Since prehistory, the owl has been considered a messenger of death. Even today, in many European countries it is believed that a family member will die if an owl perches on the roof of the house or in a nearby tree. The owl was the hieroglyph of death for the Egyptians.

In the era of Pliny, it was believed that the appearance of an owl in the city meant destruction. For many writers from later times, the owl was ominous, repulsive, horrible, hated by all other animals.

Despite the dreary aura that surrounds him, positive qualities are also attributed: deep wisdom, prophetic powers and the ability to move away evil. His eyes are endowed with a sacred power, since he has the most acute view of all animals.

This ambivalent image is a pale reflection, extended in time, of the owl as incarnation of the terrifying goddess of death. It was venerated as a deity and perhaps respected by its sinister but necessary task in the cycle of existence.

Owls have always been interpreted as symbols of wisdom, but there is much more behind this animal and its symbolism and representations. For example, did you know that there are deities associated with owls and that each of them is associated with one of the incredible meanings and messages of an owl?

5 deities associated with owls

Hypnos

In Greek mythology, Hypnos was a deity that adopted the shape of an owl and beat the wings to make men sleep. The Romans knew him with the name of Somnus.

Nyxla Night’s son was also, according to the iliada twin of Tánato, the God who personified death. According to Hesiod, he lived in the unknown lands of the West, while according to Homer, he lived in Lemnos.

Homer’s scholastics (former commentators) wondered about this. According to some, the Lemnians were very fond of wine, so they welcomed Hipnos with pleasure. According to others, God was in love with Pasitea, one of the three thanks, who lived in this city. Hipnos had the power to sleep both men and gods. He was considered benevolent and was surrounded by dreams.

Athena/Minerva

Minerva’s owl is the owl that accompanies Minerva in the myths of ancient Rome and, from Homer, Athena Glaucópida in the myths of ancient Greece.

It is the symbol of philosophy and wisdom. The eyes and peak follow the line of the letter φ (fi), Greek alphabetical symbol of philosophy and, later, of the golden section. The letter, therefore, widely joins harmony, beauty and love for knowledge and research.

According to Hegella Philosophy always is too late. As the thought of the world, it appears for the first time in time, after reality has completed its training process and is well done. […] Minerva’s owl starts its flight at dusk. «

With this, the German thinker means that philosophy comes to understand a historical condition only when it has already passed, applying retrospective without being able to offer preocognitive abilities.

Did you know that Minerva’s owl was also represented in the Greek currency of one euro, to remember its mythological traditions and their culture, especially the philosophical and scientific that have accompanied this population for centuries and centuries?

The Athenian silver coins (drachmas) were called «owls», name derived from the image represented in the currency: the Muchuelo, a sacred bird for the goddess Athena.

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Ragana

Ragana (in popular stories it is called «bony leg witch») represents the image of the destructive and regenerating goddess in the Lithuanian folklore.

His name derives from the verb Regeiti, which means «predict, foresee», or perhaps from the Lithuanian word, which indicates «horn, growing», which re -connects with the symbols linked to the moon, the rebirth, the transformation and the forms of forecast.

The meaning of his name is not entirely negative, but he was later degraded to the role of sorcery that brought bad luck to humans and animals.

It was believed that Ragana, the goddess of the witches, was a seer who could reveal the future and knew how to keep the supernatural powers under control. Its appearance could be that of an old bony, yellow and deformed, with a great picuda nose whose tip touched the chin, or that of a beautiful woman or a terrifying creature. He could adopt countless forms, among which that of a common owl.

Lakshmi

Lakshmi is the personification of wisdom. Its flower is the lotus, on which it is often represented seated. The lotus is a plant of great spiritual and philosophical symbolism because it is born in the mud but emerges in the light, floating on the surface of the water.

In the case of Lakshmi, the lotus also indicates that the positive fruits of fate come from work, from perseverance, from what has been sown in the past, and also the ability to transform the potential of mud and water into something different, good, beautiful and useful.

Those who veto Lakshmi with sincerity and without greed will be blessed with wealth and success. Lakshmi also has an older, fearsome and unpleasant sister, called Alakshmi (the initial «A» Sanskrit, as in Greek, is private). This represents bad luck and riding a donkey.

Sometimes, Alakshmi adopts the form of an owl and accompanies Lakshmi, thus indicating the arrogance and stupidity that usually accompany the excess of luck. Interestingly, the owl represents wisdom and reflection, but it is also a bad omen, as in European traditions.

Blodeuwedd

In Welsh mythology (fourth branch of the mabinogion) Blodeuwedd («of the appearance of flowers») is the non -human girlfriend of Llew Llaw Gyffes, who would never become a king because his mother’s curse prevented him White, Retama, Castaño de Indias, Roble and Ortiga) so that the king could marry and have offspring.

Blodeuwedd tries to kill her husband and, as a punishment, is transformed into owl, since then the cry of these night birds remembers that of a woman.

Conclusion

What fascinating are owls and their interpretations and presence in the traditions of many different cultures? If you feel a special connection with the owls, some of these deities may be trying to connect with you! Stay open and prepared to receive your messages.