Birds are very frequently used to symbolize human souls, some of
the earliest examples being found in the art of ancient Egypt. Sometimes, they
are depicted with human heads, as in Hellenic iconography. In the Mirach it is
written that, when Mohammed went to heaven, he found, standing in the middle
of a great square, the Tree of Life whose fruit restores youth to all those who
eat of it. This Tree of Life is surrounded by groves and avenues of leafy trees on
whose boughs perch many birds, brilliantly coloured and singing melodiously:
these are the souls of the faithful. The souls of evildoers, on the other hand, are
incarnated in birds of prey (46). Generally speaking, birds, like angels, are
symbols of thought, of imagination and of the swiftness of spiritual processes
and relationships. They pertain to the Element of air and, as noted in connexion
with the eagle, they denote ‘height’ and—consequently—’loftiness’ of spirit.
This general symbolism has sometimes been narrowed down excessively to the
particular, as often happens in traditional symbolism. Thus, Odo of Tusculum,
in his sermon XCII, describes different kinds of spirituality in men in terms of
the characteristics of different kinds of birds. Some birds, he says, are guileless,
such as the dove; others, cunning like the partridge; some come to the hand, like
the hawk, others flee from it, like the hen; some enjoy the company of men, like
the swallow; others prefer solitude and the desert, like the turtle-dove. . . . Lowflying birds symbolize an earth-bound attitude; high-flying birds, spiritual longing
(46).

It is a favorable dream to see birds of beautiful plumage. A wealthy and happy partner is near if a woman has dreams of this nature.

Moulting and songless birds, denotes merciless and inhuman treatment of the outcast and fallen by people of wealth.

To see a wounded bird, is fateful of deep sorrow caused by erring offspring.

To see flying birds, is a sign of prosperity to the dreamer. All disagreeable environments will vanish before the wave of prospective good.

To catch birds, is not at all bad. To hear them speak, is owning one's inability to perform tasks that demand great clearness of perception.

To kill than with a gun, is disaster from dearth of harvest.

To see birds flying are very unlucky; it denotes sorrowful setback in circumstances.
Poor persons may become better especially if they hear birds sing.

‘The lesson may be read psychologically, as applying to ourselves,
who are not gods but limited beings. The constant projection and externalization
of our specific shakti (vital energy) is our “little universe”, our restricted sphere
and immediate environment, whatever concerns and affects us. We people and
colour the indifferent, neutral screen with the movie-figures and dramas of the
inward dream of our soul, and fall prey then to its dramatic events, delights, and
calamities. The world, not as it is in itself but as we perceive it and react upon it,
is the product of our own maya or delusion. It can be described as our own more
or less blind life-energy, producing and projecting demonic or beneficent shapes
and appearances. Thus we are the captives of our own Maya-Shakti and of the
motion picture that it incessantly produces. . . . The Highest Being is the lord and
master of Maya. All the rest of us . . . are the victims of our own individual Maya.
To liberate man from such a spell . . . is the principal aim of all the great Indian . . .
philosophies.’ (60)