Bird Magic: Wisdom of the Ancient Goddess for Pagans & Wiccans - Sandra Kynes 2016

Blackbird: Brewer’s Blackbird, Rusty Blackbird, Red-Winged Blackbird
The Profiles

Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

The legendary “four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie” were European members of the Thrush family, not the blackbirds that we are familiar with in North America. Even though the genus name Euphagus of the American birds means “good to eat,” New World blackbirds were not menu items as they had been in parts of Europe.⁴⁵

In addition to naming birds according to the familiar ones in Europe, immigrants to North America attached their folklore to these birds, too. As in Italy, the last two days of January and the first of February were known as the blackbird days. According to Italian folklore, the blackbird was originally white, but after taking shelter in a chimney during a very cold winter it turned black.

Other lore that became associated with the North American blackbird came from Celtic legends where blackbirds served as gatekeepers to the otherworld and the fairy realm. If a blackbird sang before Christmas (prior to its normal time in mid-February), the month of February would start with a cold spell.

Magical Workings

Black creatures blend into the night and convey a sense of mystery. Blackbird can be called upon to draw on the energy of the Goddess in new moon rituals. This bird reminds us to embrace the dark, to go deep, and to incubate ideas or explore mysteries. Blackbird’s energy stokes creativity and heightens awareness for psychic work. It is also instrumental for defense.

Blackbird provides support and guidance for shamanic work, retrieving ancient wisdom, and interpreting omens. Blackbirds themselves are omens, and seeing two means good things are on the horizon. It is particularly helpful at Samhain, bringing access to the otherworld and contact with loved ones who have passed.

Red-winged blackbird has a strong connection with life-giving Goddess energy. It is especially associated with the Fates and other goddesses associated with spinning and weaving.

Make Connection

Connect with blackbird energy by sitting in a dark room or outside at night if weather permits. Reach out into the darkness with all of your senses. Imagine the darkness as a blanket that enfolds you like a cloak of black feathers. You may feel guided to other realms or carried inward to new levels of discovery and wisdom. This is blackbird accepting you and acting as guardian and teacher.

Associations

Zodiac: Cancer

Element(s): Air, water

Time of day: Dusk

Sabbat(s): Samhain

Goddesses: Athena, Bertha, the Fates (red-winged), Freya (red-winged), Frigg, Holda/Holle, Isis, Minerva, Neith, the Norns (red-winged), Rhiannon

Bird Identification

Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)

Size: 8 to 10 inches

Wingspan: 14 to 15 inches

Comparative size: Robin

Description: Slim body; fairly long tail and legs; long beak with thick base

Male: Glossy black with a purplish-blue sheen on the head and greenish iridescence on the body; yellow eyes

Female: Dull brownish-gray with darker wings and tail; dark eyes

Habitat: Damp woods, wooded swamps, marshes, and meadows

Range: From British Columbia to Ontario in Canada, down through the western United States to the Midwest, into the southeastern states and northern Florida, and into Mexico

Eggs: Pale gray to greenish white, spotted with brown, pink, yellow, violet, and gray

Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)

Size: 8 to 10 inches

Wingspan: 14 to 15 inches

Comparative size: Robin

Description: Medium body; medium-length tail; slightly down-curved bill

Male: Overall mostly rusty color; pale yellow eyes with buff-colored eyebrows; during breeding season, dark with bluish-green iridescence

Female: Gray-brown with rusty feather edges; pale eyes and light eyebrows

Habitat: Wet woodlands, fens, bogs, and swamps

Range: From Alaska across Canada to New England, down through the eastern states, Midwest, and eastern plains states to the Gulf Coast

Eggs: Blue-green to pale gray with brown markings

Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Size: 7 to 9 inches

Wingspan: 12 to 15 inches

Comparative size: Sparrow to robin

Description: Stocky, broad-shouldered; medium-length tail; slender, conical bill

Male: Glossy black with red and yellow shoulder patches; no yellow on birds in California

Female: Brown upper body; streaked brown underparts; orange and white shoulder patches

Habitat: Fresh and saltwater marshes, meadows, fields, and pastures

Range: From southeastern Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland and south throughout the United States and central Mexico

Eggs: Pale blue-green to gray with black or brown zigzag markings

Collective noun(s): A cloud, a cluster, a flock, or a merl of blackbirds, and a keg of Brewer’s Blackbirds

45. Diana Wells, 100 Birds and How They Got Their Names (Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2002), 12.