Crows

[WhiteWarrior]

Crows to me as a symbol are intelligence, rationality, wisdom. Sobriety. Fearlessness.

Biologically and specieswise, they are just smaller ravens. Or ravens are larger crows if you like.

I rather like crows. I had a longer chat with one once.

[Hemera]

White Warrior - I always say hello to crows and they seem to listen to me!

I agree with all your symbolism. Crows are very brave the way they go into traffic in search of the food they want in the middle of the road, all the while listening for cars. I worry so much that they won't get out of the way quick enough.

Yes I love ravens too. The whole family are beautiful.

I might start posting a few details about my daily oracle crow card.

[Hemera]

Release

When a crow spots a tasty bit of food in the middle of the road, it assesses risk. If the coast is clear, it will fly or walk out to attempt to grab the food. If it cannot and a threat (car or person) looms, it will have to let go or die.

Humans often struggle to let go even when it comes close to killing us. We may become so fixated on what we think we need that we lose sight of the bigger picture. Addicts are a very extreme example of this. They crave what is ultimately destroying them.

To survive, like the crow, we need to learn to let go of what no longer serves us, or at least wait until there comes a better time to take what we need. The bigger picture is important.

(*my own words)

[Hemera]

Communications

Particularly clever crows learn to make their needs clear by tapping on the window of a human's house when they are hungry. They have learnt that a particularly kind human will then feed them.

The lesson in this is be clear what you want. If you don't take the risk of asking, you will never receive. However, the key is ask, not demand! Crows may not know that distinction, but we do.

[WhiteWarrior]

Crows will show up in my garden but rarely, and a visit from a raven even more rarely. But every day I am visited by four magpies, they have nests in a large tree in my neighbor's garden. Magpies are the little brothers of crows and ravens as they are in the same family - Corvidae - and are fiendishly clever. They keep guard all the time and whenever I go out into the garden I hear their watchout calling. My cat (who died last autumn I am sorry to say) was fed outside for much of the year and the magpies would be congregating in the nearby bushes and fences before he'd had three bites. As soon as he felt fed and walked a couple of feet away the first of them would swoop in for a mouthful, followed quickly by the rest if the recon got away with it. Some times one of them would circle behind him and try to peck his butt, and if he did give chase the other three would head for the food in a hurry. I call them tentatively Sarge, Leut, Captain and Major according to their white stripes but it is hard to say who is who.

[Hemera]

I love magpies as well. My mum used to feed them when she was alive. They would wait on her garden fence every morning for their breakfast, along with robins, pigeons, the occasional tit. I do feel bad for them now my mum has gone. They must wonder what happened to their food supply :(
I love the names you gave yours! They are such lovely creatures. They are very fond of cheese, if my mum's were anything to go by.

[Hemera]

Dominance

Crows are like many creatures in that they form a hierarchy in terms of strength and dominance. This is a reminder to us humans to consider how we are using our own power and whether we are giving it away too readily to someone else. This can be very subtle, especially if we're used to being passive or we struggle to assert boundaries (yours truly!). Crows show us that some power is good, as sometimes we need help from those in a better position, but don't allow ourselves to be led when we need to choose our own path.

[Hemera]

A read on facebook earlier about someone who found a dead crow in their yard. It was surrounded by its crow family who were calling and basically making a lot of noise, presumably in grief. The person buried the crow in a beautiful spot under a tree and left a flower next to it. The person said that for the next few weeks they kept finding a flower on their doorstep. I was really touched by this story.

[green1]

Originally Posted by Hemera

The person said that for the next few weeks they kept finding a flower on their doorstep. I was really touched by this story.

Wonderful stuff. Thanks for sharing!

I heard that crows are as intelligent as a 7 years old child.

[Hemera]

Glad you liked it! I did too.

That's amazing if they're as intelligent as a 7 year old.