Dove: Peace

Where I live one of the most familiar sounds of a summer evening or early morning is the cooing of the mourning dove. When all the other birds are asleep (except the robin and nightingale), the dove's haunting call fills the air.

Thus, this bird is associated with these transitional periods in the day's cycle, during which, according to mystical and magical traditions, the veils between the physical and spiritual worlds are at their thinnest.

I find it interesting that the crystal, amethyst, which is the color the skies of sunset and sunrise often assume, is, like the dove, related to peacefulness. Amethyst is one of the most popular crystals, and a comfort to those of us who live in a world which seems to be characterized by stress, tension, and major changes.

It is certainly a world in which we all need peace, and we can work with both amethyst and Dove Medicine to achieve it, especially when we are going through major changes and transitions. The peace symbolized by Dove is that of the deepest kind. It quiets our worried and troubled thoughts, and allows us to find renewal in the silence of mind.

It teaches us that, regardless of external circumstances, this quality of peace is within us, and always available to us. The regular practices of deep breathing and meditation can help us to find inner peace and enable us to move calmly and with purpose during the hours between dawn and dusk.

Dove is one of the Wild Earth Animal Essences.