The owl has been something that has fascinated me from early childhood onward. When I was a young child I lived on a farm east of Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Growing up there was hard in some ways and fun in other ways. I spent a lot of time hiking through the forested areas (that no longer exist) and communing with nature. We had a large barn with a huge hayloft. In this hayloft I discovered that we had barn owls nesting. This to me was a very good thing because barn owls = less mice and rats, of which there were plenty. I do NOT like rodents, so I considered the barn owls to be a very friendly asset to the ecosystem.
Years later I discovered that Owl is one of my totem animals. I know there are traditions that think negatively about Owl as a Spirit Animal, but I have always found the Owl to be helpful in my meditations and journeys. The Owl will bring wisdom and insight into areas that are clouded and confused. It is the Eagle of the Night, which means that it is able to see through the darkness with precision and expertise. The Goddess Athena had an owl on her left shoulder, who would light her blind side for her, as she was blinded in that eye. All in all, Owl has been instrumental in the workings of many a mystic, healer, witch, wizard, medicine man/woman and shaman for thousands of years. It deserves respect as opposed to the bad rep that settlers placed upon it.
When living on an acreage just outside of town I would often walk the dogs late at night through the back forty, thus giving them a last chance to do their business for the night. On more than one occasion the owl that lived in the area would do a fly by, and as it did it would often swoop down and touch my shoulder with the tip of its wing as it flew past me. I would never hear it coming, but I found that after the first time I developed a sense of its approach. I would welcome the shoulder tap and thank it as it flew away.
The Spirit of Owl has often shown me areas of concern in the energy system of a person that I am working to help heal. Although I see energies well, often it is like looking through multiple layers of veils. Owl, however, can sniff out the hidden areas of concern, which gives me a heads up for what we are actually dealing with, instead of wasting time working on surface stuff.
Owl has also often come to me in my dream state to warn me of approaching events or energies that I will either have to deal with or find ways to avoid. When it comes to aggression, avoidance is a valuable skill set. Or, on the other hand, so is confrontation…especially when one has insight as to what the issue REALLY is. Sometimes Owl will help me to clear out toxic energies that have attached to me when out and about in my day. I truly find this Spirit Animal to be of utmost value in my life.
Then, one day, I decided to watch the movie The Fourth Kind. I found the movie to be fascinating as it was based on real events that happened in Alaska. People were being abducted by Alien creatures and disappearing altogether. I was perfectly fine with the concept of Alien abductions and such. I think that us being the only race in the universe would be a vast waste of space. However, what got me was the concept that, just before an abduction (which was usually horrific) the abductee would encounter a barn owl. At first I was angry that they chose that image to tell the story. However, Aliens will do what Aliens do, I suppose. I was pretty much alright with the movie, but the end of it did freak me out somewhat. I thought, “Well, I will have to take some time to shake that one off.” The next morning, at 4:00am, I awoke to the sound of a barn owl. At first I thought that I had simply dreamt it because of the movie. But then I heard it again, and this time I was wide awake. I got out of bed, went to the window, drew back the curtains to see the full moon in the sky, and right there, sitting atop our Maple tree seedling that was only two years old, so only about three feet in height, was a barn owl. It noticed me pulling back the curtains and turned to look straight into my eyes. I got the creepiest feeling up and down my spine. Suddenly I heard myself yelling, “F#&$ Off” in the loudest, most energy packed booming voice I have ever heard come out of my person. The owl immediately flew off over the roof of our garage. My wife was startled awake and asked me what was happening. I lay back down and said, “Just scaring away the freaken aliens.” She shook her head, looked at me and said, “What??” I laughed and said, “I will explain that in the morning,” which I did a few hours later.
I don’t know if that particular barn owl was the same thing as what was depicted in the movie. I was a bit worried that I scared off an ally. However, the Owl Spirit has never left me. I think it is also offended that anyone or anything would use its image to create confusion and perform hideous acts on anyone. Owl has stayed by me to this very day, so I am sure that if anything like that other one were to approach it would give me a heads up. In the meantime, it keeps helping me with my personal healing and helping me to help others with their personal healing as well.