Hummingbird Symbolism & Meaning

Are you long overdue for a little time for yourself? Is it time you viewed the world from a new perspective? Hummingbird, as a Spirit, Totem, and Power Animal, can help! Hummingbird teaches you how to celebrate all the blessings in your life, all while showing you how to open your heart and mind! Delve deeply in Hummingbird symbolism and meaning to find out how this Animal Spirit Guide can inspire, excite, and animate you!

Hummingbird Table of Contents

• Hummingbird Symbolism & Meaning
• Spirit Animal
• Totem Animal
• Power Animal
• Native American Symbolism
• Hummingbird Dreams
• Back to all Birds
• Back to all Spirit Animal Meanings

Hummingbird Symbolism & Meaning

“By the way, did you fellows know that a hummingbird weighs as much as a quarter? Do you think a hummingbird also weighs the same as two dimes and a nickel? But then she asked a question of her own: How do they weigh a hummingbird?”
— Calvin Trillin

Humm, Humm, Humm with your heart – so much your spirit soars: That is Hummingbird’s song and sublime message. The smallest of all birds, Hummingbird beats its wings around 70 times per second; that means this little wonder can take the slow lane of the interstate at 30 mph! It’s no wonder Hummingbird Spirit is tied to speed.

Besides what seems to be miraculous for such a tiny creature, Hummingbirds can stop immediately even when at full diving speeds of 60 mph; they can fly up, down, backward and forward, and when hovering their lovely wings make the sign of infinity. With this in mind, Hummingbird may represent our ability to “Keep on, keepin’ on” even when it seems impossible. Additionally, the figure-eight pattern while hovering bears another message about not stagnating in one moment in space and time – embrace your life lessons then look to the future.

The hovering movement of Hummingbird is a potent message about being in the moment and enjoying life’s nectar. Many Shamans felt Hummingbird carried the natural healing powers of the herbs and flowers from which they ate. Those with Hummingbird medicine bring love and joy on their wings along with a sprinkling of magic!

Hummingbirds wing vibrations since with happy energies. It’s hard to be sad or worried when Hummingbird spirit soars close by you. The rainbow hues in Hummingbird feathers further this symbolism and represent renewed hope.

Scientists tell us that Hummingbirds are very intelligent. Their mind memorizes every flower from which they eat, and they know how long it will be before they can return for food. In this context, ask, “What are you consuming spiritually? What do you truly need to remember? Sometimes we get so soulfully hungry that we can drain our resources. Hummingbird helps avoid that.

Overall, Hummingbird as a spirit animal represents flexibility (our ability to accept and implement change), lightheartedness, and joy. Other associations shared by these Lightworkers include remaining present, freedom, awakening happiness and hope, a lightness of spirit, quick responses, reversing melancholy, tirelessness, and fortitude.
Despite our teeny spirit guide, the Hummingbird can travel long distances without rest. In the Medicine Cards, Hummingbird represents joy.

Hummingbird Spirit Animal

When Hummingbird spirit begins whispering in your ear, She reminds you to enjoy the sweet, simple pleasures in life. You are long past due for some “me time” doing things that bring a smile to your face. As Hummingbird guides – your emotional life begins blossoming. Enjoy the nectar of your family garden and celebrate it with abandon. If you have closed off your heart for some reason, Hummingbird assures the time has come to reach out again.

Hummingbird Medicine supports our wishes and dreams in a unique way. People often put special goals on the sidelines of life when other pressures arise. Hummingbird’s message is that it’s never too late to pursue your dreams and explore ways to create a new reality. You have so much potential! Let Hummingbird help you unlock it.

Hummingbird Totem Animal

People born with a Hummingbird totem embrace life in an upbeat, appreciative way. The smallest wonder attracts their attention. They live fully in each moment, ready to adapt as new, interesting ideas arise.

When blessed with Hummingbird as a Totem animal adaptability is your middle name. You can make the most out of nearly any situation and a natural aptitude for picking up the emotions of those feeling blue. The Hummingbird inside you wants to see the best in everyone and search earnestly to find that one gem to focus on; this is a blessing, but people may take advantage of that desire – using your energy on a proverbial flower that just won’t blossom for anyone.

Hummingbird people treasure freedom blended with an easy-going pragmatism toward life.

Hummingbird Power Animal

Call out to Hummingbird spirit when you need to move quickly and smoothly through a situation. Don’t be afraid of detours. These are common with Hummingbird at your side. Another attribute Hummingbird provides as a Power Animal is flexibility. Don’t be so firm in your thoughts that you miss something slightly outside the box.

As you develop a relationship with this spirit animal, you will find that your emotional awareness becomes very keen. This may come across to others as moodiness, but it’s part of the adaptability of this creature. You will be prepared for change.

Native American Hummingbird Symbolic Meanings

For Native Americans and depending on the tribe, Hummingbirds are associated with everything from tobacco to the sun. They are seen as rain and wind bringers, healers, and they are often linked to ancestral connections. The Mayans associated the bird with solar energies or the masculine sun as it tries to win the favor of the feminine Moon. Some lore even suggests feathers from other birds were used to create Hummingbirds.

The Mayans also associated the hummingbird with spirit communication believing the sharp beak of the bird could pierce a hole in the mouth of a king to the point of drawing blood; that divine blood was put on sacred scrolls and later burned, so messages from the king’s ancestors could rise up from out of the smoke. A similar belief was held among the Chayma Tribe, where hummingbirds were treated with great care because they were the dead ancestors of the people.

The Pueblo tribes also associate the hummingbird with rain and use the bird’s feather in rituals for calling on the rains. The Shamans in the tribe relied on the birds to act as couriers to carry offerings or presents to the Earth Mother residing underground. The Pueblos correlate the bird with tobacco, and if a baby dies in the tribe, prayer sticks fashioned with hummingbird feathers are said to hasten the child’s return and rebirth.

The Mojave Tribe has a legend that has shades of the biblical tale of Noah and the Flood when he sends out the dove looking for dry land. According to the tale, it’s the Hummingbird that is sent out into the primordial darkness to find light during a time when humans resided underground. The tiny bird found a path leading toward the world aboveground and the sun.

Navajo Indians tell of a similar story where the hummingbird, the worldly explorer, was sent into the sky to see if there was anything beyond it. When it returned, it reported there was nothing beyond the vast blue sky.

Hummingbird Dreams

A Hummingbird in your night vision represents tremendous potential for some of your ideas. The Bird symbolizes independence and liberation since it can move in any direction mid-flight. Sometimes Hummingbird dreams signal a temporary pause mid-venture, where you end up changing your course of direction. The gracefulness of Hummingbird’s flight is a fortunate omen, suggesting a smooth transition in relationships and the ability to adapt to conditions.

If you are unmarried, Hummingbird predicts a prosperous partner in the future. The Birds in flight represent wealth and luck. They also symbolize the need to integrate more celebration and joy into your day-to-day existence. Flying Hummingbirds also signal a flight of ideas or a period where your thoughts seem shifting and chaotic.

If you note the figure-eight pattern in Hummingbird’s flight, your dream points to the need for connecting or reconnecting with Spirit. It also calls your attention to your spiritual path. Learn more about Hummingbird Spirit by reading What Do Hummingbird Dreams Mean? on WhatIsMySpiritAnimal.com!

Hummingbird Symbolic Meanings Key

• Awakening
• Fortitude
• Freedom
• Gratitude
• Hope
• Joy
• Memory
• Presence
• Responsiveness
• Tireless