Magpie Magic
Mysterious Medicine
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The Black-billed Magpie is a surprising and mysterious bird, commonly misunderstood and misrepresented. In the same family as crows, jays and ravens, magpies are known to be one of the most intelligent creatures around—right up there with dolphins, chimpanzees and humans. Their total brain-to-body mass ratio is equal to that of great apes and cetaceans, and only slightly lower than that of humans.
These birds are capable of recognizing themselves in the mirror, and are able to mimic voice and tone. They can even be trained to speak. They are highly social, organizing themselves into gangs and forming deep and long lasting relationships amongst themselves and even outside of their species. There is an incredible story of a magpie who formed a powerful relationship with a woman and her family after she suffered a spinal cord injury. The friendship with the magpie was instrumental in her healing.
Once they choose a mate, magpies will be monogamous for life. The female initiates the relationship by begging for food from the male, which begins their courtship. They often nest in the V of large trees, making a huge nest out of sticks and mud that can take up to 40 days to put together. The pair build their nest together, the male gathering sticks for the exterior and the female tending to the interior, forming a mud cup and lining it with grass.
These amazing birds are capable of expressing grief, among other complex emotions, and even seem to ritualize death among their kin. One of the most beautiful Black-billed Magpie behaviors is their funeral or grief ritual. When one magpie discovers a dead magpie, it begins calling loudly to attract others. They gather and call raucously for up to 15 minutes before the birds disperse and fly off silently.
Learn Their Song
Magpies are highly vocal birds, communicating in a wide variety of calls and songs. If you don’t already know their call, once you learn to identify it you’ll start to notice it all the time. They’ve got a call that’s a caw-caw-caw. They also have a whisper song which is a symphony of varied chatter. Listening, it’s almost like a child telling you a story about all the magical things they encountered that day.
There are over 20 different types of magpies found throughout North America, Europe and Asia. In the western part of this continent, the Black-billed Magpie is most common. These are non-migratory birds making them stand out especially in winter as other flocks have moved to warmer areas.
Right now, I am seeing them everywhere. They greet me in the morning as I come out from my cabin. They hang around when I am hiking, always seeming to keep an eye on me from a slight distance. They are beautiful—a stunning flash of black and white with one of the longest tails in the bird kingdom. To me, they hold a bit of old world magic. They are like the watchful companion, almost like the three-eyed raven, always there seeing with an otherworldly presence.
Folklore and Symbolism
The symbolic meanings of the magpie are as varied as their personality. Just like their black and white beauty, they are a paradox symbolically. Similarly to crows and ravens, they have been largely demonized and viewed as bad luck by western civilization. In much of the myth and folklore coming from Europe, magpies are seen as thieving or associated with the occult and witchcraft. Conversely, one account I read associated magpies with the Hulder, beautiful Scandinavian & Norwegian nymph-like spirits of the forest. And for many of the first peoples of this land, the magpie is viewed as an honorable trickster, a wise teacher. Seen in the same light as the coyote or the fox, the magpie is known to be an intelligent and benevolent spirit that helps us see what our human minds alone have missed.
Human fascination with the magpie goes back as far as you can look. In ancient European cultures the magpie is said to predict omens, and there are a number of old riddles that survive from that time. Here’s one version.
One for sorrow
Two for mirth
Three for a wedding
Four for a birth
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told
A Bit About Animal Wisdom
We humans, at this time, often think of ourselves as living on the planet, not with the planet. When we recognize that we are living here with all the other creatures, and particularly that we have much to learn from our non-human relatives, the world becomes alive again—rich with possibility, mystery and magic. And we begin to humble ourselves to the wisdom of those who have been here much longer than us.
One of the ways of our ancestors, and still the way of many indigenous people, is to view everything as a relationship and a conversation—including encounters with animals and birds. We are just a part of a whole ecosystem, a piece of a family, and when relatives come to you (whether in waking or dream life) there is great significance to their visit. They may have something to offer you.
Magpie Medicine
Some say that the medicine from a meaningful magpie encounter has to do with communication or creative expression. Others say that the magpie is a bridge between worlds asking us to open our minds to greater consciousness.
I say, the magpie has a real and meaningful message for you that only you can know and understand. And this takes time. Hearing the wisdom is not always quick and easy, which can be hard, especially in these times where we like to look something up and know the answer within seconds. It takes relationship. It takes us being willing to slow down, to ask, and mostly to listen.
And it is so worth it. Our brothers, our sisters, our companions, our teachers, our friends are near. They are right outside our doors, just waiting for us to look up to them and say hello.