The Owl Tattoo

The owl

There are about 17 different species of owl in north America. For the purposes of tattooing, we will discuss owls in general, rather than each individual species.

Native Americans associated owls with wisdom and were considered the keepers of sacred knowledge. Owls know, when the weather will change, and by watching them, we can to some extent, know what to expect from the weather.

Owls ability to see, and they are limited light or near dark conditions may be the reason that some cultures associated owls with death. Most native Americans believed the owl escorts the soul to the next realm.

Owls eyes face forward, rather than on either side of the head as other birds to. This may be the reason owls are considered to be wise. It may be more that they look wise than that they actually have more wisdom than other birds.

Some native cultures associated owls with divination and supernatural powers. Different tribes have different associations or spiritual meaning to the owl. The Pawnee use the owl as the symbol of protection. The Ojibwa think it’s a symbol of evil or death. The Pueblo people associate the owl with death and the spirit of fertility.

The Oglala Sioux. So admired the snow all that warriors who showed extreme bravery were allowed to wear owl feathers as the distinction of their bravery. The Apache were fearful of owls. They thought the owl embodied the spirit of their dead.

Being nocturnal creatures, many native societies believe they have an inner knowledge or intuition, such as psychic ability. Some of these cultures believed the owls to be a messenger between the Earth and the spirit realm.

The owl is connected with shamanism and magic similar to a cat. We can build their as far as ancient Greeks to find myths and legends about owls.

Some of the attributes of the owl are intuition, wisdom, knowledge independence, bravery, longevity and protection.

Owl medicine people are believed to be able to see through lies as well as allusions to discover the truth.

Tags: Aves, Biology, Chordata, Flora and Fauna, Ojibwa, Owl, Pawnee, Strigiformes