Albatross

Albatross symbolism

The albatross totem teaches us to enter new pathways and roads that will eventually move us our destination.

An albatross is a seabird which is unusual in size compared to other seabirds. There are twenty-four species of albatrosses and are famous for their large wingspan. The Albatross is twelve feet in length. When they fly, they have extraordinary manipulation of the wind and currents. Belief in the Albatross totem is important for people that work in the sea: sailors, fishermen, scuba divers, naval and oceanographers. Among many types of great things that an Albatross totem teaches, the wisdom of wind and the wisdom of ocean are the most important. An albatross totem grants luck and grace. The Albatross energy shows one the ability to express how to forecast the weather. In ancient times the Albatross helped one to understand the direction of the wind, storms, and the intensity of the rain. This totem will give you the gift of wisdom.

The albatross totem also teaches how we can use the wind and currents. When meditating there are certain lessons can be learned from this totem, one is real and the other is a metaphorical lesson. It teaches us to deal and boldly to confront the ups and downs of life. Not all the winds flow in one direction, neither a unidirectional current can lead to the right direction. We must learn how to discover which form of energy is right for us and try to take as much advantage of it as we can. The albatross does bring messages of the world we live in. This totem animal certainly acts as a messenger and if we accept the messages he brings, it will open our hearts. The Albatross can enlighten our goals and open the pathways leading to them. The Albatross totem tells us to believe in freedom. It allows us to think wise and search for solutions beyond the horizon. The message is to break ourselves from the shackles of self-developed constraints and limitations. The Albatross totem energy is exactly opposite to conservatism and the philosophies that bound freedom of speech, freedom of belief and the freedom of adopting a particular culture. The Albatross totem comes with a lesson that greatly enhances the core values of our abilities, personality. This results in the improvement in the relationships with others.

What is the difference between an albatross and a seagull?

Basically, the seagull is acrobatic birds, they are found in many places in life, garbage tips, by the sea or even near fast food outlets. The Albatross is bigger than a seagull and can fly almost by scooping across the sky without using the wings that much. The albatrosses spends a major portion of their lives either at sea or near to sea, eating marine based creatures. They make their homes in colonies, with an average lifespan of sixty years. Their predators are sharks and large fish. Now we have covered that difference, let's go back to the animal totem meaning. The albatross guides in terms of life's path. It will help lead it's students on a journey. The albatross totem is used as a guiding light that takes you to your destination. The Albatross totem also leads us to value others. If for some reason, our relationship to our spouse is not going well then this animal totem will help to get you back together.

What does the albatross symbol mean?

The albatross is not your normal totem animal the spiritual meaning of this wonderful bird is king of the sea. As I have already stated in the opening paragraph an albatross is an oceanic bird, large in size and mostly white in color this bird has a narrow wing and reside mostly in the southern ocean. Metaphorically, the word “albatross” is used to mean a physical burden which makes you feel like you are cursed. The bird is focused on the language of water, drifting over the sea in the air and can teach us how to deal with emotions and love. With twenty-four species this bird and it is well known for its large wingspan and its ability to manipulate the water waves while flying. This bird is the largest bird in the world. The wingspan is about twelve feet. It starts to pale as it ages, though it is born white. It normally soars close to the water using the updrafts from cliffs and waves in order to be able to get the lift with most of the time gliding and thereby conserving its energy. When coming in from a journey over the water, they tend to pair up and live as a large community. Both the female and the male albatross are excellent parents. The reason I am going into this much detail is that the characteristics are important when we look at this bird as an animal totem.

What does the Albatross mean in ancient symbolism?

In the ancient times, an albatross was a symbol of good luck to the sailors. So, whenever this gorgeous white bird appeared to sour over the waves, the sailors knew that this bird would bring good luck. The albatross was supposed to be a communicator between the earthly and spiritual realms. Often, there are accounts by sailors that the albatross appeared from the fog and the bird was supernatural. The albatross is connected to both the spiritual and natural worlds. While at sea, if you see an albatross die this symbolizes a terrible or bad omen to the sailors. But in some regions, the feet of the albatross were used as pouches for the tobacco! Yes, very strange.

How do albatross mate and what does this mean for your love life?

The albatross is rarely seen on the ground and only come on land when they wish to mate. When that happens, they form large colonies on remote islands. The couple which mate, then produce a single egg. They wait until they mature, at around 12 years and lay only one egg per year. This bird takes turns caring for this egg. Once hatched the albatross takes the baby albatross three to ten months before it can fly depending on the species. The albatross is known for a wonderful mating dance. They wander around dancing to find a mate, once they find a mate their bill points to the sky, they cluck and the wings are spread wide. I love going into the greatest detail and what this means spiritually is that they take turns to care for the egg until it is ready to produce young ones, so this is a lesson spiritually. If you are in a relationship, you need to help one another in order to enable the relationship to work.

What are the main traits of Albatross in terms of an animal totem?

If you are a person who fears albatross, it could be that you have fears for letting your emotions get out of control. After all, the ocean and the wind is connected to “emotion.” You could be worried about being blown away by someone, off track and can only find life overwhelming. You will likely be prone to having vivid dreams about the tidal waves and the ocean in general. You could end up fearing the internal currents in your life. Characteristics of an albatross in terms of an animal totem are:

  • Having a wandering spirit whereby you will tend to go where you feel like going and nothing can change you.
  • Despite great distance, you will tend to have a monogamous type of relationship, thereby value long distance relationships.
  • You will be able to break through limits and self-imposed limitations.
  • You will get messages from the “spirit” world and try to listen to them carefully, it will have an important impact in your life.
  • Weather forecasting is natural to you as you can understand rains, storms, and the different types of weather connected to wind and water. Try to predict the weather!

What is the spiritual meaning of Albatross animal?

An albatross as a spirit animal is attributed to grace, stamina, monogamy, stamina, loyalty, faithfulness, and messenger. On the positive, the albatross represents traits like independence, loyal, calm, graceful, enduring, calm, successful, and open-minded. On the negative, the albatross represents depressive, air-headed, restless, lazy, and lenient. The primary element of an albatross is air, secondary element is an earth with the opposing element being the fire. It is a time of the day when it is most active is afternoon and its best direction in the south. The color associated with this animal is pale white and the season attached to it is autumn. Its common star signs are Libra, Gemini, and Aquarius. When it comes to moon phases, it corresponds to Crescent moon.

What does the Albatross mean when they appear to be your spirit guide or animal totem?

As an animal totem, it is normally referred to as the king of ocean waves and therefore, has the hidden knowledge of emotions as the ocean spiritually represents the sea. But it also has a greater wisdom of the wind due to understanding the tides of the oceans, which are normally caused by the wind and air. He only understands the current and how the air affects the water and changes the weather in return.

Due to the fact that the albatross travels far and wide this wonderful bird can teach us how to handle our own emotions. More importantly, the freedom to break away from others either as psychologically, physically or from a mental perspective. As this wonderful bird sores in the sky the albatross in more than just the physical sense is a true wonder of the air element and if you have him as an animal totem, you will automatically gain spiritual freedom as I mentioned before. Due to the fact that the albatross understands the air currents, he is very good at navigating path both literally and figuratively. If he is your animal totem, you will automatically balance abstract thoughts leading to mental harmony in several aspects of your life and develop concrete objectives. If the albatross appears briefly in your life, it could be that he is trying to teach you to develop harmony in thought. As an albatross person, you will be in a position to manage stress.

An albatross being a free spirit of the air element and as he is connected with the earth element, this bird displays the two traits of faithfulness and kindness to those who win your heart. Because of the monogamous trait in the albatross, even if you court such a person for a long time, they will never change. If they have decided that you are the one they are settling with, nothing can change them. When they come into your life as an animal totem, they will teach you grace, and using your body and a mind which is balanced, to move freely through the many conditions in life which seem suspect and hard, turning waters and winds to your benefit in life. You will be taught the how to uncover pathways and roads, both in the mental and physical world and trying to uncover the roads or "paths" in your life.

Though they teach you many ways and routes to travel in life, they will also teach you how to break in life and this bird can imply that you need to start new paths which they deem might be beneficial to you. Once you have found this bird as an animal totem, you will be taught to understand the rain, storms and other aspects of the weather which are connected to wind and water. They do fly high and glide and thus, will always remind us the importance of the sky and the weather. The albatross has much power over the ocean, water, the wind, the seasons, and the weather as a whole.

As an animal totem, the albatross will teach you to be loyal as well as having independence and in the process, discouraging any form of forming a relationship of convenience. As an albatross person, you will find it tough to commit to a particular person as you have a wandering spirit in you. In most cases, you will only be grounded physically by someone you love. You will not conform to the culture or people. You will be able to teach others that, long distance relationship can succeed. You are good at conserving energy which others mistake to be lazy, I am not saying you are lazy but you wish to think about what you are doing. As an albatross, connected to our emotions (due to the ocean), you will tend to follow a road that seeks internal development in all portions of your life. This bird also indicates you would benefit from living close to coasts or islands.

What are the key characteristics of Albatross animal?

An albatross has a large ball-shaped size head and its bills are around 10 centimeters long. They feed mostly on quids with most of them having soft feather which enables them to remain warm, especially when the temperatures are low. They live for about 60 years. This bird has glands that remove the salt from the water. These glans help them drink salt water, they have what is known as olfactory senses, which enables them to discover potential prey.

They are basically like gliders with their unfurled wings towering in the sky. They are not able to swim or dive deep underwater the way the penguins and other seabirds do. They pluck squid and fish that come to the ocean surface. This bird stays in water most of the time because they normally have one chick.

What does it mean to see an Albatross in your dream?

There are many dream meanings connected to the albatross so here I will detail them. If you hear an albatross screaming in your dream, it means that there is a possibility that someone is going to lie to you so be cautious with whatever is going to be communicated. In older books the albatross denotes a likelihood of a divorce or a betrayal in the offing. A dream where the albatross has a fish in its mouth denotes that you will find disappointing news from a far away source.

The dream of an albatross could denote that, you are having spiritual wisdom or development and thus, above every day’s problems you will not get absorbed in it. A large albatross flying in the sky - is a sign of purposeful and free life. It could also symbolize a long-held dream coming true due to financial or business aspects of your life as well as a relaxation and pleasant impressions of a journey which will be fascinating. If you are naturally creative and you dream about an albatross, it is a sign of an improvement in your imagination, your plans, and creative ideas. It could also be a symbol of tiredness and a desire to move away from many troubles and problems.

What does it mean to see a dead Albatross in your dream?

If you dream of a dead albatross, it means that, your plans will collapse and nothing will seem not to work for you. You will need to be careful not to start any business or a relationship with such a dream because it is destined to fail. You will have to wait until things sort themselves up before you embark on a new venture. It is symbolic of vulnerable times, bad luck, and harsh environment.

Albatross shows as a spirit guide when:

  • We are in need of guidance.
  • Confronting the ups and downs of our life.
  • Expressing our freedom.
  • Keeping an open mind.
  • Having faith in our core values.

Call on Albatross as a spirit guide when:

  • We seem lost in the path we are taking.
  • We need to keep focus despite the trials we are facing.
  • We are hesitating expressing ourselves.
  • We want to realize deeper mysteries.
  • We believe in ourselves.

By Flo Saul
Mar 26, 2013