In the last week or so, I have had almost a daily awareness of Owls, through videos, random memories that I have shared with some friends, a reading based on an Owl spread and today, through several other occurrences.
I saw some videos on social media of owls being cute (in my opinion, when are they not?) then I was talking with a friend and we somehow got onto the subject of a certain teenage wizard who's friend had a family owl who would regularly go head-first into windows and bowls of things. I told her about an experience I had as a child where I visited an aviary that had an owl section. In one of the enclosures was a group of Great Grey Owls (Errol's particular breed) and one of them displayed the same behaviour as Errol showed in the film. When I spoke with a member of staff, they told me that this breed of owl does actually have a tendency to go headfirst into things, as exemplified by this one owl within the enclosure who, I kid you not, would not stop headbutting the planks of wood at the bottom of the wire front. My friend had not known this and learned something new from me that day and even said that it made her day to have learned that from me. (I don't know how I managed to pull this from my memory as this owl experience was back in the early 2000s and I sometimes have trouble remembering things.)
My second Owl encounter was on Friday evening when I participated in a Divination Workshop that was run by Emily at Wise Woman Witchery as part of her Diving Deeper membership. This particular workshop focused on spreads used for readings and one of her examples was an owl. The spread was based on the owl in flight with the wings outstretched as 4 cards (2 per wing), the beak (1 card) and the eyes (1 card each). The reading I received was amazing and highlighted that I can get in the way of my own success and that I need to be creative in order to work things out. But that's not the only time I encountered an owl on Friday as the card titled "The Enchanter" in the Enchanted Forest tarot deck by Lunaea Weatherstone popped up with the owl in it's top left corner. Also, the backs of this deck have owls on them so I was working with owls the whole evening.
My next encounter with the Owl came the very next day when I pulled The Enchanter during the Once Upon A Time Tarot Story workshop that I wrote about in my last post. Then, I had an owl in a picture on a Paint by Numbers app on my phone that I use to help me to calm and relax before sleeping. It was like Spirit was trying to give me a message that I wasn't seeing or understanding and this was mirrored in a reading I received from a friend who had no idea of any of this.
I am trying to form a habit of pulling a card for daily guidance and Friday's card came from the Druid Animal Oracle Deck, curated by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm. It "happened" to be the Owl in an upright position. From the accompanying guidebook, this is the guidance for me:
"Cailleach-oidhche [pronounced Kal-yach oiche] teaches us the wisdom of turning a disadvantage into an advantage. For most birds, the coming of darkness renders it impossible for them to feed, but the owl's exceptional hearing enables it to pick out and swoop on unsuspecting prey during the night. Twilight has been described as owl light, and going for a quiet walk in the woods at this shimmering time of twilight is an excellent way to develop a sensibility to the Otherworld and the inner soul of Nature. You may feel drawn to a study of esoteric lore or clairvoyancy. Working with the owl as your ally will help you to do this."
In my area, my local authority has planted some young Field Maple trees and I looked into their magickal associations because my curiosity was piqued. I discovered that it is a tree native to Britain (always good for a native plant to be found locally). It holds both masculine and feminine energies, is associated with the zodiac signs of Libra and Virgo (my Rising sign or Ascendant), the elements of Water and Spirit, and the planets of Jupiter and the Moon. There is only one animal or bird that is sacred to this tree and that is, of course, the Great Horned Owl! Now, the Great Horned Owl is not a native of Britain as it is found in the Americas, believed to be the most widely distributed true owl there. The Field Maple's wood can be used for wands that are best suited to spiritual healing. The wood also enhances the acquiring of knowledge (I do believe that my curiosity and researching has increased in the last week or so), intellectual pursuits and communication. If I wanted to use it in spells - not while the trees are still so young though as they still have "cages" to protect their trunks until they are fully established - I could use it to reveal options that are hidden in plain sight and to help me (and/or others) to make sound choices instead of relying on pure luck all the time.
So because of these "coincidences", I decided to look into the symbolism of the Owl and discovered a whole host of new things. To the Celtic peoples, it was seen as a warrior and guardian of honour. The wisdom of the Owl Warrior gave it the right to knowledge of the path of the Otherworld. It represents a fierce defender of honour and truth so Owls naturally have zero tolerance for deception. It is seen as the perfect messenger at every hour of the day and night between this world and the Otherworld, and this was part of the reason why they knew the way to the Otherworld.
Regardless of what form the Owl takes when it visits, the message they bring is to let go of the past or some other negativity. The Owl can act as a warning to beware of deceit or deception around you. The can also act as a message that the unconscious mind is trying to get the attention of our conscious thoughts and actions. The Owl could also be showing that there is an inner realisation of how your thoughts and actions are counterproductive. The Owl is a very spiritual bird that brings an awareness as well as warning messages.
The Owl is a well-known symbol of the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, Athena. Within the Egyptian beliefs, it was the guardian of sacred occult knowledge. To the Chinese, it's fierceness was intertwined with the immortality of the Phoenix. To the Hindus and Romans, it was a symbol of wisdom and transitional significance.
There is a lot of talk regarding the cultural appropriation of the phrase "spirit animal" as it is a concept from Native American and other indigenous traditions around the world. As a result of this, I will use the phrase of "spirit guide" to describe and honour my relationship and experiences with the Owl from the last week and a half.
As a guide, the Owl brings quite a number of possible messages because of its association with wisdom, knowledge, time, transition, death, renewal, moon magick, initiations and darkness. Darkness doesn't just mean the literal darkness of the night when its sight becomes strongest, but also the dark shadows we all carry within ourselves. One of the Owl's messages is to look deep within and be true to our own intentions. The Owl teaches lessons of clarity and deception, like how to spot it and avoid it, as well as how to be true to our own selves and root out self-deception from within. Because of how observant the Owl is to its surroundings, it can also encourage us to be more observant, calm, majestic and calculated, which is exactly how the Owl is in the wild. The Owl appears slow at first, sitting in a high place to observe everything that happens around it and this is what it advises us to do, even in the case of the past, present and future.
The Owl can also be advising us to see through all negativity and fear. It can also be saying that rather than thinking about avoiding or escaping a situation, the situation itself should be viewed as individual pieces of information that can be learned from. Having a level-headed and logical approach to anything that causes intense fear can help you to address the issue more calmly and would also see you come out much stronger. The Owl can also grant the knowledge of hidden realms and the ability to travel the darkness of night without any fear. The Owl does not like dishonesty, therefore it will help to support when it comes to confrontation and honesty within the self when the time for truth comes, because when you are true to your Self, there is nothing that can stop you.
I believe in this instance, the Owl has come to me as a guide to allow me to truly look at the past, the present and the future with objectivity in regard to being true to myself and allowing my own truth to shine in the face of the expectations and desires that were placed on me by others. I have maintained for the last couple of years that I will not live up to the expectations of others as they typically do not align with what I myself desire within my life. Therein lies my desire to be true to my own Self, my own Soul and not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
While the Owl is typically associated with Athena, the Greek goddess of Wisdom, I actually associate the Owl with the goddess Diana. I'm not entirely sure why but it could be because the Owl is a very capable hunter while Diana is goddess of the Hunt and all wild animals, so they are technically connected through their hunting. The Field Maple is not the sacred tree of Diana - that honour belongs to the Cypress. However, there is a connection between Diana and the Field Maple through their planetary associations: Diana is a goddess of the Moon and the Moon is associated with the Field Maple, so I could use sprigs from an adult Field Maple for healing spells. Healing is a correspondence for the goddess Diana, the Field Maple and the Owl so it looks like I'll be doing some personal healing work in the coming days and weeks.
I hope this insight into my recent occurrences inspires you to live up to your own expectations and desires rather than those of others so that you can heal yourself. Be true to yourself for that is the only way you can find happiness, peace and healing within yourself.
Peace and love to all!!
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