Poor restless dove, I pity thee;
And when I hear thy plaintive moan,
I mourn for thy captivity,
And in thy woes forget mine own.
To see thee stand prepared to fly,
And flap those useless wings of thine,
And gaze into the distant sky,
Would melt a harder heart than mine.
In vain-in vain! Thou canst not rise:
Thy prison roof confines thee there;
Its slender wires delude thine eyes,
And quench thy longings with despair.
Oh, thou wert made to wander free
In sunny mead and shady grove,
And, far beyond the rolling sea,
In distant climes, at will to rove!
Yet, hadst thou but one gentle mate
Thy little drooping heart to cheer,
And share with thee thy captive state,
Thou couldst be happy even there.
Yes, even there, if, listening by,
One faithful dear companion stood,
While gazing on her full bright eye,
Thou mightst forget thy native wood.
But thou, poor solitary dove,
Must make, unheard, thy joyless moan;
The heart, that Nature formed to love,
Must pine, neglected, and alone.
The Slavs believe that, at death, the soul turns into a dove (4). This bird
partakes of the general symbolism of all winged animals, that is, of spirituality
and the power of sublimation. It is also symbolic of souls, a motif which is
common in Visigothic and Romanesque art (46). Christianity, inspired in the
Scriptures, depicts the third person of the Trinity—the Holy Ghost—in the
shape of a dove, although he is also represented by the image of a tongue of
Pentecostal fire (4).
Seeing doves in your dream, symbolizes peace, tranquility, harmony, and innocence. In particular, to see white doves in your dream, symbolizes loyalty and friendships. It may also represent a message and blessing from the Holy Spirit. You have let go of your thoughts of hate and revenge. Dreaming that doves are mating and building a nest, symbolizes a joyous home life filled with tranquility, pleasure and obedient children.
A dove is a symbol of innocence, peace and harmony. Dreaming of a dove can be a sign that you need to let go of thoughts of vengeance.
If you dream that a pair of doves are cooing at one another, it can be a sign that you are looking for someone to settle down with.
Doves building a nest symbolize a happy home and family.
In Christian tradition, doves symbolize the Holy Spirit.
Superstition-based dream interpretations say that if you see a flying dove in a dream, you will lose money.
Dove Symbolism
The dove has seemingly inexhaustible sources of symbolic flavor throughout most histories, cultures and myth.
Did you know doves produce their own milk? Yep, it's called "crop milk" or "pigeons milk." It's an oddity in nature for birds to produce their own milk to feed their young. From this unique ability, we can glean symbolism of nurturing. In fact, doves are commonly considered a symbol of motherhood.
Doves often cease their foraging for food just before their babies are born. This temporary starvation insures a pure formulation of milk (otherwise their offspring could not digest bits of solid food in the milk). That's another confirmation about maternal attributes as well as self-sacrifice for the sake of their progeny. Check out my page on mother-bird symbolism for more info.
The dove is even associated with several mother figures in historical dove symbolism. Take the Mother Mary in Christian legend. The dove is commonly seen in Christian art with Mary as a symbol of care, devotion, purity and peace. The dove is a companion of Ishtar too, the Great Mother of Assyrian culture. In this motherly light, the dove elicits a promise of hope and salvation.
A quick keyword run-down of dove symbolism:
Love
Grace
Promise
Devotion
Divinity
Holiness
Sacrifice
Maternal
Ascension
Purification
Messenger
Hopefulness
Aphrodite (Venus in Roman myth), the voluptuous goddess-mother of love, is often featured with a dove nearby in artistic portrait. Here we get the sense of higher love; a love that is as large as the goddess herself. A kind of love that turns a blind eye to the typical foibles and downfalls of mankind - and sees right into the heart of pure potential that is revealed only by viewing the soul through the lenses of love. As a love symbol, the dove conveys a kind of soulful ascension - a higher admiration for the true value of unconditional love.
Perhaps it's her softly lulling coos that won the dove's position so close to Ishtar's, Mother Marys and Aphrodite's heart. Open your psychic ears at dawn and dusk and become enchanted by their rippling vocalizations. One can't help but become subdued by their gentle love-calls. Sweet churbles and downy wurbles are testimony to a divinely calming presence among us.
And speaking of divine presences, the dove symbolism is often equated to heavenly visitations. John the Baptist even remarked (Matthew 3:16) how the "Spirit of God descended like a dove upon us." Methinks this is more than poetic license. Why? Because, almost unanimously birds (of all kinds) have been viewed as celestial messengers. Doves in particular - with their docile appearance and soft ministrations - can easily be angelic doppelgangers: Angels in the guise of avian benefactors. Hey, anything is possible.
Coming down (just a notch) off of that high-spirited comparison, doves in actuality are kind of fussy. Observe them in groups, and you'll note they can be twitchy and nervous-nellies. I like to think of this as a sign of their highly developed sense of presence. They are intimately aware of their environment (having been hunted for centuries for their tasty breast meat - who can blame their skittishness?).
This kind of high sense of awareness reminds me of Hachiman, a Japanese god of war who claims the dove as a sacred symbol. Amidst clamor, battle and jarring conflict, the dove of Hachiman is a symbol of the peace that will (ideally) ensue after war has ended.
The war-association with dove symbolism inevitably leads us to the concept of death. Well, not death per se - more appropriately, the dove is a symbol of the souls sojourn after physical life has retired. Slavic legend claims the dove is a symbol of the souls release from earth-bound duty. In fact, when a dove is seen, it is a clear sign of the soul's return to celestial realms. Furthermore, the dove's most popular appearance in spiritual consciousness is that of the Holy Spirit in Christian wisdom.
Messenger of Peace, love, joy and gentleness, prophecy of good things, maternity instincts, awakening to promise of future with clarity. Dove shows us how to walk between the physical and spiritual world. She aids in tapping our creative energies and stirring the emotions. It is time for creativity and expressing oneself. Are you listening to the messages at this time? Doves bring hope of a new beginning and will show there is peace arriving. Pigeon shows how to bring peace, love and understanding to situations and teaches us the art of communication and cooperation. Are you compassionate toward others? Perhaps it is a time for forgiveness? It is a time to express appreciation and gratitude of brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and parents for family brings us unconditional sense of belonging. Dove teaches many lessons of home: love, security, fertility and family.
To dream that you are held captive, suggests that you are feeling trapped in some aspect or circumstances of your waking life. You may feel trapped in your career, relationship or life in general. Alternatively, captivity dreams indicate something you are refusing to acknowledge or something that you are in denial about.
To dream that you are a captive, denotes that you may have treachery to deal with, and if you cannot escape, that injury and misfortune will befall you.
To dream of taking any one captive, you will join yourself to pursuits and persons of lowest status.
For a young woman to dream that she is a captive, denotes that she will have a husband who will be jealous of her confidence in others; or she may be censured for her indiscretion.
In the vertical scheme of the human body, the focal points are three in
number: the brain, the heart and the sexual organs. But the central point is the
heart, and in consequence it comes to partake of the meanings of the other two.
The heart was the only part of the viscera left by the Egyptians in the mummy,
since it was regarded as the centre indispensable to the body in eternity; for all
centres are symbols of eternity, since time is the motion of the periphery of the
wheel of phenomena rotating around the Aristotelian ‘unmoved mover’. In traditional ways of thought, the heart was taken as the true seat of intelligence, the
brain being merely instrumental (25); hence, in ancient attempts to explain the
profound and continuing analogies between concepts, the moon was said to
correspond to the brain and the sun to the heart. All representations of the
‘Centre’ have been related in some way to the heart, either through correspondences or through substitution, as in the case of the goblet, the coffer and the
cavern. For the alchemists, the heart was the image of the sun within man, just as
gold was the image of the sun on earth (32). The importance of love in the mystic
doctrine of unity explains how it is that love-symbolism came to be closely linked
with heart-symbolism, for to love is only to experience a force which urges the
lover towards a given centre. In emblems, then, the heart signifies love as the
centre of illumination and happiness, and this is why it is surmounted by flames,
or a cross, or a fleur-de-lis, or a crown (4).
To see your heart in your dream, signifies truth, courage, love, and romance. It is representative of how you are currently dealing with your feelings and expressing your emotions. Also consider the saying "the heart of the matter" which implies that you may need to get down to the core of a situation before proceeding.
To see a winged heart in your dream, represents the power of love and its ability to penetrate through to anyone.
To dream that your heart is bleeding or aching, represents desperation, despair, extreme sadness and sympathy. You are lacking support or love in some a situation in your life.
To dream that you have a heart transplant or heart surgery, indicates a huge change in your personal relationship. Perhaps you are involved in a rebound relationship.
To dream of your heart paining and suffocating you, there will be trouble in your business. Some mistake of your own will bring loss if not corrected.
Seeing your heart, foretells sickness and failure of energy.
To see the heart of an animal, you will overcome enemies and merit the respect of all.
To eat the heart of a chicken, denotes strange desires will cause you to carry out very difficult projects for your advancement.
Seeing your heart in your dream means truth, courage, love, and romance. It is representative of how you are currently dealing with your feelings and expressing your emotions. Also consider the saying "the heart of the matter" which implies that you may need to get down to the core of a situation before proceeding.
To dream that you are in a mine, suggests that you are getting to the core of an issue or condition. Alternatively, it indicates that something from your unconscious is coming to the surface. The dream may also be a metaphor to claim what is "mine".
To dream of being in a mine, denotes failure in affairs.
To own a mine, denotes future wealth.
Dreaming that you are in a mine means that you are getting to depth or core of an issue or condition. It also forewarns that will fail in your endeavors. Dreaming that you own a mine means future riches.
To dream that you are poor, refers to feelings of inadequacies. You are not utilizing your full potential or are underestimating your self worth. Alternatively, to dream that you are poor symbolizes neglect of your sexual nature. You may be taking on too many responsibilities and working too hard that you are not catering to your sexual self.
To dream that you, or any of your friends, appear to be poor, is significant of worry and losses.
Dreaming that you are poor, symbolizes neglect of your sexual nature. You may be taking on too many responsibilities and working too hard that you are not taking the time to cater to your sexual self.
Dreaming that you keep forgetting, is your subconscious manifesting itself in your dream that you may have forgotten an appointment or date.
To dream that you are saying "yes", symbolizes reaffirmation or acceptance of a condition, situation or decision. The dream may also be giving you permission to do something that you are having doubts about in your waking life.