Ghosts on Silent Wings

Ghosts On Silent Wings

Dear reader,

This piece is written straight from the voice of my soul, as the Barn Owl has always been a spirit guardian to me, as well as for people & cultures throughout human history.

This short story is about why this majestically mysterious bird has enchanted our collective imaginations, awe, and also fear, throughout the centuries.

I will also share some fascinating facts with you, which I hope will provide you with greater insight to make their enigmatic existence even more mystical- and share my personal experience of why these mythical spirited characters have taken a special focus in my life.

The Barn Owl (Tyto Alba) is among one of the most commonly widespread land-birds in our world. They have been our neighbours wherever our species has settled, and so they have taken a prominent place in our collective & diverse cultural psyches.

We humans seem to have a strong ‘Love-Hate’ relationship with these birds of prey, from seeing them as spiritual guardians of the night, to evil & sinister spectres whom bring dark portents of doom & death.

Throughout the medieval era in Europe, Owls were seen as frightening demons & malignant spirits who’s presence foretold an imminent tragedy. The Romans believed that if an Owl were to land on one’s house, then death was soon to come to one of the residents.

In other cultures, such as Ancient Greece, the Owl was seen more positively. Athena, the Goddess of War & Wisdom, had a sacred affinity with Owls, so had one as her companion-bird. In Hindu mythology, the Barn Owl is the mount-beast for the Goddess Lakshmi to ride upon. So, they have become symbolic of wisdom & learning (especially in more recent times, with the Owl-character in the King Arthur Disney movie).

Perhaps a strong possibility for why Barn Owls are seen as supernaturally scary beings, is due to their practically silent flight, ghostly pale visage, and their sudden & piercing call which chills the blood of the most confident hunters who dwell on the ground below- including we humans!

There is even mystery & intrigue behind their names. Why are they called the ‘Barn Owl’? From what I’ve researched & heard so far, it is potentially because of people used to fear & hate them so much, that they would kill & nail these noble birds above their barn doors, as to ward off other evil spirits as a warning.

However, I hold hope that there is a more benign & stronger reason as to how they have earned this famous title.

Barn Owls are characterised for their preference to roost in old barn buildings, as they provide the perfect structure to nest & raise their Owlets (even their babies have a special name!). House Martins & other birds also favour old & ideally disused barnes, for this reason.

The latin name Tyto Alba means mottled buff, pale/white owl, who inhabits barn structures. Throughout history, owls have also been appreciated for their role in keeping rodent species low, especially when it comes to helping to protect our grain stores from mice & rats, in the winter months.

We all owe our mysterious neighbors more than we know.

Symbology of Barn Owls:

From a past of fear & loathing of these ‘ghostly apparitions’, to a deep respect & appreciation of these majestic hunters of the night, we have known them for many deep meanings. They are symbolic for wisdom, insight, learning, vigilance, & intelligence. They teach us to apply our discernment to see through illusion & shadow, to see the truth behind falsehoods & deception.

They teach us to explore & appreciate the night, as we can experience the world through a very different perspective which we can’t know, during the day.

Barn Owls, like most owl species, are mainly nocturnal (they are awake, active & hunt during the night time), and they are also ‘crepuscular’, meaning that they are active in the twilight (& sometimes dawn) hours, where they have enough light & darkness to hunt stealthily, as well as with a full range of vision.

These are the times where I have been blessed with the experience of encountering these beautiful birds, in the wild.

I often hear the owls hooting to each other whenever I visit my elderly grandmother in the Welsh countryside on a still night, when their calls break the stillness of the gentle breeze & gentle flowing of the Llhanraedr river, and also in the spring & early summer months from a night time wander in my local area in South-West London. I have seen them flying by my apartment, lit up by the street lamps, gliding elegantly- quieter than breath.

When I lived ‘Up North’ in Carlisle for 5 years (for university), I once encountered a half-grown owlett who had wandered to a lower limb of a tree in Rickerby Park at dusk, and had started to hoot & circle her/his head with already self-acclaimed defiance at me (I couldn’t make out much detail in the dying summer sunset light, but Barn Owls are well known to nest in that park).

One of the parents was nearby, warning me to keep my distance- and I did, without any doubt that they were telling me that they meant ‘serious business’ if I overstepped the boundary.

Owls are known to aggressively defend their young & territory if they deem it necessary, so I don’t take any chances with these bold & powerful birds of prey.

Throughout my life, owls have played a recurring role in my self-awareness & discovery of my nature, also. I would faithfully put this down to the concept of ‘Synchronicity’ (when seemingly random events coincide in clearly meaningful ways), as it has been happening throughout my life.

As a child & while growing up, my family would gift me with owl pendants & trinkets -one of which is in the picture of this story- from their travels, as they perceived a likeness of them to me.

In 2015, a friend & I explored the use of a Native American ‘Pathfinder Speaking Board’, where you & a trusted companion merge your energy & intention to intuitively gude a transparent disk around the symbolic board, to ask the nature-spirits for insight to our ‘deep’ questions.

The Spirit Animals on the board took my attention, & so I asked the board (and my knowning self) which my own prevalent Spirit Animal is. Of course, the disk was guided to the Owl!

She symbolises the ability to see through the darkness, dellusion, masks of deception, and has a discriminating aggression against such attempts of weakness & falsehoods.

Later on in 2018, I asked my very talented Graphic-Designer sister to design my first tattoo-design for me, which is an elegant geometric Barn Owl, which resides on my left forearm.

What do the mysterious & majestic rulers of the night skies invoke in you, each time you hear an Owl’s call, or see a Barn Owl silently slicing through the darkness? I hope they inspire feelings to wonder, appreciation, reverence & solace in you, as they have done for me on so many occasions.

Thank you for reading my first story for Vocal+!

Yours faithfully,

Rowan.