Athena’s Owl and Vasalisa’s Doll
03 Wednesday Oct 2012
Written by Nicole Rushin in Animal Totems, Mythology and Symbolism, Personal Growth
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Black Magic
Eyes of the night
When the owl spreads its wings
You listen
And lean into its wind …
(excerpt from Snake in the Grass)
“Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, had a companion Owl on her shoulder which revealed unseen truths to her. Owl had the ability to light up Athena’s blind side, enabling her to speak the whole truth, as apposed to only a half truth.” – Medicine Cards
Athena’s Owl is a talisman delivering truth where she seeks it.
To me the owl is stealth, convicted, he does not waver. Owl strikes without question and never apologizes for doing what needs to be done. Owl has eyes that see through the night. They see truth where I might be blind.
The Owl as a talisman for truth parallels the doll in the story of Vasalisa the Wise as told in Women Who Run With the Wolves.
“The doll is like the little bird in fairy tales who appears and whispers in the heroine’s ear, the one who reveals the hidden enemy and what to do about it all. This is the wisdom of the homunculus, the small being within. It is our helper which is not seeable, per se, but which is always accessible.” - Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.
Vasalisa’s doll and Athena’s Owl represent ‘the small being within’ made large by our willingness to listen. They are also stand-ins for intuition.
I remember years ago, not clearly understanding what it meant to trust and listen to my intuition. My dreams were sending me signs to trust and let go, but I was unsure of what I needed to let go of. I finally understood the paradigm when I realized the voice was my own, when I realized the images in my dreams and in my waking life were simply aspects of myself; they were my personal talismans.
I finally realized there was no ‘other.’
Vasalisa and her doll are not separate. Athena and her Owl are one.
Our talismans wear feathers, tiny stitched dresses and still others are found in our houses of worship. It is a matter of placing our feelings onto an object, an image, another person or even an animal as a stand-in for what we feel and believe.
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Athena, the goddess of wisdom, is said to have been born whole and wise from the head of Zeus. While the story of Vasalisa the Wise represents the journey we must take to reach our wholeness. The journey of listening, believing and integrating truth and intuition.
“What good is a woman in the wilds of megatropolis or daily life unless she can hear and depend upon the voice of La Que Sabe, The One Who Knows?” – Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.
All journeys start with a query. And they end when we move with the conviction of the Owl and return to the house with fire in our hands.
Where are you in your journey?
Nicole~
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(The image above was taken at Dauset Trails Nature Center in Jackson, Ga., a rehabilitation center for wounded animals. So the bars in the image are not quite as cruel as they seem.)
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10 comments
October 4, 2012 at 5:33 AM
Excellent start with your quote from Snake In The Grass …
Intuition is fascinating and mysterious …
Acting (following through) on Intuition (gut feel) … that is the challenge.
October 4, 2012 at 9:54 AM
Thanks Gabri. I know you always appreciate the poetry. I was thinking of going back through all the poetry posts I have up and putting them together in a collection. I sometimes remembers poems I wrote on my site and I can’t find them. It would be good to have them in an archive or a collection or something.
N~
October 4, 2012 at 10:15 AM
Yes you should do that … I had emailed an American writer about your work yesterday, J.D. Bentley, and pointed him to your G+; but ideally it would be nice to point to a compilation.
He had written something that reminded me of both you and William Mazdra …
October 4, 2012 at 3:34 PM
I will do that one day, but for now you should just send people to my web-site, here. Or refer them to my dream-speak page. As far as compilations go I publish my journals and poetry on a monthly basis through Dream-Speak. This months issue I am working towards having available in print as well as in a pdf digital format. (There is something about poetry in the hand that is very personal.) I am currently publishing in a periodical format and am looking forward to adding more dream-poetry and dream inspired artists in future issues. I have a page under the Dream-Speak tab with all of the past issues listed for sale. October will be the eight month.
N~
October 4, 2012 at 2:04 PM
I am sixty-three but twenty-four in heart, mind and soul. Smiling to myself right now as my bones tend to ache after gardening. You ask where am I in my journey. I really don’t know. For every day is a different journey for me, My dreams take me to different places, meeting old faces and new. So I guess when I awake each day a different journey begins, one where intuition shows me a path to a reality of what lies ahead for the day. LOL I know it sounds strange but when you asked that question this answer popped into my head.
In fact just the other day I dreamt of spiders, very large and very brown. The spider through books and my thoughts tells me one thing. Am I not using my creative opportunities? Am I feeling stuck in their webs? I’ve read that spiders teach us how to use the written language with power and creativity. Pay attentions to where you are walking in life. The spider is the master weaver. I guess its time to create. See, my dream have taken me on another journey. Love your site Nicole, have a good week. Paulette
October 4, 2012 at 2:51 PM
So funny Paulette,
I was just writing a page for my Dream-Speak book about the spider and dreaming. We do tend to get tangled up in their webs. And I do agree that they are scribes, which is the position I was leaning towards in the piece I was writing. So, what will you create? I hope to hear about it.
N~
October 5, 2012 at 10:58 AM
This is the journey of “The Physics of the Quest” taken from Eat, Pray, Love….. It relates to my life – “A force in nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity. The rule of Quest Physics goes something like this: If you’re brave enough to leave behind everything familar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter old resentments, and set out on a truth seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will be be withheld from you.”
In gratitude to your writing,
Nancy
October 5, 2012 at 11:09 AM
I am sure you skipped a word in the last line. Should it be ‘the truth will not be withheld from you.’ I know what you mean or what you meant and yes, the guidance on this quest is the Owl on Athena’s shoulder but Athena represented the quest completed. It is also the doll in your pocket. We all create or grab onto our talismans, our symbols of guidance. I use animals, nature, my dream-speak… Whatever guides us on the quest the best is ours forever. I loved that movie. Especially the scene where she was crying her eyes on the floor of the apartment. As she realized how she was betraying her quest. I think most of us have been there and the ones who have not are burning their houses down, symbolically, of course.
The owl on my shoulder honors the owl on your shoulder – Namaste – N~
October 12, 2012 at 9:21 PM
I have loved Greek mythology since I was a girl. When I was in Greece two years ago, there were owls everywhere. I enjoyed your information about the symbolism and the totem mysticism as well. I love most of all your closing sentence in your last response about honoring the owls on each other’s shoulders. Namaste.
October 15, 2012 at 10:05 AM
Hi Galen,
So sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I have been way too busy. I am so glad you enjoyed the post. Owls are fascinating. Such grace but such stealth and conviction. The symbolism of Athena’s Owl is so intriguing to me. A woman born with her wits about her, able to see truth from birth and remember it. Born whole from the top of Zues’ head. Yes – Namaste! My owl honors yours.
N~