owl&mountain lion omens?

[prudence]

Hi, please share your thoughts on these two incidents. On 9/11/02 on my way home from the store at night, alone, an owl was just standing in the middle of my lane staring at me. I slammed on the breaks, and it just stayed there in the road, and wouldn't budge. I hopped out, asked the car behind me to hold up a second to let me scoot the bird off of the road, and went to shoo it away. It didn't budge, it just turned it's head around and stared at me with huge eyes letting me get very close. It was just a tiny screech owl but I was terrified of it, in the sense that I was in the presence of something huge. (oddly enough, just a few months before this moment, a baby screech owl had hopped into my garage and resided with me for a few days before it sadly passed away, so a second even more bizarre visitation from Owl was a bit off putting) The owl, in front of my car, stared at me for a few seconds and didn't flinch at all while I flailed my arms at it to scare it off, and it wasn't showing any signs of injury, no droopy wings etc. Just stared, then flew off into the trees. Poof, just like that. Left me standing there with my jaw on the road, wondering "what the eff was that all about and on this day, the anniversary of ..." And my heart was pounding out of my chest, which makes no sense because i had quite intimately cared for one just months before, and I have an affinity with animals, so this is not my usual reaction. It just felt so overwhelmingly powerful, I was actually shaking.

Also, on the spring solstice of 2002, around 9 or 10 am I was on the highway here and came suddenly upon a mountain lion who had just been struck by a car and was still in the road. The shock and horror of it made me scream out loud (BTW I was struck by a car on a highway at the age of 13 on the summer solstice, barely injured in what by all accounts should have been fatal) and as I passed by, I looked in the rearview to see that he had lifted his head and was not dead! Oh No! I thought, he's going to suffer and then they'll have to shoot him. (I would have stopped but I had my baby in the car and the highway is too dangerous, and a ton of cars were already there) So, I called on my cellphone to report it, the dispatcher told me that the lion proceeded to get up, and run off into the forest! This is exactly what I had done at 13, after I had regained consciousness, I ran back to the side of the road! (My moon is Leo, and Mountain Lion is one of my spirit guides/animal totems, though I didn't know either of these things at the time).
Sorry for such a long post, and about such old stuff, but it has been perplexing me for a long time now and I'd be so grateful for any input on this.
Blessed Be,
Astrid

 

[RedMaple]

It sounds as if you have an empathic bond with these animals. It is quite a gift that they have shown themselves to you. Perhaps Mountain Lion is telling you something about your strength, and your connection to her, even in her woundedness.

The owl was perhaps reminding you that something was truly gone from your life, but that you could accept it. It is an amazing story, that the owl just stood there in the road and did not move except to look at you. I think it's also important to remember that this is the owl's home and world, the road is an incursion into it. Perhaps he was aware of this, and stood his ground. Also, the fact that you'd cared for an infant owl has its reverberations in the world. Perhaps this is a thank you.

I know in many traditions in North America, the owl is about death. But in our tradition, owls are protectors of infants. So perhaps the owl was saying it would extend protection to your child as you tried to do for the baby owl. Just a thought.

Again, I have to say that these encounters are gifts. The animals do not show themselves to everyone. If the sitings are connected to events in your life with great emotional energy -- it may be that is how the animals heard you, and showed themselves to give you support.

My experience has been that it is the voice of the heart that the animals respond to -- so they must be hearing you loud and clear. Consider yourself blessed.

 

[prudence]

Thank you so much, Redmaple,
Wow, that idea about extending it's protection to my children. That is so beautiful. I have never heard of this.

So weird that you replied now and what you said about my strength...I had written a 2nd post, about an hour ago, to add to this question. But then I deleted it. Here it is... Two nights ago I dreamt that I was being chased by a mountain lion on a familiar hiking trail near my home. I was quite aware in the dream that this was a dream and that mountain lion is a symbol for my strength (my year card this year is Strength BTW). Even so ,I did not relish the impending claw punctures that were about to occur. (lion was just about to pounce on me from behind) So, I called out the name of my "magickal helper" (for lack of a better word, I worked with a Shaman this year, and she told me this name, is there a word for this? Anyone else ever hear of this type of thing? A "soul" or whatever that is with you in a lifetime, at your side to help with magick specifically?) After uttering this name, poof, dream was over, on to the next one, but with the same conscious thoughts that I was aware this was a dream, and now, that my special name had indeed helped me yet again. And also the distinct awareness that I am reclaiming my power. ( Shaman as well as others have pointed out the fact that I have been running away from my power in this lifetime for fear of misusing it as I had done in previous life). Your reply, hit on this so specifically...you must be psychic. Any thoughts on this dream?

Does anyone else have the ability to hear the so-called silent flight of owls at night? More than once, I have heard a sound above my head, at night, and looked up to see a huge white owl gliding thru the pitch blackness. Not flapping it's wings, but gliding. I have often wondered how can I hear that if it is famously silent?