Crow Symbolism
The Crow Tattoo Meaning by TDP.
Charming animal and present all over the globe, it is traditionally associated with death, witchcraft and the evil eye. We find it in the literature from La Fontaine to Edgar Allan Poe or even in the bestseller of George R. R. Martin, the Song of Ice and Fire.
The crow is a guide animal, a magical intermediary between two worlds. It reflects our personality and brings with it a strong symbolic value.
In the shamanic tradition, the crow represents the one who controls the magical power, represents the mystery of life and creation, it is an element of truth or a message that goes beyond human perception.
In the Middle Ages, together with cats, crows did not have a good reputation. Associated with the magic of witches, it was believed that they were their diabolical messengers and that witches could take on their appearance if necessary. That is why seeing a crow flying was not a good omen.
Crow and Skull by Lauren Melina
Crow Tattoo Meaning
Crow Tattoo by Mermaid Sketches
Crow Tattoo Meaning
The Crow in Different Cultures
The crow has always been a symbol associated with evil, hell and death.
But this animal, like other birds, has ambivalent , positive and negative meanings, based on context and culture. It is in fact present in all the cultures of the world.
Symbol of destiny and personal growth, the crow is the bird of metamorphosis.
The crow is a bird that does not fear death, usually announces it.
Crows are brave animals with a strong spirit of adaptation. They do not fear confrontation with other birds and, if hungry, they do not hesitate to fly from nest to nest to feed on eggs. It is for this reason that it also represents fraud and deception.
Its surprising intelligence makes it a wise and wise animal.
The Nordic God Odin was advised by two crows, respectively a symbol of reason and memory. It seems that the supreme Norse god left his crows free, Huginn “thought” and Muninn “memory” to get information about what was happening in the world. In the evening the crows returned to Odin, placed themselves on his shoulder and told him what they had seen and heard.
For Native American culture, the crow is a guide animal, an intermediary between the physical and ethereal world, between reality and magic. Strong animal, it represents the expansion of consciousness: its black feathers constitute a passage towards infinity and, being in direct contact with the Great Spirit, it can have healing properties towards the person who evokes it with magic.
A legend says that when the foundations of the city of Lyon were laid, a cloud of crows settled within the layout of the new city, as messengers of the Gallic God Lug. Thus the city took the name of Lugdunum, “The hill of crows “. The crow would therefore be an intermediary, a messenger between man and gods.
In modern culture, seeing a crow is a symbol of quality and ability, courage and a strong spirit of adaptation.
White and Black Crow
In Greek mythology the crow was unreliable and treacherous. It is said that when Apollo fell in love with Coronis, he ordered a white crow to watch over his beloved pregnant companion while he was in Delphi. Coronis was not faithful to Apollo and betrayed him with Ischide, but the crow never reported what had happened. When Apollo learned of it, as punishment, he turned all the raven’s feathers black.
In the culture of the populations of the subarctic territories, the crow represents magic and metamorphosis since it shares several secrets with the Great Spirit and teaches man to live in a humble, conscious and moderate way.
According to the mythology of some Indian lineages, it was the crow that created earth: the bird, in fact, would have brought in its beak the pebbles that it dropped into the sea to form the first islands.
Crows are extraordinarily intelligent animals. They are among the very few to recognize their image in the mirror and manage to have extremely elaborate thoughts, manipulating tools and structuring strategies for solving problems.
Black and White Crows by Angelo Barulli
Crow Tattoo Meaning
“Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore”
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