Medicine Woman and Magician

Cor, Medicine Woman and Magician at your service on Owl Creek Road.

Meet Cor

Cor, Duncan and I are ready to travel to unknown places. Follow us as we travel together.

Calling Me

A beautiful black raven is perched atop the power line outside the window where I am writing. She has been loudly cawing, drawing attention to herself and reminding me that she is there. Her call is insistent.

Two years of semi silence is a long stretch by anyone’s measure. Time is the most precious of gifts and it is disturbing to look back and contemplate time that has been lost. Time lost is time when we feel that we have not lived as fully, it is time when one does not feel enriched by creative endeavors, when creativity has been all but drained away.

However, in all honesty I cannot say that the past years have been a wasteland or that time has been lost. My losses have been immeasurable but I have not been at a complete standstill. Rather, some of the creative land that I had tilled has lain fallow while other things, like moving and creating a life for myself in a new place have taken a priority.

Perhaps if I till the ground here I will harvest anew and rekindle some of the old connections that have been a source of inspiration over the years.

Art of Bill Reid

The art of Bill Reid exquisitely represents the call of the Raven.

I Want One Too

Goddesse, I begin an Art;
Come thou in, with thy best part,
For to make the Texture lye
Each way smooth and civilly:
Now my heart and mind shall be
Offer’d up with Vows to Thee.

I found this gorgeous ring while surfing around, randomly looking for all things Raven. Simply stunning.

Ravens clearly provide inspiration for many artists.

Finishing Touches

Make Prayers to the Raven.
Raven that is,
Raven that was,
Raven that always will be.
Make prayers to the Raven.
Raven, bring us luck.
–from the Koyukon

It will take almost a year to have the house I have bought completely refurbished and extended. It has been quite a process waiting for planning and building permits to be granted. But work has progressed and little by little I am getting closer to being able to move in and add finishing touches like this. I can see some of these lovely creatures hanging from branches of some of my trees.

Even if I had $11000 to spend on the garden I am not sure that I would actually purchase this sculpture but I have to say I do love the work. I am happy to admire the craftsmanship here on my blog and hope that this piece finds a good home.

A Popular Image

The Vikings used a lot the image of the crow. The put a symbol on their sails. Ragnar Lodbrok had a flag called “reaffirmation” and embroidered on it the image of a crow. According to legend, if the flag fluttered in the wind, Lodbrok would win but if the flag hung motionless, they lose the battle.

The Raven is a bird of high intelligence in many mythologies is revered and feared. The legends of this enigmatic bird back centuries, having been immortalized with his sinister presence as a bad omen …

The common raven is between 52 and 69 centimeters in length and its weight varies from 0.69 to 1.7 kilograms.

Generally live 10 to 15 but some individuals have reached 40 years. Part of their success is due to their omnivorous diet, the Common Raven is extremely opportunistic, feeding on carrion, insects, food waste, grains, berries, fruits and small animals.

In some places large numbers and amazing adaptation to almost any habitat they have forged a reputation as a “plague.” The Common Raven has one of the largest brains of all species of birds. It has been reported that crows are at other animals to work for them, for example by calling the wolves and coyotes to the place of a carcass.

The presence of crows in wars, death scenes, with his appetite scavenger have promoted black bird as a harbinger of death. In many cultures there is mention of this bird in its legends:

- In Norse mythology the image of the god Odin has a raven on each shoulder, Huginn represents the thought, while Muninn is memory. Odin sent his birds to travel the world to observe what happens, the old god fearing for the death of both. Their fear is that of the elders at the loss of the ability to think and remember.

The Vikings used a lot the image of the crow. The put a symbol on their sails. Ragnar Lodbrok had a flag called “reaffirmation” and embroidered on it the image of a crow. According to legend, if the flag fluttered in the wind, Lodbrok would win but if the flag hung motionless, they lose the battle.

- In Greek mythology, Apollo, the god of the sun sent a white crow to protect Corinis, a mortal of the sun god who fell in love. When she was unfaithful in a neglect of the raven, the bird flew to the heavens and said what happened to Apollo. God burned the crow and the feathers were black, and since then this bird is associated with bad news. If you hear it squawking warns of approaching death, if a house fly, this will have bad luck. The peasants who saw a crow fly over his flock know that one of the animals perish soon.

- In the fable of King Arthur, reported that he did not die and magically transformed into a raven. According to legend, if ever all ravens of the Tower of London disappeared, the British Empire would fall away in the absence of their guardians. This myth was born in the nineteenth century, a period in which the ravens of the tower is fed from the eyes of the criminals executed by the Empire.

- In the Hebrew stories there is a strange connection between the raven and dove, birds important to the image of God, the crow guides man in the darkness, is the sentinel of the Moon. While the pigeon goes to the man in the light, the sun and life. Noah sent two birds in search of dry land. The raven did not return to find abundant food, while the dove brought hope. This fable shows the raven and the dove as wisdom and knowledge.

- In Buddhism Dharma protector Mahakal is represented by a crow, because of its association with soil and worms. Figure in the first reincarnated Dalai Lama, who according to legend, during his birth home was attacked by thieves, forcing parents to flee. Fearing the worst when they returned they were surprised to see the Dalai Lama lives, surrounded by crows. Since then, the Dalai Lama are protected by crows, and birds are mentioned in Tibetan Buddhism and disciplines.

Occult circles talk about the participation of the crow as a guide the souls of the dead to the underworld. However, there are occasions where the deceased died unjustly or was not his time to die. In these rare cases, Native American legends, in which the soul can not rest and must return to repair the damage suffered. The author James O’Barr wrote the popular comic “The Crow, the Crow in 1989, it was to be able to cope with the loss of his fiancee at the hands of a drunk driver.

Later in 1994 the story was made into a movie where Brandon Lee immortalized Eric Draven, a young musician who returns from the dead to quench their thirst for revenge. The raven is the source of power and gives invunerabilidad, strength and vision of all you can see the black bird. Sagas of the film later overshadowed a classic film which unfortunately Brandon Lee was killed in an unfortunate accident.

The most intelligent bird

Crows have shown high levels of recursion and memory. Being the most intelligent birds, they can learn words and short sentences even better than a parrot, its ability to mimic is truly amazing. Talking crow.

Can count on a different scale, ie if three humans enter a room with crows, and leave two visitors, the birds know that there is still a person. They have also shown some attraction to small, bright objects, which they steal and conceal. Cuervo using a wire as a hook to get food.

Show planning and communication skills with individuals, some species such as Corvus moneduloides learn to use tools to get your food. It is well known for crows have learned to use the vehicle traffic on a road to crack open nuts, nuts open using car Ravens on the road.

Surprisingly these birds respect their elders, who bring food, according to research that shows that the species are familiar with the concept of respecting their elders. Despite having much intelligence crows are not good pets, as well the saying goes “Raise ravens and they will peck out your eyes.”

Voice of the Raven

I am the Voice of the Raven Upon Wind.
My harsh cries echo long upon the Earth and Air:
Nothing is Forever, Not Life,
not Love,
not Death,
nor Loss.
Only change is eternal,
and only destruction
can the seed of creation form.

My wings bear me between
Darkness and Light,
Land and Sky,
the Garden and
the Wildwood.

I perch upon the Threshold
of the Worlds,
both flesh and spirit,
gifting the Brave Seeker
with Visions and Magick of the Otherworld.

To face me
is to face your greatest terror,
the Shadow of yourself,
the unknown and dangerous.
In chancing destruction,
your fear loses it’s power to destroy.
For only in acceptance
of Mortality will you learn the …
Secrets of Immortality as I,
the Raven,
possess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
author unknown

The Twa Corbies

Because such birds often feed on dead animals, they have the association with death or news of death. This may not be connected with someone dying, but perhaps that some project, love or aspect of yourself is being left to die; feelings or fears about death; something you are unaware of but is on the edge of consciousness.

The Twa Corbies by Arthur Rackham

As I was walking all alane,
I heard twa corbies making a maen:
The tane unto the t’ither did say,
“Whaur shall we gang and dine the day?”

“O doun beside yon auld fail dyke,
I wot there lies a new-slain knight;
And naebody kens that he lies there
But his hawk, his hound, and his lady fair.

“His hound is to the hunting gane,
His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame,
His lady’s ta’en another mate,
Sae we may mak’ our dinner sweet.

O we’ll sit on his white hause bane,
And I’ll pyke out his bonny blue e’en;
Wi’ ae lock o’ his gowden hair
We’ll theek our nest when it blaws bare.

“Mony a ane for him makes maen,
But nane shall ken whaur he is gane.
Over his banes when they are bare,
The wind shall blaw for evermair.”

A Modern English Version of The Twa Corbies

As I was walking all alone,
I heard two corbies make a moan,
The one unto the other said,
Where shall we go this day to dine?

Behind that old earthen dyke,
I see there lies a new-slain knight,
And none do know that he lies there,
But his hawk, his hound, and his lady fair.

His hound is to the hunting gone,
His hawk to fetch the wild fowl home,
His lady’s taken another mate,
So we can eat our dinner sweet.

You’ll sit upon his neck bones,
While I pluck out his eyes of blue,
With his locks of golden hair,
We’ll patch our nest when it grows bare.

Many a one for him is grieving,
But none shall know where he is gone,
Over his bones when they are bare,
The wind will blow forever more.

A Brainy Bird