I AM OWL

As the light begins to fade, golden rays filter through the vines where heavy, dark grapes settle between leaves. Soon, the air will turn just as dark as the black gems. The landscape glimmers until nearly without warning, falls into the blinding night, where the day seekers drift through the faded light, cast by the moon, to their light boxes they call rooms. The old farmer wipes his brow of sweaty dew created from the day as the cat and dogs run along the path of purple haze to the light of a warm house welcoming them in. The night residents begin to yawn and move to the beginning of the cycle of the moon. As the farmer winks a good night and a tip of his hat to the oak tree where he can't see beyond the bark yet his inner eyes know this is where I reside. I bid him a good night as I stare down my beak nearly hidden in my cowl. This is the wisdom and knowledge of the owl, in which we know is the magic of sight.

I am known as the Wise One. I understand the mixed history I hold with man, as they often portray me of misfortune. Simply, it is because I can see in the dark and this is beyond what man has been able to to achieve. Not all, but most humans will flutter like moths to light around the stories depicting me as the messenger of death. They fear to which they choose not to understand. With their simple eyes they fathom to comprehend how I can adjust my eyesight in an instant from telescopic to microscopic. My ear tufts have been mentioned as horns, creating a hardness to my soft, colorful feathers. To look upon me, you will not see that my ears are not symmetrical as one is higher than the other, providing me with perfect stereo hearing as sound enters and is held separately in the individual ears.

Silence is my nature as the more I hear, the less I have to say and when I am silent, it is then I hear more. My true magic is my offering to man so he may seek the truth held for himself in voice and vision and not through acts of illusion or secrets. It is in my wisdom, and this is why I invite you to journey with me through a story of history just as my velvet wings glide upon the air and through the passages of time. This is the story of when birds of prey were honored before the passed down, worn out story that dog is man's best friend. Men will nod and agree without questioning the story, the history of the dog, yet, quick in all simplicity state with a lowly title, “the owl makes for good rodent control.” Because I am noble and secure within my truth, I oblige, and yet when it is the dog that rolls up lazily at the feet of a man losing himself in twitching of paws and barking in his sleep, encapsulated in the warmth of the fire, it is I, who is the watcher of the night.

There will be many stories, but it is the story of the coyote known as the trickster for breaking rules and mishaps that spun the story of man’s friend. It was Kareya who created the world. Kareya asked the man to create enough bows as there were animals. When Man made all the bows, he was very tired. Kareya said to the animals, tomorrow Man awakens he will come with all the bows. The one he gives the longest bow to will have the most power. Coyote decided to scheme against the other animals, surely awarding himself next to man as the most powerful. When all the other animals laid to sleep just as the Man, the coyote pretended to sleep. As the night wore on, coyote became very tired, until finally finding two small, sharp twigs to tent his eyelids open so they would not be veiled by the night. He thought how clever he was, that he would be the fist one to catch the morning light. But eventually, he fell asleep and the twigs pierced his eyelids pinning them tight. When the morning came and all the other animals awoke, coyote laid fast asleep. The Man passed on his bows to all the animals ranging from the largest to the second smallest. Distressed, the Man exclaimed, “Who out of the animals have I missed?” The animals discovered the coyote fast asleep next to slow burning fire. When the others woke him, he was unable to see. When the animals brought coyote to Man, Man had to remove the twigs from his eyelids so that he may see once again. The animals laugh and eventually Man prayed to Kareya out of sympathy for coyote. Kareya granted the coyote to be more cunning than the other animals. But never did coyote become Man’s best friend. He stayed asleep even when the others were awake.

I am not cunning, nor do I need to engage in a lot of activity to partake in the movement that is all around. I am known as my brother eagle, the sibling of the night, as I can foresee what is to come before morning delight. I am the master of silence and yet my messages are fierce in delivery. I see the forthcoming of fertility to death, the good fortune and the bad in between. I offer the humans the knowledge through my eyes as I walk between the two worlds of the earth plane and the ether. I wear my badge of honor through my bright yellow eyes, that are the likes of golden pentacles and the sun of the sky.

I have accompanied many men to the battles of war. It is I who flies overhead of soldiers with my powerful presence and watchful eye bringing victory to the ones fighting for the light. For the soldiers that parish in the battle fields, it is I who accompanies their souls so they may not get lost on the pathway to their next journey.

But it is my beloved Goddess Athena whom I cherish the most. It was the purity of the Virgin Goddess of Wisdom who welcomed me with her eyes. She invited me to be with her as her sacred animal and to always be her messenger of truth, wisdom and judgment. It was I who accompanied her to victory over Athens to Poseidon, who's offering was water.

Strategically we won wars as we were the fierce defenders of truth and honor. When Athena did not have the sight, it was I who was her eyes. We were the discernment between the other worlds and planes to humanity. From my beloved Athena, she taught me to be the messenger between the Divine and humankind.

Now, I sit as a Guardian disguised in the trees. I am here to show you things that may be hidden and to light a shadow path so you may see the passage to a new way. I will guide you to always stay within your truth, connected to your center. I guide you through the darkness of confusion, to use your inner guidance inviting the night to be your source of creativity. This is what Athena taught me, and it is I who now offers it to you.

I sit silent as a domestic barn owl calling out in the night to those who wish for more insight to their forgotten wisdom. I call out as an offering to whomever may seek, “Who? Who?” Night after night I will call for you. Let sleeping dogs lie and do not be a stranger in the night.

This is my story. I am the sacred knOWLedge.