Crow: Totem of Change

I saw a post on Facebook the other night about Crows as totems:

Crows are the keepers of the Sacred Law
and to have a Crow totem is very powerful.

Personal Integrity are your watchwords and your guide in Life.
If you have a Crow totem, your prime path
is to be mindful of your opinions and actions.
You must be willing to walk your talk,
to speak your truth and to know your life’s mission.

Crow is an omen of Change.
Crow lives in the void and has no sense of time,
therefore, it sees past, present and future simultaneously.
Crow merges both light and dark, both inner and outer.
It is the totem of the Great Spirit and must be respected as such.

They are symbols of creation and spiritual strength.
Look for opportunities to create and manifest the magic of life.
Crows are messengers calling to us
about the creation and magic that is alive in the world today
and available to us.

“An omen of change…create and manifest the magic of life.” Seems very fitting with where I am, and what’s happening in my life right now. Personally, I’ve always felt more connected to owls as my spirit animal, but lately I’ve been paying more attention to the family of ravens that hang out on my property – especially in the big dead tree in the backyard (which paints a nice picture)!

Pema Chodron has an incredible insight into how ravens deal with change and obstacles (and how we should emulate them):

Ravens in the Wind

“The wilder the weather is, the more the ravens love it. They have the time of their lives in the winter, when the wind gets much stronger and there’s lots of ice and snow. They challenge the wind. They get up on the tops of the trees and hold on with their claws and then they grab on with their beaks as well. At some point they just let go into the wind and let it blow them away. Then they play on it, float in it. After a while, they’ll go back to the tree and start over. It’s a game. Once I saw them in an incredible hurricane-velocity wind, grabbing each other’s feet and dropping and then letting go and flying out. It was like a circus act. They have had to develop a zest for challenge and for life. As you can see, it adds up to tremendous beauty and inspiration. The same goes for us.”

PBS had a great special on recently called A Murder of Crows that focused on the birds’ extremely high intelligence. The most interesting parts were about how crows have “funerals” for each other and the many sounds they make to communicate with their families. My ravens make a big commotion whenever I step outside…I wonder what they’re saying to each other?

Crow totem facts from Lin’s Domain
Crow photos from my Pinterest board

Related articles

• C is for Crow-My beautiful amazing totem animal (wiccanwonderland.wordpress.com)
• A Funeral for a Crow (wordscomeezine.wordpress.com)
• Crows in Flight (sofiafiberarts.wordpress.com)
• The Wisdom of Animal Voices (synchronicityjournaling.wordpress.com)