The Albatross symbolizes the sailors' one chance at deliverance from icy death and the Mariner destroys all chances of salvation when he kills it. At the beginning of the voyage the Mariner's ship sails with fair breezes and perfect weather conditions and everything is moving along smoothly. The poem and the weather suddenly take a drastic turn and the ship is being driven by stormy winds towards the South Pole. .
The Albatross at first brings a new life, hope and the fair breezes that calm the seamen. The gentle wind suddenly stops after the Mariner shoots down the Albatross with his crossbow and a hellish atmosphere takes its toll on him and his crew once again. When the Albatross is present the weather and sailing conditions are ideal, but after the Mariner kills the bird, everything takes a turn for the worse. .
Another example of the symbolic meaning of the Albatross is when the Mariner's shipmates hang the good omen from his neck. The dead Albatross is a symbol of a holy cross and a representation of the Mariner's terrible offense. The killing of the Albatross is viewed as a sin and the guilt that the Mariner is now feeling for having put his crew in such awful sailing and living conditions. The crossbow acts as a strong representation of the cross of Christianity, just as the Albatross is, when the Mariner's crew hangs the dead bird from his neck. The significance of the Albatross throughout the poem gives the reader an idea that God is represented through nature, and shows us how a figure such as a seabird is a symbol of both luck and doom at the same time.(M Ali Notes).
Biblical Symbolism in "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"." Samuel Coleridge takes the broad ideas of Christian beliefs and relate them to nature in the form of earthly encounters and living animals. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"," takes numerous instances of religious imagery and illustrates them into aspects of nature and living things.