Pelicans are known all over the world for the distinct sack in their beak. You can easily find them on all the continents of the world except Antarctica. But, have you ever pondered on their spiritual meaning?
Today, let’s discuss pelican symbolism and how you can work with its gentle spirit.
Pelican Spiritual Meaning: An Overview
The spiritual meaning of pelicans is all about resourcefulness and sacrifice. They also represent friendship, humility, and generosity.
As always, birds are believed to be divine messengers and healers.
Pelicans, due to their unique beak, also represent healing, divine protection, and transformation.
When the pelican spirit animal shows up in your life, it is time to think about your life purpose.
Let me explain why.
Pelican Symbolism Explained
Pelicans are famous for a pouch in their beaks, also called a gular. They use this pouch to scoop up fish during hunting.
This, to me, represents an active throat chakra. Pelicans do not use this pouch to store their food. They gather fish in their beaks before they swallow them whole.
Our throat chakra rules how we express our wants and needs and present ourselves to the world.
It helps us fulfill our mission and purpose in life. It is also responsible for filtering the divine information and light codes we receive daily.
The pelican spirit animal teaches us to be discerning and sit on the information we receive before we accept it as the truth.
The Universe is not just full of light beings. Also, not every spiritual teacher on the planet is genuine or has your best interest in mind.
Some just want to sell high-ticket products in lieu of spiritual advice. For others, “teaching” is a way to receive validation and an ego boost from the external world.
Pelican symbolism is all about using discernment and processing information before you accept it as truth.
The pelican spirit animal also encourages us to speak what we know to be true. It teaches us to express ourselves fearlessly.
Many people struggle to live out their soul purpose because of their inability to speak their truth. They are either too scared or worried about other people’s opinions.
The spiritual meaning is also about expressing yourself freely, regardless of what others say or think about you.
You deserve to be heard, even if you are scared to speak.
Pelican Symbolism Egypt
Egyptians honoured pelicans as a symbol of death, resurrection, and the afterlife.
Goddess Henet (which translates to “the Pelican”) was depicted as a pelican or a woman with a pelican’s head.
She was believed to be the mother of all the kings (Kings in Ancient Egypt were akin to gods).
Henet also accompanied the deceased souls to the Underworld. She represented a safe passage to the afterlife.
She was also believed to possess the gift of prophecy.
Pelican Symbolism Christianity
Christians believe that pelicans feed their young ones with blood from their own breasts if they can’t find food for them. This gesture, to them, represents self-sacrifice and the spirit of Christ itself.
Some associate this sacrifice on the mother’s part with the crucifixion of Christ.
According to Christian beliefs, the pelican spirit animal represents kindness, humility, and salvation.
Pelican Spiritual Meaning: In More Depth
The spiritual meaning of the pelican is all about speaking your voice and using it for good.
As I mentioned, a pelican’s bill represents an active throat chakra. If this spirit animal shows up in your life, it is time to nurture yourself and affirm your value.
Spirit may also be nudging you to think about what you are consuming on a daily basis (such as food, drinks, or “content”)
Our throat chakra represents a portal between the spiritual and material world. It filters the information you receive intuitively before your aura integrates it on the heart level.
This is why pelican symbolism is also about divine protection.
If you are worried about someone or something in life, it is time to call on the pelican spirit animal to help you see the truth about the situation.
That’s not all. Pelicans also symbolize generosity, safety, stability, and humility.
Let’s dive deeper into pelican symbolism and the spiritual meaning of pelicans.
Generosity And Motherhood
Since pelican chicks are too fragile to digest fish, their mother feeds them with the regurgitated food from her own mouth.
She not only provides her children with food but she also digests it for them.
This is why pelicans are believed to symbolize sacrifice, generosity, and motherhood.
Food, water, and shelter are the ultimate sacrifices anyone can make for someone they love.
It is one thing to provide someone with food, but digesting it for them before feeling requires an undying affection and love for children that even humans don’t feel or appreciate.
If you are worried about the health of your child, call on the pelican spirit animal to help you nurture and support them as a mother.
Humility
Pelicans aren’t exactly “proud”. They are gregarious creatures and live in colonies. They hunt, eat and take care of young ones together.
Pelicans don’t mate for life. But, they do stay monogamous for the season.
Both mother and father are involved in building the nest and incubating the egg.
Even though they know they won’t be together forever, both parents actively participate in raising the young one.
Pelican symbolism is about humility, respect, and unconditional love for all members of the community, including children.
Safety
As they symbolize motherhood, you can also invoke the pelican spirit animal to look after you or your children.
You can also call on this spirit animal or the Goddess Henet if you or someone you know is undergoing a traumatic situation.
The underworld also represents our darkest fears and insecurities. It is symbolic of our shadow or internal reality.
Calling on the pelican spirit animal can also help you with shadow work or inner child healing.
You can also ask Henet to accompany you on a shamanic journey to retrieve or heal your inner child.
As a divine mother, she will help you realize your inner power and rule over and maintain peace in your kingdom(inner world).
You can also call on the pelican spirit animal during the funerary rites of your loved ones to wish them well and ensure their safe passage to the spirit world.
Community
Pelicans aren’t solitary birds. They are sociable and love company.
Flocks of pelicans hunt together in lakes as they beat the surface of the water with their wings and force the fish towards the shallow end, where they engulf them in their beaks.
A pelican can also represent an extroverted individual with an eye on you. This individual would love to befriend you, or if they already are your friend, may want to take things to the next level.
Pelicans also indicate the start of a new friendship or a connection. If you have been trying to attract a new love (or friend) in your life, seeing pelicans is definitely a positive sign.
Team Spirit
In professional settings, pelicans can also represent working with like-minded individuals and team spirit.
If you are worried about or having a hard time with a project, it may be time to contact a peer or work in a team.
The pelican spirit animal also indicates gossip and misunderstandings among co-workers.
Please be very mindful of how you talk with or about your colleagues. Communication is the key to healthy relationships.
Regardless of how angry, mad, or bitter, you feel, please try to communicate and solve things with them before talking behind their back.
Read about roadrunners and their spiritual meaning.
Working With Your Pelican Spirit Animal
To work with the pelican spirit animal, consider visiting a lake or a shoreline where you can actually observe the birds.
If this isn’t possible, you can also watch some video clips on YouTube instead. The goal here is to connect with this animal physically before you interact with its spirit.
You can use guided meditations online or Wiccan rituals to invoke the spirit of Henet (or pelican).
Then, ask the pelican spirit animal to guide you in your day-to-day affairs.
You will notice that this spirit animal primarily works to clear communication blockages and solve conflicts among friends and co-workers.
You can also invoke this spirit animal to protect your children from harm.
The pelican spirit animal can also help you make new friends if you are having a hard time connecting with people in a new area.
If you resonate with shamanism, feel free to shape-shift into a pelican and work with its spirit.
Pelican Dream Meaning Explained
When a pelican shows up in your dreams, it is usually a sign of blocked emotions. The pelican spirit animal wants you to know that communicating honestly is the only way to deal with them.
You can try suppressing them all day long, but that will neither help you nor solve the issue.
Since pelicans are believed to be divine messengers, seeing pelicans in dreams can also indicate an internal struggle with the notion of God or divinity.
The dream meaning of a pelican is about trusting yourself and what’s inside your heart, before you try to build a relationship with an external deity.
Ultimately, the spiritual meaning of pelicans is about your relationship with yourself, the people around you, and the Universe.
Seeing pelicans in dreams or real life can indicate disharmony in any of these relationships.
Trust that the pelican spirit animal is with you. You are and were never alone. Please know that you are supported, and the divine has always been by your side.
Final Thoughts
The pelican spirit animal is a great guide to work with. This animal can help you in your work and personal life with communication, it can promote better work within teams and communities, and it can help keep your loved ones safe.
If you are resonating with the pelican, I hope this article has helped you to understand more about how to work with this guide and what pelican symbolism means.
I started Spirit of Sapphire in August 2017 after finally building up the courage to start reading tarot for people other than my loved ones.
At the same time, I embarked upon expanding my spiritual knowledge and skills and so attended various psychic mediumship courses and circles, and I also began to train as a Reiki practitioner.
I’ve designed this site to be a hub of spiritual knowledge. As I learn new things, I want to share them with you.
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