Owls in ancient cultures
A nocturnal bird of prey,
these birds are related to the goat sucker and gaucharo. They are found nearly
everywhere in the world. Owls have hooked beaks and curved talons. They range
in size from about five inches to over two feet. They have a variety of color
combinations, such as black, white, gray, brown, buff, and reddish. Their eyes
are quite large for seeing in the dark, and their face is surrounded by a disk
of feathers. Their calls vary from cackling to low-pitched hooting.
Since ancient times, the owl has been associated with wisdom, deep learning,
and the Underworld deities. Later, it came to be connected with black magick.
It is a bird of prey and a night hunter. The owl is a powerful, noiseless flyer
with good hearing and sight.
The owl is armed with vicious talons and a beak for protection and hunting. It
is also so alert to its surroundings that it appears to turn its head
completely around when watching something.
The owl was early on a creature of the Great Goddess. It was often combined with
the goddess figure to make an owl-woman in early matriarchal cultures such as
Le Tene. Stelae, figurines, and amulets belonging to the Megalithic era of
France, Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain show a goddess iwth great staring
eyes; this figure has come to be referred to as the Eye-Goddess.
In Peru and Ecuador, the
owl image deccorated spindle whorls along with a birth-giving goddess. In Crete, during the third millennia B.C.E., jug-vases
shaped like a winged owl with female breasts were a ritual vessel; the breasts
were perforated for pouring.
Originally, such Middle Eastern goddesses as Mari, Lilith, and Anath were
closely connected with owls. A Sumerian relief of the goddess Lilith shows her
naked except for a horned tiara; she has owl-clawed feet and is accompanied by
owls. The Hebrew translation of this goddess's name is "screech owl".
As the patriarchies gained control, people began to believe the owl, and the
goddesses whith which it was associated, was an ill-omenened bird whose form
could be taken by an evil spirit. Babylonians said that hooting owls were the
souls of dead mothers crying for their children. This gradually changed into
the owl being an evil spirit which prowled the night and carried children off.
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, the owl signifies death, night, the black Sun in the
Otherworlds.
There are differences of opinion as to whether the Chinese and Japanese
considered this bird to symbolize evil and death. The Ainu of Japan, howeer,
did call this bird "beloved deity".
Athene/Minerva had an olw as her sacred familiar; its image was cast on coins
to represent the city of Athens.
Homer writes that Pallas Athene was sometimes portrayed with an owl-face. The
Etruscan god of night and darkness was associated with the owl and death; the
Romans adopted this view of the bird, saying that it was prophetic but its
hooting prophesied death and misfortune. In Latin, the owl was called strix
(pl. striges), a word which later changed into the Italian word strega for
witch.
To the Celts, in general, this bird was a sacred magickal creature, sometimes
called the Night Hag and the Corpse Bird. It symbolized Underworld deities,
such as the Welsh god Gwynn ap Nudd, and the Welsh Mood goddess Blodeuwedd.
The messengers of the Hindu death god Yama were usually two dogs, but
occasionally he would send an owl as his messenger.
The Scottish Gaelic word cailleach means "owl"; this word connects it
with the goddess Cailleach, who was a deity of death. The owl is identified
with many Crone or Underworld goddesses in Europe
and the Mediterranean area. During the Middle Ages, the owl became known as the
Night Hag.
This bird was called the Night Eagle by Native Americans. Most of them believed
the owl was a bird of sorcerers. However, the Cherokees held sacred both the
owl and cougar for their ability to see in the dark. they said the owl brought
messages at night through dreams. This creature was Chief of the Night to the
Pawnees, who said it gave protection.
Superstitions: Many cultures believe that to see an owl is unlucky, while
others consider this bird to be a messenger and guide, particularly in
spiritual affairs. Supposedly owls see in total darkness; the turth is they
must have some light just as cats do. They are not blind during the day. If you
look into an owl's nest, you will be unhappy the rest of your life. In Wales they say
that if an owl hoots around houses, an unmarried girl has lost her virginity.
In France,
if a pregnant woman hears an owl, the child will be a girl.
Magickal Attributes: Silent and swift movement; keen sight into obscure events;
unmaksing those who would deceive you. In meditation, often a guide to and from
the Underworld. Wisdom, magick, darkness, freedom. Dreams, shape-shifting.
Clairvoyance, astral projection, magick. A messenger of hidden truth, secrets,
and omens. Moon magick. Wisdom to make positive changes.
Most cultures with an
esoteric background honor the owl as a revered (and sometimes feared) sign. The
owl was feared because it was the sign of darkness and the unknown. Since the
beginning of time, humanity has been afraid of the dark, and the owl has always
been associated with the unknown dark dimensions. An Australian Aborigine elder
explained to me that men were afraid of the owl because it was a woman's totem and
it represented the darkness of the unknown.
Owls were also thought to be associated with death as well as rebirth. Some
Native American tribes thought that owls housed the spirits of the dead. In
Egyptian hieroglyphs, the owl symbolized death, night, cold, and passivity.
When one aspect of you dies, there is the opportunity for new growth in another
area of your life. It is a universal law. The owl sign represents death and
rebirth within your life.
The owl is also the symbol of ancient wisdom from the inner realms. For within
the darkness are dreams, visions, and mystic insights. Athena, the Greek
goddess of wisdom, was depicted as having an owl on her shoulder that revealed
inner truths to her. Merlin, the old Celtic magician who helped the legendary King
Arthur, used an owl to gain entrance into the unseen dimensions. The owl sees
in the darkness what others cannot see. If this sign appears for you, you are
being given the gift of being able to see and perceive the truth. You will gain
the ability to see clearly where things may seem dark. Your insights will be
keen, and the transformations around you will be profound.
In ancient China, where
owl sacrifices were often held, ornaments called "owl corners" were
placed on buildings to protect them from fire. In Persia, the owl is spoken of as
"the angel of death." In Israel, however, little gray owls
are considered good omens when they appear near crops. In Athens, the little owl was associated with
the goddess Athena, who ruled the night. Due to its commonality and
friendliness, it became an emblem of the city. A common Athenian saying
indicating victory: "There goes an owl."
The tradition of hanging up owls in order to deflect storms is an ancient one.
Likewise, owls hung up with wings outspread were said to avert hail and
lightning. An owl placed over a child's cot was used to frighten away evil
spirits by tribesmen in northern Asia, and
sleep can be induced by placing owl feathers under the pillow of a restless
child, says an East Indian tradition.
In Great Britain,
the owl was held ominous. Chaucer speaks of it as a bringer of death.
Shakespear, in Julius Caesar (Act 1, Scene 3), lists it among other evil omens.
Owls were commonly associated with sorcery among African tribes. In Madagascar, the
souls of sorcerers were called "owls". In Nigeria the Yoruba tribe believe
wizards send owls to kill people as their emissaries.
Owls in Native Indians tradition
Among many tribes, the owl is to be both feared and embraced. Traditionally,
many tribes believed, (and some individuals still hold these beliefs), that
certain medicine people (both male and female) could be drawn to that part of
spiritual power that would do harm to other people. Some tribes called them
“witches” or the equivalent of a witch in their particular language. These
“witches” or medicine people that practiced “bad medicine” were believed to
have the ability to shape-shift or transform themselves into an animal or bird.
Many of these witches, it was believed, would change into the form of an owl so
that they could fly silently through the night to cast spells on people while
they were asleep and vulnerable to spiritual forces, or at the very least, spy
on people and learn their weaknesses.
Because the average tribal member did not have the knowledge to distinguish a
real owl from one that was actually a witch that had shape-shifted into the
form of an owl, all owls were avoided in general for safety sake. It was
believed that only the holy people, or medicine men, had the special knowledge
to tell them apart.
Holy men or holy women among many tribes frequently sought out the spiritual
help from real owls in their healing practices. The holy people believed that
the owl had very soft and gentle ways, similar to the softness of an owl’s
feather, and these ways were taught to them in the healing ways. Therefore,
whenever owl feathers were worn by an individual, it often meant that they were
a medicine person with healing abilities.
Among many tribes, TWO of the owls with tufts on their heads, the Great Horned
Owl and the Screech Owl, are often seen as the most uncanny and most dangerous
of owls. In fact, some tribes believe that individual examples of these owls
may not even be real birds at all, but instead are actually transformed witches
as described above, or as in some other tribes, the unquiet spirits of the dead.
There are a number of reasons why these TWO OWLS, the Great Horned Owl and the
Screech Owl, might be seen as particularly powerful. First, they have tufts or
horns on their heads, and horns are often signs of spiritually powerful beings
for many tribes. Horned water serpents are just one example, which are seen as
chief of the underworld powers by many tribes. So the tufts or horns on these
owls likely connect them to underworld powers.
Second, like most owls, Great Horned Owls and Screech Owls are active mainly at
night, locating their prey in the darkness, flying on noiseless wings, and
communicating with other owls through their weird sounding hoots, unlike most
other birds, which are active in the day. Because many tribes associate night
with death and the underworld, it is no surprise that some tribes often
associate nocturnal owls with death and the underworld as well.
Finally, specific characteristics of these two owls make them stand out from
other owls. Great Horned Owls are one of the largest owls, and can take much
larger prey than other owls, such as opossums and skunks, instead of the usual
mice or voles, for instance. The calls of Great Horned Owls can also be
especially disturbing to some. Occasionally it utters sounds resembling the
half-choking cries of a person nearly strangled, and it is sometimes attracted
by a campfire and will fly over it, shrieking as is goes.
Screech Owls, although much smaller than Great Horned Owls, also have ample
claims to their weird behavior. First, they come in two color phases, red and
gray, and of course red is often seen as a spiritually powerful color among
many tribes. They also utter disturbing cries at night, which have been
described by some as screeching and by others as wails. Small wonder then, that
many of the positive traits of owls are seen to belong to more normal-seeming
species, such as the Barred Owl of the woodlands, also known as the Hoot Owl,
as well as the Short-Eared Owl or Burrowing Owl of the Plains.
Both the Otoe and the Ioway had a Hoot Owl Clan for instance, and the Ioway
name for that clan, Mankoke, is the same as the Ioway word for the Barred Owl.
The Ponca once had an owl sub-clan and the Osage also are said to have had an
Owl People or Wapunka Inihkacina although I’m not sure if it was a clan, or a
sub-clan.
Among the Cheyenne,
contemporary members of the tribe only considered one kind of owl to be a bird,
the Short-Eared Owl, which they know as the “snake-eating owl,” an important
source of medicine power for doctors or healers. All other owls the Cheyenne class as mista,
or “spirits of the night.” Even the Cheyenne Contraries or Hohnuhke in the
buffalo days wore the feathers of the “little prairie owl” in their
headdresses, but not the feathers of the Great Horned Owl or the Screech Owl.
Among the Hidatsa, it is said that a particular warrior had a guardian spirit
in the form of a Burrowing Owl or Prairie Dog Owl, which was said to have
protected him from being shot.
Warriors often sought to draw upon owl powers. For instance, Cheyenne warriors attached owl feathers to
their shields, or wore them on their arms, to impart the owl’s special powers,
such as the ability to see in the dark and move silently and unnoticed.
In a similar way, Creek warriors carried owl feathers so that they would have
extraordinary night vision in battle. Among the Cherokee, one of four scouts on
a war expedition, whose tasks it was to locate the enemy, wore an owl skin and
imitated the owl’s cry. The Cherokee also observed Screech Owls closely while
they were out looking for the enemy, because these owls were said to be able to
foretell victory or defeat in battle.
Members of many of the warrior societies of the plains tribes, such as the
various dog soldier societies, also wore owl feathers or used them on their
ceremonial objects, such as the Arikara Young Dogs Society, and the Hidatsa Dog
Society. Several tribes had sacred owl bundles that they used while out looking
for the enemy, including the Ioway and the Fox tribes.
The owl’s predatory prowess was important to hunters also. The Pawnee have
several stories of owls who gave some of their power to individuals so that
they could become excellent hunters, with the ability to see at night.
Among the Hidatsa, a large Speckled Owl was said to be the chief of the spirits
controlling the game, and the bundle used in the Hidatsa Earth Naming Ceremony
To call for buffalo it contained the head, two wings, and two claws of a
Speckled Owl. The Monomania were also gifted with hunting power from the owls
known as the Spotted Fawn Medicine.
In many tribes, owls were seen as most closely allied with medicine men, rather
than warriors or hunters. Lakota Medicine Men or Peju’ta Wica’sa respect the
owl because it moves at night when people sleep, and the medicine men get their
power from dreams at night such as clear dreams like the owl’s sight. So many
Lakota medicine men wear owl feathers and promise never to harm the owl, or
else it is believed their powers will leave them.
Creek medicine men often carried an owl skin or feather as a symbol of their
calling. Ponca medicine men also used owl feathers in their healing ceremonies
and Ojibwa medicine men placed a stuffed owl near them while they were making
medicine, so that it could “see if they do it right.”
The Pawnee used an owl medicine, and among the Pawnee it is said that “the owl
is the leading medicine-man among the birds.”
In addition, owls were said by the Alabama,
the Caddo, the Cherokee, and the Lakota, to bring prophetic news, either of the
future or of events happening at a great distance, to the few medicine men who
could understand them.
The owl’s association with medicine men can also be bad news for ordinary
folks. If a medicine man used owl power on your behalf, great, but if the
medicine man of another tribe used his powers against you, then he could be an
evil witch or bad medicine man trying to steal your soul. Because witches or
bad medicine men were believed to be able to transform into owls, or to use
owls to send death or disease, you could never quite be sure if an owl you saw
was a real owl, a transformed witch, or an owl sent on a mission by a witch.
The owls most often believed to be shape shifted witches were, the Great Horned
or Screech Owls. So among the Cherokee, the same word, skili, was used to refer
to both witches and Great Horned Owls.
The Alabama,
Caddo, Catawba, Choctaw and Monomania also associated Great Horned Owls or
Screech Owls or both with witches, and the Wisconsin Ojibway also link witches
and owls. Small wonder, then, that among many tribes, seeing or hearing an owl
is believed to be a bad omen, often signaling serious illness or death to come,
especially when a night owl is seen during the day, or an owl is found hanging
about the home or village instead of the woods.
It is their connections with death, the afterlife, and rebirth that truly mark
owls as a force to be reckoned with for most tribes. First, owls are either
considered to be embodied spirits of the dead or associated with such spirits,
by a very wide range of tribes, including the Lakota, Omaha,
Cheyenne, Fox,
Ojibway, Menominee, Cherokee and Creek. Several of these tribes also have
stories of an owl being that stands at a fork in the road in the sky, or the
milky way, that leads to the land of the dead, letting some souls pass, but
condemning others to roam the earth as ghosts forever.
The Fox tribe also speak of a soul-bridge that leads to the land of the dead.
They say that there are two paths at the soul-bridge, one is red and one is
gray. The red path is followed by men, the gray by women. It has been suggested
that this is in reference to the two color phases of the Screech Owl, which are
also red and gray.
However, owls were not just connected with death and the afterlife, but also
with rebirth through the Calumet Ceremony. Owl feathers encircle the stems of
the calumet pipes used for adoption ceremonies among the Omaha,
Osage, Kansas,
Ioway and Pawnee. It is said that these owl feathers symbolized deer lungs, and
together with the stem of the calumet, which represented a windpipe, they were
used symbolically to blow life back into the person being adopted in the
Calumet Ceremony.
Bibliography
Denise Linn- The Secret
Language of Signs
Mary Summer Rain - On Dreams
D.J. Conway - Animal Magick
Lady Stearn Robinson &
Tom Gorbett - The Dreamer's Dictionary
Barbara G. Walker - The
Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets
Zolar - Encyclopedia of
Signs, Omens, and Superstitions
Boby Lake-Thom - Spirits of
the Earth
