Why The Peacock?

If you haven’t noticed, there are peacocks popping up all over my website. So why the peacock? Well, the peacock is my second favorite animal (the first is the fox) for a number of reasons. They have symbolized many different things for centuries in various cultures. Ancient Greek Mythology associated the peacock with the queen goddess, Hera, who crafted it from the 100 eyes of Argus, who was slain by the hands of her husband, Zeus. The eyes of the peacock symbolized the eyes of the stars which watched down and protected mankind.

Ancient Hinduism likened the peacock to Lakshmi, the deity that represented a number of admirable characteristics such as benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion and good luck. In Christianity, the peacock is a symbol of the “all-seeing” church, along with the holiness and sanctity that is associated with it. It also represents resurrection and immortality.

Have you ever read or watched Harry Potter? The most powerful character is represented by a peacock figure. Do I have you thinking? It’s not Dumbledore. Nope! Not Harry Potter. Its Fawkes! That’s right, Fawkes the Phoenix! Many traditions believed that the peacock was actually a phoenix, a bird that is immortal and rises from the ashes to become something new.

Also, it’s beauty is breathtaking. The peacock (females are called peahens) are one of the most beautiful birds in the world. The males display their colors to attract a female as well as to intimidate other peacocks around them.

Because of these reasons, I’ve decided to make the peacock the symbol of my counseling practice. The “all-seeing” aspect of the peacock feathers represent seeing the entire person. So many times we focus on the negative aspects of our lives but rarely pay attention to what is working well in our lives. We need to open our eyes to all aspects of our lives so that we can grow toward happiness.

Most of us can look at times when we believed that we were at rock bottom. But look at us now! We have “rebirthed” ourselves from the ashes of whatever dark place that we crawled out of like the phoenix, or the peacock.

I find great joy in the beauty of the male peacock. As someone who has struggled and continues to struggle with body image issues, something that society says a man should not experience, I find solace in the peacock who’s male beauty is used not only to court, but to protect and defend. He knows that he is beautiful and so should we in every aspect of our lives.