Pagan Blog Project Week 6: "C" is for "Corvidae"

This is a scheduled post. I am far, far away from anything other than a dial-up connection on a Windows 98 machine. (I KNOW. It’s… unnatural.) If all is going to plan, I am currently flying back from a week in Cape Town to visit my Oma and an old friend, after spending yesterday at the beach.

This one’s heavy on the pictures, as I didn’t have time to write 6 full posts before leaving. My Pagan Blog Project entries have been rather lacking in hardcore-Pagan factor, so this ought to restore the balance, as well as solidifying my goth cred 

-Carrion- by secretalice (click to view)

I am a fan of birds in general and have spent hours just watching them do their thing in the back yard; it’s soothing. That is one of the things I miss most about living where I do now – no birds other than a few sparrows, and a couple of magpies or crows. Of course, crows and ravens are instantly associated with paganism in general, as well as with specific Pagan paths. It is easy to be enchanted with them – they are so. damn. SMART. And funny. You have to marvel at things like this:

 
And as for this:

 
What a troll Apparently, it’s all part of their M.O. Youtube is full of videos of (mainly) crows being, well, fucking dicks. And it’s hilarious. It is easy to see why this family of birds play the roles of demiurge and trickster, hero and villain, associated with both the creative and destructive forces of life. (Come to think of it, trickster and his gift of fire are becoming a bit of a theme around these parts…) Many birds fulfill the role of psychopomps, but being literally eaters-of-death, carrion birds have a little more *oomph* in this department.

Given all this, Corvids are a great source of inspiration for artists due to the wealth of symbolism attached to this family of birds. Some of my favourite pieces:

Audubon’s Jays

Raven masquerade mask by (click for coveting)

My Lost Brothers by Ravenari

Australian Raven by Ravenari (click to view)

(Ravenari is an incredible totemic artist, who also runs the excellently informative Wildspeak.)

Raven Ring by David Stewart (click to view)

Generations by Stephanie Lostimolo

Corax by Stephanie Lostimolo

-Scarlett O' Hara- by Van Essie (click for more)

(Van Essie/Esther Verschoor creates amazing art dolls from real and artifical animal skulls.)

Tribal Raven by Rachael Balsaitis

Stellar Blue by Goldenwolf (click to view)

And lastly…

My favourite Corvus

Next week, a post with wordy words!

Tags: Pagan Blog Project

• February 17, 2012
• religuality
• 3 comments