Robins & White Feathers

Until my dad passed away, I had never heard about; or I certainly hadn’t taken note of any common beliefs about Robins and White Feathers. A friend came to visit me after he’d passed away, and she was telling me a story about White Feathers. I was listening to her story but didn’t realise it was a common belief that people thought white feathers had been sent from loved ones who had passed away. I didn’t really think much more about this conversation until a couple of weeks later when I was particularly feeling sad about my dad. I walked my son to school, and on the way home I noticed something white attached to my daughter’s pram wheel. When I got home, I went to take it off the wheel & noticed it was a white feather. It then got me thinking. Was it just a coincidence that I was having a sad day (at only 9am!) struggling after losing my dad, or had the white feather actually been sent to me as a sign and as some sort of reassurance? And the only way for me to notice the feather was by attaching it to the pram wheel?! So I started looking on google at the meaning of white feathers.

I quickly began to realise that it was a common belief that the appearance of a white feather could be a sign that your loved one is close by. As i was reading up on these meanings of white feathers, I remember being sat at the island in the kitchen feeling upset that all I was left with was a white feather. Knowing about this common belief did not bring me any comfort, well not at this stage anyway. I was just still so upset that dad was no longer with us.

A few days later, I was walking the dog pushing the pram, still feeling really upset. I happened to look at the floor after about 15 minutes of walking & I saw a white feather laying there on the footpath. After this, I kept looking to the floor as I was walking. There were white feathers laying on the floor for the remainder of my walk. There must have been hundreds in total. It really felt as though dad was trying to send me a message to tell me he walking with me. We often used to go walking the dog together, so seeing these feathers really did bring me comfort on that day when I had been feeling so upset. On the following days I kept looking for feathers & kept seeing the odd feather so I knew my dad was close by.

Now, several months on, it is rare I see a white feather, but the presence of the white feathers really did bring me comfort when I needed it the most. I now know that if I do see white feathers in the future that my dad will have sent them as a message and as reassurance. He might have left me in person, but he will forever be in my heart.

This brings me onto Robins…

My mum and dad love birds. They have an aviary in their back garden, and they have also always fed wild birds. They always used to love going to the Bempton Cliffs on the East Coast which was renowned for having over 200,000 seabirds including puffins nesting there.

Anyway, shortly after dad passed away, mum mentioned that she had been getting a robin visiting her garden on a regular basis. She said she felt as though the robin was watching her. It used to sit on the fence looking in at her in the kitchen or the dining room and it used to stay there for ages. It used to visit the garden all the time just watching mum. At the time, I remember thinking that it might be dad watching her because I seemed to think there was a belief about loved ones coming back as a robin. A few weeks later, my mum told me she had been talking to my sister-in-law Jacqui who had told mum exactly what I had been thinking. It brought mum great comfort thinking that dad was watching her. She believed that dad was checking how she was doing and checking that she was ok.

Reading up on the meaning of robins, I have discovered that the robin is always the symbol of good luck. It can also symbolise passion, new beginnings and renewal. If the robin visits you at a certain time of your life, then you should listen to its song. You should know that this bird will come to you to bring you an important message and to teach you something new. It is telling you not to worry because there are many good changes in front of you, and it is time to go forward. You should not be sad or worried because something better is waiting for you.

At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter what everyone thinks about these common beliefs. Whether you believe that white feathers and robins are old wives tales or whether you really do believe in their meanings; all that really counts is in whatever brings you comfort. Whatever gets you through the hardest time of your life is all that matters. White feathers brought so much comfort to me and helped me through the hardest time of my life. That Robin in mum’s garden helped her, and believing it was dad watching her made all the difference.