ESSAY | ILLUMINATION

Why The Owl? Why Now?

Change is in the air

The raven and the hawk have been my two main spirit animals for over twenty-five years now. On occasion, I’ve felt elephant and turtle energy, too. And now it would appear that the owl is a new spirit animal for me.

I’ve always been fascinated by owls. How they can turn their heads nearly 360 degrees (it is really 270!). How elusive and majestic they are. And how, like myself, they are nocturnal. I’ve never felt anything sinister from them, nor have I ever believed that they are a bad omen. What I have felt is wisdom, intuitiveness, and stillness from them.

We have an owl that visits the large oak tree in our backyard nearly every night. I’ve never seen it, but I do hear it often. Sometimes after the sun sets, and other times in the early mornings before sunrise. Apparently, it has a mate or rival close by because sometimes I hear two of them hooting back and forth at one another. Their hoots feel me with awe and warmth.

So why the owl?

This is a question that I’ve asked myself quite often of late. I’ve always known how they make me feel, but I’d never really looked up their spiritual meaning — until today. Here is what I’ve discovered from the Spirit Animal website:

Symbolic meanings for the owl are:

Intuition, ability to see what others do not see

The presence of the owl announces change

Capacity to see beyond deceit and masks

Wisdom

The traditional meaning of the owl spirit animal is the announcer of death, most likely symbolic like a life transition, change

All of this makes sense to me and I am even willing to accept that its ‘announcer of death’ is symbolic of change. I have felt of late that I am going through a new phase of my life — embracing my role as a Crone. I will turn 56 this year and I have had enough experience in my life to offer wisdom to younger generations. And I can definitely see more clearly through the bullshit, lies, and deceit in the world.

So why now?

I’d always loved the fact that I never looked my age. When I was a young teenager, I looked like someone in their late teens or early twenties. By the time I reached my forties, I still looked like someone in their early thirties. And because I never looked my age, people never accepted that I had any wisdom or intuition that could help them. But finally, now in my fifties, my age is catching up with me — there is silver in my natural blonde hair, creases around my eyes, and lines around my mouth. And since I am now looking my age, people seem ready to hear my bits of wisdom and intuitive suggestions.

So yes, I do feel like I’ve finally moved into that Crone stage of life. And what better harbinger of that change than the Owl?

While I have always embraced my intuition, my ability to see things that most others do not (ghosts; 3D patterns in 2D objects; auras; animals, machinery, people, statues, and buildings in stone; energy in the air, etc.), and my ability to see through deceit and lies, it is only now that I feel comfortable enough to fully share my knowledge and wisdom with a world that may just listen.

And since I no longer fear change, I am ready to fully embrace whatever changes this owl energy has to offer me. And as I wrote this morning, it is time to be still and be the owl — a wise seer, a messenger of change, and yet a cautious warning to the world: the mist is lifting, the veil of secrecy and deceit is being stripped away, and major earth and societal changes are afoot.

©2022 Lori Carlson. All rights reserved.

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Lori Carlson writes poetry, fiction, personal essays, creative non-fiction, and articles. She focuses on Spirituality, Life Lessons, Self-Awareness, Relationships, Mental Health, and LGBTQ+. She is the Owner/Editor of Promptly Written and Not For Bedtime Stories. You can find her older stories on her creative writing blog, Ravyne’s Nest and random ramblings on her personal blog, A Delicious Torment.