Painting of the Day

With my last change of address, the sudden appearance of crows outside the condo window caught my attention, for over a week they were there almost every day. What I felt when I saw them led me to look up what crows/ravens meant in terms of symbolism. Soon after that I began sketching and painting again.

"Native American Raven Beliefs
AmerIndians associated Raven with magick, a powerful medicine or power that gives courage to enter the void, the Great Mystery where Great Spirit resides. When Raven appears, there will be a positive change in consciousness. Raven guards ritual magick and healing.
Raven brought light into the darkness of the world and transformed and created part of Maka, Mother Earth. He named plants and taught animals.
Raven is the hallmark of shape-shifting. Raven could see all and find things that are hidden.
Some tribes believe that Raven is Trickster like Coyote and Crow. Raven is teacher out outwits himself, being fooled by his shenanigans.
Raven, in accordance with Celtic symbolism, is believed to be a sign that something special, but unexpected will happen."
from: http://paganismwicca.suite101.com/article.cfm/raven_enigmatic_pagan_symbol

"Crow Medicines and Legends of the New World Some AmerIndian tribes believed Crow was the keeper of the sacred law and could shape-shift. He protected the sacred writings of Great Spirit. Crow is an omen of transformation. The bird has been associated with the Ghost Dance movement of 1890. Crow has no sense of time and lives in the Void, having the ability to the past, present and future at the same time. The Alaskan Athapaskan tribe believed crow created the world. Crow is considered to be the entrance to the supernatural and is associated with illusion. Along with Coyote and Raven, Crow is considered trickster. According to the Alaskan Tanaina Tribe, Chuylen, Crow, can shape-shift into a young handsome man. In this shape, he can trick people into getting what he desires. When he is in the shape of a crow, he does the same to animals.
Crow has been likened to the trickster of Native American power animals. There was a man who hated crows because he thought they prevented him from trapping rabbits. He decided to try to frighten them by putting mirrors on the ground facing skyward so the birds would see their reflections and be scared away. Crow, a curious bird ,and was fascinated by the mirrors and decided to explore them. One by one, they desecrated the mirrors’ surfaces, then flew into a tree and cackled at what they had done."
from: http://paganismwicca.suite101.com/article.cfm/crow_mysterious_pagan_symbol