Pigeon Tales

Let's bring this down to earth . Outside our kitchen window, exactly 28 days ago on Mother's Day, Sunday May 5th, a pigeon hatched two eggs in the airshaft of our home in San Francisco's Sunset District. She did so in a small wooden "cat house" that had been sitting empty for the past 15 years. Turns out to be the perfect pigeon nest as it is protectively perched with its single opening to the air shaft roof's ledge, perhaps mimicking the steep caves that rock doves originally used for habitats.

I immediately took this as a good sign.

In Jyotisha, pigeons are the bird of the planet Jupiter, the great benefic. Although I can certainly understand why it might not always be a good idea to have pigeons nesting in one's air shaft, I paid attention because Jupiter had recently gone into the constellation of Pisces, a sign in which it has great strength. Also, this was not an everyday occurrence, but the first time in 15 years that the "cat house" had been occupied. The following Thursday morning, which is Jupiter's day in the tradition of Jyotisha, I put out some sunflower seeds for the pigeon family as a way to welcome them.

Last Sunday, while we were having brunch out by the ocean, my friend Anna told me a story about a pigeon that had unexpectedly flown into an evening musical performance in a tea house in downtown San Francisco. The event was the launch of a musical CD, a collaboration by international musicians. The audience was split between those who wanted the pigeon to be left alone in the rafters and those who wanted the bird to be gotten rid of because they feared the pigeon droppings. Since nobody could concentrate on the music, however, the restaurant staff ended up pushing the pigeon out with a broom.

Had I been there, I probably would have been on the side of just letting the pigeon be.

This is because being Jupiter's bird that pigeon symbolizes a great blessing--traditionally associated with wealth and prosperity as well as general good luck, all of which I think the musicians, the restaurant and the audience might have needed.