation or prayer.

If you see magpies fighting, it means there is tension at home (and still some work to do to resolve it).

If a large group of magpies flies by or settles down nearby, it means that whatever you're feeling about things will affect other people.

If you see a group of magpies collecting shiny trinkets, it suggests that right now you should be appreciating life's simple pleasures rather than seeking for what is more grand or elaborate.

Finally, if in your dream a magpie is perched in its nest - this probably means your intuition will help guide you through a challenging situation that makes you feel unsure.

The magpie represents straightforward honesty. As for what's really going on here, the magpie asks you to take a deeper look at whatever is glittering in front of you — a possession, a compliment or a shortcut. Is it really worth your time or is it just there to make you feel better? In terms of overall symbolism, the magpie asks you to be careful about how you use words and whether you're spreading energy with them.

With practice, you can learn to recognize this bird's traits in yourself so you can evaluate your own behavior.

Magpies are smarter than most birds. In fact, European magpies are one of only a handful of bird species to pass the mirror test, a test used to measure self-awareness in animals. The mirror test was once thought to be a sign of intelligence only found in humans, great apes, dolphins and elephants! So how fitting that this loud, chatty bird now turns out to have real self-reflection?

But you don't have to be a scientist to hear the language in a word like "magpie." Looking past the common term for these intelligent birds, you'll see "pie" staring right back at you. That common word for the bird actually comes from old Latin, derived from pica— meaning something similar to our modern "magpie," and many modern words you know with the same short "pie" sound. It was later combined with Mag, short for Margaret (who in Shakespeare's time carried a reputation for gossiping).

Whether you're drawn closer by birdsmarts or bird calls, get ready for a seriously sharp reflection.

Long before magpies were messenger birds of luck in China, they were infamous in Greece for showing the dangers of pride. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, the Muses — Greek goddesses of the arts and music — punish nine sisters who bragged about their singing with a curse that turned them into magpies right in the middle of their boasteries. Wings and beaks grew out of their bodies in mid-speech, so they could never shut up. The nine Pierides had spoiled their own melodies by singing too much, and the story's lessons hold beyond music and song: anything beautiful you say or do will reach its best audience when kept modest.

Every bird has gifts that can turn into weaknesses, as magpie shows. It's worth saying and doing only what you've got to.