Sign of Good Times

Monday, June 20th, Cathy and I took our canoe out for some decompression time on the Yahara River in Madison. Paddling back we passed under the Beltline Highway, away from the motor boat wakes and below rush hour traffic. Cathy caught sight of some fluttering movement on the water in a tangle of heavy weeds. We turned around to see a tiny, frail looking Goldfinch in a struggle to stay afloat. Cathy scooped the little angel out of the water, into the canoe.

A quick look at the gold and black bird and we were fairly certain he/she was not long for the world. A broken left wing, and damage to the body from a collision with a windshield or attack from a predator was my diagnosis. Cathy felt we should take him/her home to see if time would heal the wounds. Goldfinch stood on teeny-tiny, toothpick legs atop a towell for the 30 minute ride.

Once home, we took Goldfinch out to the deck and placed him in a large bowl. By hopping and fluttering, the bird managed to get airborne and fly about 4 feet to a chair. I picked the frail fellow up and placed him/her back in the bowl. Within a minute the wings, looking dry and improved, were back to work. This time Goldfinch lit on my right shoulder, above my tattoo of the Holy Trinity and Jupiter. He/she walked to my neck, and then to my back before bursting away with new energy. Goldfinch flew away from me, over the deck railing, twenty feet across the yard and landed perfectly on a branch. The early evening sun shown on him/her through the leaves of the trees. Chirping and flitting it's wings, the bird was telling us something.

Cathy and Patrick walked up to the tree in time to see Goldfinch take to the air and fly away. Gone as if nothing happened, but now living in our part of the world, where birds are welcome, fed, watered, and safe.

The parallels with Aaron are so compelling: broken left leg, body damage, alone. God plucked Aaron out of danger with Grace, gave him wings of Angels and set him off on his new life in Heaven.

Yesterday, my sister Kathy and her husband Dave sent us this insight from the book Animals Speak, by Ted Andrews:

Goldfinch...

Keynote: Awaking to the Nature Spirits...

Cycle of Power: Summer Solstice and Summer Season..

The gold finch is named for it's summer costume of shiny yellow feathers on it's body...It also has black wings and a black cap on it's head. This color combination is very symbolic...
Black and yellow are the colors of the archangel Auriel. These colors in meditation and ritual are used to invoke that aspect of this being that overseas the activity of nature spirits. The high point of activity of nature is during the summer, it's highest point being at the solstice itself.

The presence of goldfinches usually indicates an awakening to the activities of those beings that are normally relegated to the realm of fiction. Goldfinch can help you to deepen your perceptions so that you can begin to see and experience activities of nature spirits yourself.

Goldfinches are birds that can help us connect with those nature spirits that can show us how to heal animals wild and domestic.
Goldfinches are rarely silent. This in itself is a reminder that Nature is speaking to us constantly and that we should learn to listen and communicate with it from all levels. It reflects that nature spirits are around us at all times.

The Goldfinch also has an undulating (an up and down movement) flight pattern. This rhythm and pattern can be used in visualization to help loosen the subtle energies of the aura and facilitate leaving the body. The wave pattern also reflects the ability of a goldfinch to lead us to the inner and to the outer realms from the human to the spiritual...

Anytime a finch arrives, life is going to become more active.

Aaron chose the Blackbird as his symbol. Auriel is the archangel of the blackbird. Summer was Aaron's favorite time. Cathy gave the Goldfinch new life on the evening before the summer solstice...the bird, and Aaron's, highest point.

Aaron was known to finish his messages with this sign off:

Peace, Aaron...Good Times!

With Gratitude for messages from nature,
Tom