Tribute to the Great Owls
As Pepito and I were taking our afternoon walk on December 11, 2019, I was startled to see a Great Horned Owl sitting fluffed up on the gravel pile at one end of the driveway. He didn't move away though he watched us when we walked by about 20 feet from him to go into the yard.
When I asked the owl how he felt, I sensed his stomach aching and got the image of him eating a rat that had ingested poison. Later when Pepito barked at the front of the house and cactus wrens were scolding loudly, I went out to see the owl next to the house. He flew low to a nearby bush. I sent him healing energy and hoped he’d recover.
The following day I felt but did not see him nearby; I sensed he was feeling a bit better than previously. After that, I did not see him around and got no other communication from him.
To the Wild Zone
On December 16, I gathered gear from the garage to cover faucets and sensitive plants since an overnight frost was predicted. Inside the house, orange tabby Jerry started howling loudly and mournfully, sounding like he was mortally wounded. I went in to find out what was going on and asked him if he was ill as I checked him over. He said he wasn’t, looked at me in a bewildered way like he didn’t know what came over him, and then curled up in his bed to sleep.
When I went to cover the front faucet on the house, I found the reason for Jerry’s lamentation. The Great Horned Owl I saw five days earlier had tucked his body between the house and rain barrel and died. It was a shock, and sobs lurched out from deep in my chest. His feathers moved like waves when I gently touched his body but the stench confirmed its decay.
I had not previously picked up that the owl had died, and even Jerry wasn’t sure why he was crying out. Owl in spirit had moved us to find his body. Now was the right time for us to know that he had died.
I walked slowly in a heightened, delicate state, as I prepared to give the owl a burial ceremony. When I wondered where the grave would be, the Great Owl showed me the Wild Zone of our land. This unfenced half of the property is a wildlife corridor and rich habitat of woodland Sonoran desert, filled with mesquite and palo verde trees, Saguaro cacti, and voluminous native shrubs, with several washes running through it. A Saguaro cactus called out as a perfect site to bury the magnificent owl body at its feet. The Great Owl approved.
Great Horned Owl on a fruiting Giant Saguaro cactus
Over The Land
As I covered his body with earth and large rocks, I felt the Great Owl’s presence all around, spreading his spirit wings over the land. He let me know that he had lived here many lifetimes, in a succession of owl bodies. He had fathered (and mothered) many owlets who had nested in the Giant Saguaros in the Wild Zone. He had called to me many times. I had heard and acknowledged him and his family in the night and pre-dawn hours. It was fitting and an honor that he chose to rest his body next to my house for me to find it and honor his life.
As I sat on a rock in front of the grave, chanted, and burned sage and other sacred herbs, my union with the land and all the beings on it felt even more complete. The coalescing of all dimensions was palpable. I saw clearly how spirits and those embodied on the Earth journey worked together in the divine symphony.
The Great Owl was now dwelling as a Spirit Protector of the land and all beings living here, extending blessings to all throughout time and space. Owls, along with other large raptors, are like counterparts in the air of the Great Whales in the ocean, watching over us all.
To deepen your connection to the Great Owls and all life, see this program.
