crow Photo from Pexels

Birds are peaceful, free, and inspirational animals. Every time we catch ourselves looking at a bird, we also find answers to dilemmas popping in our minds. It’s almost like these birds know our distress and gives us the answers we need. However, not all birds represent the same thing. This is probably why people find the knowledge of bird symbolism so important.

Of all the colorful birds singing their melodious songs, one bird sticks out like a sore thumb. May be for its looks, it may be for its rough song, but the crow is a bird that puzzles all. It makes many of us wonder about the crow symbolism.

What do these birds signify? What does a black crow mean? What can we expect when we see a black crow?

We answer all these questions and more in this article.

Table of contents

Crow Symbolism and Meaning

Often confused with ravens, people usually think crowsrepresent bad luck. However, that is not what crows symbolize.

What Do Crows Symbolize?

Crows symbolize transformation and change. They are watchful creatures that have a sharp and powerful foresight. If you cross a crow and think of it as an adverse outcome, then you must remember that this is just one of the many possible results. You can tap into the potent power of this bird to transform the bad into foresight or something useful.

The crow represents change or transformation. But much more than that, it refers more to a spiritual or emotional change. These intelligent birds give us valuable insight into situations around us and help us adapt as needed.

Crow Native American Symbolism

The symbolism of the Crow took a brighter turn in mainstream thought when people explored Native American beliefs about the bird. They always believed crows to be cleansers of both land and mind. We can see echoes of this belief in their folklore, where they portray the intelligence of the crow as their main feature.

The Native American crow meaning is different from the rest of the world. While the rest of the world largely saw them as a dark omen, they consider them to be a sign of good fortune. To this day, they hold steadfast to this belief every time a crow crosses their path.

The culture of Native Americans had many crow clans and tribes who used to consult the crow for a word of wisdom in times of need. The crow clan included the following tribes:

  • The Hopi tribe – their crow clan was known as Ungwish-eungwa or Angwusngyam
  • The Chippewa tribe – their totem and crow clan was called Aandeg
  • The Pueblo tribe of New Mexico
  • The Tlingit tribe
  • The Menominee
  • The Caddo tribe

These tribes and clans are aware that crows eat carrion, but they are also mindful that so do many other animals like bears or bald eagles. This is known to many as the circle of life, which is why they choose to look past it.

When referring to a crow, the Native American folklore seems to talk about an animal that is a fuse between a crow and its cousin, raven. The confusion is understandable considering their quite similar features.

Crow Christianity Symbolism

We see the confusion between crows and ravens increase in Christian belief. Although there is no mention of the word “crow” in the bible, Robert Young’s “analytical concordance to the bible” includes and explains many entries. The LL.D Dr. Young explains these entries concerning the original words in the Greek and Hebrew bible and middle age Christianity.

The difference between them both, however, is that ravens are much bigger and shinier than crows. When explaining the crow’s spiritual meaning, he somewhat overlooks this difference.

The primary symbolism of crows and ravens in Christianity is often related to one of the following things:

  • The reference to Noah releasing a raven/crow from the Ark to see if the water from the flood had subsided or not, only for the bird not to return.
  • The community associates crows with death because of their color and their feeding style.
  • In contrast to other birds, people identify crows as being earthly. They spend most of their time on the ground, close to their feed, instead of flying in the air.

Crow Celtic Symbolism

Like the Native Americans, Celtics also debunk the dark symbolism surrounding this bird. The Celtic crow symbol stands for individuality, prophetic knowledge, and a complete disregard for what others think. The crow embodies a combination of abilities and skills, mostly.

Celtics also deeply honor crows as a sign sent to them by prophets or oracles in a practice of clairvoyance. The Celts so believed the crows carried secrets between the feathers of their wings.

The Celtic crow significance is so prominent that they believe these birds have a connection with the deity of creation and sun, Lugus. This, again, is a direct contradiction of the crow’s common reputation as a sign of darkness. The importance and significance of crow symbolism were so renowned that killing a crow was considered a felony under the druidic rule.

We should take a leaf out of the Celt’s perspective and understand the importance of these black-feathered messengers. We can also do well by learning from the crows themselves. They teach us so much from accepting our own individuality to not caring about what anyone else thinks. If we manage to develop that kind of gumption in our attitude, we should thank crows for that.

Crows in Dreams

Many consider seeing a black crow in a dream as a bad omen. While it may be true that they represent foreshadowing of sadness or grief, it is not the only black crow meaning. Seeing these intelligent creatures can even be a sign of wisdom or intuition.

Dream interpretation specialist says that dreaming about a bird usually means a message from your subconscious. They also attribute much deeper meaning to a crow’s appearance in our dreams, since crows can fly between the land of the living and the dead. Seeing a crow in your dream can signify your thoughts and feelings about your life, transformation, and death.

The meaning of seeing a crow in your dream can also depend on what the crow is doing. If you see a crow in flight, that means some hidden issues in your subconscious mind are demanding attention. If you don’t bring these issues to the surface, you will have difficulty moving forward. If you see a crow in the middle of a feast, then that means usually means your current course of action will bring you great wealth. In other words, you need to trust your intuition.

Apart from the sub-conscious interpretations, mystics say that seeing crows in your dream is also a sign of positive change, especially when you see them following or watching you. However, seeing a crow in an unclear position can be a warning. You need to evaluate your current course of action to make sure you don’t end up with disappointment.

Overall, crows are a symbol of transformation. It is up to you to notice the nature of change. Was it a positive one? An adverse one? Or something that is yet to happen?

Crow Encounters and Omens

What does it mean when you see a crow?

Encountering a crow is more of a message then a sign of something. This message can be a piece of advice, an omen, or a warning depending whose path it crosses. For you to decipher what it means for you, you need to take a much more in-depth look into it. This is because these intelligent birds are known for their trickery. Therefore, the answers won’t come quickly to you. However, once you do realize the meaning of the message, it’s all worth it.

Crows can also be a warning of the presence of duplicitous figures around you. They are a symbol of transformation and intuition; this is why they are the first to know if a person around you has “transformed.” You should also trust your instinct to see what is not right around you.

Crow Mythology and Folklore

You will find both sad and happy tales in Crow mythology and folklore. Some stories praise the intelligence of crows while others dispute over the bird’s dark omens.

Native American Mythology:

Native American mythology emphasizes the intelligence of crows. Some tribes believe it to be a trickster, recounting many of its tales of mischief. Whereas other tribes believe it as a happy sign thinking that it was the wisdom of crows that brought down fire from heaven.

Celtic Mythology

In Celtic mythology, Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often assumes the form of a crow or is accompanied by a group of them. It is said that when you see a group of three crows approaching, it is a sign of her watching. Perhaps this is from where the 3 crows meaning came.

Welsh Mythology

In Welsh mythology, witches and sorcerers could transform themselves into crows or ravens, enabling them to avoid capture. The bad reputation of witches was placed with these intelligent birds, making them a harbinger of death.

Greek Mythology

In Greek mythology, the intelligence of crows links them to Apollo because of his gift of prophecy.

Chinese Mythology

In Chinese mythology,elders often depicted crows with the sun. Chinese people usually take crows as a sign of good luck, but its meaning changes only when one happens to hear the song of a crow.

Crow Spirit Animal

When you have the spirit animal crow, you have the unusual ability to see far beyond all that is apparent.

The crow is an intelligent creature that has a high power of observation and intuition that many other animals lack. They lend us the same characteristics by giving us the power of insight that is usually accurate. In short, the crow’s spiritual meaning is that of insight, which is hard to come by in any other animal.

Crow Totem Animal

People with a crow totem are well-known for their creative and handiwork nature. They don’t need to be artistic, but they can take bits and pieces of anything and transform it into something useful. In any complex or challenging situation, you can count on a crow animal totem person to come up with an unorthodox solution.

People with a crow totem are a weird breed. They have this unusual ability to display extreme personalities like tense and easygoing to frustrating and helpful. This ability enables them to shift from one personality trait to another as need be. Not many people have the empathy or insight developed so much as to not only understand and perceive the situation but also to modify oneself in accordance with it; this is exceptional.

People with a crow animal totem have a lot of personal integrity. They are not only insightful but also mindful of their actions and opinions. As a result, they embrace life’s mission and walk the talk. They shift from one life change to another with effortless ease. Like the crows, these people have an eye for spotting opportunities and swoop in as soon as they see one.

Taking after their crow totem, which builds their nests in tall trees, these people have perspective unlike any other about their surroundings.

All of these traits enable people with crow animal totem to be watchful of predators and intruders.

Crow Power Animal

In addition to the qualities mentioned above, crows provide very potent power of protection. These intelligent birds are very protective of their territories and their nests. They manage to ward off trespassers that are much bigger than themselves.

This power, when transferred to a human, means not only your loved ones but also yourself and your possessions too. This can be anything from something that is rightfully yours to any object that you own. These power animals help us keep our things safe and sound.

Crow power animal is particularly helpful when you are most in need of creativity, especially when you face a life-or-death situation. These birds can help you think outside the box, mainly when your survival depends on it.

Related

Crow Tattoo Meaning

Crows are very smart, intelligent, and very creative. Yet, many tattoo experts admit that people readily subject the crow symbol as a dark, mystical, or ominous sign. They also say that although it has a significant positive meaning, it usually gets second billing to its dark side.

However, we see different black crow meanings throughout different cultures. For instance, the middle ages considered spotting a dead crow as a sign of good fortune, and the Chinese considered it a loving symbol representing the creative side of people.

When a person gets inked with a crow symbol, it usually is a representation of a personality that greatly affected them. The detailed interpretation of the crow tattoo lies in the intricacy of the design.

One crow may represent a bad omen, a good luck sign, may mean good health, may stand for increasing wealth, could represent severe sickness, and even may represent death.

Many people say that we carry the symbols that we tattoo on ourselves to our afterlives. Make sure you are taking the right message with you when you cross. We suggest you choose the design of your crow tattoo very carefully as minor details can completely change the meaning. Form love, future, and wisdom, you can very quickly end up with something akin to a bad omen with a single mistake.

Conclusion

To conclude, it is pointless to fear a crow when you see it or hear it cawing. A crow cawing meaning is not one of bad news. Instead, it means something new is about to happen to you. Trust these intelligent birds and their keen sense of foresight. Try to understand what the crow is trying to tell you and prepare for it. You can form a deep connection with the bird and revel in its wisdom and outstanding traits

Information contained on this page is provided by an independent third-party content provider. Frankly and this Site make no warranties or representations in connection therewith. If you are affiliated with this page and would like it removed please contact [email protected]