What do you think a peacock represents?
I would say it represents the charm of the superfluous.
The peacock acts according to instinct. But the instinct was given by God.
God gave it that beautiful tail, the instinct to unfold it, fan it out, and to walk showing it off. Everything takes place by the pure Will of God.
When a peacock fans out its tail you see color, an intermingling of color, dazzlingly rich, yet pleasing, orderly and attractive. You feel a bit taken aback, in the sense that it is so, so beautiful, that your capacity to appreciate beauty is assaulted and somewhat humbled.
In a second phase, after having absorbed the general aspect, you begin to see the details. You are taken by another impression, which, ultimately, is the first impression made more explicit.
One sees semicircles made by the different colored plumes, with something silken about them, something of the sheen of silk or the glistening of crystal or precious stones.
To understand the peacock, you need to imagine a precious stone with silken qualities, or silk with the qualities of a precious stone.
Suddenly, the peacock closes its tail and tranquilly walks away. He drags his tail made up of "precious stones" behind him ... his tail is so superior that nothing of the ground, not the least dirt, clings to it.
Then you see the peacock's breast.
It is an interplay of blue-green, radiant with beauty, and with the distinction of a noble lady.
It turns its head to the rear and draws it back a bit. It looks down from above, as if saying: "Reality, how dare you draw so near to my gaze! Move back. I can see you just as well from a distance!"
The peacock sports a panache of feathers, which is in no way necessary to its beauty. The panache has the charm of the superfluous.
You may see the peacock often, until it becomes banal. When it becomes banal, it has become a part of you, as if encrusted on your soul. Because it is proper of admiration to be acquisitive.
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