Crows as Omen or Sign?

GoddessArtemis

I've read a lot of lore about crows and what they mean in each given culture. I'm not married to any particular belief, but I do sense black crows are very important birds, like messenger birds--very spiritual.

When I was in Sedona, Arizona about 4 years ago, I was followed by a crow...from one ancient ruin that I went to sight-see, all the way to Navajo Country, where the Navajo Indians live. I thought that was so odd, and I felt that the crow was a messenger of sorts for me.

This morning, before 9 a.m. as I was walking to work, I saw a family of black crows...maybe 4 or 5...blocking my path. They were HUGE. I was a little scared, because I was the only one around within a couple of miles (where was everyone?! I live in a busy city!), and I was thinking of the movie "The Birds" and I was afraid my eyes would get poked out by the birds. :p Regardless, they sat there and looked at me, I looked back and I thought, well I'm walking into them, they can just fly away then. The other option was to walk down the middle of the street, and there was no way I was going to risk getting run over. So I walked straight into them (a little scared, too) and they all started crowing and took flight...and landed across the street, where I was headed--again. Four of them flew away, but one particular one sat there and watched me. I looked back at him..we sized each other up...and then I said, "Alright, I'll go around you, there's room enough"..and just as I went around him, he took flight, too.

This may not seem like a big deal, but it certainly felt like it! I'm curious to know what others may think this experience may have been signifying. Was this a "sign" of something? I also found a post from a few years ago on AT discussing crows, which can be seen here: http://tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=26695&page=2&pp=10&highlight=crow

Thanks. :)

GA
 

Dancing Bear

HI GA

I Love Crows too! He is part of my totem.. For me Crows mean a Lot, A crow is the LAw of spirituality, To me when i see a or hear a Crow it says I am on the right path, I am thinking and acting correctly and to trust my journey i am taking, Hearing a Crow uplifts my spirits immensley, and can set my days mood to being exhilerating.... Crows little verse from the Book Medicine cards by jamie sams and david carson sum up Crow quite well!!


Crow... are you "cawing", So I may know you, The secrets of balance, within my soul?
Or are you sending, your sacred "caw" Just to remind me, Of universal laws?
 

GoddessArtemis

Dancing Bear...that's really pretty. :)

You also just reminded me that I have medicine cards at home that my mom had given to me nearly 6 months ago--I've put them aside, but hey, maybe I can pull those out again, huh?

It's nice to know crows represent such a positive sign for you. Being in the state of mind I'm in these days, one of my thoughts about the crows was, "Oh my gawd, is someone going to die?" I hope not!

But I don't know what the crow family was there to show me today...

GA
 

memries

I think the crow or raven (depending on size) was presenting itself to you as a totem. Crows are the smartest bird so it is telling you to use your head in the first place and do not be afraid to take off or turn away if you feel threatened and make a big noise about it ! This could be in your career or personal life. There are many other meanings as well.

I just love them I think they are so very beautiful. For a while, a few years actually, I saw them everywhere. When I was on the road I kept seeing them and it was like they were all along the way and it was a 400 mile journey.
Then somehow or other, they were replaced by red tailed hawks I kept seeing and one even flew very low over my car. Just now I found they represent the Kundalini energy !
It is a fascinating world of animals. If one presents itself to you there is a message there. One night a skunk walked right in front of me ! LOL From that I took, "Watch out for someone who is unpredictable, assured and what they might do would not be very savoury (smell).
Buy or look at Ted Andrews Book, Animal Speak. It is full of information and it all relates to hidden meanings. Feathers, birds, some reptiles, insects and many, many animals.
 

memries

I just now saw your question about seeing them in a group. They are birds with a very structured social behaviour. They are usually in groups or if not they call to each other from a distance to locate one another. I know because I have watched them. This would say to me to be social and share and ask for help if you need it from those close to you. Mix more. They all rely on each other.

I did have a happening and I think that is why I do not see many crows any more. This sounds a bit nuts really. A little squirrel got run over in front of the house and we used to call him Flash (he/she had a white streak on his head )and feed him at the door. He would take peanuts out of our hands. Anyway, I saw the accident and rushed out into the street and took him away before the crows, who were watching could descend and eat the remains. Ever since then I never see them !!!! ( I also wondered how come they were there at that moment ?)

When I went outside and one was close and cawed I would caw back and they would answer me. (My neighbors are a bit nutty anyway so I did not care) The crows never came back after the squirrel incident.
 

pixiequix

I thought this was a helpful little snippet :)...

"Because of the association with the sky, the crow has become a symbol of creativity along with all other birds due to its closer contact with heaven and higher powers. For example, in Ode to a Nightingale, Keats uses the nightingale to symbolize freedom, escape from death, and as a muse who guides his meandering thoughts. As a member of the bird family, the crow shares this ability to set the mind free and explore new possibilities from a different angle. The Celtic bards went even further and turned crow symbolism into a yin-yang figure, in which both light and dark were present. This contradiction continues to hold true in today’s culture; while most crow symbolism is dark and bleak, there are still some examples of positive imagery even within the very heart of the Western Tradition."
 

GoddessArtemis

Lots of good info

I also saw this online: "Ravens and Crows represent magick, mystery, and sacred law as well as battle, and the mysteries of the Crone and Matron (warrior goddess). A gathering of ravens is called an "unkindness"while a group of crows is a "murder". They are highly intelligent birds, and have been known to follow armies for many miles. In Native American Myth, Raven is a Creator/Trickster god. In Celtic lore, the raven is sacred to Badb (whose name means "Battle Crow"and the Morrigan as well as Bran and Lugh. In Greek lore it is sacred to Hecate, and Apollo among others. In Norse tradition,, the two ravens that sit on the shoulders of Odin are called Huginn and Muninn (Mind and Memory). As guardians through the cycle of death and rebirth, the scintillating rainbow colors in their dark wings remind us that even in the midst of darkness we have the power to touch the light." I like the italicized part a lot.

And this: "As the collector of bright objects, the raven stands as a symbol of knowledge. It is also an emblem of divine providence. The symbol of the crow signifies that the bearer is someone who is watchful and vigilant for friends."

And this! "The Black Crow, sometimes also the Raven, is the beginning of the great work of soul alchemy. This indicates the initial stages of the alchemist's encounter with his inner space, through withdrawing from the outer world of the senses in meditation, and entering what is initially the dark inner world of the soul. Thus this stage is also described in alchemical texts as the blackening, the nigredo experience, and it is often pictured as a death process, as in the caput mortuum, the deaths head, or as some alchemical illustrations show, the alchemist dying within a flask. Thus in the symbol of the Black Crow we have the stepping out in consciousness from the world of the physical senses the restrictions that bind us to the physical body."

And here's a good website with more info: http://death.monstrous.com/ravens.htm

Once I found the word "symbolism" and input it with "crow"...all this magical info popped up on Google. Semantics count, people!

GA :)
 

Sushi

Counting crows

One for sorrow, two's for mirth
three's a wedding, four's a birth
five for silver, six for gold
seven's a secret, never to be told.

Or

One for sorrow, two for joy
three for girls and four for boys
five for silver, six for gold
seven's a secret, never to be told.

Or

One's bad,
Two's luck,
Three's health,
Four's wealth,
Five's sickness,
Six is death.


Yes this is what the band was named after. The lines of this rhyme are found in one of the songs on their first album.
 

GoddessArtemis

Sushi said:
One's bad,
Two's luck,
Three's health,
Four's wealth,
Five's sickness,
Six is death.
According to this, either I'm going to be wealthy, sick, or die...since I can't recall the exact number of crows... :p Niiice.

GA ;)
 

GoddessArtemis

It must have been FIVE crows, after all, because I am as sick as a dog suddenly...can't stop sneezing, congested, throat hurts. Well, did I need five crows to know I have the 'flu? Hmmmmmm...

GA