In mythologies and witchcraft, there are natural and wildlife signs attributed, and one of them is quite underrated: the sparrow.

The Signs Of The Sparrow

In various cultures worldwide, the sparrow has a significant meaning of symbolism. In Chinese, Japanese, Native American, Christian, Jewish, and many other cultures, the sparrow is seen as joyful and peaceful, bringing light-hearted messages. 

Some cultures believe that sparrows carry the souls of the dead, so it’s bad luck to kill a sparrow. However, in some cultures, the sparrow is considered a death omen.

Many legends vary about birds and death. One old wives’ tale is that someone will die if a bird enters your house. If that bird goes into someone’s sick room, that person is to die. Crows are one of the omen birds. They’re considered to be psychopomps. 

What Is A Psychopomp, And What Does It Mean?

A psychopomp is an entity that is supposed to help a deceased person’s spirit cross over. So, seeing one of the psychopomps usually foretold what would happen. A crow tapping on your window meant death. Crows even have their own nursery rhyme of what they predict. 

One for sorrow,
Two for mirth,
Three for a funeral
And four for birth

One bird that isn’t usually categorized as a psychopomp but is in psychopomp folklore is the sparrow. In Celtic traditions, sparrows were thought to be keepers of ancestral knowledge. In Native American mythology, the sparrow is seen as an Elder that connects the living with the dead.

Even in Christian mythology, the sparrow was the only bird that flew around during the crucifixion of Jesus. In European folklore, a sparrow flying into the home was seen as a sign of impending death. 

The lore says the person who catches it must kill it, or someone will die. In Norwegian folklore, the sparrow was also a death omen if it sat on your windowsill, flew in your house, or made direct eye contact. 

Other folklore and superstitions mention that a sparrow flying into your closed window and dying is a herald of someone dying. Even Ancient Egyptians believed sparrows to be the carriers of souls.

The Fables And Fairy Tales With Sparrows

In the Grimms’ Fairy Tale, The Dog And The Sparrow, a sparrow befriends a starving dog that left his master’s house. While the dog is sleeping on the road, a man is driving a carriage, and the sparrow warns that the dog is sleeping on the road. The man runs over the dog anyway and kills it. The sparrow then attacks the man, and he dies at his wife’s hands. 

In an Indian folktale written in Sanskrit, a sparrow exacts revenge on an elephant with help from other creatures. In a Japanese folktale, a man saves a sparrow and feeds it. His wife cuts the tongue from the bird and releases it back into the wild, angry that he would waste food on the animal. 

The man goes and finds the bird and helps it once more. The birds reward him with a choice between two baskets: a larger one and a smaller one. 

He takes the smaller one because it is easier to carry, and a treasure is inside the basket when he returns home. His greedy wife goes and asks the birds for the other basket. They tell her not to open it until she gets home. Her greed takes over, and she opens it beforehand, finding it filled with snakes that kill her.

My Personal Encounters With Sparrows

While growing up, there have been a few times that a bird has gotten into the house. It has always been a sparrow. My mother had told me about the superstition around the sparrow being a death omen. Each time there has been a sparrow in the house, someone in our family has died. 

The first time I can recall, my mother’s aunt died. The second time, my step-grandmother died. Another time I can remember, my mother-in-law died. The last time one flew into my house, my cousin died. These are just examples of what I can recall and witnessed myself. 

This month, I felt that a sparrow should be in the house. I have been looking for it and waiting. I have seen them up close outside, but not in the house. I had the feeling that the sparrow brings. I learned that my brother’s ex-wife’s brother-in-law passed away. 

Sparrows are powerfully charged birds throughout mythology and folklore that deserve their rightful place at the table with other psychopomps.

Kasey