The symbolic meaning of the Raven in Native American Indian lore describes the raven as a creature of metamorphosis, and symbolizes change/transformation.
In some tribes, the Raven is considered a trickster because of its transforming/changing attributes.
Often honored among medicine & holy men of tribes for its shape-shifting qualities, the Raven was called upon in ritual so that visions could be clarified. Native holy men understood that what the physical eye sees, is not necessarily the truth, and he would call upon the Raven for clarity in these matters.
Foremost, the Raven is the Native American bearer of magic, and a harbinger of messages from the cosmos. Messages that are beyond space and time are nestled in the midnight wings of the Raven and come to only those within the tribe who are worthy of the knowledge.
The Raven is also called upon in Native ritual for healing purposes. Specifically, the Raven is thought to provide long-distance healing.
The Raven is also a keeper of secrets, and can assist us in determining answers to our own “hidden” thoughts. Areas in our lives that we are unwilling to face, or secrets we keep that harm us – the Raven can help us expose the truth behind these (often distorted) secrets and wing us back to health and harmony.
See also: Feather Symbolism in Native American Indian lore and
I have for the longest time been surrounded by crows. It seems very odd and am looking for some insight to the meaning. The crows appear on my car constantly in groups of at least 2 sometimes more they sit upon the top of my car when I survey the parking lots there does not seem to be any other crows on other vehicles, this has even happened inside a covered parking lot. Everyone tells me that it is something bad however I have never experienced anything bad after a sighting. Any additional information would be helpful.
Hey Liz.
Don’t listen to anyone else’s perspective except your own.
It’s high time I’ve devoted a real page to the crow.
Keep checking this entry, and I’ll give you a link to some thoughts on the crow when I’m done writing it.
Not that you should listen to me either….but, these pages are designed as backgrounders…you know, like accessories… or toppings on the pizza pie of your own understanding.
namaste,
A.
I have always had Ravens around me. However, I have moved into the city of Salem, Oregon and last week I had 2 of them show up outside my apartment flying around in the trees. This morning one of them landed in the tree outside my window and seemed to stare in. Then this afternoon one of them landed on my balcony and definately stared in rustling his feathers. Anbody have any suggestions. I feel as though I’m not getting the hint here. Please help.
@Trina,
This is what I love about Ravens/Crows….they are INFINITELY curious. Perhaps these black beauties are reflecting your own feelings of curiosity and exploration regarding your new city of residence.
Ravens/Crows are also incredibly bold. They don’t care who’s looking, or what anybody else thinks – they go where they want and do what they want, not giving a rip about convention
You’ll find them out in the rain, snow, around would-be predators….other birds poke their feathers at them and say “you can’t do that” Crow says “BLEAH! I DO WHAT I WANT!” Perhaps your Ravens are encouraging you to have the same attitude. Maybe they’re asking you to pull out our adventuresome spirit and get to know your new city with bold abandon.
Namaste,
A.
Thank you. I have also read that they are believed to be long distance healers. I was wondering this since I have been sick for a long time now. The doctors say I could die anytime if they can’t get control of it. Is it possible there’s a connection?
Trina, tis true Crow is powerful medicine. You’ve already made the healing connection. The information came to you, and the association of Raven with healing has already been formed in your thoughts. You don’t need me to confirm it. Take time to sit with the Raven, meditate, and allow it’s messages to flow to you in a natural, unforced way.
Namaste,
A.
a raven passed thru one open door of my office and out of the other….what odes it all mean…
Thank you so much for developing such an inspirational and spiritual website. I have always loved Ravens. I was on my way to getting a tatt of something and my artist couldn’t do it because it as too small. My friend sowed my a piece in one of the books and I was drawn to it so strongly I knew I wanted it. It was of a Raven perched on a skull. I had always wanted a Raven tattoo someday, but at that moment I knew it had and would continue to have a very special meaning in my life. Soon after I began doing a psychological treatment called E.M.D.R. in therapy concerning past sexual abuse as a very young child. I have severe P.T.S.D. and anxiety as well as many health problems including Endometriosis and Interstitial Cystitis and I am only in my early twenties. I came home from one of my treatments and I began researching the meanings of Ravens more deeply. When I found your page and the way you put it into words I almost started to cry because it made such perfect sense as to why I had been seeing them and fascinated with them for so long. What was written about the Raven being a keeper of secrets and helping us in determining answers to our own hidden thoughts and areas in our lives that we are unwilling to face it all made sense. I have my medicine bag with my Raven fetish hanging from my bed and I believe the Raven is helping me face my past and heal my body and soul.
Hi Emily,
If more people could translate the presence and meaning of certain animal energies in their lives as eloquently as you have with the Raven in yours, – I suspect we would have a lot more healing in the world.
Thank you for your kind words, your wisdom and courage.
Namaste.
hello all
i stumbled upon this site purely by accident as a friend did a tarot reading for me and he mentioned kachinas. i googled it and was lead here!(how appropriate).In the last 3 years ive been plagued by ravens. There are ravens in the trees outside my house, i feel like they follow me as i walk down the road, they fly overhead.. I see them in my dreams and they talk to me while im asleep and tell me things. Recently i met a raven in a dream and his name is “mr universe” (he laughed when he told me his name!)He wears glasses and speaks to me directly and is quite chatty and friendly! I even recently had to catch one that flew into my kitchen and send him on his way…he was quite stunned for a couple of hours so i put him somewhere warm and safe and he was ok. Recently on a trip home to scotland (i now live in australia) i went to the highlands with my sister in her car. At one point we stopped the car and got out as there was a circle of the birds in a field and they all seemed to be chattering in their funny little raven voices.My sister and myslef had never seen anything like it.
i also saw 3 ravens stealing eggs from the egg delivery mans truck in colva in Goa a few years ago. they all took it in turns to keep watch for the egg seller wile one guarded the stolen eggs and the other pinched them from the back of the truck! id never seen anything like it but they did it at the same time every day…..truelly wiley creatures.
can anybody shed any light on why the ravens have been hounding me in large numbers? i always say hello to them and give them bread if i have any. Its really bewildering me. i am of sound mind but i know theyre trying to tell me something
keep smiling
heather
Hi Heather,
maybe they like you. They’re very curious you know.
Here’s a page on kachinas where Avia has written about the Crow Mother: http://www.whats-your-sign.com/kachina-properties.html
Hi, i’ve had two incidents where a raven or two differnt ravens flew about 5-6 ft above and past my head… I heard them flying before i actually saw them… they came pretty close and it kinda weirded me out. Later on i was outside with my boyfriend and told him about it, while we were talking about it i started getting defensive about the raven while he was raving about the bird. anyways, a few mins later two ravens fly over to the left side in the trees about 1 km away and start cawing as if they’re having a heated conversation… my boyfriend said the raven is intersted in me but im wondering what could the raven be interested in? or is it a bad omen? i don’t know. im confused.
today my freind spotted 3 crows on my car . what do you think it could mean?
The day after my husband & I became 1st time grandparents, a raven pair started building a nest in a tall tree right next to our house. The baby, our daughter and our son-in-law live nearby and we see them often. What would you say this means?
I’ve also had a couple of odd incidents with a raven recently, and it’s a bit disconcerting. Last week as I was walking a raven knocked against my backpack, then flew off. I screamed loudly when I looked up and saw it above me. A few days later it passed by my window when I was stretched out reading in the afternoon. A few days after that, it ‘danced’ on my skylight, then aggressively pecked at the plexiglass scaring the — out of my roommate and myself. Today, as I was walking, it flew close enough to me so I could hear the swish of it’s wings, then veered off.
Can anyone explain this behaviour? It’s all very disconcerting..
thanks,
Sam
I’ve also been plagued by ravens/crows for the last 10 yrs. Sometimes I see them even in masses up to 50-60 birds. It was a little unnerving to me at first, but seeing them so often and in great numbers, now I feel a connection to them.
When I pay attention closely to the timing of their appearance and places they show up, I am understanding that they seem to be harbingers of changes in my surroundings in the near future. They show up about a month or so before something happens, and their numbers seem to correspond to the size of change that’s about to take place. They sort of seem to warn me of any dangers ahead of time. I now try to keep a keen eye on them to see what they are trying to warn me of. Because in retrospective, I can put the pieces together and pretty much detect what changes may be coming and how. It helps me be prepared psychologically when the change comes, I am at least emotionally prepared thanks to them.
SYMBOLIC MEANING OF RAVEN CAN BE FOUND HERE
Greetings, Avenefica. For the past week, American crows have been coming to my deck in the early morning, cawing and tapping at my kitchen sliding door. They don’t seem aggressive, and I don’t think it’s their reflection they’re ‘after’. They come in a group, always at least three, sometimes more. Their tapping has been waking me, and I’m always a bit amused. I have always liked crows, because they are my advisors, when I’m in the woods. When I hear the cawing of a murder of crows, I can usually expect to see either a hawk, or an owl – sometimes, a fox. They are not ‘brave’ birds, around humans, and will usually fly off the moment I enter the kitchen. I’ve not been in the habit of feeding the crows during this season of growth, but in the winter, I’ll put out whole corn for all the ‘black’ birds – the grackles, the red-wings, the crows. It keeps them from devouring all the black oil and grey strip sunflower seed. Friends have described their recent visits as ‘bad omens’ – but I’ve also read that the ‘death’ of which the crow (or raven) foretells might be the ‘death’ of a ‘bad’ habit, and the ‘birth’ of a brighter, clearer way. Yesterday and today, I did put out some stale cookies, and some dog food (kibbles) for them. I’ve rehabbed a crow that had been in an accident with a car, once – very shy at first, and defensively attacking, he soon realised that when I came, I brought some ground turkey for him. It took about two months for him to recover flight. He was a very smart bird, and I was pleased to see him finally take flight over my farm, and return to his own community. Smart, intuitive, crafty (tool users), good ‘watch dogs’, fiercely protective of their own, I think the crow’s only ‘connection’ to ‘death’ is due to their ‘black’ colour. I enjoyed reading your Native American research on the crow/raven.
Hey Beverly,
I enjoyed reading your observations about the crow/raven & your connection with this bird.
Have you read my page on Raven Symbolism? Here’s the link: http://www.whats-your-sign.com/raven-symbolism.html
I start off that page with some ideas about why the raven/crow might be connected with death – but I refuse to go any further.
A pat answer of “bad omen” is rubbish, and often comes from a place of thoughtlessness – or just an unknowing of how animal communication works.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts
Be well,
A.
Hmmm… Interesting…
Yesterday I was standing in the garage of the new home I am moving into…an injured crow flew into the garage & hopped around for awhile, then flew across the street…any thoughts?
I also seem to be followed by crows and ravens.not just physically. i mean, they appear in dreams, books, movies everywhere. i live in nyc, and there arent really many here, but i often look up everyday on my way to school (no matter what time it is, im late a lot so i get to school from 9-10:40 am everyday) and i always see one circling over the bus stop.
i was also hospitalised a year ago for major depression and went to a residential facility upstate, where there is a dense population. when i would sit outside they would come and just sort of stand by me. shortly before leaving,during a rainstorm, one sat on my windowsill for a few hours, even after i rapped on the window! I came back from lunch and it was gone, but it left a long perfect feather. Ive kept the feather, bc roommate told me it was a “gift” from it.
I have had many close encounters with my brother Ravens beginning with a trip to Painted Dessert and Petrified Forrest National Park many years ago. Typically when I am there a raven or two will pick me out and sit and chat with me for as long as I stay. My family is often freaked out, even panicked by it a bit. One flew parallel with our car looking at me through the window for over a mile. He was saying please don’t leave us. We want to be with you. I have had a pair of them who live in my neighborhood here in Colorado adopt me. They often roost close by and chat with me. They tease me about my chihuahuas saying they look like chipmunks or squirrels that might bite. They are very intelligent and strongly spiritual, so much so it electrifies the air and I feel a strong connection to them in my heart and soul. For all their faults and foibles they are a precious gift from God. Thank you God for the beauty you create of every moment in our deepest pain and sorrow and our greatest joys.
i have been struggling with my feminine and masculine sides both physical and mentally since i was a young child. A few days ago i had this amazing, incredible dream about ravens for the first time i can remember.
it was sundown as i stood on my 3rth floor apartment balcony. The sun is not visiable from my balcony in reality but in my dream is was there in and i could see it go slowely beneath the earth. looking down a group of 10-12 women dressed in black long dresses/cloaks some wearing hoods other not. they formed different dance routins but looked alittle not well put together. as i watched them the eldest(maybe leader) of the pack noticed they had an audience. within seconds this eldest (she sorta resembled Ursilla, from The Little Murmaid) formed into a half/women half/raven and flew up to my balcony and with smiles and sweat asked me to join there team as they could use another to complete their pack. before i could answer and younger girl, maybe in her early twenties shape shifted to half/w half/raven and was flapping her winds in exhaustion joined the invitation and told me “it would be fun, all you need to do i sign your name to him” i took a step back in confusion and looked at the eldest composite raveness and said to her “did she just say sign you name to…” before i could finish my sentence, the group of girls down below formed turned half and half and flew is a big circle maybe about three times and they flew away into the sun along with the eldest and youngster.
This dream is wild and has i am during my research on what this dream/ravens means to me.
id thought i share this with like minded as it has been enjoyable to read everyone else’s comments.
My birthday is Sept 26th – Libra & Raven. Last night I had a dream where two ravens came to perch on my arms. They were very friendly and they were cautious not to hurt me as they landed. The dream then turned to revealing a ’sacred geometry’ pattern that I just found out is called ‘the flower of life’ that lined up the planets in our solar system.
Many of your readers have confused crows and ravens in their identifying of them. In Oregon ravens are extremely rare. Seeing two together probably did not happen. The northwestern US has both northwestern crows and standard american crows. The northwestern crows are smaller. this allows many to think that the standard crows are ravens. Ravens don’t “caw”, neither do Northwestern crows.
I attended a two-day therapy\healing workshop to learning some healing techniques about two weeks ago.
The instructor asked us to form 3-4 person groups. Each person was to select an animal or natural earth phenomenon to describe another person the workshop. Someone picked crow for me. Initially, I was startled, thinking the crow was a lowly creature, but the person who picked crow said the crow had high\positive significance in Native American lore.
Also, a another member of my small group selected a “silent lion” for me.
This afternoon, my wife heard some birds loudly fighting in the back of our home. She went to see what the commotion was all about and said she saw a very large crow.
Tonight I sat down and was reading a book which suggested keeping a dream dictionary. I remembered my wife seeing the large crow today and then I remembered my workshop experience of being labeled a crow.
This lead me to search for the symbolic meaning of the crow and I came across this site.
Thanks, avenefica for providing information about this symbols.
Silent Lion
i wanted to know the difference between crow and raven symbolism. i live in the south, and there is an abundance of crows, but i’m under the impression that it would be rare to spot a raven anywhere in my state. is there anything in native american lore or other references that can distinguish between these two birds for their symbolisms?
my grandmother used to use crow symbolism, and im not sure why. when she passed away, my father said he noticed crows following him to work. regardless of if this means something, i’d like to see why crows were an important aspect to her life.
Hello,
I am trying to find out what a murder of crows symbolize. I came into my driveway and in the revine it just caught my attention. There must have benn 15 to 20 crows, circling in a clockwise manner.
Thank you for assisting
Ina
@Silent Lion,
I relish your processing here…and how you “walk” through the connections of meaning…coming full circle to fill out that meaning to its fullest potential.
Thanks for investing the thought. So often, socialized/conditioned parts of ourselves just demand pat/simple answers without any kind of self-involvement or self-investment.
It just doesn’t work that way. You know this.
Crow confirms it too. Crow asks us to dive deep into darker mysteries with a high curiosity matching its own. I love it.
Thanks for walking the walk Lion – it’s really encouraging for me to see that….so thanks for sharing this conveyance too.
Namaste,
Avia