When you see a crow, what springs to mind? Do you shrink back in Hitchcock-induced fright imagining it is watching you and sending signals to its brethren to come and launch an imminent attack?
Do you view it as a cheeky kleptomaniac with a fondness for bright and shiny things? Or do you perceive it as a guardian, like the ravens, standing sentry at the Tower of London, as the video below explains?
I had two encounters with crows within 24 hours before I came out to Africa for my present mission. The first one happened when I took a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll towards Putney and decided to cross Putney Bridge, turning left into Bishops Park. I wended my way through the lovely courtyard rose garden, past the memorial dedicated to the soldiers from Fulham who had died in the Spanish Civil War and on to the path down by the river. I continued walking under the trees until I came to a viewpoint. I stopped for a while to look out over the river and a crow flew down on to the ground a meter or so away from my feet. He stood there, cocked his head to one side and stared. It seemed like he contemplated me for a while. I moved a step, he moved a step, quite tame really. It was nice to have some company! The weather turned colder and it began to drizzle so I said "Goodbye Mr Crow" and walked home. I know what you are thinking....."she's bats, she talks to animals", well hear this, I talk to animals often and, like Prince Charles, I talk to plants too! ha, so there! And I haven't been carted off to the funny farm yet....
Anyway I digress, the very next day, two crows flew down on to my balcony at my little flat in Battersea. I came to the patio door but they were not fazed, they chattered merrily and stared at me for a while and after some minutes flew on their way. I pondered these encounters. Were they just a coincidence or a synchronicity?
In shamanism, animals are considered sacred spiritual guides, teachers and protectors. And why not? Why should God or the Universal Life Force only speak to us through human beings why not through other animate created entities? These animal spiritual teachers are called animal totems. Wisdom attributed to crows and rooks include
Do you view it as a cheeky kleptomaniac with a fondness for bright and shiny things? Or do you perceive it as a guardian, like the ravens, standing sentry at the Tower of London, as the video below explains?
I had two encounters with crows within 24 hours before I came out to Africa for my present mission. The first one happened when I took a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll towards Putney and decided to cross Putney Bridge, turning left into Bishops Park. I wended my way through the lovely courtyard rose garden, past the memorial dedicated to the soldiers from Fulham who had died in the Spanish Civil War and on to the path down by the river. I continued walking under the trees until I came to a viewpoint. I stopped for a while to look out over the river and a crow flew down on to the ground a meter or so away from my feet. He stood there, cocked his head to one side and stared. It seemed like he contemplated me for a while. I moved a step, he moved a step, quite tame really. It was nice to have some company! The weather turned colder and it began to drizzle so I said "Goodbye Mr Crow" and walked home. I know what you are thinking....."she's bats, she talks to animals", well hear this, I talk to animals often and, like Prince Charles, I talk to plants too! ha, so there! And I haven't been carted off to the funny farm yet....
Anyway I digress, the very next day, two crows flew down on to my balcony at my little flat in Battersea. I came to the patio door but they were not fazed, they chattered merrily and stared at me for a while and after some minutes flew on their way. I pondered these encounters. Were they just a coincidence or a synchronicity?
In shamanism, animals are considered sacred spiritual guides, teachers and protectors. And why not? Why should God or the Universal Life Force only speak to us through human beings why not through other animate created entities? These animal spiritual teachers are called animal totems. Wisdom attributed to crows and rooks include
- Guardian of the place before existence
- Ability to move in space and time
- Honoring ancestors
- Ethics and Ethical behavior
- Carrier of souls from darkness into light
- Working without fear in darkness
- Guidance while working in shadow
- Moves freely in the void
- Understands all things related to ethics
- Shapeshifter
I find this fascinating, inspiring and uplifting at the same time. I began to think about animal messengers further and was reminded of several instances in the bible including the white dove of peace carrying the olive branch to Noah after the flood, signalling the appearance of dry land, Balaam's donkey that saw an Angel and was given the power to speak to its master and the ravens who brought food to Elijah by the brook Cherith.
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