GREAT HORNED OWL AS AN ANIMAL SPIRIT GUIDE

GREAT HORNED OWL

Symbolic meanings for the owl are:

• • • Intuition:  Ability to see what others do not see and beyond deceit
    • Wisdom:  Capacity to have insight and know when to act
    • Transformation: A great change/transition will come into your life

Think About Owl:

The owl’s large eyes are amongst the keenest in the animal kingdom.  The cones and rods of their eyes filter in only a small amount of light gifting them with excellent night vision thus enabling them to see their prey in the pitch darkness. Owls are not able to differentiate colors, but this is not a hindrance to owls as they rely more so on movement.

One of the most distinguishing features of the great horned owl is its tufts of feathers that resemble ears or “horns” – thus earning them their namesake. The asymmetrical openings in their eyes are attributed to their very sensitive and accurate hearing.

Owls live within the darkness, best associated with magic, mystery, and ancient knowledge.  Related to the night is the moon, which owls are also connected to as well as a symbol of the feminine and fertility, with the moon’s cycles of renewal.

Worldwide in various cultures, owls are the subject of many myths, legends and superstitions, most of which are related with death.  For example, the owl was recognized as a harbinger of death in America and Europe.  This belief originated from certain cultures, like the Dakota, and some Germanic tribes and Scandinavian Vikings, imitating the owl’s hoot, recognized as the easiest to imitate, to signal the approach of an attack.  Despite this bad rap, owls continue to be a revered source of wisdom, spiritual and intellectual.

Call on owl energy when:

• • You seek the truth and knowledge
  • You need help to accept change or transitions through life’s cycles
  • You need help with magical practices (divination in particular)

Owl medicine teaches us to: 

• • See beyond illusion and deceit through to the other side of light, happiness and knowledge
  • Peer into the darkness and face a fear
  • Let go of some part of your life that is no longer needed
  • Find deeper reasoning in relationships and events

Did you know:

• • The owl’s eyes do not move in their sockets, instead they rotate their heads 270 degrees in any one direction.
  • Owls’ eyes are so much larger in relation to their skulls that their brains are about the size of one of their eyes.
  • Owls fly almost completely silent and can do so at speeds of greater than 40 miles per hours.
  • When clenched, an owl’s talons require a force of 28 pounds to open.
  • Owls are able to pick up prey more than two times its body weight (average 5lbs for females and 4 lbs for males), which includes over 500 different species of prey.