I had a very interesting Imbolc day. I had been sick earlier in the week and took 2 days off from teaching. Thursday found me back on the highway early in the morning as the sun was coming up. I have a habit of watching the road for downed birds, specifically owls and hawks. I have already been given two owls in this manner by the nature spirits. I know it may sound gruesome but it isn't. The first owl was given to me a couple of years ago. While going down the highway with a friend, I spotted a brown lump with a wing sticking up. We screeched to a halt and backed up. Up until this time I had just been a collector of bones, clean bones, well aged and usually from deer. I collect them for art inspiration. However, this event was different. I knew it was a full carcass before stopping. When I ran up to the bird I saw that it was an owl. I was amazed and suprised and I had the strong knowing that I was to take it. So we proceeded home eventually and I knew I was to keep the wings so I got out the plant clippers and pretended it was no different than chopping a dead chicken for dinner and I severed the wings. The rest of the owl I buried with a bit of ceremony. That was the first owl whose dried wings I still have. The second owl happened in a similar fashion. I was driving along the same highway, saw the wing waving at me, stopped and knew it was meant for me to take. This time I clipped the wings and tail. I wanted the claws but was too squimish. Later, a woman that I met who was very involved in Native American spirituality, told me I should have taken the claws also, then I would have had the power of the owl. The owl's wings are pictured above. This second owl, a Barred Owl, was then put into a cedar tree in the woods on Winter Solstice a year ago with much ceremony to commerate its passing.
So yesterday, on Imbolc, I was driving down the same highway and I saw an owl but it was dark and there were a lot of cars and the bird was in the middle of the road so I knew it was not meant to be. Further along though, I spotted a hawk on the side of the road, few cars and the sun was further up. I had been asking the spirits for a hawk!! I turned around and grabbed it quickly and put it in my car. If you do this, you do NOT want anyone to catch you. Having a hawk or owl in your possesion is illegal even if it is roadkill because they are protected birds. When I got home, I removed the wings, the red tail AND the claws (see picture above). It is really difficult to clip parts off of these beautiful birds but I know that its spirit has long flown and if left on the side of the highway it would just be trampled endlessly. I believe the hawk would prefer to have some of its beauty preserved. Afterwards, I took the body into the woods nearby and placed it in the fork of a tree and offered some tobacco to the spirits. In the picture you can see that I have stretched the wings out on a board and clipped the ends to the board. If you don't, the wings will contract as the flesh dries and you will not be able to open them back out---put them how you want them before they dry. I am going to pack them in borax for awhile to aid the drying process and kill mites. I also put my wings in the freezer several times a year for a day or two to kill off any mites---feathers seem to attract mites.
I find it very symbolic that I was given the hawk on Imbolc. Imbolc is a holiday that calls in the light after the winter darkness. The hawk in Native American beliefs is a sun bird, its opposite is the owl, a night bird. For me the owl was a similar energy to the goddess Kali, an energy that takes you into dark places. The past several years I have experienced many dark places with passing of my parents, two friends, other family members and beloved pets. I have also cleared out many dark places within myself. The owl energy has been appropriate. Now I have been given a hawk on Imbolc. I am taking that as a powerful sign that I am entering a new brighter era, for awhile at least, and I am looking forward to learning more from the hawk spirits. Happy Imbolc! Blessed Be!
