Shall we rise from our own ashes…

The sun is out and the temperatures are creeping their way out of the frigid air, slowly but surely, into the warmer altitudes. As if one is reborn when the sun returns to a closer proximity and tilt of the earth’s rotation. Like the mythological bird, the Phoenix - rising from it’s (“father’s”) ashes and bringing the ashes to the “City of the Sun” - Heliopolis, in Egypt, depositing said ashes onto the altar in the temple of the Egyptian god of the sun, Re.

My whimsy wants to believe that there could have been such a creature that could rise from it’s own ashes and conquer, still perservering in life. All is well, as it is just a legend, a fable; but where did this magical creature get its origin? A coworker came to me the other day and posed a ‘myth’ that maybe, just maybe... it was actually a flamingo. I was curious so I did a little digging. According to an article on Owlcation. com/humanities/ Phoenix-Bird, “The Phoenix: A Mythological Bird,” written by Angela Michelle Schultz, “... the flamingo, who will nest on salt flats that are too hot for a flamingo chick nor its egg to survive. Nesting there causes a unique convection effect that is similar to that of the convection of a flame. The flamingos family name in the scientific world is Phoenicopteridai, which derives from the more generic word, Phoenicopterus, which means Phoenix-winged.”

Schultz goes on to speak of the legend also originating from the peacock because of the relativity of size and said beauty of the Phoenix. But what is this legend that makes this bird so dazzling to all, including Greek mythology, different religions and adapted by Christianity? Let’s jump down the hole farther.

One source speaks of the sun god laying its eyes on the beautiful creature, and after the bird cooed and sang to the sun god, he bestowed the bird immortality. As the Phoenix grew more haggard over 500-1000 years the sun god seeing this told the bird to rest. Finally coming to rest at his nest of cinnamon and myrrh, the Phoenix burst into flames and left an egg within its flames. The egg hatches and the cycle continues.

For some, the Phoenix symbolizes immortality and longevity, strength and resilience, wisdom and enlightenment, regeneration and healing, symbol of the sun, and bridging the mortal and Divine. Some believe that the Phoenix is a representation of Jesus Christ due to his resurrection and life after death. Whichever way you choose to embody the Phoenix in your life, let it remind you that everyday is a new day to make your life anything you want it. You may not be ‘reborn’ like the Phoenix in the physical sense, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reinvent yourself at any given moment.

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