Creating the Webbd Wheel: The Firebird
In which we find our treasure ...
The Firebird is a magical creature out of Slavic mythology which, if captured, can lead one to one’s treasure. Stravinsky famously wrote a ballet based on the story, and this beloved old tale has been told and re-told many times in many forms. I have a beautiful children’s picture book about the Firebird in my library. (Sorry I can’t give the author and title; the book is presently packed for moving!)
The Firebird has always intrigued me because of the ambiguity of the “treasure” to which it leads one. We usually assume treasure is gold and jewels because we’ve been shaped to be good little capitalist consumers, but most of us know, at least on some level, that monetary treasure has far less value than good health, happy relationships, a thriving community, and the ability to manage our own power and feelings.
Ironically, those who do believe in treasure as money are exactly the kind of people who are greedy and stupid enough to try to capture such a powerful, magical creature for gain, whereupon they are led into the shadows of their own psyches to heal emotional wounds, grow, and learn, rather than a glittering, overflowing chest of treasure. And serves them right!
The juxtaposition of the bloody key and the Firebird’s feather points to insight and clarity of vision as treasure, both essential to healthy functioning and emotional intelligence.
Insight and clarity of vision are frequently horrifying and heartbreaking, but that doesn’t mean they’re not treasure. In fact, they are beyond price and cannot be bought.
I love the idea of the Firebird as an almost divine figure who knows what we most need at any given moment and leads us to it. My own prayers are frequently of the “show me the way” variety, and I can’t think of a more comforting, tangible answer to such a prayer than the appearance of the beautiful Firebird, come to lead me in the right direction.
I would certainly never try to capture or tame it.
Interestingly, magical birds appear in stories from many different cultures, including Iran, Czechoslovakia, Armenia, Russia, and England.
My Firebird is a guide and teacher, a benign rather than a frightening creature. Beautiful, magical, enigmatic, it flies through dreams and appears and disappears from the story, a golden thread running through the entire Webbd Wheel.
(This essay was published with post #18 of The Hanged Man.)