Heron
| Latin name: | Ardea |
| Other names: | Erodius, Herodius, Nocticora, Noctua, Reiger, Reiher, Reyger, Tantalus |
| Category: | Bird |
A bird wise above all others
General Attributes
The heron is a bird that is wiser than all others, because it does not have many resting places, but lives near to where its food is. It nests in high trees, but gets its food from the water. It never eats carrion. It is afraid of rain storms and flies high above the clouds to avoid them; thus when a heron takes flight, it means that a storm is coming. A heron uses its beak to defend the young in its nest from other birds.
Some herons are white while others are grey like ash.
The night heron is called nocticora; it is described in Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plut.40.52 (f. 38v) as a night bird that looks for corpses and is blinded by the sun.
One of the names sometimes used for the heron, herodius, is also used for the falcon.
Allegory/Moral
The heron signifies those who fear the disorder of the world, and to avoid its storms fly high above it in spirit. As the heron gets its food from the water but nests high in trees, so does the wise man who must get his food from transitory things but place the hope of his soul in eternal things. As the heron defends its chicks, so does the just man who chastens those who try to deceive others. The colors of the heron signify purity (white) and penitence (ash-grey).
Uses Magical, Medical, Alchemical and Culinary
Hildegard von Bingen says: "A person who has a sad mind should often eat its heart, and it will make his mind happy. One whose eyes ache or are clouded should cook the head of a heron in water. Once this is cooked, he should take the eyes and dry them in the sun. He should then place them in cold water for a little while, so they become soft. Again he should dry them in the sun, and repeat this three times. After doing this, he should crush the eyes to a powder. Then, only when the person’s eyes are clouded or painful, he should put this powder in good, pure wine and dip a feather in it. With this, he should smear it around his eyelids and eyelashes. If he should touch the inside of his eyes a bit, it will not injure them. He should do this often at night when he goes to sleep, and it will take the cloudiness and pain from his eyes." (Throop translation)
