Rabbit symbolism represents new beginnings, fertility, and luck. The rabbit has many different meanings that transcend time and culture.
What Does A Rabbit Symbolize?
Gentleness
Rabbits are gentle creatures. The rabbit can remind us to have empathy and compassion for others. The animal can also remind us to treat ourselves with gentleness and to avoid negative self-talk or other negative behaviors.
Fertility
Rabbits are thought to symbolize fertility. The animal usually has several litters per year.
They can start having babies when they are as young as two months old, and their gestation period is also only 27 days. So rabbits have many, many babies, which explains the phrase “breeding like rabbits.”
Haste
Rabbits symbolize haste because of their ability to quickly get out of a situation. They have sharp instincts and a strong ability to sense danger.
Good Luck
Since rabbits symbolize things like fertility, abundance, and new beginnings, they are also a symbol of good luck. In England, around the turn of the century, a new tradition where saying “rabbit, rabbit, rabbit” leads to good luck. This only happens when it’s said on the first day of a new month.
New Beginnings
Many rabbits start to breed in February or March, so a lot of babies are born at the same time as spring flowers begin to bloom. Because of this, rabbits symbolize new beginnings and renewal. Rabbits can be viewed as a positive sign that something new is coming your way or that you have an opportunity to start fresh.
Sensitivity
Rabbits are known to be quite sensitive animals. Humans are only able to hear between 64 hertz and 23,000 hertz.
But rabbits can process 20 times more scents than humans can. So, they can hear in a range of 360 hertz to 42,000 hertz.
Rabbit Symbolism and Spiritual Meanings in Different Cultures
African
In many African cultures, the hare is a mischievous trickster. In one story, a hare has to continuously outsmart a lion to escape from a lion seeking to eat him. The hare can escape by getting the help of a turtle.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, there is evidence of ancient Egyptians celebrating springtime dating back to at least 2300 BC. Hares were depicted alongside the Egyptian god Osiris and they are thought to symbolize fertility.
Ancient Greece
In Greece, rabbits are considered to be a symbol of virility, fertility, and desire. The Geeks also associate the har with Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
Aztec Mythology
The Aztecs considered the rabbit to symbolize fertility, drinking, and parties. The Aztecs have stories about the Centzon Totochtin, which is considered 400 rabbit gods, including Macuiltochtli.
One Aztec legend tells the story of the God Quetzalcoatl, who turned himself into a man to explore Earth and the human beings living there. After becoming hungry and thirsty after the journey and having explored, a rabbit offered himself up for food.
Buddhism
In Buddhism, rabbits represent compassion, humility, and kindness. One story tells the tale of a rabbit who sacrificed himself by offering his body to a hungry traveler. This highlights the rabbit’s virtues of selflessness and generosity.
In other Buddhist stories, Buddha was thought to have been a hare in an earlier incarnation. In some cases, three hares have been depicted alongside lotus petals or a singular lotus flower. This implies that rabbits can symbolize reincarnation and spiritual enlightenment.
Celtic Mythology
In Celtic mythology, rabbits are considered symbols of new beginnings, growth, and abundance. The Celtic goddesses Eostre and Ceridwen are both in rabbit forms at times.
Ceridwen was the goddess of rebirth as well as transformation. Eostre, a fertility goddess, is often a goddess of springtime, especially the Spring Equinox. Some believe that the name Easter was derived from the name Eostre.
Hindu Culture
In Hindu culture, rabbits are creatures that are worthy of worship. In general, Hindus view rabbits as soft, sweet, and gentle.
The Three Hares
The Three Hares is a motif that appears in artwork from ancient China to Mongolia to the Middle East, Europe, and other places. This symbol dates back to the 6th century when people came across it in the Buddhist Magao caves. These caves were located along the Silk Road. Eventually, the travelers brought the symbol home with them.
Native American
While every Native American culture has its own set of beliefs and customs, something that is shared is a deep reverence for nature and animals. The Cherokee viewed the rabbit as a trickster.
Kokopelli, a flute player, is one of the most common images in Native American art. In some petroglyphs, Kokopelli is a flute-playing rabbit that appears in dances, tribal ceremonies, and stories.
Norse Mythology
In Norse mythology, Holda, who was the Norse goddess of domesticity, was riding in a chariot that hares pull. The Vikings pin hares to Freya, the goddess of fertility. Hares are also moon creatures according to the Vikings.
Chinese Culture
In Chinese culture, rabbits symbolize good fortune, fertility, and longevity. Also, according to the Chinese zodiac, people from the Year of the Rabbit are creative, gentle, empathetic, approachable, honorable, and intelligent.
Japanese Culture
The Japanese association of rabbits starts with the moon. In one Japanese story, a Man on the Moon is very hungry after making a journey to Earth.
Because of the man’s hunger, the rabbit offers himself, which greatly impresses the Man on the Moon. The man decides not to eat the rabbit and instead takes the rabbit back to the moon with him.