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The following is a preview of the first chapter of the Crowgrrl's own book(you have to pay for the rest), Under her black wings. A wonderful book about the legends about corvids(the crow/raven family)
UNDER HER BLACK WINGS
ATHENA SCHAFFER
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW
"Mother is the name of God on the hearts and lips of all children" - James O’Barr, "The Crow"
When James O’Barr wrote his first "The Crow" comic book/graphic novel, what he inadvertently did was to create a new mythology for our era - one that was almost immediately embraced by millions. Not surprising, as many characteristics of the story tap into a collective subconscious of beliefs as old as mankind itself.
Crows, and their larger cousins, Ravens, have been observed by humanity since our species’ infancy. Many of the observations have unanimously found the same attributes worldwide of these birds, and many beliefs, mythologies, and stories have sprung up about these creatures.
One of the recurring attributes given to crows in legends and folklore from around the world is that they symbolize Motherhood and Justice. They represent enduring love. They also are believed to have the ability to cross the realms between Life and Death, and guide souls to the Otherworld or Afterlife. They control realms of magick. They are seen sometimes as tricksters. They are the Watchers of the worlds - both mundane and otherworldly.
Crows, ravens, and their kin (the family Corvidae) are found on every continent except Antarctica. So it's little wonder that as people observed and interacted with these highly intelligent creatures, legends and mythologies would surface about them. Although the tales from each culture are different and unique, many similarities are found.
James O'Barr's gothic anti-hero, Eric Draven aka The Crow has a spirit guide, a crow (of course), who brings Draven back from the grave, enhanced with powers he didn't have while alive. Draven was brought back to avenge the brutal murders of his soul-mate, Shelly, and himself, mainly Shelly's. There is an overall theme to the tale that Love Is Forever. This story was first told by O'Barr in a mini-series of comics. Then a movie starring the late Brandon Lee was filmed, bringing Draven's tale of love and justice to the screen. The story next came to television on "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven", starring Mark Dacascos as Draven. A series of novels have followed, based on the mythology of a Crow spirit guide bringing a soul back from the Other Side for love and vengeance. More movies have followed. Countless websites have been set up by fans. Annual Crow costume contests are held via the internet. Merchandise is readily snatched up by the now rabid-following.
Now, to pick apart elements of "The Crow" in light of mythology, folklore, and even the actual birds themselves. [Concepts of the story are in quotation marks in this paragraph, although they’re not actual quotes. This is to separate the modern story from corvid attributes or mythologies.] Such as: "Love Is Forever; it extends even beyond the grave." Real corvids mate for life, and even undergo a period of mourning should they lose a mate. "The Crow cannot be harmed unless the spirit guide is; injuries heal themselves before one's eyes." For this we only have to look back at either the birds of Rhiannon, or the Native American healing circles; both references show crows as healers. "The Crow's enhanced fighting ability." For this, one only has to watch crows or ravens in the wild; whenever they feel their nest or their family is threatened, they seem to be afraid of nothing. I've personally seen a raven chasing after a bigger hawk, biting the hawk's tail as they flew. And that hawk was shrieking in terror, flying as fast as he could to try to escape. This is common behavior for corvids. Plus, there's the crow's legendary attribute of bringing Justice; of "making wrong things right". The simplest element to see is the crow spirit guide acting as a gatekeeper between the worlds - an attribute given to these birds since ancient times in various world folklore.
Native American tradition has Crow as keepers of magic and lore. According to "Medicine Cards: The Discovery Of Power Through The Ways of Animals", authors Jamie Sams and David Carson say, "If you look deeply into Crow's eye, you will have found the gateway to the supernatural. Crow knows the unknowable mysteries of creation and is the keeper of sacred law. Since Crow is the keeper of sacred law, Crow can bend the laws of the physical universe and 'shape-shift'."
Ted Andrews, in his wonderful book of connecting with the spirit and energy of animals, "Animal Speak", wrote that the keynote of Crow is "The secret magic of creation is calling". (And me being the Crow afficionado I am, always lightheartedly substitute "calling" with "cawing" when I re-read this passage in the book, or turn others onto it.)
Andrews wrote, "Wherever crows are, there is magic. They are symbols of creation and spiritual strength. They remind us to look for opportunities to create and manifest the magic of life. They are messengers calling to us about the creation and magic that is alive within our world every day and available to us."
Crow's close cousin, Raven, has been interchanged with Crow in many of the meanings attributed to these birds in many Native American legends. Raven is mainly seen as a bringer of magick. In some tales, Raven is seen as bringing light to the newly-created world; and of finding the first people. And in some tales, creating the world.
Again quoting from "Medicine Cards", Sams & Carson tell us, "Raven is the guardian of ceremonial magic, and 'in absentia' healing. In any healing circle, Raven is present."
Both crows and ravens were thought to be messengers of the gods in many cultures. In Tibet, it is believed the only messenger of the highest god is the Raven. In Norse mythology, Odin had two ravens, Huginn and Muninn (Thought & Memory) which traveled the world and then reported back their findings. Those in the northern lands who worshipped Odin thought that the sight of one of these magnificent birds was a sign of Odin's favor, especially before a battle. The Greek sun god Apollo had crows for pets, and priestesses of Apollo at Delphi would interpret the cawing of crows in some of their prophesies. The Irish war-goddess The Morrigu sent ravens to bring the souls of her favored to her after they had fallen on the battlefield.
The Native Americans are not the only ones attributing healing powers to crows and ravens. The three birds of the Celtic goddess Rhiannon, who had the ability to sing the living to sleep, heal pain & sorrow, and wake the dead were crows. Epona, the horse goddess (sometimes Her legends are interchangeable with those of Rhiannon's, who is also a horse goddess), is usually depicted with a raven.
In fact, many deities of many mythologies worldwide are associated with either crows or ravens. The aforementioned Morrigu could actually shapeshift into a raven at will, as could Scottish goddess Cailleach, guardian of all things wild. Celtic mythology also mentions stories of Bran the Blessed and his sister Branwen from a book called the "Mabinogian" . Bran’s very name means "raven", his sister’s name translates to "white raven". Bran’s head was supposedly buried under the site where the Tower of London now stands, and it is said that if ravens leave the Tower, the British monarchy will fall. So, the ravens in residence there have clipped wings to prevent them from flying off, and the birds are treated almost like royalty themselves so they'd have no desire to leave.
The Aztec god of the underworld, Mictla or Mictlantecuhtli, is depicted as having a raven's head. In Siberia, the creator god Kurkil took the form of a Raven to create the earth, people, and to teach the arts of civilization. In Gaul, Nantosuelta (goddess of the winding stream), is associated with ravens.
Corvids, primarily ravens, have been associated in many places with creation myths. Many Native American tribes credit the Raven for creating the world. The Athapascan tribe, for example, credit the great thunder-raven, Yetl, for dragging the flooded Earth above the water. Other tribes say Raven kept dropping stones into the ocean, and that's how the Earth was formed.
These birds have also been associated with the sun. We’ve already mentioned the Greek god Apollo and his ravens. In Oriental mythology, crows and ravens are associated with the sun as well. For instance, Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu, from whom the Japanese royal family claims descent, has a sacred crow named Yatagarasu. In a Chinese cosmology myth, a legendary archer shoots balls of flames from the sky which are scorching the Earth; when 8 of them hit the ground, they transformed into crows. So, the archer left the ninth in the sky, which is now our sun. In that story the sun is believed to be a mythical crow, named Yangwu. Native Americans have a tale where the Raven is responsible for bringing the Sun to shine on the Earth.
However, the Basques associate crows and ravens with the moon, as a totem of their lunar goddess, Mari.
Another common attribute given to ravens in folklore is trickery, a proverbial practical joker. Stories from Siberia and from Native Americans in the northern regions of North America have plenty of tales of Raven, the Trickster.
In Sweden, there is an expression, "Steal like a raven". No doubt this originated from watching family groups of ravens being opportunistic in stealing food from other animals. Real ravens and crows have been known to harass a predator until the predator drops its prey to turn and face them. The corvids then snatch the prize and fly off with it, leaving the original predator without a meal. This might be where the other trickster legends come from as well.
The Jamaicans have a tale of how a young girl out-tricked the trickster; in that story the bird in question is a ManCrow, half human, half bird; a character that came from West Africa with the people who made their new homes in Jamaica.
These beautiful, black birds just by their plumage speak of mystery. Of the void, the birthplace of stars. In many cultures, black is not a color of evil or mourning as it is in some; it's a color of happiness, or of power.
Several cultures have explanations (usually whimsical, fun stories) of why Crows and Ravens are black. (There are two different versions of the story on why Apollo turned the crow black.)
On a more practical note, Nature was very wise to paint the plumage of these birds black. In the daytime, it helps them identify each other from a distance, or hide in shadows when needed. At night, the color is definitely a protection against predators. Interestingly, not all crows are all black. Hooded crows, carrion crows, and African pied crows all have patches of white. And it's not uncommon to find maybe a few brown or gray feathers on crows and ravens as well, even though they're mostly black.
Ravens even appear in the Old Testament of the Bible. One passage says, "In the list of what is forbidden to eat, you will find the raven". A psalm includes the line: "He provides food for the cattle, and for the young ravens when they call." Another tale is of the prophet Elia who was hiding in the wilderness. He was fed twice a day by ravens who brought him bread and meat. In the story of the Flood, Noah sent a raven out to find land first. When the raven didn't come back, he sent the dove.
But the tale of the flood was hardly original; it was taken from a Babylonian story. In the Babylonian tale of the flood, their "Noah", Uta-Napishtim, sent out the raven several times from his boat. When the raven came back, he knew there was no dry land for the raven to land on. When the raven didn't come back, he knew the bird had found land.
Corvids have continued to inspire writers and visionaries throughout the ages. A couple of prime examples:
Aesop's Fables includes stories that highlight corvids as well: there is the story of the "The Crow & The Pitcher", "The Fox & The Crow", "The Crow & The Snake", "The Crow & The Raven", "The Jackdaw & The Pigeons", and "The Vain Jackdaw". (Jackdaws are members of the corvid family.)
Edgar Allan Poe was the father of modern horror and modern mystery stories. But when people hear his name, the first image that comes to mind is "The Raven".
Superstitions have abounded (and still do) about these birds as well. One superstition is that if anyone killed a magpie, crow, or raven, the hunter's cattle would die, the hunter himself would become wounded or ill, and his gun would be corrupted.
Some modern tales try to paint the crows as an enemy to farmers, depicting the birds as corn thieves. Although they are indeed omnivores (eating both plant and animal sources of food), they actually eat very little corn. They're more interested in finding rodents and insects for a meal instead. Eating these pests actually make them a farmer's friend; they're actually helping save the crop of corn.
In reality, these birds are highly intelligent - one of the most intelligent creatures we share this planet with. Recently, New Zealand scientists have even found that not only do corvids make and use tools, but they also show a tendency to be either right-handed or left-handed (or, should we say "clawed"), favoring use of one claw over another. Scientists used to believe this was a trait that only humans possessed.
Indeed, many people feel close to or have a great admiration for these birds. In fact, there's even a society of folks who love corvids: The American Society of Crows & Ravens (ASCAR). There are also plenty of web sites dedicated to these beautiful avian creatures we share the planet with. There is also a name for those of us who admire and revere these fascinating and beautiful birds: Corvidophiles.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the various myths and legends - including a closer look at O’Barr’s "The Crow" - as well, and other stories celebrating these birds.
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