The Symbolic Meaning Of Magpie

The most common is to salute the magpie and many people will also acknowledge the magpie by saying "Good morning Mr Magpie and how is your wife today?" It is believed that by showing the magpie respect you will not suffer any misfortune that he could bring and you are also presuming that there is another magpie in the vicinity which means that they will bring joy rather than sorrow as mentioned in the well known rhyme "One for sorrow, two for joy". The reason that only lone magpies bring bad luck is that magpies generally mate for life so seeing a single magpie means that the magpie could have lost his mate which is itself bad luck. There are other legends associated with magpies such as they carry a drop of the devil's blood on their tongue and that they were the only bird who didn't comfort Jesus when he was crucified.

In Chinese culture, magpie is a symbol of happiness. The singing of a magpie foretells good luck and happiness. That's why Chinese people call it 'Happy Magpie'. The Manchu minority in Northern China even regards this birds as sacred animals. The magpie in Chinese is called 'xi que' and the character 'xi' means happiness. Two magpies facing each other is used to symbolize double happiness. When the goddess from heaven named Fokulon was playing with her two sisters beside the lake, a beautiful magpie flew above them with a red fruit in its mouth. The bird dropped the fruit and Fokulon picked it up and ate it. A few months later, she gave birth to a boy (Bukulirongshun) and he was the forefather of Manchu minority. Magpies are also known to steal eggs and baby birds to supplement their diets and have even been known to kill small pets such as guinea pigs.

They decided to form an alliance and wipe out the rising tribe. One lucky boy named Fancha escaped the slaughter and kept running until dusk fell. This little boy was almost caught when a magpie lighted on his head. Luckily, the hunters did mistake him for a tree trunk when Fancha stood motionless in the dim field and the hunters ran on in another direction. The boy was saved by the magpie and he was the only survivor of the tribe in the genocide. Magpies like all members of the crow family have a reputation for being attracted to shiny objects and stealing jewellery and other trinkets. This again, could be a reason for them being associated with bad luck. Although studies have shown that magpies don't have any effect on the populations of breeding birds it can be distressing having magpies in your garden particularly if it is home to birds and their young families.