The Yule Owl

This Wintertide has been my most more Yule-y ever, and this nearly the last night of the Twelve Nights of Yule starting with Winter Solstice, going to January 1st.  

I had three owl happenings, with the first being this card (above) from my mentor Pat, the longtime bird rehabbing mentor in Savannah, who happens to be in her eighties.  She took this of a Grey-Phased Screech Owl she rescued in 2016.  

The second was hearing an actual owl on Christmas Eve, which was so amazing, and rare.  
There were two, so it was a call and response.

​The third happening was getting a gift of an owl fixture for our house-in-progress from my friend Kathy.  

The Owl is Cailleach-oidhche in the Druid Oracle, a totem of "detachment, wisdom, change."  The Cailleach is familiar of the crone or hag-godess, and a messenger of death.  I saw one swoop down in Druid Hills of Atlanta, when my father was in his last days.  

From the Oracle:  For most birds, the coming of darkness renders it impossible for them to feed, but the owl's exceptional hearing enables it to pick out and swoop on unsuspecting prey during the night. Twilight has been described as owl-light, and going for a quiet walk in the woods at this shimmering time of twilight is an excellent way to develop a sensibility to the Otherworld and the inner soul of Nature."  

The Winter is a time of long nights, when twilight ends the day almost as soon as it starts.  The owl-light begins the long night of dreaming and tuning in to the Otherworld.  Perhaps that was the message of the Yule owl, who came to me this season!  Best Wishes to You...  

Yule Selection:  

​Wild Hunt 2 Cosmic Yule:  Odin, Thor, Santa and the Julbock - Odinia.org (Seana Fenner)