Do you ever almost see something out of the corner of your eye and wonder whether something was there or you just imagined it? Where you go with those thoughts probably says a lot about your view of life, the world and any levels of being beyond what we can clearly experience with our five senses. The options are easy enough: a) totally practical- if you are in a place where there could have been something concrete, such as a bird or squirrel in the forest, falling leaf, blowing paper, rat or person in the city, then it was that. Otherwise, it was your imagination. Only two options. b) total believer in spirits, angels, any other entities of your choice which are not exactly or necessarily physical- could have been pretty much anything- bird, squirrel, leaf, spirit guide human or animal, the universe sending you a sign to look that direction. and even if it was bird, squirrel, leaf, it still could have been anything from the second set.
Like most areas of human variety, most people probably fall somewhere in the middle: mostly practical, but not totally sure the other stuff might not exist. And me too, more or less. I don't fully believe in a lot of things that I have not experienced, and I'm pretty well versed in all of the ways to explain away odd happenings (and ready to roll my eyes at some of the things people are ready to call mystical).
*But*, and it is a pretty big but, I think it would be arrogant to say that I, or even modern science, know everything. There are surely natural phenomena that have not yet been recognised or measured that therefor seem paranomal. It seems pretty clear to me that there are some different levels of experience or life, or being, that some people can access some times, that allow things like feeling, seeing, knowing things that should not be possible to know, healing illness. I don't feel that I have enough understanding to either dismiss many of these phenomena, nor to accept various interpretations at face value. I don't personally see a god with a personality floating in the sky, but I can't say no one else should believe it. I have no personal knowledge of afterlife, but that applies both positively and negatively, etc- you get the idea.
Ultimately, I think many of our ideas about religion, spirituality, metaphysics, mysticism etc are metaphors. Ways of talking about those other levels of being. I don't personally think it matters whether you are 'right' (as long as you aren't trying to insist other people are wrong, and making them follow your path). I think the metaphors can be ways to focus our minds, to change the way we interact with the world. Further, it matters where you go with those ideas. Do you believe in faerie and that makes you view the world as a magical place full of possibility? That seems like a good thing. Do you believe every rock, tree, stream, mountain has a soul or an attendant spirit and must be cherished and cared for? Clearly, that must have a positive impact on the world around you.
I like to talk about ancient (as far as I am able to understand them, which may be in a very different way than the ancients!) goddesses, nature spirits etc. I don't really think, for example, that the sun is a female goddess with human like interactions with other celestial bodies and earthly processes and substances. *But* thinking of weather, seasons, forests as personal, as sacred, as whimsical, changes my relation to them. I am at the same time more part of all those abstract things and also less bothered by them. Imagining Snow Mother cloaking the earth in white when and as she feels is somehow beautiful, and fun, and reminds me that it is out of my hands, not directed at me and also, as it should be. Thinking of deep forest glades as a place where sprites dance in a shaft of sunlight and where one might wander into the dark place where the ultimate Goddess resides make every walk magical and give more reason why these places should be protected outside any human utility. For me, those ideas can sit comfortably beside the knowledge that winter snows provide important moisture for the soil, and are vital in recharging wetlands, that untouched patches of woodland are vital habitat for some species, and every species is important in the web of life, from a purely scientific standpoint!
So what the about almost seen, the nearly felt, connections made between random sights? The human brain is good at pattern recognition, hunter gatherers would not survive without the ability to recognise things good to eat and not, places where resources were found, a harmless vs a dangerous animal. Likewise our ancestors knew alertness was key- that sound behind you could be a falling twig or an approaching predator. That dimly seen shape in the distance might be a rock or the prey you were hoping to catch. Better to look back too many times than not enough, better to get a little closer to check something out than miss a potential meal.
And thus we hear, or see, or think maybe we do. We imagine connections that may not be there. This way lies paranoia, fear, stretching of fact that will have many people tuning out when you speak! But this way too, lies inspiration. For any of you that have had a spiritual practise with daily study of some sacred text, you may have realised that inspiration is directly tied to intent. For example, you may have a daily lesson whose subject is gratitude. Your lesson will include select passages from your sacred text which relate to that subject. Some of those passages you will be familiar with, and will have read many times, but with today's focus on gratitude, you may see those lines in a new light and gain insight. Another common practise is to focus your intent/pray/ask for divine guidance on some issue that is of concern to you, then open your sacred text randomly and read the first thing you come to. You may be surprised at first to find something that directly relates to your concern. I'd wager you would be just as successful in finding that insight in any sacred text, in a book of philosophy, in a deeply written novel. The point is that the insight is not in fact external, it is your focussing of your mind on the issue that is allowing you to take inspiration from whatever is in front of you. Or, your focus is allowing you to access whatever other levels of existence there may be where that knowledge is waiting for you to find it, or even being placed in your hands.
I do not know what these other levels of being are. It could be as simple as levels of our brain power that we don't always make use of. It could be some connection- quantum or metaphysical (or those could be the same thing) between us and every other thing and life. I have no way of knowing that, so I don't worry about it. I'm not any high level metaphysical practitioner, so I can't claim to have harnessed access to those other levels of existence, but I do know that inspiration is often there when looked for. I can find many small signs and metaphors in daily life that simply make a day richer, more fun, more beautiful, more meaningful, that may lift my spirits or push me toward thoughts or decisions I know I need to address.
So, on to the day that prompted this post. I was a little tired, borderline grumpy, and harvesting firewood out in the woods on the farm. Even though I was working in the same area I've been working in for a couple of weeks, this day my mind kept seeing movement that I couldn't quite catch, and for some reason, several stumps in the woods gave me the image of a seated canine with a bird head. All easily explained. There*is* frequently movement in the woods that you don't fully see-- the trees are often full of small birds you never get more than a glimpse of, as well as squirrels, rodents on the ground, leaves and twigs that could fall at any time, bits of snow falling from a branch the sun just hit, etc. And shapes? Back to that thing about pattern recognition: our mind constantly evaluates shapes- is it a stump, a predator, a prey animal? (Or in my case, some cool wild animal I'd like to get a picture of? though I also never let down my guard, any animal can be dangerous). Add to that every day stuff the fact that the day before there'd been the minor excitement of an owl, in daylight, in the yard, which suddenly flew out of a tree where Chickadees were feeding and making more noise than usual. So, my mind may have been a bit more focussed than usual on sudden movements and birds of prey. Still, the bird-dog angle was a bit specific and unusual, so I thought I'd pursue it a bit.
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| Enhanced image, showing something like what I was 'seeing'/imagining |
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| Unaltered photo of the same scene |
Eagle headed wolves are not common in mythology, though there are occurrences. Cynogriffin (Cyno referring to canines, Griffin being the mythical creature part eagle, part lion) or lupagriffin (lupa for wolf) are mentioned in lists of mythical beasts, but I didn't find a lot of associated symbolism that would give me any lesson from the thought. I did find the Chamrosh, a Persian bird of legend with the body of a dog. It is associated with a kind of tree of life from which all manner of seeds fall, the Chamrosh casts them into the sea where they are taken up by a rain cloud and dispersed all over the earth. The Chamrosh is also protector of all birds. Kinda neat, and I have strong connections to seed collecting-- might be a good logo or avatar! Also ties in to a focus on birds after the Chickadee/owl event, but otherwise no really moving lesson there.
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| Another artistic rendering, from another day |
The other, and perhaps better known is the Valravn, a figure from Scandinavian folklore, of somewhat debated origin. Typically described as a raven, which after eating the heart of a king fallen in battle gains supernatural powers often used to create mischief and lead men astray, it must consume the heart of a child in order to turn into a knight. Other versions simply mention a lost soul trapped in amimal form, flying by night, who must consume a child's blood to return to human form. Sometimes simply ravens, they are also described as shape-shifters, half raven half wolf. One reference I saw suggested that rather than referring to the fallen, 'val' is actually a corruption the word 'var', which would make varravn/wereraven (like were wolf).
This writer has an interesting take on it: https://www.tanyacasteel.com/project/wolf/ she suggests -oh nevermind paraphrasing, here's a direct quote:
"Death is not the end. It’s part of the process. When a powerful king or queen calls upon the Spirits of the Raven and Wolf at death, they ascend into a deeper level of transformation – into a Valravn. It does not seek to literally eat the heart of a child, it seeks to discover and embrace its own inner child and heal the parts of itself that have been abandoned. Once the Valravn has done the work to heal its heart and become whole, it can then transform itself into a “knight”- a warrior of light and love for our world."
Now there's a lesson I can sink my teeth into-- it might be argued pretty easily that I have retained a good amount of my childishness (at least partly in good ways) but I think there are still some ways that 'adulting' has pushed aside some of what I feel is important. I'm not totally sure how to get that back (working on it) but I think it is probably a matter of a kind of child-like trust in things being as they should... And healing the heart? Yeah, some of that to do, too.
Do I think stumps in the bush were ever raven/wolves with the tortured hearts of long dead kings/queens? Probably not 😉 but a twitchy afternoon in the woods, some imagining and some thought and research may have nudged me a little on a path that was already in me. That's all I can really ask for.
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| Not cynogriffin, a humanoid figure another day- Bird Goddess? Something else? |
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| Winter sun lowers on another magical day in the Boreal Forest |
So what do you think? I'm off my rocker, need to pick a side, or you are right there with me in feeling the magic of the world? I’d love to hear from you- You can find me on
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