Parrot

In certain Arabic tales, the parrot serves as a guide, a Mercurius figure—typically a helper but simultaneously ambiguous; in other words, something of a trickster.

The parrot’s famous ability to repeat what others say without understanding the meaning of the words makes it a symbol of unconsciously mimicking others’ views and ways of being.

On the other hand, the parrot’s mimicry can be experienced as uncanny and unexpectedly “human,” and it has therefore also symbolized the unknown “other.”

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