Griffin Symbolism & Meaning
Need to protect what is yours? Looking for a space that’s all your own? Griffin, as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal, can help! Griffin teaches you how to safe keep all you cherish while showing you how to establish your sacred space. Delve deeply in Griffin symbolism and meaning to find out how this Animal Spirit Guide can stimulate, animate, and revitalize you.
Griffin Table of Contents
- Griffin Symbolism & Meaning
- Spirit Animal
- Totem Animal
- Power Animal
- Greek Symbolism
- Iranian & Egyptian Symbolism
- Griffin Dreams
- Back to all Fantasy & Mythical Creatures and Animals
- Back to all Spirit Animal Meanings
Griffin Symbolism & Meaning
The mighty Griffin, also spelled as Gryphon and Griffon, derives its name from a Greek word meaning “curved,” referencing the creature’s curved beak. The word Griffin also has roots in the Akkadian language, deriving its name from a term translating as “Winged Creature.” Depictions of the mythic beast reveal Griffin with the head, beak, claws, and wings of the Eagle. It also features the body, legs, and tail of a Lion. The shape of the creature gives it ties to the Earth and Air Elements.
Occasionally, artists depict Griffin with feathered ears. Though rare, sometimes the Griffin appears as having no wings at all: The depiction earns the creature the title of “Keythong.” Writers diverge on what the wingless Griffin represents, with some people suggesting its female and the others, vice versa. The female is most common in art and iconography. In contrast, the male Griffin appears in heraldry, where it represents Christian concepts symbolizing the Power of God and a creature that guards the Divine.
When a Griffin image appears in heraldry, it is named after Opinicus, featuring a Camel’s tail, the wings of the Eagle, a Lion’s body, and the head of a Dragon. Some researchers believe the creature as a real-world connection to the dinosaur: Protoceratops. With so many features coming from real-world animals, the Griffin is chimerical and symbolizes shapeshifting, ancient wisdom, and paradox. It also embodies mystery, the monstrous, and the magical.
In essence, the Griffin joins two natural forces together into one embodiment: The Lion, which is the King of the Beasts, and the Eagle, which is the King of the Birds. Here, Griffin becomes a symbol of power, might, the majestic, nobility, and leadership. Being a creature of great strength, in various myths, the beast protects priceless treasures from would-be bandits and thieves, so Griffin also symbolizes protection.
The Griffin usually has ears that are large, with some depictions appearing like Lion’s ears, while others are more akin to the ears of a Horse: This proves an odd feature seeing Horse is Griffin’s enemy. Here, Horse symbolism may offer additional insight into the meaning of Griffin as a Spirit Guide.
There’s much lore originating from the Medieval Era regarding the behaviors and attributes of the Griffin. First, the creature is one that chooses a single mate for its lifetime. When one Griffin dies, the other one lives on alone and without taking on another mate. Here, Griffins are a symbol of fidelity, loyalty, marriage, and lasting love; Christians also considered such attributes as serving as an icon symbolizing the opposition to remarrying.
Some lore suggests the Griffin can heal; its feathers can remedy blindness, and its claws also offer remedial relief. It was common for people in European Courts during the Medieval Era to use vessels in the shape of Griffin claws and to consume Griffin eggs, which were the eggs of an ostrich, to invoke the creature’s healing properties.
In Greek myth, Griffins were creatures originating from Central Asia where there were gold deposits. Pliny the Elder wrote of Griffins, suggesting the creature would place its nest in underground burrows, and within the creature’s nests, one can find gold. One of the main coins in the city-state of Abdera, in Greece, was the “Griffon,” so named because it features the chimerical beast on its front. As such, Griffin is a symbol of material wealth and prosperity.
In Iranian lore, the Shirdal is another name for the Griffin, which is a word meaning “Lion-Eagle.” People from the region made artwork and small cast objects featuring Griffins as early as the 2nd millennium BCE. As early as 3000 BCE., the Ancient Egyptians living in Hierakonpolis, (meaning “Hawk City,”) owned cosmetic palettes featuring images of the Griffin. The creature has features similar to the Egyptian Sphinx, which was a hybrid beast with links to the Divine.
Griffin Spirit Animal
Griffin arrives as a Spirit Animal when you need protection. The creature is at the ready with fierce talons to destroy or ravage anything it attacks. Griffin materializes when you need help tearing through obstacles or breaking down anything that stands in your way, particularly when it blocks you from achieving emotional balance or spiritual progression.
The Griffin swoops in as your Spirit Animal when you need enlightenment. When the creature comes to you as Ziz, the Gryphon from Jewish myth, it is a creature so large, it blocks sunlight, but it can equally allow the sun to shine down upon the earth when it chooses. Griffin arrives in this guise when you do not see what you need to in a situation or relationship, or the creature comes to reveal hidden elements about a condition, circumstance, or relationship.
Deities, including Hera, Artemis, Athena, Nemesis, Apollo, Zeus, and Astarte, all hold the Griffin as sacred. As Lord of the Earth and Sky and a Divine Guardian, Griffin helps you hone your psychic senses. So, if you’ve lost focus on your spirituality or you want to develop a more intense connection with Spirit, Griffin can show you the path to do so. Griffin will also appear to you when messages are coming from otherworldly realms.
Griffin Totem Animal
With Griffin as your Totem Animal, you have a majestic presence, a vibrant aura, and people look to you for guidance. You have Eagle-like vision, both in a physical and extrasensory sense, so you can see things clearly or foresee conditions before they unfold.
You have the mind of a scholar. People with the Griffin Animal Totem haven an unquenchable thirst for learning, particularly when you’re studying subjects of a metaphysical sort. With Griffin as your Birth Totem, you make an exceptional role model and often protect those who find themselves the underdog. If someone crosses you, however, you’re not one who forgives or forgets with ease.
You love all things of beauty and have an eye for the luxurious. The belongings you have are your treasures, which you cherish greatly. You will protect what you own at all costs.
Griffin Power Animal
When you’re in a situation requiring a leap of faith, invoke Griffin as your Power Animal. The creature is the King of All Birds and the Lord of the Sky. Griffin’s intimate connection with the Air Element makes it the ideal Being to support you when you must override tumultuous emotions with cool intellect and just jump right into a situation or relationship with both feet.
Call on Griffin as your Power Animal in matters requiring mental or brute strength. Griffin is as strong as eight Lions, and one hundred Eagles-there are stories of the creature carrying away full-size oxen and horses to its nest. The mythic beast supports you when you are facing rigorous tasks requiring vigor but also when you must steel yourself against an emotional storm.
Petition Griffin, as a Power Animal, whenever you want to establish sacred space. The creature makes its nest out of gold and hides precious gems within it, thereby building a home of the finest materials on earth. It then defends the space most fiercely from would-be intruders. Griffin is, therefore, the ideal Animal Ally for defining your boundaries and creating an area that’s uniquely your own.
Greek Griffin Symbolic Meanings
In Greek myth, Griffins were creatures originating from Central Asia where there were gold deposits. Pliny the Elder wrote of Griffins, suggesting the creature would place its nest in underground burrows, and within the creature’s nests, one can find gold. One of the main coins in the city-state of Abdera, in Greece, was the “Griffon,” so named because it features the chimerical beast on its front. As such, Griffin is a symbol of material wealth and prosperity.
Iranian & Egyptian Griffin Symbolic Meanings
In Iranian lore, the Shirdal is another name for the Griffin, which is a word meaning “Lion-Eagle.” People from the region made artwork and small cast objects featuring Griffins as early as the 2nd millennium BCE. As early as 3000 BCE., the Ancient Egyptians living in Hierakonpolis, (meaning “Hawk City,”) owned cosmetic palettes featuring images of the Griffin. The creature has features similar to the Egyptian Sphinx, which was a hybrid beast with links to the Divine.
Griffin Dreams
Griffin arrives as a Spirit Animal when you need protection. The creature is at the ready with fierce talons to destroy or ravage anything it attacks. Griffin materializes when you need help tearing through obstacles or breaking down anything that stands in your way, particularly when it blocks you from achieving emotional balance or spiritual progression.
The Griffin swoops in as your Spirit Animal when you need enlightenment. When the creature comes to you as Ziz, the Gryphon from Jewish myth, it is a creature so large, it blocks sunlight, but it can equally allow the sun to shine down upon the earth when it chooses. Griffin arrives in this guise when you do not see what you need to in a situation or relationship, or the creature comes to reveal hidden elements about a condition, circumstance, or relationship.
Deities, including Hera, Artemis, Athena, Nemesis, Apollo, Zeus, and Astarte, all hold the Griffin as sacred. As Lord of the Earth and Sky and a Divine Guardian, Griffin helps you hone your psychic senses. So, if you’ve lost focus on your spirituality or you want to develop a more intense connection with Spirit, Griffin can show you the path to do so. Griffin will also appear to you when messages are coming from otherworldly realms.