Owl Be Blessed

Sunday, April 9, 2017

I think this stuff happens all the time. 

Spiritual activity. 

We have to be somewhat broken-down to notice. Slowed in action and thought. So mentally fogged-up that a sudden noise attracts immediate attention. 

Walking through the coulees at the ranch I heard the close by hoot of an owl. 

I’ve never seen an owl, except at the zoo—and that doesn’t count because as soon as the owl turned its eyes on me, I screamed and ran pell-mell through the enclosure leaving my brave animal-loving four-year-old Laurèn behind. 

It had rained overnight. I slopped and slid down the path through the trees, my two dogs bounding alongside. With the owl’s call, the hair on the back of my neck pricked and I stopped, sinking into the mud-slop stew. In my peripheral vision large wings flapped between the trees. I strained my neck, but I couldn’t tell what it was. It landed in a tree, some twenty feet in front of me. I stared, in complete amazement.

Large, dark eyes seemingly carved into a tawny white mask stared back at me…unmoving. Freaky. I pulled out my phone to try and take a picture. The trunks of the naked trees provided camouflage enough, and I could see no owl on my phone screen. I looked up, searching; her head swivelled; she spread her massive wings and lifted off. She flew an arc that passed just beside me. Time held me captive to only her. 

She was massive. Her wings, a greyish-brown, angled in the middle as if hinged. Her face, soft but intense. Her eyes like the centre of a wheel, the strands of which had been combed out and away. 

Somehow I had managed to take one picture without moving my eyes from her. 

When she had gone past and landed in the distance, I checked my phone. I saw only the ruler-straight lines of the birch trees. Damn. I looked over my shoulder as if maybe she’d be hovering for a photo op. I glanced back at my phone; a feathery lightness in the middle of the screen caught my eye; I expanded the photo. Oh. My. God. There she was—her wings a shimmering contrast against the dark branches, and her body moving in one direction while her face swivelled toward me. 

I continued walking slowly—affected by the owl fly-by and also the slippery conditions. Holy cow! What does it mean? An owl! I love her.  

And then suddenly I heard the sound of a high-pitched human-sounding voice behind me. “Hell-Oh,” it said. Being somewhat skittish, I jumped clear off the path and stumbled. I regained my footing as the owl flew overtop of me. Once was magic, but the second time with the eerie human-like “voice” scared me a bit and I hustled out of the woods and into the pasture, where I sat on a log to reflect. 

Two nights prior I had done a guided meditation and visualization. The mediation was on healing. I entered a healing temple and sat down by an altar of my imagining. A luminescent healer sat down beside me—she had the physical and soulful likeness of my good friend Faye. Among other things, the luminescent being gave me two gifts. The first was a twig with leaves on it. A branch extended, I thought. The second was a shawl, folded and placed on the table before me. Arms to comfort me during this painful time. Yes.

I looked back toward the woods where surely the owl was still watching. It felt like the visualization and the attention of the owl went together. They created more than a sum of experiences. I thought of the soft and ample shawl that had been my Grama’s, that we brought home with us after her funeral. Do those who have died support us in our struggles to live? The owl kept fluttering inside my skull. An owl’s wings—substantial, sturdy, and strong—create warmth, harbour protection, result in camouflage, and provide flight. Some people have reached out to me during this time, I have been reluctant to burden them with my feelings or troubles. Though the pain at times feels too much for me to carry, I hold it against me on piggy-back—behind, so no one can see.

Ancient mythology has much to say about the Owl; it has the dual symbolism of wisdom and darkness. It is fascinating to read about, and you will find any opinion that you are looking for, whether for good or evil. 

The Owl:

- is a harbinger of change

- is the seer of the whole truth

- connects to the wisdom of the soul, not the intellect

- protects, warning that evil / death / change approaches

- symbolizes death and renewal

- has wings of comfort and healing that spread to give solace to those who seek her

- signifies the Devil, powers of evil, bad news, and destruction

Owl Symbolism

Here’s what resonates for me. The owl showed up TO ME after months of personal suffering, deep emotional pain, and confusion around my own resilient spirit. I have never seen an owl in the wild before. This wasn’t a random thing—it was the middle of the day. Moreover, through visualization, prayer, and reflection, I created a balm for myself that not only resides within a physical object—my Grama’s shawl—but also in nature, the place I feel most at home. 

She is me.