Vision

Whatever you call it, second sight, premonitions, angelic messeges or having a direct line to the big guy... there really is no denying that there are people who know things that they shouldn't know. At least that is according to the "normal" people. Some people are just really good at seeing the underlying truths in facial expressions and body language. Some are very intuitive and conencted to the subtleties of that "still small voice". I have no doubts that the people who know things know them. And I have no doubt that those things come from God either directly as in the case of a Burning Bush or through angels and the assortment of divine beings He can dispatch at a moments notice.

I think that because we are not so good at accepting what our "gut" or our "internal voice" is telling us, we rely on things outside of ourselves. This is probably where most of our superstitions come from, how we attribute meaning to things and call them Omens and Portends. We are a superstitious lot. but only because we do not trust ourselves. And its this idea that we get messeges all the time but do not trust them unless they are attached to a something that I find intriguing. I never used to have that problem.

When I was a kid I would spout off about something and scare the Jebus out of my mom. I'm sure there were times that she thought I was possessed. But Gramma, my good, gentle Irish to the core gramma had no trouble calling it a gift and crediting where credit was due. Still, as I got older and we started studying classical myths in class and then began looking at all kinds of belief systems as an artist, I realise that this superstitiousness has given us a rich iconography. There is meaning in just about everything and in many cases those meanings are universal.

Because I am all about relearning to trust my intincts, I am particularly attracted to the Crow. Not only is it a harbinger of the coming Halloween season... a fairly modern attribution. The Crow has a profound meaning in the Omens and Portends category from way back. Crows are carrion birds so they often signal death. Of course the logical mind can point out that the crow, in the case of death, is simply stating the obvious. But the crow, fast and straight as it flies, has been considered a messenger. It is the nearly universal symbol of augury or Future Sight.

Crows are everywhere. Call them Ravens, crows or grackles they are rather interchangeable (though you will make ornithologists cringe). Crows are also unafraid of most people. They are seldom daunted by our tricks to keep them out of fields. A scarecrow is a joke.... I've yet to see one really work. And that, may be the most important messege that can come from a crow. What ever it is that you need to do you should do.

Birds of meaning. Birds of necessity.

Traditionally the crow is a bird of war as much of seeing the far flung effects of action and an ever present reminder that in the end it is not your body that will remain. The dove is a bird of peace and tranquility. A bird of love. And my logical mind has just kicked in a realized that doves are essentially the pretty pigeons and all they do is crap on things and reproduce. Crows clean up the messes made by life.....

Apologies friends... the caffeine has not kicked in yet and my morbidity is in full bloom today. But I also remember that the dove is a bird of hope for after the flood it was the one who did not give up until it found a bit of green. The raven was sent out and it came back to wait for hope to show up. The raven looks for land from a safe spot (think crows nest) rather than go out looking for it.

Hmmm.... metaphors really are imperfect aren't they?

At any rate, I do chose to see the crow as a bird of vision.... the far off shore where landing is safe.