Raven Funeral

Living in a pine forest in the mountains, I have witnessed many animal behaviors that I have thought to be strange and wondrous.  What the ravens shared with us that day was definitely high on that barometer.
 

It was the middle of a Spring day.  It was quiet in the neighborhood, the kids not home from school yet.  My dining room has a view of the cemetery across the street.  It’s the town cemetery that was established in the 1800s, so it’s been around longer than the houses on the road.  As I walked through the dining room to the kitchen, something caught my eye.  I couldn’t quite wrap my head around what I glimpsed outside.

A wave of glossy black, completely covering the road, was moving up the hill.  

I went outside, as quietly as I could, still not quite being able to grasp what I was seeing.  The roadway was covered in ravens, shoulder to shoulder, walking calmly and silently, together up the hill.  There were so many ravens, they filled the roadway from one side to the other.

I had to get a better look.  I quickly and as quietly as I could, went inside and then ran up the stairs to my mom’s apartment which has a deck overlooking the street and the cemetery.  I grabbed her on the way, wanting a witness and to make sure it was not a figment of my imagination.  We both stood there, our mouths agape (good…she saw them, too!)  We watched this wave of ravens marching to the top of the hill.  We tried to count them, but there were just too many.   We lost count around 40.  

As we watched, more ravens flew down, landed towards the back of the group and joined in the march upward. 

 

We must have stood there watching in silence for several minutes.  When the front of the group reached the top of the road, next to the end of the cemetery land, they spread their massive black wings and flew up towards the surrounding pine trees.  As the others reached the same spot, they too, flew up, some to join the first group in the trees, others just flew away.   Then, all of a sudden, as if by some invisible cue to the rest of the masses, they all flew away.   The sound they made as they took flight has stayed with both my mom and myself.   I believe we heard it with not only our physical ears, but with our soul ears, and felt it deep within our hearts.

After all the ravens were gone and the roadway was once again, a normal country road, my mom turned to me and said “I think we just witnessed a Raven funeral.”  That was what came to my mind, too. 

 

We’ve lived in our house for 24 winters now.  We have never seen anything like that again.   

We have never forgotten, either.

Raven in Weaverville Joss House Tree, photographer: Paula Masterman 

Ceremony

From Wikipedia...
A ceremony is an activity, infused with ritual significance, performed on a special occasion.

Ceremony, ritual - lots of conversation lately about ceremony and ritual.  The latest being the sad news of a sweat lodge ceremony gone so horribly wrong that lives were lost, lives were changed from this day forward.  Was it because there wasn't a true understanding of the ceremony where those around the circle are releasing, discovering, and healing?  I certainly hope, being that it was led by a popular spiritual author, it was not because of the money.  I don't know him very well - just interviews I've seen over the last couple of years.  I know he is a mentor for some in my line of work and I highly respect their opinions.   No judgment.  I just know he will be forever touched by this - maybe even defined by this - what a way to learn a lesson.  My prayers are with them all.

I know that my lesson from the sidelines is that there is sacredness in the ceremony - not the numbers.  My guides whispered to me in the middle of the night that it's about understanding these ceremonies and the power associated with them.  To honor that power is also integral with the ceremony.

When I was a teenager, my father said "Come help me with my Ritual work"...he was a Freemason and now, as I think about it, I held that little book and helped him memorize his lines.  I sure wish I could recall the hidden mysteries that were at the time, just words that I checked to make sure my Dad said in the order they were written .  I think it was his way of including me in this sacred ceremony that was not available to young girls then or today.

Thanks, Dad, for helping me understand the sacredness of ceremony, and including me in yours.
My prayers are with those touched by the events in Sedona.