Light & Shadows of Chalandor

Owl Fact & Myth

Owl is territorial, a vicious fighter and a courageous defender of the nest. This is why Owl inspired and protected the Greek armies, and why Roman soldiers believed Owl signified triumph in battle. The Japanese drink a toast to Owl before a hunting expedition, and Russians believe Owl is sacred because it once saved the life of Genghis Khan.

Owl is monogamous in love. Therefore, Australian aborigines believe Owl represents the soul of women. French spinsters call on Owl to help them find a husband. Also in France, when a pregnant woman hears the cry of Owl, her child will be a girl.

Owl's approach to rearing offspring is sometimes brutal. Many Owl chicks starve or are killed by siblings, depending on food availability. Perhaps because of these cruel survival tactics, African Swahili tribesmen believe Owl brings illness to children. Moroccans believe that Owl's cry can kill an infant. Still, some Owl offspring always survive to produce more Owls; consequently, Owl amulets protect Babylonian women during childbirth.

Dawn, dusk, and the dead of the night is Owl's domain. Owl is the Hopi god of the dead, guardian of fires, and tender of all underground things. Owl attends Lilith, the Sumerian Goddess of death, and in Mexico is called "messenger of the lord of the land of the dead". Popular belief holds that seeing Owl or hearing its cry means impending death, sickness, and misfortune. Therefore, Owl is too evil to name in Cameroon, and is known only as "the bird that makes you afraid".

You may have Owl Medicine if you frequently see, hear, or dream of Owl, or if you have gifts of invulnerability, insight, invisibility, keen observation, wisdom, and curative healing powers.

Owl Medicine

According to mythology, if a person does something wrong, they may become Owl. Gwydion the Magician turned the unfaithful Blodeuwedd of Celtic Myth into Owl for betraying a magical secret. The Supreme Being of Borneo turned his wife into Owl after she told secrets to mortals. In Poland, girls who are married turn into Owl when they die.

Witches are sorcerers transform into Owl. The majority of indigenous tribal people around the world believe they do too, as shape-shifting is a common practice among shaman and magicians of various cultures.

If Owl Comes Calling

If you are visited by Owl, do not panic. Instead, try to interpret what the visit might mean. For instance, you can interpret Owl's cry by number.

One hoot is an omen of impending death

Two hoots means success in whatever project you start next.

Three hoots represents a woman who will marry into the family.

Four hoots indicates disturbance.

Five hoots denote coming travel.

Six hoots means guests are on the way.

Seven hoots are a sign of mental disease.

Eight hoots foretell sudden death.

Nine hoots symbolize good fortune.

If you hear an Owl hoot late at night, return the call to avoid bad

luck. You can also take off an item of clothing and put it on again inside out, or get up from bed and turn your left shoe upside down. If you see Owl do the following: Throw salt in a fire to avert any possible danger.

Propitiate Owl by setting food, a shiny crystal, or some silver coins near the place where Owl appeared.Dedicate an altar to Owl. Cover it with a blue cloth. Place jewelry, and a moonstone, pearl, or crystal upon it. Ask the Lunar Goddess Artemis, Hecate, and Diana for help and protection.

Finally, never injure Owl, as it is our teacher and elder, and should always be respected.

Owl’s Message

Key Words: Messenger, healing, wisdom, insight, clairvoyance, life/death, loyalty/devotion

The Big Picture: Something is hidden from you. But the appearance of owl in your life indicates that you’re able to see the truth behind what is hidden in a situation, relationship, or event. It may be time for you to delve more deeply into a study of the occult, shamanism, reincarnation and communication with the dead. If owl appears while someone you know is ill, it may be warning you that the person is getting ready to cross over.

The owl can also signal a change in your sleep cycle or be alerting you that you are more creative at night. In terms of your personal health, the owl encourages you to seek alternative therapies and help from alternative practitioners. If you have a persistent health problem, you may want to consider having a regression to find out if the problem stems from a past life.

As always, consider the context of your experience with an owl. The weather, the time of day or night, and the owl’s actions are all significant.

Romance: If you’re not involved with anyone right now, you will be shortly. The relationship is likely to be emotionally intense and the other person may be something of a loner who is involved in or interested in metaphysics. If you’re involved now, then the relationship may move to the next level. You’ll know intuitively what’s going on. Communication is important to you in relationships and it’s important that the other person also communicates his or her feelings. Past life connections may be involved.

Finances: By summer, you could be earning money through psychic or metaphysical work. Work with your dreams for guidance about finances and request specific dreams that will alert you to new opportunities.

Work/Career: You vigorously defend your territory and are something of a predator when it comes to the hierarchy at work. However, you don’t have the full picture and it would be to your advantage to hone your own skills to get ahead professionally.

Health: Have you considered alternative therapies? Homeopathy, acupuncture, even yoga or tai chi may be what you need right now. It’s also possible, that on an emotional level, you need roots, a place you can call home. You may need to change your sleep cycle, at least experiment with different sleep cycles. Seek guidance from your dreams related to your general health.

Family: Someone in your family, children or mate, needs your support and protection right now. Give it freely without expecting anything in return.

Creativity: You’re entering a period on your life when your most creative time is at night. This doesn’t mean you have to stay up all night to be creative. But you may want to set aside several hours at night, after the rest of the family is asleep, to do what you love. Your creative adrenalin will flow most easily in the evening.

Spirituality: Consider taking workshops in shamanism. You have a talent for altered states of consciousness, alternative healing techniques and metaphysical practices. If someone you love has recently passed away, that person’s death may be the trigger your spiritual journey.

Bibliography: Totem Animals

Chant for Owl:

"Soft darkness of night,

a time of deep magick,

Your realm, great owl

whose eyes see reality in the darkness.

I would call up wise and deep magicks,

Magicks bold and strong, creating change."

Owl
     Owl was one of the primary power animals from the earliest times of shamanism in Siberia thousands of years ago. Often in the east, brought by the wind, owl comes out of the darkness into dusk or dawn.
     Owl takes you deep into your own inner world. The owl can go anywhere. She glides silently on the currents of your own dreams. Just as easily as she flies inside the tree trunk or inside your dreams. The owl is a witness in silence and clarity. With owl, you start in a place where you are seen for who you are. Everything about your life; your dreams, your imagination, your spirit; is seen with clarity. The unconscious becomes revealed. When the owl looks inside us, we understand we can go wherever we desire.
     Owl teaches that life is not about being loved unconditionally but rather being seen unconditionally. When owl is present, there is no judgment. She sees with a gaze that is pristine, clear, real, and truthful. Shamans start at the place where they see themselves as they truly are, with clear vision. Nothing hides from owl. Nothing is invisible.
     The power of this clarity of vision is great. As owl takes you into her body, you can fly through darkness with precision and grace. The unknown becomes clear. It is as if you become part of the darkness with perfect safety. This perfection in flight, and in life, becomes yours.
     With owl, we see beyond death to rebirth. Sometimes people fear owl because they want their vision to stop at death. Owl sees through the veils of death to the other side.
     She tells you the legends of owls, singing to you, "Come through my feathers, go into the darkness. I will show you what lives there, I will show you the world within." Owl brings visions to light, dreams to consciousness.
     Let yourself embody the spirit of owl. Her way of seeing is deeper than your own, and she will show you how to go there with her. As you see through the eyes of the owl, you see what she sees in the darkness, and you hear what she hears. Go within, travel in silence. In the darkness, truth is revealed.
     The essence of the owl is inner vision and the ability to look deep inside ourselves without fear.
Bibliography: The Path of the Feather

Owl: deception, clairvoyance, insight (the night eagle)

Owls come in all sizes, from a tiny miniature that actually lives inside the cactus in the desert, to the great horned owl, which is the only bird that can out fly the golden eagle. A fully grown great horned is an awe inspiring creature. Its talons are furry, and closely resemble the paws of a baby mountain lion with claws extended. It is a meat eater, which means it can be a fierce warrior if challenged, or if something dear to it is threatened. It is often referred to as Night Eagle. Owl is at home in the night. It has great awareness of all that is around it at all times. It has predator vision, which means it sees clearly what it looks at. It has great intuition: it is the totem of psychics and clairvoyants. It has the courage to follow its instincts. Owl's medicine includes seeing behind masks, silent and swift movement, keen sight, messenger of secrets and omens, shape-shifting, link between the dark, unseen world and the world of light, comfort with shadow self, moon power, freedom.

Silent and swift movement; keen sight into obscure events; unmasking 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 change.

Owl (Cailleach, Oidhche, Comachag): These birds were most often associated with the Crone aspect of the Goddess. The word "cailleach" in the Scottish-Gaelic means "owl". The owl is often a guide to and through the Underworld, a creature of keen sight in darkness, and a silent and swift hunter. It can help unmask those who would deceive you or take advantage of you.

Owl Lore

Owls are silent hunters of the night. They have been part of human stories since earliest times. Many cultures honor these nocturnal predators as powerful spirit allies that teach shamans the roads of the dead, how to find lost objects, and how to see to the core of a problem. Owl is often a messenger of the transition between worlds, particularly the worlds of birth and death. They preside over prophecy and divination. This is a bird of the betwixt and the between. The owl is not entirely of either this world or the next.

Teachings of the Otter

Keynote: Joy, Playfulness, and Sharing

Cycle Of Power: Spring and Summer

Otters are aquatic carnivore found worldwide except in Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. In the common species distributed throughout Europe and Asia, the body may attain a length of 75 cm (30 in), with a tail half as long as the body. The head is broad and flat, with short, rounded ears; the blunt snout bears lateral, slit-like nostrils. The ears and nostrils can be closed when the animal is diving. The fur is chestnut, the legs are short but strong, and the webbed feet have claws. A similar species is found in North America. It is about three and a half feet in length and can weigh from ten to fifteen pounds. Otters live in dens, usually by the side of water and with an underwater entrance to the den. They feed on fish and also on small mammals, birds, frogs, and crayfish. The animals breed in the spring, and authorities have reported a gestation period of about 61 days for the species already mentioned. Development still lasts only two months, however, since almost no development occurs between mating and the time when the fertilized eggs are implanted in the uterus. The litters range from one to five pups, which stay with the mother for about a year. Otters are of both fresh water and sea species. They love to frolic in water, often sliding down banks into streams or ponds in play. Otters can stay under water for up to four minutes. They are playful, friendly, curious about everything and enjoy life. Otters remind us to keep the inner child alive or to give birth to it. They remind us that life can be fun if we approach it with the right attitude. They are seldom seen alone. They are most often with others or playing with an object of some kind. The adult otter has practically no natural enemies. They protect their young very well. They are agile and fast in the water, with the ability to out-swim fish. If there is a threat, they usually swim away fast, but they can be ferocious fighters. The mother otter usually chases the father out of the den when the young are born, again reflecting the otters tie to primordial feminine and mothering energies and patterns. When the young are out and about, the father is allowed to rejoin. Sometimes otters show up to help awaken these primal energies and responsibilities. It can indicate a need to set up boundaries within the home and define your feminine role. Because the otter can adopt postures which are considered unusual in animals, it is regarded as something of a mimic.

The otter was an important cult animal in ancient Peru and, for some reason paired with the ocelot. The Ainu of Japan, however, think the otter forgetful and wasteful. To the Celts, the otter was a very magickal creature; it accompanied the god Cernunnos. Native Americans said the symbolized female energy because it lived in both the Earth and Water Elements. This energy could be used by both men and women. However, they also called it a Trickster being.

The otters hide is very often used to make medicine bags for powerful women because it represents balanced female energy. Otter is the personification of femininity; long, sleek and graceful. Long ago, in tribal law, if a woman were widowed, her sister would offer her own husband to the widow as a lover to keep her from drying up and not using her creative urges. This too, is otter medicine. Envy, or the fear of being replaced, has no space in otters balanced understanding of sharing goodness. Woman energy without games or control is a beautiful experience. It is the freeness of love without jealousy. It is the joy of loving other people’s children and their accomplishments as much as you love your own.

If otter has shown up in your life, it may be time to find some play time. Involve yourself in some creative activity. You don’t have to be good at it, just have fun with it. Then again, maybe you are being too playful. Are you having trouble staying focused? Are you afraid to have fun? Maybe you are worrying too much or being too serious. Do you need to awaken your inner child? Treat yourself to something special. Honor otter and it will teach you not only how to have fun, but it will reawaken a new sense of wonder at life and all things within it. It may be time to examine your feelings about sharing the bounty of your life with others. Otter may be saying that the finer qualities of women need to be striven for in both men and women so that a unity of spirit can be achieved. This would involve the destruction of jealousy and of all the acts of anger which stem from that fear. It would mean keeping a hawk-eye on your ego and maintaining total trust. It would mean a world full of people coming together to honor the right of each person to "be".

Those born during the second moon of the year, the Rest and Cleansing Moon, from January 20^{th to February 18th, have the otter as their totem animal and are usually friendly, helpful, playful and bold. Their spirit of helpfulness is such that they often engage themselves in charitable activities. The emphasis of their lives is service. They are considerate and many of their life experiences will present ways in which their energies can be directed to the benefit of the Earth and its inhabitants. Should this be blocked for whatever reason, or should they allow themselves to become too self centered, they are likely to become miserable and morose. Just as the otter is one of the great organizers of the animal kingdom, so Otter people excel at running things in the human kingdom. And just as the otter keeps the water in which it lives very clean, Otter people also require cleanliness and orderliness in both their home and working environment; otherwise they feel uncomfortable and ill at ease. have the otter as their totem in the animal kingdom. People of this totem are like the otter in that they seem to feel that is it their duty to keep other humans in good grace in the eyes of the world. They are visionary and humanitarian, often spending much of their time and energy in searching for ways in which they can help their fellow humans. They truly enjoy being of service to people and dreaming of new ways in which they can be of service.}

^{Magickal Attributes: Finding inner treasures or talent; faithfulness; gaining wisdom; the ability to recover from a crisis. Be sensible but not overly suspicious, when something or someone new enters your life. Its appearance points to a need to enjoy life rather than just endure it. Social life, friends, happiness. Guidance to uncovering talents, psychic or physical. Useful when you need to learn how to enjoy life, instead of just living day by day. A good sign. Represents wealth, playfulness, and happiness. Brings good luck and good health. This joyful little creature is adventuresome and assumes that all other creatures are friendly . . until proven otherwise. This teaches humans to create a space for others to enter our lives without preconceptions or suspicions.}

^Chant

^{Slipping, sliding, soft fur gliding}

^{Through the forest water bright.}

^{Friendly otter in tumbling water,}

^{Lead me to happiness and light.}

^{Bibliography: Animal Magick, Animal Speak and Totem Cards

Otters symbolize playfulness, balanced female energy, curiosity, joy for self and others, lack of jealousy and envy, lack of worry, talent, faithfulness, social life and happiness. They are tricksters. They are connects to the elements of Earth and Water and are connected to Cernunnos.}

Opossum teaches the lesson of using and enhancing appearances and deceptions and illusions.
He also aids in resting when needed (playing dead), and the art to act or behave in strategic manner as appearing to be
fearful or fearless in spite of true feelings. Opossum gives courage to pretend for a while in order to cope with mental and
spiritual constructs. He teaches wisdom and sensibility and knows when to fight if needed. Is it time to fight for things or to rest?

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