Eagle symbolism represents strength and freedom. The eagle has similar, though various, meanings in each culture. No matter what the interpretation of this bird, eagles are strong creatures in the spiritual world and nature.
What Does An Eagle Symbolize?
- Determination
- Strength
- Courage
- Pride
- Honor
- Freedom
- Devotion
Eagle Symbolism and Spiritual Meanings – From Grace to Freedom
Comanche
In Comanche culture, there’s a tale of a chief whose son died. The chief was so devastated that he prayed for the Great Spirit to restore his son’s spirit by turning it into a bird. That bird is believed to be an eagle, the first eagle.
Zuni
In Zuni culture, the eagle is one of the guardians – the protector of the sky. It symbolizes rising above daily troubles to seek harmony.
Hopi
The Hopi have an Eagle Dance that is important in most ceremonies. They also believe in the eagle as a sky guardian.
Cherokee
Cherokee culture teaches that the eagle is sacred. A golden feather is so powerful that it is equal in value to a horse, and one must not hunt an eagle unless blessed to do so.
Pawnee
Pawnee culture insists eagles represent fertility and family. The Pawnee people, who have an Eagle Dance, honor the large nests.
Navajo
Navajo people have a legend about a warrior who is a beast. He soon realizes that the beast had babies in a net that would soon grow up to be vicious unless cared for. So he takes them and cares for them; one grows to be an owl and the other an eagle.
Aztec
Aztecs have a god called Huitzilpochtli, represented by an eagle, who wanders into a city where he finds an eagle. This city became the center of the Aztec civilization and eventually Mexico City. Today, the eagle is found on the Mexican flag.
Mesopotamia
The Sumerians believed that gods found the city of Kish. It was ruled by Etana, who was granted a shrine near an eagle’s nest. The eagle had a serpent friend who she turned her back on by eating her children.
When this happened, the sun god Shamash smote the eagle and took its wings. Eventually, Etana took pity and nursed her back to health. The two became inseparable after that, with the eagle helping him fly to the heavens to ask for a child.
Japan
In Japan, the eagle is a rare sight of luck. Shintoism teaches that the sun goddess Amaterasu once hid in a cave. When she is lured out, an eagle swoops down to save her by bringing light to the world.
Mongolia
In Mongolia, eagles symbolize courage and clarity. Marco Polo once told a story of Kublai Khan and how he had many eagles that were large enough to carry wolves.
Taiwan
In Taiwan, indigenous Paiwan people saw the eagle as sacred. They believe they are connected to ancestral spirits and that it is the second form of the afterlife.
China
In China, an eagle symbolizes strength, enhanced with a bear. The Huns used the eagle to represent their ruler, giving it even more power.
Greek
In Greek mythology, the eagle represents Zeus. He controls all forces of nature and often sends an eagle as a messenger.
Roman
The Roman god Jupiter is represented by the eagle. The Romans believed that the eagle could create gusts by flapping its wings and could also control the weather.
Nordic
In Nordic mythology, an eagle is depicted in the Tree of Life, which connects the two worlds. The eagle doesn’t have a name but represents wisdom and knowledge.
Hindu
In Hinduism, Gardua is a deity that is part eagle. She is a divine bird that has the ability to control the earth, heaven, and hell by stopping them from spinning.
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians have many stories about the eagle. Their creature, Bunjil, is a creator diety depicted as an eagle.