Also known as the Halycon, the Kingfisher is a long-time symbol of peace and prosperity. It has many legends and superstitions surrounding it with many originating in ancient Greece; the body of the Kingfisher, if dried, could ward off thunderbolts and storms. It is said the Kingfisher is the promise of abundance, of new warmth, prosperity and love that is about to unfold within your life.
In Greek mythology Alcyone, daughter of Aeolus (king of the winds), found her husband drowned and cast herself into the sea. The gods rewarded her devotion by turning her into a kingfisher, and Aeolus forbade the winds to blow during the "Halcyon Days" (the seven days before and the seven after the winter solstice, when legend has it that the kingfisher lays its eggs).
Kingfishers are associated with Pallas (one of the Titans, a race of godlike giants who were considered to be the personifications of the forces of nature), Hera (the queen of the Olympian deities, the eldest daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and wife and sister of Zeus), and Thetis, one of the Nereids, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris who dwell in the Mediterranean Sea. These beautiful women were always friendly and helpful towards sailors fighting perilous storms. The Kingfishers are beloved by sea-nymphs (in Greek mythology, nymphs are spirits of nature, and they are minor female deities and the protectors of springs, mountains, and rivers).
