Bringing olden ways to modern days,
For Wiccans,
Witches,
Pagans,
And all who honor a nature-based path.
This is Desert Magic with Crow Moon.
Marry me,
And welcome back once again to another episode of Desert Magic.
I'm your host,
Crow Moon,
Sending bright blessings to all of you from the beautiful and magical desert of southern Arizona.
And here we arrive at another Appreciation Day.
There seems to be one for just about everything,
I think,
Be it national or international recognition.
Some of them resonate with me more than others,
But in the end,
I find it to be a wonderful thing that many of us are continually recognizing things to celebrate and appreciate.
And this one certainly appeals to me for many reasons.
I'm talking about International Crow and Raven Appreciation Day,
Which is celebrated on April 27th.
In Celtic mythology,
The Morrigan is a goddess associated with battle,
Fate,
And sovereignty.
She often appears or is depicted with a group of crows or ravens,
And as a shapeshifter often takes the form of them.
Her appearance as such on the battlefield was often in an effort to offer aid and prophecy,
As they symbolize the otherworldly and wisdom.
They're also symbolic of the Morrigan's role in transformation and also the cycle of life.
The Norse god Odin appears or is depicted with two ravens,
Huginn for thought and Muninn for memory.
Odin is known to send these birds out into the world to gather information and report back to him with their findings,
Furthering their association with wisdom and memory.
In Native American spiritualities,
Crows are looked upon more as tricksters.
They're often viewed as symbols of transformation,
But with a more mischievous connotation.
One of the most commonly recognized symbolisms of these corvids is that of a messenger.
Their presence can be a spiritual call to rely on your inner wisdom and intuition.
For me,
This celebration,
At least with crows anyway,
Occurs almost every day.
I'm blessed to have the crow as my spirit animal,
And it's even more of a blessing that one of the neighborhood crows chooses to interact with me in one way or another on an almost daily basis.
He and his family have built their nest in a tree that's about a hundred feet from where I sit at this very moment,
And they've been there for many years.
This particular crow,
His name is Edmund by the way,
Has taken a liking to me even more so than the other crows in my neighborhood.
I'd never go so far as to say that he's my crow,
Because he's not my pet.
Having migratory birds as pets is illegal in the United States,
As it should be.
If anything,
I am Edmund's human.
I see him,
Or at least hear him,
Just about every day.
You've heard him too,
Because he is the vocalist on many of my music tracks,
Including the outro to this program.
Sometimes he'll drop by for a more up-close visit while I'm working in my garden,
But most of the time I have some kind of brief encounter with him as both of us are going about our daily business.
And much like Odin's ravens,
He goes out into the surrounding areas and,
Unbeknownst to him,
Gives me a report as to what's going on.
By observing him,
I know whether or not there are hawks or owls around,
If a storm is coming,
If there's any kind of mild chaos that might be noteworthy.
Many years ago,
After I had become Wiccan and began practicing the craft,
I'd pretty much made up my mind that I was not going to take a craft's name.
At the time,
I simply didn't feel the need to do so.
But while I was taking a walk one morning,
Just a few blocks from where I live,
A group of crows literally came out of nowhere and landed on the ground just feet before me.
The sound of their wings flapping all but muffled the nearby hum of traffic and the everyday sounds of a city waking up.
I stopped in my tracks and looked at these crows.
They locked eyes with me very intently,
And they wouldn't look away.
I wasn't at all frightened,
But what I felt in that moment was very similar to the way people describe experiencing an earthquake.
The crows were focused on me,
And I can assure you that they had my full attention.
As I stood frozen in place,
It was the only time in my life when I felt as though time was actually standing still.
The crows stared at me in a way that was very commanding,
Yet not at all intimidating.
And with their eyes focused,
They telegraphed this message to me.
You will take a craft name.
Well their message was quite clear,
And I did not have to guess as to what that name could or should be.
I'm still unsure as to whether or not Edmund was one of them that day,
And it really doesn't matter to me.
For me,
He is a reminder,
An almost daily reminder,
Of that experience,
That calling,
Although I doubt quite seriously that I could ever possibly forget it.
Although this episode is about crows and ravens,
Especially crows,
That makes a wonderful segue into sharing a few thoughts on spirit animals in general.
I believe everyone has one,
Regardless of whether or not they're aware of it,
Regardless of whether or not they're Wiccan or Pagan.
The spirit animal is simply an animal that resonates with you in some way,
And that animal can also be a guide or mentor in the spiritual sense.
Your introduction to this animal need not be as attention-getting as the one I just shared.
If you're drawn to a certain animal,
That's usually enough of an indication.
You don't even need to understand why you are drawn to that animal.
On whatever level,
A connection is made,
And once that has happened,
Interactions will take place,
Often simply with our thoughts.
Some spirit animals will interact with us in dream state.
Once you have made a connection with the animal,
On a spiritual level,
You will likely begin learning more about that animal,
And in doing so,
You might realize that the two of you share one or more common traits,
That perhaps the animal has certain traits which you would like to adopt or refine for yourself.
Beyond animals,
You might also find a very similar connection or relationship between yourself and a certain plant.
All living things are energy.
All living things are spirit.
When we look at animals and people,
For example,
As spirits,
Rather than simply people or animals we begin to have a high,
Yet equal regard for all forms of life,
And soon we will realize that all forms of life have a role to play in nature,
That all of them are vital,
And in doing so,
It is my wish for you that you will also understand that you,
Too,
Are vital.
Make appreciating yourself something that's worthy of national or international recognition,
But make it more than just one day.
Until next time,
The crow flies from me to thee,
To send the message,
Blessed be.
