Most Pagans believed Owl imparted the ability to see through deception and bestowed psychic awareness. Others believed she was an omen of misfortune and death.
Owl has been thought of as mysterious mainly because she’s nocturnal, flies silently, has sharp eyesight and hearing and attacks her prey swiftly. Those who fear her have thoughts of her presaging doom. People who admire her think of insight and knowledge.
The Raptor
Owls, with the exception of the great grey owl, are nocturnal predators. Because their thick feathers have soft edges, flight is silent, allowing them to pounce on their prey without warning. These birds have the sharpest night vision of all animals. Their hearing is extremely keen.
These carnivores, closely related to hawks, are found on every continent except Antarctica. They have two styles of hunting. One is to perch on a branch of a tree, waiting for prey and, when spotted, suddenly striking. The other is flying near the ground to hunt for quarry.
Owls’ prey includes other birds, rodents, frogs, insects and fish. Large ones will also hunt foxes, weasels and fawns. These birds have no significant predators.
Celtic Tradition
Cailleach-oidhche, Owl, represents wisdom, stealth, initiation, change and detachment. She is associated with arcane lore, clairvoyance, seeking deeper knowledge and death as a new beginning. Owl is aware of her surroundings at all times, has great intuition and the courage to follow her instincts. She offers keen insight into obscure occurrences, a bringer of hidden truth, omens and secrets. She is the power animal of psychics.
The Celts believe Owl is a mysterious magickal, sacred animal associated with deities of the Underworld, a place of unpredictable change, and is a guide to and from this realm.
This raptor is associated with the Moon and the Crone aspect of the Goddess. Barn Owl is especially revered as the one who sees without sight and hears the unspoken.
AmerIndian Tradition
Owl’s keynote is deception because she is able to see truth through delusion. She is associated with clairvoyance and white magic. Her power is strongest in the night. She is called Night Eagle by some tribes and sits on the East of the Medicine Wheel, the site of illumination. The Pawnee believed she was a symbol of protection. Cherokees believed Owl and Cougar were sacred because of their ability to see in the dark and bringing messages in dreams.
The Oglala Sioux held Snowy Owl in high esteem. Warriors who excelled in battle wore a cap of this bird’s feathers in honor of their bravery. The Siouan Owl Lodge believed the forces of nature bestowed keener vision upon those who wore owl feathers.
Other tribes feared Owl and called her feathers deceivers, associating this bird with sorcery and dark magic. Ojibwas believed she was symbolic of death and evil. The Pueblos associated her with Skeleton Man, the god of death and fertility.
Apaches were frightened of owls because they believed these birds embodied spirits of their dead. There is historical proof. Apache scouts tracking Geronimo were terrified when one of the U.S. Cavalry soldiers had a Great Horned Owl with him on the search. They said that it was a bad omen. They couldn’t capture the renegade Chiricahuas if the raptor was present. The animal was left behind.
Related articles:
Sources:
Animal Magick, D. J. Conway, (Llewellyn Publications, 1996)
Animal Messages, Susie Green, (Cico Books, 2007)
Animal-Speak, Ted Andrews, (Llewellyn Publications, 2002)
The Celtic Shaman’s Pack, John Matthews, (Element Books Inc., 1995)
The Druid Animal Oracle, Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm (A Fireside Book, 1994)
The Medicine Cards, Jamie Sams & David Carson, (Bear & Company, 1988)
