A bird in the house is an omen of death

Since birds can easily move between earth and sky, humans have long viewed them as a link between the temporal and spiritual worlds. As a result, there are a number of superstitions that believe birds are omens of death.

This editorial illustration is based on the superstition that if a bird flies into a home through a door or a window, and possibly even lands on the back of a chair it is a sign of an upcoming death for someone in the household.

Since the house is more oriental in structure, I chose to keep the bird white. In China, Korea, and some other Asian countries, white (or more precisely, the whitish color of natural linen) is the color of mourning and funerals. However, there is also reference to Western cultural thought with the dark grey and black house and dark shadows. In Europe and America, black is the color most commonly associated with death, mourning and bereavement.

This illustration is in ink, watercolour, and digital layering.

A bird in the house is an omen of death (superstition) ~~ © Patricia Pinsk.

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