The Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the largest, fastest, and most formidable birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. The Golden Eagle is often called the "perfect hunter" due to a flawless combination of extreme speed, devastating power, and unmatched adaptability that sets it apart from all other eagles. This makes it the perfect candidate for our Ancient Ancestors to encode mythology and sybolism around, using the characteristics of the Golden Eagle to symbolise the divine soul and divine operation.
Let'a begin with the The Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation of the Great Plains and their mythology about this beautiful raptor.
Long ago, there was a man known as Pachee Goyo (meaning the "Bald One"). Now before we continue let's just take a moment to look at the symbolic meaning behind the bald head. Now if we look to the Ancient Greek and Medieval symbolism of the top part of a Monk's head being shaved, otherwise known as the Monk's Tonsure, we can see it has great symbolic meaning.
There is a strong historical and visual link between the Monk's tonsure and the halo. In medieval Christian theology, the tonsure was frequently referred to as the corona (Latin for "crown"). Medieval writers like Saint Isadore of Seville stated that the haircut symbolised "royal divinity"—meaning that by serving God, the monk became part of a divine, royal family.
In medieval and Renaissance art, halos were painted as flat, golden discs surrounding a holy person’s head. When artists painted tonsured saints (like Saint Thomas Aquinas or Saint Francis of Assisi), the circular ring of hair perfectly mirrored the circular border of the golden halo painted behind it.
So we can see that the symbolism of being bald in mythology symbolises a direct connection to a soul's divinity.
So back to the story...
Pachee Goyo was a man who lacked status and strength, and he struggled greatly to find his place within his people and always felt like an outsider. Seeking answers he decided to go out into the wilderness and find his life mission. He climbed high into the craggy peaks of the mountains, pushing himself to the absolute limits of human endurance.
As he lay exhausted on a cliffside, a great shadow fell over him. He looked up to see a magnificent golden eagle landing right beside him. The eagle was massive, carrying the very presence of the Creator. Instead of attacking him or flying away, the eagle looked at Pachee Goyo with deep, knowing eyes. It recognized the man's suffering and his sincere virtuous desire to help his people.
The Golden Eagle extended its massive wings and allowed Pachee Goyo to see the true nature of its power — clear vision, swift movement, and absolute courage. The eagle then reached up, plucked a single, luminous tail feather from its own body, and gently placed it onto the head of the Bald One. Through this physical gift of the feather, the eagle transferred its divine spiritual power to the man. Pachee Goyo was transformed; he was no longer weak or forgotten but a powerful sage and healer. He returned to his people as a powerful leader, guided by the divine wisdom and sight of the Master of the Sky. The eagle then ascended directly into the heavens and disappeared back into the spiritual realm.
The feather on the head denotes one who has possession of divine knowledge and an understanding of themselves and the operating forces within the Universe. We also see this symbolism of the feather on the head associated with Maat, Ancient Egyptian goddess of the Halls of Judgement in the afterlife. Shu, the primordial god of the Aether was also depicted with a feather on his head symbolizing the movement of the Aether upon the physical plane and it's association with the enlightened state of a divine human soul when the Aether is fully present in our physical world.
The symbolic meaning: When Pachee Goyo was in the Lower Ages his divine nature is hidden from mortals, he has no power or status and is a soul out of his element struggling to exist in their world. The symbolism of trekking into harsh, unpleasant places is symbolic for the journey through the Lower Ages, hence Jesus spending 40 days/40 nights in the desert being the theological equivalent. However, after Pachee Goyo receives the luminous golden feather from the eagle, it represents the Aether returning, he is transformed into his true divine self and returns as the powerful divine leader for his people.
Crow warriors also had to perform certain tests to receive a feather from the Golden Eagle. This is similar to the the Labours of Hercules a series of twelve difficult tasks given to the Greek hero to prove his worth to his divine Father Zeus. This symbolises the tests all souls face during their incarnations through the 12 Ages of a Great Year.
According to Crow tradition, a warrior had to successfully pass arduous and dangerous tests to earn 36 Golden Eagle feathers to construct a single, complete headdress.
36 is a divine number directly connected to the Divine Race, each Race (White, Red, Yellow and Black) has 36 Tribes, 36 x 4 = 144)
This is just one legend associated with the Golden Eagle; the Hopi, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Shoshone and Arapaho, all have their own mythologies about the Golden Eagle but that is for the student to go research into. Feel free to add what you find to this post. Remember these mythologies are being interpreted by academics, you will need to use your own intellect and understanding of the archetypal symbols yourself or you are just regurgitating their misdirection.
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