I have had many special moments in the company of crows and ravens that in some ways have altered my beliefs and how I felt about myself and how we all relate in the world. My first real memory and awareness of ravens was when I was a teenager and my parents and I went on a week long kayaking trip in the Clayquot Sound off of Vancouver island. We paddled to beautiful, raw and virtually untouched islands that felt like we were the only humans to inhabits their beaches. During our stay there we could hear babies crying, dogs barking, the voices of woman talking, water-drop sounds from up in the trees; the Ravens were mimicking sounds from the First Nations villages that where all along the coast line; I was fascinated by this bird’s intelligence and range of sounds.
Years later, in my twenties when I began studying the healing arts, I was participating in a chakra yoga class and we were being guided through a visual meditation to work through some of our biggest fears. In my meditation I was up against a huge, tall brick wall that towered above me and I had to find a way to the other side. After many attempts to climb the wall unsuccessfully, pounding my firsts against the wall I remembered letting go of all resistance and suddenly the wall parted and I was moving through it, like parting spider webs and on the other side I came face to face with my biggest fear and to my great surprise…it was a version of myself! A magical, intuitive, open and aware “me” who walked in her power. I stood there letting this all sink in and realizing how I hold myself back, from really being my true self without the fear of failure or rejection, of embracing all that we are and the unique gifts we all have to offer the world. This version of myself turned and called down two ravens from the sky which landed on her outreached palm and she told me that every time I saw a raven or a crow in my daily life it will serve as a reminder to go back to self love and a reminder from the universe that we all loved. Since then, this has held true in my life and has reminded me at hardest times of my life that I am not alone, reconnecting me back to spirit and the magical way life plays out.
In my 30’s while studying horticulture, I was on a road trip near Cowichan Lake and came across a fresh logging cut and took a minute to take in the sunset over the lake contrasting with the stark devastation of the logging all around me. A crow appeared suddenly after I had parked and began eating the flies and mosquitoes off the windshield. I had a bag of cherries with me and rolled down my window to toss a few onto the hood and was surprised when the crow was not startled and looked at me curiously. After eating the few cherries this crow hopped on to my side mirror and started pecking at the glass. I cautiously opened my window and this beautiful, funny crow hopped right into the truck, sat on my arm and immediately started preening and pushing little black feathers in to my hand!!! I can not describe to you my joy and happiness I experienced spending time with this bird; I could not stop laughing in pure happiness as this crow settled down on my arm as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
This crow is now part of my Ravenwood Healing Arts logo and graces many pages of my website.
Please share your crow or raven stories! They remind me of the magic that can happen in our lives when our heart is open and we trust in our process.
Love & light,
Jenn