It is universal that nature speaks to humankind. Animals figure into mythology from all cultures, and specific animals represent specific things, from Native Americans to the Bushmen in Africa to the ancient Greeks.

In the Native American culture, among others, the hummingbird represents joyful living and a connection between the past and the future, while it reminds us also to be present in the here and now. The hummingbird moves its wings in a figure 8 pattern, which enables it to “hover” or stay in one place. The figure 8 is also the sign for infinity, hence the connection between past and future, and also cause and effect. There are over 300 species of hummingbirds, which is significant because the letter “shin” in the Hebrew alphabet is given the numeric value of 300. This Hebrew letter is associated with fire and relationships, and again, the past and the future. The similarities among different cultures of the same symbols are fascinating. People on different continents, before man traveled among them freely, gave the same meanings to the same symbols!

The hummingbird can hover in one spot, fly forwards and backwards and side to side – but it cannot walk. Hummingbirds can fly across the Atlantic Ocean by being carried on the wind, and some migrate over 2500 miles, from Alaska to Central America. They eat more than 50 times a day, and must eat every 20 minutes, except when they are sleeping and go into a temporary hibernation, slowing their metabolism and lowering their body temperature. Hummingbirds almost always lay 2 eggs – the number 2 represents the inner self.

In Native American culture (again, among other cultures) there are “totem” animals. A Totem is any natural object to which you feel a connection. Often this connection occurs because the animal made contact with you. Several years ago, I was standing in my front yard and a hummingbird hovered about 12 inches from me and looked me right in the eye for at least a minute, then it flew away. Then the same even occurred in my back yard – a hummingbird hovered within reaching distance of me, looked me in the eye for a minute or so (it seemed very long) and flew off. A friend of mine, when I told her this, said, “Did you ask it a question? When an animal in nature makes contact with you, it has a message for you.” Because this happened to me twice in two days, and because we have hummingbirds around our house most of the time – even when they are supposed to be migrating south, I looked up the meaning of hummingbirds in Native American culture (although I not a Native American) and adopted this animal as my totem. The message reminds me to remember the past and learn from it, look forward to and plan for my future and – most importantly - be present in the here and now.