Photo: Wikimedia Commons
What does this animal totem mean?
By Maatie Kalokoh — Written on Sep 07, 2021
Blue jays are more than a spiritual animal totem or a meaningful symbol of beauty commonly found in nature.
The blue jay is a popular bird native to eastern North America, known for its loud song and vibrant blue color which is the same color as the throat chakra — the chakra of truth.
Blue Jay Symbolism and Meanings
Blue jays are commonly seen as a spiritual animal representing faithfulness, solidarity, courage, and protection.
Others see them as symbols of intelligence, communication, and curiosity. Then there are those who believe the blue jay symbolizes noise, mimicry, mischief, and changeability.
The interpretation changes depending on who you ask.
Blue Jay Spiritual Meaning
Much of the spiritual meaning is connected to how a blue jay looks. Blue jays are rather simple to recognize due to their special look and behavior.
It’s rather large with a crest color that can range from blue to white and black. They also tend to be more nosy and louder than most birds.
The bird is usually described as curious, trustworthy, talkative, and resourceful.
What do blue jays symbolize?
These birds are a symbol of confidence, clarity, vibrancy, and intellect.
If you see a blue jay, the most common interpretation of its visit means you are a loyal and trustworthy person. You may notice them more often in times of self-doubt.
The blue jay’s sense of creativity is also one of the more common beliefs.
They are songbirds that love to sing in their spare time. They enchant everyone around them with their special sounds. This helps us understand the importance of expressing our inner sense of creativity.
We have a tendency to try to fit in our environment instead of trying to stand out. If a blue jay crosses your path it could be a sign to start expressing yourself more freely.
There are aspects of our personalities that are unique. Using our creativity to share that with everyone can positively impact our environment and also ourselves.
What does it mean if you see a blue jay?
What’s really special about the blue jay is its natural behaviors and what that represents for us.
Blue jays signify determination.
Blue jays are also known for their strong sense of determination and high level of intelligence. They work diligently day and night to achieve their daily goals. Because of all the work, birds can often become exhausted.
Despite this, their instincts tell them to take time to rest and keep going. This attitude can teach us the importance of perseverance and never giving up on our goals. Determination is the key to achieving our dreams in the long run.
Blue jays symbolize assertiveness.
The blue jay personality is naturally aggressive toward animals that threaten them. They do this to protect their offspring and ensure their survival.
The bird teaches us that sometimes that when the stakes are high, we need to know how to put our foot down. In an animalistic way, this is usually aggressive, but in our context, it is seen as being assertive.
Being assertive doesn’t mean that you need to be impolite or ill-mannered, but mindful that you have just as much of a right to be on earth no different from anyone else and you’re not afraid to stand up for yourself.
Blue jays symbolize spiritual growth.
Another common spiritual interpretation for Blue jays is spiritual growth. Spiritual growth is when someone has graduated from many different levels of spirituality and on their way to reach self-actualization.
Blue jays teach us the importance of general growth. The bird goes from different stages within its lifetime and achieves many goals along the way.
Blue jays are natural risk-takers because they are curious and like to discover new things. Collecting information about their surroundings helps them make better decisions for themselves and their offspring.
They also master the idea of timing their activities (ex, mating, sleeping, looking for food, etc.). This can teach us the importance of growth in a spiritual sense because everything we do in life takes time and just a little faith.
Blue jays symbolize confidence.
Blue jays are also known for symbolizing confidence. Blue jays are very confident in nature because they have to take risks in order to ensure their survival. Confidence comes from believing that you are capable of anything you set your mind to.
When you enter a situation believing that you don’t have what it takes to succeed, you are setting yourself up to fail. There are times in life where you are going to fail, and it’s important not to internalize it and question your abilities.
Success is a state of mind, so try applying the blue jay’s confident attitude to your next challenge. You’ll be surprised by the outcome!
Blue Jay Encounters as Omens
Blue jays show that they understand the importance of community in their behavior pattern. They get certain benefits from members of their community so they must also be a benefit to the community as well. Adult birds work together in order to complete tasks that help the whole flock.
This can teach us the importance of working along with others to reach a common goal. Nothing great can ever be achieved by one person. It takes many different efforts to build something great that everyone can enjoy.
Blue jays have strong family bonds so encounters with one may be either an encouraging sign to look into your own family situation and help however you can or to be on alert to those you don't see as trustworthy.
Blue Jay Meaning in Dreams
Dreaming of a blue jay means double clarity and higher thinking. Having a blue jay in your dreams can also signify action towards a truth.
Blue jays require honesty and any deception or dishonesty would lead to a worse situation for us in reality.
However, if you have a dream of blue jays in a flock, it may mean that you have tied your beliefs and values to those of your peers. It could be sending you a message to pay attention to your own values.
Blue Jay Meaning as a Spirit or Totem Animal
Blue jay spirit guides are good at creating long-lasting bonds with other people.
People who have a blue jay spirit animal resonate with loyalty, strength, solidarity, and patience.
If the blue jay is your spirit animal you may also prefer vocalizations to express yourselves rather than actions.
Those born with a blue jay totem are said to be charmingly curious about anything that's bright, shiny, or glittery.
This animal totem is an ever-vigilant investigator.
Blue jay people like to dabble in a lot of things, and they gather tidbits of information as they go.
Blue Jay Spiritual Meaning in Christianity
As opposed to the Native American belief, the Bible has a good perspective on blue jays.
In the Bible, seeing a blue jay meant to communicate well, to persist, and to plan for the future.
They also symbolize protection and fearlessness.
Blue Jay Symbolism in Mythology and Folklore
In many myths, the blue jays were considered to be gossips, bullies, and secretive thieves.
They were described as noisy, arrogant, prideful, and selfish birds.
Blue Jay Meaning in Different Cultures
Blue Jay Native American Symbolism
Native Americans believed that blue jays were related to Ravens, so they saw blue jays as trickster figures.
Tribes also believed that the bird, so beautifully colored, was not trustworthy.
Not only were they tricksters but blue jays also represent gossips and were looked upon as noisy, arrogant, prideful, and selfish birds.
Since the birds were believed to lie and cheat, Elders believed that if one was spotted near your home it was a warning that somebody was planning against you. In Native American culture, if you see a blue jay it means a jealous person is praying against you.
Blue Jay Celtic Symbolism
The blue jay isn't prominent in Celtic Culture since the bird isn't native to their lands. However, the Celtic culture believed that blue jays carried messages between dimensions adding a mystical element to the animal.
Being message carries the birds had to be swift and stealthy to deliver them undetected.
Blue Jay Tattoo Meaning
A blue jay tattoo meaning is associated with the blue color of their feathers which represents clarity of thought. The blue jay tattoo may represent someone who is pure of heart, soul, and mind.
Blue jays help us understand that using our gifts to positively impact those around us is a way of giving back to nature and society. In order to truly be happy, we have to figure out how we can be a blessing to the world instead of the other way around.
Nature teaches us how to do this by inspiring us to find what we are passionate about and how we can use it to make the world a better place than the day before. Tattooing a blue jay on oneself is a constant reminder for us to do our part in the world.
What it means when you see blue jays and oak trees together.
Blue jays adore making their nests in oak trees. This is their home, their comfort, and where they reproduce.
Therefore, if you see a blue jay and an oak tree nearby, it symbolizes fertility and everlasting life. This is great since these birds mate for life.
What it means when you see a blue jay and a cardinal.
Blue jays and cardinals don't fly around together. They in fact are spiritual opposites.
If you see them together in a dream or in reality something is off in your world. It could be in your friendships, romantic partner, work, or self.
Whatever it is, you must find it and face it to obtain spiritual growth.
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Maatie Kalokoh is a writer who covers astrology, spirituality, love, and relationship topics.