| swan song n |
| 1. |
farewell or final appearance, action, or work. |
| 2. |
The beautiful legendary song sung only once by a swan in its
lifetime, as it is dying. From the belief that the swan sings as it
dies. |
|
Source: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| swan song n. |
| 1. |
the sweet song supposed in ancient fable to be sung by a dying
swan. |
| 2. |
the last act, final creative work, etc. of a person, as before
his death. |
|
Source: Webster's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition. Copyright © 1972 by The World Publishing Company. Published by The World Publishing Company.All rights reserved. |
Swan, Grace
Source:Medicine Cards,"The Discovery of Power Through The Ways of Animals,"
Jamie Sams and David Carson,
published by Bear and Co., Santa Fe, New Mexico
 Little swan
flew through the Dreamtime, looking for the future. She rested
for a moment in the coolness of the pond, looking for a way to
find the entry point to the future. This was a moment of
confusion for Swan, as she knew she had happened into Dreamtime
by accident. This was her first flight alone and she was a bit
concerned by the Dreamtime landscape.
As Swan
looked high above Sacred Mountain, she saw the biggest swirling
black hole she had ever seen. Dragonfly came flying by, and
Swan stopped him to ask about the black hole. Dragonfly said,
"Swan, that is the doorway to the other planes of imagination.
I have been guardian of the illusion for many, many moons. If
you want to enter there, you would have to ask permission and
earn the right."
Swan was
not so sure that she wanted to enter the black hole. She asked
Dragonfly what was necessary for her to earn entry. Dragonfly
replied, "You must be willing to accept whatever the future
holds as it is presented, without trying to change Great
Spirit's plan." Swan looked at her ugly little duckling body
and then answered, "I will be happy to abide by Great Spirit's
plan. I won't fight the currents of the black hole. I will
surrender to the flow of the spiral and trust what I am shown."
Dragonfly was very happy with Swan's answer and began to spin
the magic to break the pond's illusion. Suddenly, Swan was
engulfed by a whirlpool in the center of the pond.
Swan
reappeared many days later, but now she was graceful and white
and long-necked. Dragonfly was stunned! "Swan, what happened
to you!" he exclaimed. Swan smiled and said, "Dragonfly, I
learned to surrender my body to the power of Great Spirit and
was taken to where the future lives. I saw many wonders high on
Sacred Mountain and because of my faith and my acceptance I have
been changed. I have learned to accept a state of grace."
Dragonfly was very happy for Swan.
Swan told
Dragonfly many of the wonders beyond the illusion. Through her
healing and her acceptance of the state of grace, she was given
the right to enter the Dreamtime.
So it is
that we learn to surrender to the grace of the rhythm of the
universe, and slip from our physical bodies into the Dreamtime.
Swan medicine teaches us to be at one with all planes of
consciousness, and to trust in the Great Spirit's protection."
Swan Symbolism and Mythology
Because of its pure white color, the
swan is a symbol of light in many parts of the world. Though in
some regions it was considered a feminine symbol of the moon, in
most it was a masculine symbol of the sun. In ancient Greece,
for example, the swan was linked to Apollo, the god of the Sun.
The god Zeus took the shape of a swan to get close to Leda, with
whom he had fallen in love. And in Celtic myth, a pair of swans
steered the Sunboat across heaven. As a feminine symbol, the
swan represents intuition and gracefulness, and goddesses such
as Aphrodite and Artemis were sometimes accompanied by swans.
As a symbol in alchemy, the swan was neither masculine nor
feminine, but rather symbolized hermaphroditism or 'the marriage
of the opposites', fire and water. It was an emblem of mercury,
as it was white and very mobile, because of its wings.
In Germanic myth the Valkyries had the power to transform into
swans. They were warrior goddesses, bringing victory to one side
and defeat to the other, and deciding which warriors could enter
Walhalla after death. They would sometimes take off their
swan-plumage and appear in human form, but if a man then stole
their plumage, they were forced to obey him. However, the
Valkyries could also be united with a man through love instead
of force. The Valkyrie Kara accompanied her lover Helgi in war,
flying over the battlefield in her swan's plumage. She sang a
song so soothing that the enemy lost the will to fight. Also in
Celtic and Siberian culture stories existed of swans taking off
their plumage and turning into maidens.
As a dream symbol, the swan can signify self transformation,
intuition, sensitivity, and even the soul, the 'higher Self'
within each person.
 Swans in Shamanism
©Suzanne ter Huurne
In shamanism, the Swan totem is
associated with love, inspiration, intuition,
self-transformation, gracefulness and beauty, and also with
traveling to the Otherworld. As a water bird, it is also
connected with emotions. Swan can help you with seeing the inner
beauty in yourself and others, developing your intuition,
accepting transformations and balancing your emotions.
Swan: Grace
Source: http://www.rainbowcrystal.com/power/poweranimals/swan.html
One of the best-known
children's tales, The Ugly Duckling, tells of an little
"duckling" who doesn't look like the others, who are all very
surprised when he grows up to become that most elegant of birds,
the swan.
On one level, this fable illustrates the deceptive nature of
first appearances and teaches us that true beauty grows from
within. Swan, in teaching us that we all have inner grace and
beauty, teaches self-esteem.
Swan symbolizes grace
and beauty on many levels. It is associated with love, music,
and poetry. In Roman mythology Swan was sacred to Venus, the
goddess of love. In Greek tradition, this bird was often
pictured singing to a lyre.
The cloaks of the
Irish bards, who were both poets and musicians, were made of
swan feathers, and in the Irish saga, the Children of Lir, when
turned into swans, sang so sweetly that all who heard them, were
calmed and slept peacefully.
This and other Celtic
legends of the transformation of humans into swans illustrate
the deepest meaning of Swan medicine. Grace is not simply the
ability to live harmoniously on the physical plane. It is the
gift of being at home in many planes of reality, to
recognize that we are more than we appear to be, that we are
simultaneously physical and spiritual beings.
In the Celtic
tradition Swan symbolizes Soul, that aspect of all beings which
is eternal. Viewed from this perspective, the Ugly Duckling
story tells us that regardless of the appearance of our physical
vehicles we possess an inner radiance which cannot be dimmed.
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