The Heron

Taking Flight into a Brand New Year

Here in the UK, 2025 was ushered in on the quite literal winds of change. 2024 was blown out in an unsubtle fashion, with heavy winds accompanied by a LOT of rain. I woke to a garden that was flooded in places. I pulled on my wellies and blew away the 2024 cobwebs with an early morning walk around my field. As I picked my way delicately around the boggy patches and puddles, I felt the weather perfectly reflected my mood. The wind felt fresh and revitalising, but the ground was messy and took some careful navigation to avoid getting soaked and muddy. A perfect reflection of how life feels right now; much excitement and enthusiasm to embark on new adventures, but with a chance of making a big mess if I don’t watch where I’m putting my feet!

My husband and I spent New Years Eve at a friend’s house, toasting 2025 and singing karaoke until we were hoarse. As we drove home through our hamlet in the early hours of the morning, we were tired and thinking of nothing other than a cosy warm bed, and hopefully a long lie in. But as the headlights swept the road we were startled out of our sleepy state, as a graceful ghost emerged from the shadows and flew into the light. It was a heron.

Photo by Anne Zwagers on Unsplash

I squealed with excitement, as I always do whenever our local heron treats us to the sight of him taking flight. In fact, I must only see him standing sentry at the side of the road, as he often does in winter, gazing over the fields that give way to the bank of the River Ouse, to do a little happy dance. I see this handsome heron as one of the guardians of our small hamlet, as he usually chooses to stand near the sign that signals entry to our home. We usually only see him there during the dark winter months. I feel comforted to know he is there, year after year, and for me his presence signals the beginning of winter, and the dark half of the year. I have no way of knowing if it is the same bird that greeted us when we first moved here five years ago, but I like to think that it is.

I barely had a moment to register my excitement for this unexpected vision, before another flash of white was caught by the headlights. A pair! We usually see our heron standing alone, in the cold and the dark, so my heart was filled with warmth to know that he has a companion. I felt it was a gift to see them both, on either side of our car, taking flight alongside us as we step into this brand-new year.

I always feel a sense of awe when I see a heron. Perhaps it is their size, as grey herons are the largest birds most of us will ever see in our garden. Despite their impressive stature, they only weigh on average half as much as a greylag goose. This lightness might be one of the reasons I associate them with grace and elegance.

In British folklore, the heron symbolises nobility and patience. In Japanese folklore, purity and transition and in Celtic mythology the heron was a messenger between worlds, connecting the divine and the earthly realm. In Egyptian mythology the heron’s symbolic ties to Creator Gods give him links to renewal and rebirth.

I couldn’t think of a more perfect pair to greet us at the gateway to a brand-new year. A year where my focus is to slow down, and pay attention, finding stillness amidst the busy times. I find that the heron often appears to me in times when my focus turns to stillness, and awareness of my environment.

I celebrated my birthday on Christmas Eve this last year and as I took my usual walk around our garden, I saw a beautiful little white egret (a small heron) slowly and patiently making its way across the still grey sky. I can count on one hand the number of times this bird has appeared in my life, and I felt a profound sense of peace as I witnessed it. Perhaps the heron is to be my creature of the year.

In spiritual terms, the heron calls you to ‘reflect on stillness, patience and deep meditation’. It is associated with the Water Element, encouraging us to flow with the energies around us. I particularly appreciated this quote I found, as I researched its meaning:-

We do not need to struggle with nature but instead cooperate with it.

I take this to mean my own inner nature, as much as that outside my door. Patience, stillness, renewal, rebirth?

Message received, loud and clear.

Which creatures welcomed in the New Year for you this year? I would love to hear from you. (And yes, your cat absolutely counts… )

An article on the spiritual meaning of the heron