Ngaio - Myoporum laetum
- Amy McComb
- Dec 10, 2025
- 3 min read
Ngaio is a plant, a small tree that grows by the ocean in New Zealand Aotearoa. The tree began flowering in many parts of the country a couple of months ago. She comes to life during the summer months.
Ngaio is very connected with the Goddesses of the ocean, having a deep love for the sea and most often growing in coastal areas.Ngaio is also deeply connected to the Bird Goddesses (manu wahine atua) and all that they symbolise, remind us of, and how they instruct us to live as people. Bird Goddesses remind us to prioritise ourselves, and to re-member the sacredness of our atua, our spirit. They remind us of our intrinsic connection to all-that-is and our value and sacred worth beyond our mortality, in the spiritual realms. Goddesses associated with birds remind us of our psychic abilities, helping us to develop our spiritual aspects and foster our conscious awareness, especially around deeper connection with ourselves and Great Spirit.Ngaio has an intrinsic strength and wisdom that is seen in Goddesses such as Isis, and a mind-blowing beauty seen in Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite.
The Egyptian Isis was considered to be a bird goddess – she is often depicted with wide-open wings. In early Egypt, Isis and her sister Nephthys were either shown as birds or as women-headed kestrels or kites. Hera and Athena are both closely associated with birds as well. The peacock was a sacred bird to Hera, who was known as the queen of the gods and patroness of women, marriage, and childbirth. Athena, goddess of wisdom and protection, and confrontation/war, is associated with a little owl (Athene noctua), a bird symbolising sharpness, knowledge, and an ability to ‘see through the dark’.
Other depictions
The peacock is known worldwide as the Queen of the Birds.
The New Zealand equivalent is thought to be the Huia bird, now considered extinct. The Huia, with a distinctive bill shape and beauty, has a special place in Māori oral tradition and culture.
Huia are regarded as tapu (sacred) and the feathers only to be worn by people of high standing. Maori have much to say of the Bird People. Kurangaituku is a part-woman part-bird supernatural being in Maori mythology as told by the iwi (tribes) of Te Arawa and Raukawa. She has glowing blue eyes and a beak-like nose, and scowls intensely. She is adorned with intricate tā moko tattoos, and her face is framed by tūī-coloured feathers.Birds, and manu wahine atua / bird goddesses, bring much medicine, wisdom, and nourishment to assist our growth and learning.We are grateful for these beautiful, colourful ancestors and friends that fly about in the sky and remind us of our sacred pathways, and how to live well with one another.
With specific respect to the tree. Ngaio reminds us of our natural ‘flight patterns’, to follow our true callings and our inner knowing.
Ngaio speaks of empowering and honouring the self, loving oneself for who you are, finding one’s voice back, speaking from the heart, not taking others’ responses personally, standing in one’s power and centre with truth, helps singers in particular, and comes from the luminous space in between rebellion and revolution.Ngaio helps us to embrace and understand ‘the power of saying no’, uphold good values of self-honesty and purity and loyalty and presence with the self, hold on to that sacred space for oneself, not carry the energy of others, and empowers us to move forward.
She calls to us to not compromise ourselves as women, and to value our true self-worth on all the levels.
This article has been supplied by Amy McComb. All content is the opinion and copyright of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of DrumRoll Promotions Ltd. Always ensure you know the correct dosage and recognise specifically which plants are safe for ingestion or application. If you have any questions regarding this article you may wish to contact the author direct or consult a professional.
