Great Horned Owl

This morning I was awakened by a heavy thud on my roof. Not at all like the rumbling of the 4.5 magnitude earthquake two mornings ago, I almost didn’t open my eyes. But I decided it was time to get up and looked out my window to see a great horned owl sitting on the roof across from my bedroom deck. I sat up, not grabbing my phone to take a photo, but taking in the bird with my mind. The piercing eyes almost made me look away – such power and attitude, determination and one-pointed focus. The feathers were fluffy and variegated brown and gray, with a white neck. She swiveled her head to the side, behind her, and down, staring at my garden. I thought of the cute bunnies I saw last week and wondered if they were her prey.

What is the symbolism of an owl on my roof, peering into my life?  I searched Owl Symbolism on the pure-spirit website. “Rather than intellectual wisdom…owls are connected with the wisdom of the soul.  However, there are other qualities that owls have.  Owls are often seen as mysterious, mostly because many owls are strictly nocturnal, and humans have always found night to be full of mystery and the unknown.  Owls live within the darkness, which includes magic, mystery, and ancient knowledge.  Related to the night is the moon, which owls are also connected to.  It becomes a symbol of the feminine and fertility, with the moon’s cycles of renewal.”

My owl was hunting at dawn, so I read further. “The owl was a symbol for Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategy, before the Greeks gave their pantheon human forms.  According to myth, an owl sat on Athena’s blind side, so that she could see the whole truth.  In Ancient Greece, the owl was a symbol of a higher wisdom, and it was also a guardian of the Acropolis.  Diana, the Roman response to Athena, was strongly associated with the moon, and also the owl.”

I am craving higher wisdom for many reasons. Friends, family and strangers are suffering in this pandemic. We all want to be together, to hug, to laugh and play in the summer sun. Those of us who continue to follow social distancing guidelines and limit any gatherings to less than ten people feel the ache of lives changed and relationships missed.

There are many superstitions surrounding the owl including them being seen as a harbinger of death. This is a time of death for so many around the world – over 156,000 Americans have died of the Coronavirus and the prediction that tens of thousands more will die just in our country is in our collective consciousness.

The owl flew onto a branch of the Arizona sycamore and then down to the lawn, hopping towards the burrows where the bunnies live. There was a flutter in the oak higher up the hill.  From her perch, another owl took flight – her wingspan at least four feet. A hummingbird paused mid-air to let her pass.

Then I spoiled the moment by opening my door to try to snap a photo. My owl lifted off from her powerful legs to join her partner. An owl’s sense of hearing is so acute that they can detect a mouse stepping on a twig from a distance of 75 feet, so my movement probably sounded like thunder.

Though they flew off into the morning sky, I am holding onto the owl as a symbol of renewal. Each of us is being asked to renew our lives daily. Some days I am full and content in my isolation bubble; other days I want to visit LACMA or enjoy an outdoor jazz concert. This is a mysterious time with its darkness and death.  Like my visiting owls, we will take flight soon; I pray we, like the symbolism of the owl, will be wise while we wait.