The Symbolism of the Magpie
Introduction
Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family,
a family which includes rooks, crows,
ravens, jackdaws, jays, magpies, and choughs.
But excludes the so called "Australian magpie"
because it is a different species [Gymnorhina tibicen]
Corvids display remarkable intelligence for animals of their size.
They have tool-making and using ability, for example,
which was thought to be possessed only by a few higher mammals.
As Aesop in his fable of the crow and pitcher knew.
Magpies of the genus Pica
are generally found in temperate regions of Europe,
Asia, and North America, with populations also present in Tibet
and high-elevation areas of Kashmir.
The magpie was originally called maggie pie or mag pie
and the term mag is a root word, from which derives
"skilled magicians, astrologers,"
where magi is the plural of magus
"magician, learned magician".
There is some conjecture that the nursery rhyme
“Four and twenty black birds baked in a pie”
actually refers to the mag pie.
Given the use of the symbols "song",
"king", "pie" and "sixpence" [all explained on our website],
this hypothesis is not a frivolous one.
The "pie" in this context is a collection of 24 divisions
of the Cosmic egg, based on Constellations.
[see our video on Constellations] and thus a measure of time.
Why 24?
Time was originally measured using “Decans”,
which first appeared in the 10th Dynasty (2100 BCE)
on coffin lids in Ancient Egypt.
The sequence of these star patterns began with Sothis (Sirius),
and each decan contained a set of stars
and corresponding divinities.
As measures of time, the rising and setting of decans marked
"hours", but the hours were not of fixed length.
Both the Egyptians and Babylonians, used
duodecimal (base 12) and sexagesimal (base 60) numeral systems.
Hipparchus [the Greek astronomer, geographer, and mathematician]
then gave us the “Equinoctial hours”
by proposing the division of a day into 24 equal hours.
Thus the way we measure time, was decided by the Constellations,
a base 12 numbering system and Hipparchus,
and from there we have the clock and the symbolism based on it.
But Hipparchus could not have achieved what he did
without the aid of Babylonian astronomy,
of which he displays a knowledge far deeper
than any Greek before or after him.
So now we can hypothesise that symbolically
a Mag pie is a collection of very accomplished
magician / astrologers found within the Cosmic Egg,
the "rulers" of the Constellations
that were used in defining "time".
Each one is both Black and White, someone able to deal
with both the Black side of magic, but also White.
The rich blue colour indicates very advanced spirituality
- blue is the colour of spirit.
So when the term "ruler" is used to describe these Constellations,
it was meant literally, these men were "god-like" rulers
in their wisdom and knowledge.
The Remnants of the System - Magpie symbolism
In the UK at least and certainly in the area from which I came,
the magpie commanded a great deal of respect.
My grandfather used to ride horses
and during any outing in the country, it was traditional
to doff your riding hat to a magpie as a sign of respect.
They were in some senses both feared and admired.
There was also a rhyme I knew as a child
which links them with the ability to prophesy,
much as the Magi in the Bible prophesied Jesus’ birth
one for sorrow, two for joy
three for a girl, four for a boy
five for silver, six for gold
seven for a secret never to be told
eight for a wish, nine for a kiss
ten for a bird you must not miss
When I broke my achilles tendon by falling down some steps
in a garden, as I lay there in some pain,
a single magpie laughed -
and if you have never heard a magpie laugh you are lucky,
it is the eeriest and most spine chilling laugh you can imagine.
Like a rather disdainful human laugh.
The Magpie as Magician
A very accomplished magician can "shape shift"
- change his shape to appear to be something else
and the magpie was a bird chosen by
very accomplished shape shifters.
Whereas Odinn had crows who acted as his messengers,
the really powerful shamans became magpies
and flew where they wished to go themselves.
The magpie’s tail resembles an arrow.
A symbol of both very fast flight
and advanced spiritual experience - such as prophecy.
Winston Churchill - the Magpie
Among the Romans not a bird,
Without a prophecy was heard.
Fortunes of empire often hung On the magician's Magpie's tongue,
And every crow was to the state
A sure interpreter of fate.
Overall, any magician who used the magpie as his emblem
was both a black and a white shaman,
capable of shape shifting or going out of body,
a healer and prophet - a very powerful person.
Magpies have a reputation for attacking smaller weaker birds
and in days gone by the shaman's death prayer was all too real.
If you doubt the existence of death prayers
read the observation on Death prayers [on our website].
So, given what they represent and the powers they display,
people had every right to fear and respect magpies.
The Thieving magpie?
de Waal FBM (2008) The Thief in the Mirror.
The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) has a poor reputation.
As a child, I learned never to leave small shiny objects,
such as teaspoons, unattended outdoors
as these raucous birds
will steal anything they can put their beaks on.
This folklore even inspired a Rossini opera, "La gazza ladra"
("The Thieving Magpie").
Nowadays, this view has been replaced with one
that is more sensitive to ecological balance,
in which magpies are depicted as murderous plunderers
of the nests of innocent songbirds.
Either way, they are black-and-white gangsters.
Despite the jokes, this paper rather indicates there is truth
in the belief they like - and "steal" shiny objects.
An article in Science News, reporting the results of a study where
magpies had apparently shown no interest in shiny objects,
upon closer examination indicated nothing of the kind.
New study takes the shine off magpie folklore
Science News 2014. University of Exeter
... two loose piles of food (nuts) were placed on the ground
with two piles of objects (shiny and non-shiny),
each placed 30cm from a nut pile.
Magpies only made contact with a shiny object twice in 64 tests.
Both times a silver ring was picked up and immediately discarded.
So ... magpies prefer food to shiny objects.
Um, was this even worth reporting?
Given the choice between a fillet steak and a piece of aluminium foil
[the shiny object] which would you go for?
All this simply adds to the symbolic mystique
as "Jewels" are symbolically spiritual truths;
- small gems of spiritual wisdom.
They are a subset of the overall symbolism of Treasure.
So it is hardly a surprise if the most powerful magicians of all,
like amassing spiritual wisdom.
A final poem
Constance Oliver Magpies in Picardy:
The magpies in Picardy Are more than I can tell.
They flicker down the dusty roads And cast a magic spell
On the men who march through Picardy, Through Picardy to hell.
The blackbird flies with panic, The swallow goes like light,
The finches move like ladies, The owl floats by at night;
But the great and flashing magpie He flies as artists might.
A magpie in Picardy Told me secret things -
Of the music in white feathers, And the sunlight that sings
And dances in deep shadows - He told me with his wings.
The hawk is cruel and rigid, He watches from a height;
The rook is slow and sombre, The robin loves to fight;
But the great and flashing magpie He flies as lovers might.
He told me that in Picardy, An age ago or more,
While all his fathers were still eggs, These dusty highways bore
Brown singing soldiers marching out Through Picardy to war.