Many superstitions from the beginning of known history surrounds the owl. It it said to be a creature of darkness, magic, and death. It is no wonder, then, that owls play a major role in our national holiday, Halloween (See ' The Owl and the Witch'). One interesting myth of the owl, based on its link to darkness and death, is that it can live among ghosts. Consequently, abandoned buildings with nesting owls within were believed to be haunted. The Barn Owl whose nesting habitat is in old barns and buildings was often referred to as the Ghost Owl.
Of course, we all know better now, but we still love our owls at Halloween. So, enjoy these owl and ghost themed products below. You just might fine the one perfect for your Halloween plans.
This week let's just have a warm fuzzing good time and view some popular videos of unlikely animal friendships, specifically, of course, with owls. There are records of owls being close friends, even to the point of being inseparable, with cats and dogs. I'm sure these cases occur with the owls being raised or kept by humans, or a least, I haven't found any record showing otherwise. Still, animals are amazing and there is much we can learn from them. Enjoy!
And below are some adorable Zazzle items with owls and their friends:
It may have been the popularity of the the best-selling books and movies, Harry Potter, that rocketed owls into our pop culture, and, therefore, I think it only fitting that we give tribute to the story and the owls who play such a compelling part.
"Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they say their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps." --Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Of course, we are all familiar with the owl star being Harry's Snowy Owl, Hedwig. In themovies, Hedwig is a female, but the actual owl 'actors' (there were 7 owls used to play the part of Hedwig) were males. Female owls are not as pure white as males. Also, female Snowy Owls are bigger and would have been much heavier for the young (at the time) actors to handle.
"Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he found in A History of Magic. His school books were very interesting. He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice." --Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Then, there is the Errol, the Weasley family's Great Gray Owl. In the movie, Errol seems to be pretty clumsy, which they're not. They most certainly can't crash around like that which would have actually harmed the bird. For the filming, they used owl dummies for the crashes and then added a shot of the real bird flying, as though flying away from the crash.
It is interesting to note that the Great Gray Owl is known as the biggest owl of all owls, yet weighs less than the Snowy Owl by half! There's another little owl in the first two or three movies of the series, named Pigwidgeon, nickname Pig, a Scops Owl who belongs to Harry's friend, Ron. Pig dosen't have much of a part, just showing once or twice in the background while Ron talked to others. Yet, little Pig has a big personality. He is portrayed as hyper, loud, and a bit of a nuisance with a love to show off. In reality, this species is pretty shy and have a low sounding call. The Scops owl is the second smallest of all owls, the first being the Elf Owl.
"I've got to keep him up here because he annoys Errol and Hermes. He annoys me, too, come to that." -- Ron Weasly, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
We also have Hermes, Percy's Screech Owl that was given to him as a reward and who used the owl to send letters to his girlfriend, Penelope. This is also a small size owl, but with a very spooky whinny and trilling call.
Even the wicked wizard, Draco Malfoy, has an Eurasian Eagle-Owl as a familiar. I would give you its name, but it was never mentioned. The Eurasian Eagle owl is one of the biggest owls, measuring up to 30 inches in length. They're also long lived, up to 20 years in the wild. In all respects, the owls in Harry Potter are in sync with the lore and myth of owls being messengers to witches and wizards. I'm sure that was the author's, J.K. Rowling, intention. I didn't read the books, but I saw all the movies and totally loved them, as I'm sure you did, too.
Man in all cultures and in all times have been fascinated with owls, so, it is not surprising to find this bird throughout the history of art. One of the earliest drawing found of an owl was discovered in the south of France in a cave (among other animals). The cave, Chauvet Cave, and its drawings is believed to be dated between 32,000 - 30,000 BC. You can learn more about the Chauvet Cave here. Below is an ancient Greek silver coin, Tetradrachm, dated 480-420 BC, which depicts a baby owl on its surface. Unfortunately, the detail reason or meaning of the owl is unknown, however, it is known that the owl was the symbol of the Goddess Athena.
Another finding is the Etruscan owl skyphos, or wine drinking cup, dated about 450 400 B.C.
There is really too many history and culture examples of owl art to provide here, but, owl art is very much present in current times, as well. Just look at these amazing pieces of art work available on Zazzle.com.
People have always been fascinated and mystified by dreams. Why do we dream? How? What does mean? Or, is there any real meaning? There have been many studies conducted on the subject with only partial understanding of the results. Many state that much of our suppressed emotions find release in the dreamworld; either literally or through symbolic images. Others speculate that it is the way our brain sorts out all that we have collected throughout the day. Then, there are those which state that many dreams are precognitive, meaning they forewarn us of future events. These precognitive dreams can be played out exactly as it will occur in our waking state, but more often then not, they are given via symbols.
Professional dream interpreters have been around in many different cultures for thousands of years, and one of the main symbols they interpret is the owl. So, what does it mean to dream of an owl? Well, it depends on many different things: the setting, the action, and even the color of the owl. Below is a list of some of the most common interpretations: - Seeing an owl in a house: family troubles are coming. - Scaring an owl away: disappointing circumstances will improve. - Catching a owl: great happiness on the way. - Hearing an owl hoot: you will soon encounter a deceitful person. - Hearing an owl scream: a death. - Seeing a dead owl: illness (not death). - Owl pecking your eyes: time to face the facts. - Seeing a white, or snowy owl: a romantic date coming up, or happy surprises. - Seeing an owl flying away from a branch: you will narrowly escape danger. Please be advised, however, that this list should be seen as just a general guideline as not all interpreters agree, and meaning of dreams can be very personalized.
