“When feathers appear, the angels are near”
The spiritual significance of feathers has been acknowledged since times immemorial.
One could consider feathers to be something trivial, but, in fact, they are a strong spiritual tool that is often used to connect to the world of spirit or to enhance the effects of certain rituals.
People have been trying to deepen their understanding of feather meanings and their spiritual significance since they were still living in tribes.
The first people to understand and recognize the spiritual importance of feathers were the shamans.
The shamans were the healers of every tribe, and they were studying all the plants and the environment in order to gain spiritual knowledge with which they could help people.
Shamans had a strong connection with nature – with the earth, the plants, and the animals.
They were the first to speak about spirit animals and also the first to understand that plants had healing properties – and to tell which.
They were also the first who noticed that feathers are not always to be found, but only in those moments when one needs guidance and support.
Then, they tried to understand the difference between the different colors of feathers.
Shamans in many cultures of the world believed that birds are sacred animals because they can fly up into the sky, thus being very close to God and heaven.
Even if Christianity did not exist during those times, people were still believing in God and in the afterlife, but they were just using different names to refer to them.
Thus, as birds have this ability to fly in the sky, shamans believed that when they do that, they receive messages from the Divine which then are brought to earth, and shared with the right people.
The Spiritual Significance Of Finding A Feather
Thus, the spiritual significance of feathers is that they bring messages from the Divine or from the angels, or even messages from deceased close ones who are trying to make contact with you.
In the spiritual world, feathers are associated with receiving divine messages, with healing, to angels reaching out to you.
With being spiritually awakened and pursuing a spiritual path.
When you’re already on a spiritual path, your angels could transmit certain messages through feathers.
How To Know What Message The Feather Brings
There are two ways to know what message the feather brings you.
The first way is to meditate upon the feather.
When you find a feather, take it with you, then meditate upon it, to decode the message it carries.
The second way is to take into account the color of the feather.
It is said that each feather color represents something different, therefore, when you interpret the feather spiritual meaning, you can always take the color into account as well.
The best way to decode the feather’s message is to combine these two ways.
That means to research your feather’s color, while still doing the meditation.
Knowing what your feather’s color represents will give you a broader frame for what type of message you are receiving, meanwhile, meditating on your feather can bring you more specific answers.
For example, let’s assume that you find a white feather and you are trying to figure out what is the feather trying to tell you.
Knowing that white feathers hold messages from deceased loved ones will help you know about the general meaning of the feather.
Meditating on the feather will help you feel who is the person trying to contact you and what they are trying to say.
How To Meditate On A Feather
If you want to meditate on the feather and decode the message that the feather holds, follow the next steps:
1. Get into a meditative state. This means to find a nice quiet spot where you can meditate, relax and your mind and your body, light a candle, play some relaxation music, or do whatever gets you “in the mood”.
Hold the feather in your hands throughout the whole meditation process.
2. Declare your intention to decode whatever message the feather holds and to receive guidance from your angels and spirit guides.
You can also ask for guidance from the guides that sent you the feather.
3. Mentally connect to the feather. After following the previous steps, strengthen your grip to the feather and imagine that you connect to it through your fingers.
Imagine a string of energy starting from your sixth chakra and going all the way to the feather.
This string of energy is meant to allow messages to travel from the feather to your consciousness.
Focus on the feather and allow the messages to come in, whether they come as ideas, words, or images.
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Finding Feathers Meaning: The Spiritual Meaning Of Each Feather Color
Now that you know how to meditate on a feather in order to receive its hidden message.
I will talk about the connection between the color of the feather and the feathers meaning for that specific color.
Each feather color meaning has been associated with one type of message or one type of spiritual message.
When you interpret the general message of the feather, first take into account its color, just to have a clear idea in what category you should put it.
Meaning of white feathers
White feathers are generally associated with a deceased person trying to contact you, or sometimes even with an angel trying to contact you.
White is the color of purity, so whatever message the feather holds, is probably filled with love and guidance.
Or oftentimes, angels and people who passed away will send a white feather just to say “I’m close, I’m here, and I’m watching over you”.
To get to know what the message is about, try meditating upon the white feather.
When you meditate upon a white feather, I suggest that you first ask who is sending the message.
A person who passed away? An angel? Then, try to understand the message and see what sort of guidance it brings.
Meaning of black feathers
Black feathers are associated with death, power, beauty, nobility, and even protection.
Thus, the message around a black feather could be that someone's death is approaching – or a message about someone’s recent death or a call to acknowledge your own beauty and nobility and to take your power back.
A black feather could also suggest that you are being protected by very powerful forces and that whatever you are going through is going to work out just fine.
The specific message of the feather will only be found through meditation, but when you find a black feather, expect a message involving one of these four aspects.
Meaning of a grey feather
As the color grey is a mix between white and black, a grey feather usually holds a message about finding the right balance or making a compromise, or that the situation you’re in is not black or white.
It also has shades of grey which you must take into account.
If you’re at a crossroads in your life and you don’t know what decision to make, the grey feather meaning would be to stop seeing things so black and white and choose with your heart.
Basically, regardless of the situation, the message of a grey feather is to not see things in black and white, but allow yourself to be open-minded and see all the alternatives.
To sum it up, a grey feather is an invitation to be flexible, sometimes, even to forgive and to understand those who have wronged you.
Meaning of a brown feather
The brown feather meaning is usually about safety, masculinity, grounding, or your connection to nature.
A brown feather could say that you are safe with a certain person or on a certain life path, or could be an invitation to spend more time in nature, ground yourself, and regain your vital energy and power.
A brown feather could also be an invitation to develop your masculine side more, nurture your masculine energy, be masculine in a certain situation or have faith in a certain man you’re thinking about.
Once again, for the specific aspects of the message, make sure to meditate upon the feather.
Meaning of a Blue feather
The blue feather meaning carries one of the most beautiful messages that you can receive from your angels and spirit guides.
It usually holds messages about a blessing coming your way, about deep and powerful spiritual knowledge being offered to you, or about a strong connection to your higher self.
The blue feather meaning is usually a signifier that you have done the necessary work to receive a beautiful blessing or to reach a higher spiritual level.
If it refers to the connection to your higher self, then it means that you have developed a strong connection with it or that you became a better version of yourself, through spiritual practice or healing, or simply by reaching a higher understanding of life.
If you’re at the beginning of a spiritual path and you’re wondering if you should take it, the blue feather could indicate this is a huge opportunity.
Meaning of a red feather
The message that a red feather brings you could be a message about love, passion, power, or fertility.
As red is known to be the color of passion and love, the message of a red feather will most likely apply to these areas of your life.
A red feather could mean that this person you’re dating is the right one, and you will have a passionate relationship.
It could also mean that you’re about to encounter love or become a powerful and influential person.
Again, to see what exactly is the red feather saying try to meditate upon it and see how the message applies to your current situation.
Meaning of a green feather
A Green feather meaning is usually associated with fertility, abundance, and financial opportunities, or with love and health.
A green feather could be an indicator of an upcoming financial blessing or a child, a healthy love blooming, as well as improving your health and well-being.
If you have been neglecting your finances or your health, a green feather could also be a call to action, as an invitation to become mindful of these areas of your life and start working to improve them.
As green feathers are quite rare, if you find one, you can consider yourself really lucky and believe that great things are headed your way.
Meaning of yellow feathers
Yellow feathers usually represent the warmth of the sun, joy and cheer, light and positivity coming your way.
A yellow feather could indicate that you receive something that will bring you a lot of joy, or that the dark times in your life are over, at least for a long while.
Mixed Color Feather Meanings
Now we're going to look at what do feathers symbolize spiritually when it comes to mixed colors.
There are more rare, but sometimes you will find mixed color feathers, and their meaning is a bit harder to interpret.
Mixed color feathers could have multiple meanings, so even though I am going to give you the main meaning of each.
I do suggest that you rely on meditation and on your intuition to find out the meaning meant for you.
Sometimes, one way to interpret mixed color feathers is to mix together the meaning of each color, or sometimes, the mixed color feather will have a separate meaning on its own.
Black and white feather meaning
A black and white feather will have a meaning involving protection, death, deceased loved ones who have become spirit guides, and anything of this nature.
A black and white feather could mean that you are protected by a person who passed away, or your spirit guides send you messages about death and the afterlife.
White and grey feather meaning
Let's look at the white and grey feather meaning.
A grey and white feather can often mean that a deceased love one or a spirit guide is trying to help you make a certain decision, adjust to a situation or change the way in which you view a certain situation.
Breaking down the grey and white mixed feather meaning further, the grey symbolizes deeper understanding, compromise, and being open-minded.
The white symbolizes love and guidance from deceased people, you can interpret this as an invitation to re-assess whatever you’re dealing with right now and view it from a different angle.
You should find out more specific details about the situation and the perspective you should have when you meditate upon the feather.
Brown and white feather meaning
A brown and white feather usually symbolizes the purity and cleanliness of the color white, combined with the stability and grounding represented by the brown.
It could mean that you are protected by a masculine force, or it could be an invitation to trust a male figure who is more prominent in your life.
Again, you should see for yourself how it applies to your life.
Black and grey feather meaning
A black and grey feather could have a more specific meaning, as it transitions from the darkness of the black to the calmness of the grey.
These feathers could be a message saying that your situation is about to become clearer and more stable.
They could also be an invitation to change a fixed way of thinking and to become more open-minded and flexible.
A black and grey feather could also say that it’s time to start noticing all the nuances from a situation or person and to be willing to compromise more.
To summarize, feathers are a strong spiritual tool that your angels or spirit guides could use to communicate with you.
Most often they are positive omens, bringing messages of peace, healing, and guidance.
Feathers may appear as something trivial, but they are powerful spiritual totems that have been acknowledged since ancient times, in most cultures of the world.
Thus, if you find a feather, I suggest that you try to see what the feather meaning is for you.
To fully understand the message that the feather is bringing for you, the best approach is to first read about the color of the feather.
In order to gain an idea about its general meaning, and then find out the specific details through a meditation.
Thanks, I hope you enjoyed learning the different feather meanings!
If you have any further questions about the spiritual significance of feathers, feel free to ask in the comments section, and I will be happy to offer more guidance on the topic.
Alexandra, the head author at Subconscious Servant is a Psychologist, Reiki Therapist, and writer. She loves writing about any topic from Applied Psychology, Metaphysical and Spiritual healing, hoping that people on a spiritual, self-discovery journey will find guidance and light through her articles. If you want to read more about Alexandra, visit her full author bio here.