Am I a Falcon?

 

I Live my Life in Widening Circles

by Rainer Maria Rilke

English version by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy
Original Language German

I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not ever complete the last one,
but I give myself to it.

I circle around God, that primordial tower.
I have been circling for thousands of years,
and I still don't know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?

I’ve loved this poem since I first read it many years ago. Recently, however, it has taken on an immediate, more personal significance. Last week I had an extremely vivid dream about a majestic peregrine falcon. This was not my habitual narrative dream, however. Rather, the dream consisted of a single image:

 A large, beautiful falcon is perched on top of the dead tree trunk that sits in the corner of my backyard. [This reflects waking life because last spring when I had to cut down this dead tree, I retained a part of the trunk for the benefit of the flora and fauna that thrive in decomposing plant matter. What’s left stands about 10’ tall.] Below the falcon’s regal perch, there are a variety of native birds situated on the little shelves created by furls of the tree’s peeling bark. They are singing and chirping. The birds below are clearly the falcon’s royal subjects.

 Then, yesterday, the following occurred:

I stepped into my study and, out of the large windows looking out at my backyard, I saw my dream falcon standing on the ground directly in my line of sight. We locked eyes for almost a minute before I stepped gently outside to try to get a better look at him. At that, the great bird spread its wings—its wingspan was immense!—and took flight. Only when he ascended could I see the grey squirrel clutched in his talons. With a profound sense of wonder I watched him fly away with his prey.

You can only imagine that I dropped everything I was about to do at that moment and pulled out the numerous heavy tomes that make up my symbols dictionary collection. In so doing I went down the rabbit hole into the abundant and fascinating symbolism attached to this remarkable bird. For the sake of brevity, I will highlight only a little of what I learned:

• The attributes associated with the falcon are beauty, strength, majesty, and light.
• The peregrine falcon, which travels far and wide on its expansive wings, is symbolic of the wanderer into the unconscious. He (for he is an animus symbol) crosses the great water into the unconscious.
• The falcon is, mythically, a messenger and sojourner between the earthly and the unearthly.
• The power and strength of the falcon can be marshaled in the service of almost any discipline.

If my dream falcon and yesterday’s incarnate falcon signify anything, then I am a falcon. If so, I had better start connecting with my inner falcon so that I can learn to access and harness his supernal powers.