The significance of ravens
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
By Brooke Williams
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
‘Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,’ I said, ‘art sure no craven.’
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore–
- Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”
This past week has been full of ravens. Last Saturday in a downtown Jackson office I couldn’t help but notice out of the corner of my eye how often black and blurry forms passed by the window during my meeting. I knew they were ravens, but actual birds or just shadows? I couldn’t tell. Again and again it happened over the two hours I sat there. The next day, a dozen ravens worked on the road-killed deer across the street from our house, a trio meeting in a bright patch of sun like retired politicians. Thursday, I saw a lone raven sitting on the fence facing the setting sun, neck feathers dancing in the wind, listening for clues.
That afternoon, I picked up the book “Awakening Loving Kindness” by the Buddhist teacher, Pema Chodron. I turned to the chapter on Renunciation, which Chodron believes is the quality of being able to see how we close down and hold back. It’s about being open no matter what happens to us, about coming up against our ‘edge’ over and over again. Renunciation is part of becoming more and more fearless and flexible, “more able to play like a raven in the wind.”
She said “The wilder the weather is, the more the ravens love it ... they challenge the wind. They get up on the tops of trees and they hold on with their claws and then they grab on with their beaks as well. At some point they just let go into the wind and let it blow them away. Then they play on it. They float on it. After a while, they’ll go back to the tree and start over. It’s a game.”
I try to make a point of paying close attention when I notice this type of pattern. It doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does, I like to explore its deeper meanings.
According to myths, the raven sheltered the first humans, and is responsible for the placing of the sun, moon, and stars in their current positions. The raven is a magician. And most importantly for me, he brings revelations from the spirit world.
Ravens (Corvid corvid) are one of the most widely distributed birds in the world. They are black with white breasts in Rwanda and play on thermals in this “land of a thousand hills.” They are significant throughout Indian Country in North America, particularly to the tribes in the Pacific Northwest for whom they are Trickster. I have spent hours in Alaska listening to their water songs and recognize a different dialect among the ravens here in the Tetons. Throughout human history, the Trickster has been the fool, the one never to be taken for granted, skilled in the teachings it brings.
Trickster can be the hero’s companion, or it may be in the service of the villain. The Trickster is usually seen as the underdog, using intelligence, wit, and experience against stronger and more powerful opponents. Jung developed the idea of the Trickster archetype as the symbol of radical uncertainty. Although it seems to nag at us, the Trickster ultimately uses humor and cunning to attract our attention to something important that we’ve tried to ignore - a new attitude, a missing element of self-realization, or some aspect of our own shadow.
Ravens are common. How often have I seen a large bird flying in the distance and looked hard only to find that it was “only a raven.” Now, mysteriously, during one condensed period of my life, they are coming at me from every direction.
PERMALINK:
The significance of ravens | Planet JH News Article: Left Wing Local
Leave a Comment