Winds of Change

"Wind's in the east, mist coming in.
Like somethin' is brewin' and 'bout to begin.
Can't put me finger on what lies in store,
but I feel what's to happen. It's all happened before."

— Bert , Mary Poppins

Wind is abundant in our world. And necessary. From the earliest days of sea farers, wind has been essential for travel, and good sailors knew to watch for a change in the wind.

And writers love to turn anything they can get their hands on into symbolism.

In fiction, a change in the wind or a sudden breeze indicates a change in the direction of the story.

May overlap with A Storm Is Coming and Dramatic Wind. A subtrope to Rule of Symbolism.

Not to be confused with Winds of Destiny, Change!, a completely unrelated trope.

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Examples

Anime & Manga

• Chihayafuru: In episode 22, Chihaya is winning against the former queen, Yumi Yamamoto. But then Yumi's coach opens the window, causing a breeze to enter the room, literally giving Yumi a second wind, and she decides to resort to her previous style of Karuta, disputing every close call to demoralize her opponent.
• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: The sudden absence of wind in the valley is a portent of danger.

Films — Animated

• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: Flint began to notice an unusual gust of wind full of salt and pepper. The next thing he noticed was a spaghetti tornado forming and wreaking havoc in Chew and Shallow.
• The Lion King (1994): After Simba is visited by his father's spirit, a large gust of wind blows over the plain, signaling Simba's newfound resolve to return home and take his rightful place as king.
  Rafiki: What was that?! [laughs] The weather, hah! Very peculiar, don't you think?
  Simba: Yeah... Looks like the winds are changing.
  Rafiki: Ah, change is good.
  Simba: Yeah, but it's not easy.
• Monsters, Inc.: Randall alludes to this trope when discussing his and Sullivan's Scare Floor scores, and how he will replace Sully as the number 1 scarer.

Films — Live-Action

• Ghostbusters II: Ray, Egon, and Peter glumly wait as they're handed their guilty verdict in court... until Ray notices the ectoplasmic slime sample bubbling in front of them, accompanied by an unnatural wind that visibly ruffles their hair. Moments later, the court admits two surprise witnesses: the murderous ghosts of the Scoleri brothers, forcing the Ghostbusters back into the business.
• The Haunting Hour: Cassie buys a book called "The Evil Thing" from a mysterious shop with a key to open it. She's about to open the book with the key, the wind started blowing just to let her know that change is coming.
• The Holiday: When Iris and Miles meet in Los Angeles, the wind blows something into Iris's eye and Miles offers to help her get it out, turning it into a Meet Cute moment. Miles references the legend of the Santa Ana Winds of Southern California, claiming that when the Santa Anas blow, anything can happen. Many of Iris and Miles's scenes after that are accompanied by said winds.
• It's a Wonderful Life: A heavy snowfall descends on Bedford Falls on the night that George Bailey wishes he had never been born. When his wish comes true, a huge gust of wind blows by, implied to be God's rage at having to make such a change to the timeline. The wind continues throughout the entire Pottersville segment and reaches a crescendo as George begs to have his life back, when suddenly, it abruptly stops, replaced by the heavy snowfall of before, signifying that George has learned his lesson and returned home.
• In Mary Poppins, the visual of a weathervane switching to the other direction is used a few times to indicate that a new phase of the Banks' lives has begun. In particular the arrival of our heroine and the epiphany of Mr. Banks.
• Superman II: Unbeknownst to the world, Superman has been Brought Down to Normal, as three Kryptonian criminals wreak havoc around the world. Under the suggestion of Lex Luthor, they've gone to The Daily Planet to kidnap Lois Lane. Then, there is a gust of wind and a newspaper vendor is trying to hold his wares in place as the citizens of Metropolis all look up to see that Superman has returned.
• Twister: A sudden gust spinning all of the weather vanes signifies the arrival of a tornado in Jo's hometown. The aftermath convinces Jo to steel her resolve and see her project through, to launch Dorothy and see if they can learn more about a tornado's dynamics.

Literature

• In A Certain Magical Index and its spinoff manga A Certain Scientific Railgun, the "Sisters" arc in both series has the wind turbines in Academy City suddenly shift directions, a sign that the clones of Mikoto Misaka have decided to aid her, and are shifting the air currents to disrupt Accelerator's calculations, making his attack dissipate.
• Justified in Eragon, where the opening lines of the books quite deliberately mention that winds carried a scent that changed the world. Namely, to the force of Urgals serving the shade Durza, it carried the scents of a trio of elves making their way through the woods, which they were planning to ambush, and said ambush is what sets the events of the Inheritance Cycle into motion.
• The Lord of the Rings is full of references to winds and changes in the wind. Of particular significance is the slow build-up of a wind from the south that heralds (and contributes to) the defeat of Sauron's forces in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
• The Magic Tree House: Every time the kids travel somewhere in the titular tree house, it feels to them like a strong wind is blowing and that the tree house is spinning wildly. When this stops, they find themselves in a new time and place (usually a place they picked from the tree house's infinite supply of books).
• The Wheel of Time: Every book opens with a description of a wind passing over some new development in the end of the Third Age, starting with the events that set The Chosen One on his path. The final book also ends with a wind blowing out over the first day of the Fourth Age.
  The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

Live Action TV

• Black Sails: In season 3, the Walrus is becalmed in the Sargasso Sea after the crew sails through a storm to escape pirate hunters. With rations running low, Flint and Silver go off in a lifeboat to retrieve food. During this undertaking, Silver reveals how he stole the Urca gold through deception, earning him Flint's respect. The wind starts blowing again soon after they return to the ship with shark meat, indicating the significance of Flint and Silver's newly-solidified partnership. They end up sailing to the uncharted island inhabited by their eventual allies, the Maroons.
• Doctor Who: "The Curse of the Black Spot". Avery's ship has been becalmed and stuck for days. A sudden wind tells them that the situation is about to change. Rory is knocked overboard, and Amy, The Doctor, and Avery decide to unleash The Siren in an effort to save him and then stick themselves to learn the truth of what's going on.
• La rosa de Guadalupe: In every episode, an Ethereal Choir will play and a light breeze will blow on the protagonist's face as the problem they've been facing is miraculously solved.

Video Games

• Ghost of Tsushima uses the blowing wind as a game mechanic to subtly point the player in the direction of major story events.

Western Animation

• Gravity Falls: Right before Dipper finds the Journal, wind is shown blowing through the trees. Wind also tends to signify that something strange or plot-significant about to happen.
• Halloween Is Grinch Night: All the Whos down in Whoville notice a change in the wind when the Sour-Sweet Wind begins to blow. The wind makes the local animals go crazy and starts angering the Grinch, thus starting off Grinch Night.
• In Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling, "The Winds of Change" is a literal character in the special, being an anthropomorphic cloud who appears to educate Mr. Bighead and Rocko about the necessity of change.

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