THE PHOENIX is a sacred bird of great beauty, as large as an eagle, yet unique, with feathers of crimson and gold and purple, a long, sweeping tail and jeweled eyes.  Stories of the mythical bird have appeared and reappeared through the centuries, the details of its death and rebirth taking on different forms from one account to another.  But from its ancient beginnings, the phoenix has always been likened to the sun, ending its day in a crimson fireball and rising golden the following morning.     
     In the most common of these tales, the rare bird is fabled to live five hundred years in a garden of splendid flowers and crystal springs.  As its wings become heavy with age, it builds a nest of spices and herbs high in a date palm, where the heat of the sun sets the twigs afire.  With wings outspread, the old phoenix is consumed in the flames.  From these ashes, a young phoenix rises with the dawn to welcome a new life.  The cycle of death and rebirth is repeated through all eternity.  Most revered of mythical birds, the phoenix is a symbol of resurrection and renewal of the human spirit, of rebirth after defeat or desolation.
     The phoenix has also been used to describe a person of matchless beauty and goodness.

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