Animal Symbolism—Owl

18 Aug Animal Symbolism—Owl

Owl is a lifelong animal totem of mine. She sits on my left side, the feminine and the intuitive side. I am very comfortable with Owl medicine, but some people are not. Owl can literally see in the dark and metaphorically speaking it can see in the dark, the kinds of places where people hide things, like the truth for instance.

Owl cannot be fooled, for it sees through deception, lies and whatever else may be hidden from you. Owl has wisdom because it can see what others cannot. Owl is also the medicine of witches and sorcerers, of both black and white magic. I do not condone or practice black magic; never did and never will for I do not believe that stealing energy from another will improve my life, but will in fact create just the opposite.

The Night Eagle (Owl) has visited me on quite a few occasions (I will share more tales in future posts), and for the most part she appeared as a reminder to use my intuition to perceive the truth in some situation. Owl has been a great teacher and friend to me and I am forever grateful for her timely guidance.

Most recently, Owl appeared while I was on a week long trip to California to see if I would be interested in living there. On the first night at my destination, I heard Owl hoot in the trees near the home where I stayed during the week. It was clear to me that I needed to see the truth of the situation that I would be getting into if I did decide to live in California, so I paid attention.

Later in the week, I visited the Vault Art Gallery and as I was leaving the owner gave me a postcard to take with me. I turned it over and a black and white photo of an Owl in the middle of a road stared at me; it was titled “Owl on Road.” I laughed out loud! And to top it all off, on the last night of my trip Owl hooted again. Needless to say, I came to realize after some time had passed that California was not the place for me. Owl had revealed the Truth.

By far, the most interesting Owl visitation that I experienced happened about ten years ago. At the time I belonged to a Dream Group, a Pipe Ceremony group and was very active in exploring my Spiritual Path, especially anything Native American.

My mother put me in touch with a man she met working at a gas station. He was a Seminole Indian from Florida living close by. And he was interested in meeting me. Boy oh boy, was I excited! I had wanted an Indian teacher so badly that I would do almost anything to have one. I thought my prayers were answered, so I drove to the gas station and met Walt, the Indian. And a two-week long lesson for me began.

Enter Owl.

That evening, driving home from the Casino’s a Great Horned Owl flew in front of the car. At the time, I thought it was a sign that I was on the right path with Walt. Right away, Walt told me that he wants to groom me to come visit his family and tribe in Florida but I need to be tested first. He also said that he was a Shaman and said if I pass these tests I would receive an Eagle feather.

So he taught me some of his language and tested my psychic abilities and he even gave me my spiritual name. After the first week I found that we disagreed on our beliefs about many things such as, religion, feminine power, and the meaning of Hawk. He felt that Hawks were a bad omen and I did not.

By the second week, I began to have some doubts about him and called my Pipe Ceremony leader to ask her opinion but she was not home at the time. I was on my own. Then one night I met him and he began to quiz me on some things and when I didn’t answer right, he yelled at me. I mean really yelled. I was shocked, surprised and completely taken aback. When I drove home I decided to end the relationship. In light of all that had happened I knew that this wasn’t good for me.

After I ended my relationship with Walt I went upstairs and sat on my bed to reflect and meditate on everything. I heard the clock chime eleven, and then I heard a Crow caw as it flew by my window. Owl flew by the window next and hooted soon after the Crow. And then I knew what Owl had meant to me the night that I drove home from the casinos. Walt was a deceiver in my path and Owl was teaching me the lesson of “just because someone points to the sun, does not mean they are the sun.”

I saw my Pipe Ceremony leader later that week and she asked me what had happened with the Seminole Indian, and when I told her the story she said I made the right decision to end the relationship. Shaman’s never talk about Eagle feathers, she said, and they don’t give them away either.

Lesson learned.

Photo by Sally Franklin Christie

Reconnect to the Incredible Power of Spirit Animals!

Learn how to meet your own Spirit Animal in Discover Your Spirit Animal by Shelley Shayner

BUY ON AMAZON