Green Island (Oxford Reading Tree: Stage 9: Magpies)

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The spiritual meaning of seven magpies invites you to deepen your spiritual practices, explore hidden truths, and embrace the profound wisdom that is available to you. 8 Magpie Spiritual Meaning

This folksong became popular among kids as a nursery rhyme after it was used as a theme tune for Magpie, a children's TV show that ran from 1968 to 1980. "One for sorrow…" Magpies have increased in farmland and woodland habitats, with the largest population growth on mixed and pastoral farms, and the smallest on arable land ( Gregory & Marchant 1996). The remarkable adaptability of Magpies has enabled them to colonise many new urban and suburban localities since the 1960s.Recent studies have put the idea to the sword, and the findings generally show no affinity between magpies and shiny or illustrious objects. One study by the University of Exeter even found that magpies were cautious around shiny objects instead of attracted to them, though you could argue that this still signals some level of interest. Their spiritual meaning encourages us to embrace our own transformative journey and shed old patterns. The presence of eight magpies can also symbolize the fulfillment of desires and the realization of spiritual goals. Three for a girl, four for a boy: If you see three magpies, it is believed that you will soon receive good news about a baby girl, and if you see four, it will be a baby boy. Sir Humphry Davy attributed the connection for the feeling of one, then two magpies to joy and sorrow in his, Salmonia: or Days of Fly Fishing, (1828); he wrote:

In the realm of spirituality, magpies represent the harmony that arises from embracing both light and darkness, good and bad. Barker RD, Vestkens WJ (1990). Food of Australian Birds: Vol. 2 – Passerines. CSIRO. p.557. ISBN 0-643-05115-5. Blake, Barry J. (2003). The Bunganditj (Buwandik) language of the Mount Gambier Region. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics (The Australian National University). p.149. ISBN 0-85883-495-2.

Three for a girl, and four for a boy offer nature’s answer to a gender-reveal for any pregnant women that cross paths with a trio or quartet of Magpies. Although it’s not always entirely accurate, these lines definitely spark conversations among anyone expecting a baby themselves or their close friends or relatives who might see three or four Magpies in the months before the birth. Others see the presence of three magpies as a symbol of transformation, reminding us of the cycles of life and the need for adaptation and growth.