What Does it Mean to See an Owl?

What is it about owls that interests and fascinates us? Is it the enormous eyes and human-like faces with their wise expressions? Is it the beauty of the plumage and silent flight? Or is there perhaps a touch of horror in our fascination for these great birds of prey, with their nocturnal habits, penetrating gaze and eerie shrieks?

Owls are the symbol of divine intuition and to dream about them is considered lucky. Owls are mysterious, silent birds, and in folklore associated with magic and the occult. An owl’s dark eyes make it seem wise beyond human understanding. An owl’s sudden appearance is thought to represent a death or powerful message.

What are Real Owl Actually Like?

Owls are striking birds of prey that are very difficult to see. Mostly nocturnal, owls inhabit woodland, heath, marsh and forest, hunting for voles, mice, insects and small birds. They may also come into your garden – but you will have to keep a close watch if you want to spot one. Early mornings and dusk are the best time to see them.

According to Avian Web, there are 222 species of owls in the world. These birds can hunt in almost total darkness, using only sound. Their huge facial disc, funnels the sounds made by their prey, making it easy for the sharp-eyed owl to hunt.

Owls are shy birds. Their brown, buff and grey feathers mean that they are extremely well camouflaged against a backdrop of leaf and bark. They make their nests in holes in trees and their hooting call is often the only sign of their presence in a particular area.

Brown Owls, are widespread – though surprisingly seldom seen. You have a greater chance of seeing a Barn Owl, particularly at dusk. This pale, buff coloured owl is frequently to be seen swooping over fields of long grass at dusk, hunting for mice.

All owls are brown and buff-coloured, with hints of grey, except for the Snowy Owl, which is white with speckles of black. The most prominent and noticeable feature of an owl is its eyes. Round, staring and bright yellow-orange, most owls have wide rings around their eyes, called a facial disc, making them seem huge.

How to See Owls During Daytime?

Most owls are nocturnal predators, hunting for rodents, smaller birds, insects and other small creatures with their keen hearing and sharp eyesight. During the day, they rest in evergreens, cavities in old trees, abandoned buildings and other concealed locations. Most people rarely see or even hear an owl.

A few owl species hunt in daylight, typically in open areas such as meadows, marshes, heaths, sand dunes, and tundra. The sits on a fencepost or other high points, or flies near the ground in search of prey. The Burrowing Owl, another day hunter, runs on the ground or hovers and dives. They often sit on the ground near the entrance to their nest burrow for long periods.

What Does it Mean to See an Owl During Daytime?

Seeing a single owl is considered good luck, whereas seeing more than one is seen as bad omen. This belief can be traced back to the ancient Greeks who thought of owls as harbingers of doom and foreshadowed death in family or friends.

It is easy to understand how seeing an owl could be associated with doom and bad luck – they have an eerie silhouette that resembles a human skull, their cries are often mistaken for those of humans and they are known for being night predators. This makes them all the more frightening to those who see them as harbingers of death instead of just another bird.

Where Can You See Owls ?

A good strategy for finding owls hunting in daylight is to scan the tops of tall objects near open areas where rodents and other small animals are likely to be abundant. In woods, watch for disturbance in the branches above.

Some owls, like the roost in abandoned buildings. Others roost in tree cavities where they are difficult to observe. Even those that roost in trees take patience and skill to locate:

Look for roosting owls in evergreen trees or dense vines. In trees, they stay close to the trunk and choose spots that are obscured by other limbs, which makes it difficult to pick out their distinctive shape.Examine the ground at the base of likely trees for -small sausage shaped bundles of fur, feathers, bones, beaks etc. Owls regurgitate at least one pellet a day: if a bird returns to the same roost frequently, there will be a number of pellets on the ground. A fresh pellet means you’re probably close to a roosting owl.

Check the ground and lower branches of trees for whitewash, the telltale droppings of a roosting bird.Pay attention to other birds, particularly crows, blackbirds, magpies, even chickadees. If these birds discover an owl, they harass and mob it noisily. Roosting owls don’t move on easily, giving the birder time to discover what the crows are excited about.Check evergreens lower down as well as tall trees: smaller owls often roost at eye level.

How to See Owls At Nighttime?

Few people see owls once it’s fully dark, but the night hunters often perch in the open or linger near forest edges near dusk and dawn, and even through the day if it’s overcast. Check for their silhouettes on telephone poles, in tall trees or even on top of buildings. In wooded areas, look up.

Once it’s dark, the nocturnal owls are active and hunting but they’re only visible if they pass very close. To enjoy owls at night, birders learn their distinctive calls and can even imitate the calls and get the birds to answer. Some birders use taped calls to find owls. This technique shouldn’t be overused however, especially during the breeding season as it harasses the birds and can disrupt their hunting and breeding activities.

Owl watchers sometimes find, to their discomfort, that owls are watching them. It’s wonderful to come eye to eye with an owl, but disturb the bird as little as possible and don’t linger. Remember this is distracting it from hunting for food or keeping it from much needed rest.

What Does in Mean to See an Owl in Your Dreams?

If you see an owl in your dream, it means that something transcendental or supernatural is trying to reach you. You need to pay attention to your intuition. Perhaps you have been ignoring or suppressing this powerful inner voice, the “bird” of your soul trying to tell you something important and urgent.

To see a snowy owl in your dream, symbolizes a holy messenger and spiritual awakening. The snowy owl is the official bird of Nunavut, Canada and is often used to represent wisdom and enlightenment.

If you know someone who has died, then seeing an owl in your dream indicates that the spirit of the dead person is trying to reach you. The symbolism behind an owl may vary according to each individual culture. However, generally owls are believed to have an important message for you in dreams.

If you have an owl as pet, then you need to be more alert and knowledgeable about the world around you. In particular, if you take care of a snowy owl in your dream, then this means that people like you to be wise and spiritual and are looking towards your for help. You are endowed with mystical powers which can help others by solving their problems or making them sense the right direction in life.

To see a young owl in your dream refers to the past which is often associated with “ancient” wisdom. If you eat an owl in your dream, then it means that you will be doing some soul searching and exploring recent events from long ago.

To see a baby owl in your dream symbolizes a new beginning and a fresh start. It may be a sign that you are about to embark on the next phase of your life and are going back to square one.

To see an owl eating mice, rats or birds indicates that something is going to happen in the future which will take you back in time and give you the chance to learn something important about yourself or those around you. If this image appears during pregnancy, then this suggests that there are some feelings from the past which need to be addressed and dealt with.

To hear an owl in your dream means that something unexpected is going to happen and it may be unpleasant or painful. If you see an owl flying in your dream, then it means that troubles will be swept away but peace and harmony may not return at once.

To kill an owl in your dream suggests the suppression of your emotional needs and desires. This can lead to frustration, loneliness and depression. To shoot an owl in your dream symbolizes a message that you need to pay attention to something serious. This may be related to a need for self-guard and protection against negative people around you.

To see an injured or dead owl in your dream indicates that someone’s action is disturbing you emotionally and spiritually. It is also a sign of despair or death of old ideals or beliefs, because owls are considered as symbols of wisdom and spirit guides.

If you see an owl in your dream with an arrow in it, then it indicates that someone or something is hurting or sabotaging your life.

If you see a young owl’s nest in your dream, then this may foretell that you will be going through some emotional turmoil. An owl’s nest is also related to prophesy and prophetic dreams.

If you kill a male baby owl in your dream, then it may signify the death of old ideas and beliefs that are no longer relevant to today’s real world. Nevertheless, this may be a sign of fertility and new beginnings. If the dreamer kills a female baby owl, then this indicates the failure of old ideals and beliefs.

What is the Spiritual Meaning of Seeing an Owl?

The owl is a symbol for wisdom and thus much of the time it appears in this book to symbolize a person of wisdom. It also tends to represent knowledge and intuition, but it is also associated with death and mysteriousness, causing it to be portrayed as an image of mystery or even magic. The reason for these associations with death and magic is that there are several Native American beliefs about owls that are often associated with the element of death and the supernatural.

The lore and myths of the Native Americans associate the owl with death and foreboding. In parts of British Columbia, owls are believed to be evil spirits who hunt people at night and to see one in your dream is a very bad omen. For the Hopi Indians, owls are considered harbingers of death and is associated with witchcraft and black magic. The Cherokees regard them as sorcerers who bring disease, while the Sioux believe that to hear an owl’s call near a house means that someone living in it will die soon. In China, the owl is often associated with sages, wisdom and knowledge. The ancient Chinese believed that the owl was a manifestation of the gods.

Owls in Mythology

Owls have featured in the folklore and mythology of the peoples of Europe. There are untold numbers of examples, and some beliefs are very old indeed, dating back to the time when owls were associated with death and with the underworld, while others are relatively modern. The owl is still associated with death in many cultures around the world. This association can be traced back through ancient civilizations as well as myths that originate in the medieval times.

The ancient Romans associated it to their goddess of swift retribution, Nemesis. In Greek culture, Athena was a protector of Athens; she was a virgin warrior goddess and protector of strategic cities that symbolized protection against aggression (in particular from Sparta). Her Roman counterpart is Minerva who took over many of Athena’s characteristics in terms of personality and feats . Minerva was also associated with owl symbolism. The Romans believed Minerva was the protector of wisdom, and that she watched over their descendants as guardians.

Owls were also associated with death in ancient Celtic culture, because they are nocturnal hunters and thus associated with night and the underworld.

Perhaps as a product of the Christian religion, owls were associated with death and the underworld up until the times of the Renaissance. The Mediterranean cultures that adored owls associated them with their deities in an attempt to build a bridge between church and paganism. The Celtic culture maintained the associations of owls with night and death, but also incorporated Christian elements. They looked upon the owl as a symbol of rebirth and resurrection after death, and also believed that their dead were allowed to stay with them forever in the underworld.

Owls have also been associated with witchcraft (at least in modern society) because they are nocturnal hunters that generally eat small birds and prey on mice. They are an animal that is commonly associated with witchcraft, particularly those murders that involve owls as well as crows.

In addition to traditional myths, owls have been depicted frequently in modern art. Even after centuries of graphic depictions, owls continue to strike fear in the hearts of many.

Famous Owls Featured in Books

Man and owl have had a continuous relationship based on myth, superstition, folklore and fear. Shakespeare used the owl as a messenger of doom. Even the witches in Macbeth included “an owlet’s wing” in their bubbling cauldron. Shakespeare showed us a bird of foreboding, a bad omen, a bird of doom, death and fear.

Owls have featured frequently in a variety of fantasy literature. In Alan Garner’s The Owl Service, images of owls appear on the plates of a dinner service. When Alison traces the owl shapes onto paper, they disappear. She cuts out paper owls from the paper and later in the book they come to life in a terrifying scene.

In the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, owl post is used to deliver mail, parcels and newspapers. On more than one occasion, owls carry heavy objects for long distances and they can be used to send messages to people even if you don’t know where they are. A number of owls feature in the series of seven books. Hedwig is a Snowy Owl, given to Harry for his eleventh birthday by Hagrid. She meets an unfortunate end in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Errol is the Weasley’s owl, and is old and weak and not much good for anything. Ron Weasley is given a tiny owl by Sirius Black which he names Pigwigeon. Owls are portrayed as brave, loyal birds who can be affectionate when they choose – though easily offended.

Long before “Harry Potter,” humans were fascinated by owls. Now Harry Potter is being partly blamed for their decline in India. India’s environment minister, Shri Jairam Ramesh, has blamed Harry Potter fans for the demise of wild owls in the countryside, as wealthy urban parents present their children with gifts of an owl.

Loss of suitable habitat in old growth forests contributes to the decline of this useful and beautiful bird, a valuable part of every ecosystem. A growing number of owls are also being trapped, traded or killed in black magic rituals in India. The wildlife group, concerned for proper protection of the species, has called for tougher measures to prevent the sacrifice of owls, which still occurs regularly across the country.

Final Words

But people don’t agree about owls. Humans used to believe that their hooting cured fevers, drove people crazy and soured milk. We once associated them with sorcery, wizards, witches and gods. They brought us luck, sleep, and protection against evil. Today we are less superstitious (most of us). We still regard owls as symbols of wisdom, often using them to advertise our libraries, but we can’t really make up our minds about them (the owls, not the libraries).

Some of us fear them. Some of us are fond of them. Some of us collect all things owlish. There remains a sense of awe and mystery about these strange, ancient creatures. Perhaps that’s why we are fascinated by them.