The connection between humans and animals highlights the presence of divine beauty in our world.
As we search for divine connection, spirit animals can provide us with great insight and solace for our purpose on this planet.
You may have found the dove’s spirit animal as emblematic of yourself or your journey.
Spirit animals are all about trusting in the divine messages we receive from the animals that the universe gifts us.
The dove spirit animal is an airborne and connected to the sky.
Creatures of the sky typically move with great intuition and are clear and concise with their messaging.
Doves fly freely and have a gentle, warming quality to them.
They ask their spiritual counterparts to find freedom in their thoughts, to uncage their delicate hearts, and be open to receiving with hope; they ask us to release the head and the heart of outdated fear and worry.
The dove appears to us when spirit is asking us to get quiet, to be soft and calm when approaching ourselves.
This is a focus on the self, first and foremost.
Once we achieve this tender action and equilibrium with ourselves, then we are better able to bring it to our relationships.
Dove Spirit Animal Traits and Characteristics
When the dove appears, you can expect the flowing of calm and hopeful energy to enter your life.
They are utterly affectionate, beautiful, and nurturing in their truest nature.
The dove spirit animal shares a gentle, peaceful spirit, are so generous and loving, and bring a sense of joy to those around them.
Those who feel connected to the dove generally have a welcoming tone for others. They are soft and peaceful. They have a mothering tendency for all those who come in contact with them.
These are people who are very giving with their time and space to ensure the happiness of others, with children in particular.
This comes with a cautionary tale though. The dove teaches us the necessity of reciprocity in our relationships.
While caring for others is an incredibly selfless thing, we might forget to fill our own cup along the way, and this can inevitably lead to burn out.
When we feel burnt out, we cannot give to others if our vessels are empty of energy. And so, the dove spirit animal is a perfect reminder, fill your own cup first and foremost, and you will be better able to tend to others on your journey.
Another nudge from the dove is for the natural peace keepers out there. Martyrdom is present in most people who connect with the dove spirit.
To have a calm and peaceful demeanor is admirable, however, sometimes we must be cautious with being too focused on keeping the peace.
This is only good if we are not actively avoiding anything. If we do this, we can often create more negativity, as we might hold unresolved emotions within.
Sometimes the chaos we try so hard to avoid becomes the outcome that we manifest.
The dove is asking you to acknowledge what isn’t peaceful, allow yourself to meet the discomfort, and trust that you will release it as you are ready.
Dove Omen
To come across a dove is a great omen and should not be taken lightly. It signifies profound peace.
When we see omen’s like this in life, take a second to just breathe. The dove is asking you to see where ego occupies your mind, and simply become aware of its presence.
The dove omen gives you the space to find an equilibrium within yourself. Find a way to free yourself from the overbearing anxieties that can create narratives of lack.
You might find the negativity is more of a mind game than a statement of reality.
Remember that yes, you are on track, you are where you need to be; feel into the harmony that we as humans are meant to hold, choose to release the doubt.
This will only increase the interactions with positive omens in your life.
Dove Totem and Symbolism
How your spirit animal totem comes to you is truly significant as it can take many forms. The dove is a symbol of the holy spirit, or the divine/universe.
As a symbol of peace, you can use this totem to help you achieve greater calm within your life.
You are being divinely protected. It is an assurance that love and peace will always prevail in your life if you choose to seek it out.
When we work with the energy of the dove we are decluttering our divine vessels for the purpose of connection.
What Is the Spiritual Meaning of Seeing Doves?
Seeing a dove can signify a happy home.
How can you achieve this in a realistic manner?
A happy home comes from doing the work which clears the excess.
The objective of the dove is to achieve true internal peace, which is no small achievement in life as we are all searching for greater peace within ourselves.
It’s asking you to not succumb to negative patterns like revenge and hate.
A dove can signify a phase of new beginnings and demonstrate that you’ve moved past a period of negativity in your life; or, alternatively, it’s exposing a time where you are learning to step away from the past in order to create methods of balance and harmony in your life.
There is a distinct focus on positivity, but not just on holding everything in a positive light.
The dove is about knowing how to actively release the negative temperaments from your life so that you can genuinely embody the positive energy of this bird.
The Meaning of a Dove in Dreams
When you see a dove in your dream, there are a few themes that could be at play: peace, tranquility, affection, innocence, harmony.
As with all dreams, the particular meaning will be entirely dependent on the context surrounding the dove and the nature of your relationships in the dream.
A white dove in your dream refers to love, loyalty, simplicity, gentleness and friendships.
It can mean that you have loyal friends who support you. As the dove is all about peace and harmony, it is generally telling you to trust your inner knowing.
If there are any energies of negativity or revenge in your dreams or in your physical reality, a dove appearing in your dream is here to tell you to clear your physical body and energy of these.
It’s telling you that something is clouding your path to balanced harmony.
The dove appearing in your dreams is not always joyful, and so take caution with how you interpret.
There are some connections between doves and death within dreams. They can indicate harm coming to loved ones or those appearing in your dream.
This is not to alarm you but a sign from the divine that you are spiritually connected and meant to receive this message.
To see an injured dove can be about loved ones who might be in trouble unexpectedly, this is specifically the case if the dove is crying.
To dream of a dove flying away from you in a dream can signify the departure of a loved one.
It could be that they have passed away or left your life for some reason, but this is typically in a peaceful manner so do not fear this message.
Dove Dreams and Love
With regards to love, to dream of doves mating signifies a joyful household.
If you are in a relationship then this could be highlighting the harmony that flows through your dynamic.
To dream of a dove building a nest is as clear as it could be: you are building the foundation for your life that is creating more peace and prosperity for yourself.
You are building a new home, both in your physical being and your spiritual self.
Doves flying in your dreams can mean that good news is on its way. Catching a dove can signify getting married.
If the dream shows more than two doves and there is a gathering, this might be calling you to pay closer attention to your emotional needs within the relationship.
It is a call back to the intention of the dove: to find the inner equilibrium and focus on that balance within.
Are there people around your relationship who affect that balance?
Is there reciprocity within your relationship?
Could you provide more attention to your partner; or, is it calling you to provide that more honest and intentional love to yourself?
RELATED: Mysterious Cranes: 6 Hidden Meanings of These Symbolic Birds
The Meaning of Doves in Mythology, Folklore, And Native Cultures
Doves have held great significance throughout the world’s mythology and symbolism.
It has long since been regarded as human’s most pure embodiment and worship of love and guidance.
Dove spirit animals are often associated with the symbol of motherhood. In fact, scientifically, they have the ability to produce their own milk giving them a literal connection to our understanding of mothering traits.
The dove is often attributed to various motherly figures throughout history, such as: Mother Mary, Aphrodite and Venus.
In Greek mythology association of the dove with Aphrodite is where we get our connection between the dove and symbols of the heart, as she is the ultimate goddess of love.
Aphrodite is known in Roman mythology as the Goddess Venus, which we still use Venus as a symbol of human’s emotional side within the astrological network.
The dove in its entirety is a nurturer of peace and prosperity. It calls us to our most loving motherly selves.
This is not a gender specific notion – the call is to take gentle care of your physical being and guide you as a mother would with children.
Whether you identify as male or female, the dove calls you to tap into your calm feminine energy and accept the journey that spirit is guiding you towards.
When we tap into this energy, we allow ourselves to receive information in a more intuitive way.
So, have trust in the nurturing however the dove comes to you, trust that you are being asked to be gentle with yourself as you find your way to the peace that you deserve.
Doves in Native Cultures
Throughout several North American indigenous groups, the dove’s feathers were typically used as a talisman for soldiers going off to battle.
The feathers provide an energy of protection, luck, and returning safely.
In Algonquin tribes the dove’s cry was significant as it could signify caution to all those who heard it; they saw this as a warning from the great spirit that this was an omen of death.
And yet, for the Aztecs and Mexican indigenous tribes associated doves with love and wedding ceremonies as a symbol of new beginnings and peace.
They were often used for wedding ornaments. It is for this reason that doves are typically associated with wedding ceremonies, as they signify harmony, abundance and blessings in love.
Doves Spirit Animals – The Divine Symbol of Hope
Throughout folklore, doves singing is thought to represent the thinnest point of the veil between the divine and the physical worlds.
So, if you come across the doves cooing, know that this is meant for you as a divine being and your human body is spiritually connecting to the divine world in that moment.
Ultimately, doves are a message of hope, or that keep the faith as hope is on the horizon.
It speaks to the work you have put into ridding yourself of the old and outdated and achieving peace and balance in your life. It is understanding how to ground yourself and find a space of neutrality.
This neutrality isn’t about numbing emotion or becoming apathetic towards life, it’s asking you to practice a mentality of non-judgment.
Once we can receive ourselves with more peace and less judgment, we can approach others with the same sort of peace.
Once we are able to achieve a more peaceful personal vessel, we begin to experience a profound sense of harmony in our outer worlds as well.
When we learn to create methods of balance for ourselves, we are better able to continuously sift through our thoughts and experiences, and choose our path to finding peace.
Thank you, I hope you enjoyed this article on the dove spirit animal!
If you would like to know the spiritual meaning of two doves then check that out here.
Alternatively, check out this article on spirit animals, and see what they are, and how to know what yours is.
❤️ Other birds and their spiritual meanings you may want to check out:
- Mockingbird: The Amazing Symbolism & Meanings (Full Guide)
- Amazing Secrets Of The Swan Spirit Animal Revealed
- 11 Blue Jay Spiritual Meanings: Dreams, Spirit Animal & More
Alan is the founder of Subconscious Servant. He has a passion for learning about topics such as spirituality and the metaphysical world. The thing he loves to explore most though is manifesting with the law of attraction ✨.