Owl
Because the owl sees in the dark it represents our intuitive sense that ‘sees’ what is happening in the subtle areas of our feeling and experience. This sense ‘feeds’ by watching or acting as an integrating function with the many dark or hidden aspects of our experience and behaviour. Because this part of our mental process is aware of the hidden activities in the depths of our body and mind, it can initiate our conscious self into the mysteries of life and death. If one can imagine having a council of all living things, we would all have in common the drive to reproduce, and there would be huge links of understanding regarding care and rearing of young and perhaps of love for mate. The unconscious seems to have a sense of this synthesis of all life, and the owl, representing it, speaks with this sort of collective wisdom; a wise advisor.
Because the owl as a dream symbol is an actual doorway to the usually hidden side of life, we may sometimes feel fear or danger in regard to it. In some mythologies the owl was connected with death, and might act as a messenger regarding the death of a family member. For instance in Jewish tradition it is unlucky to dream of an owl, but okay to dream of any other bird. See: Second example in wife.
Idioms: Wise old owl; wisdom of the owl; night owl; owlish – looking wise or solemn.
Useful Questions and Hints:
What do I know about Owls?
Does this show any use of my intuition and wisdom?
If the owl seems menacing in the dream, is this about my fear of the dark, or death, or possibly the contents of my unconscious?
See Core – Collective Unconscious – Being the Person or Thing – Using Your Intuition
Comments
I had a dream that I was coming home from my friends who lived next door and I went to go see my dad and he gave me this beautiful black owl. The owl stayed with me the whole time ( like a pet ) he/she would stay by my side or on my shoulders. The last thing I remember is my aunt showed up in my yard and she wanted to see the owl
I had a dream last night.. It’s kind of faint and I don’t remember it completely. I was living in a house, and my neighbor was a witch of some sort. She had a pet owl, and I remember telling her how much I wanted a pet owl. It was white and medium sized. I left that my neighbors house, and I don’t remember anything after that. But I have this visual in my head I can’t forget.. A huge white owl with black eyes and little spots of brown. For some reason I feel like it wasn’t the small pet owl I seen. What does this mean? Prior to this I used to see a white owl often fly over me at my old house. I moved, and now I see a white owl fly every once in a while.
Hello!
In my dream, I was carrying a HUGE tawny colored owl in my arms, almost baby style. It was about 1/2 my size, bigger than any real world owl. It was really calm & fluffy, and let me adjust its position many times without flying away. I was aware that it was able to leave at any time but didn’t. In connection to an earlier part of the dream, I was looking for someone around a school like setting with various classrooms & gyms. I didn’t find who I was looking for but did run into someone who admired the bird. That is what I remember.
I had a dream where an owl was my pet. He allowed me to pet him and he stayed with me while I did paperwork. Just sat with me and watched.
Dear Cathy – I feel it will be helpful to explore what you associate with “doing paperwork” as it appears in your dream.
Your dream suggests that your intuition will be a helpful resource while doing your (inner) work (of investigation).
See http://dreamhawk.com/inner-life/using-your-intuition-1/
Anna 🙂
Hi there,
I had a dream of an black owl with white spots which was trying to eat food. And i tried to catch it to pet it. And on my first try i missed but on the second try i caught it but 1 of its wing was out of my grip and when i tried to get that wing i woke up and i was holding my daughter’s arm up…
>>>i really want to know what it means.
I had dream that me,my wife and our 3 years old daughter were at the beach swimming and having fun, my daughter was playing with her new friend that she had just met and i was there watching.
Suddenly this white bird that came from nowhere looking like an owl and not much bigger than a dove rite above my head looking like it wanted to land. It had something in the mouth but i couldn’t what and it was looking riter at me. And was throwing wat er at it for it fly away, at first it didn’t want to but after a couple of tries it just turned around and went south/east.
The bird was white and beautiful, not scary at all and it had some black tiny circles on the wings.!!
I had dream that me,my wife and our 3 years old daughter were at the beach swimming and having fun, my daughter was playing with her new friend that she had just met and i was there watching.
Suddenly this white bird that came from nowhere looking like an owl and not much bigger than a dove rite above my head looking like it wanted to land. It had something in the mouth but i couldn’t what and it was looking riter at me. And was throwing wat er at it for it fly away, at first it didn’t want to but after a couple of tries it just turned around and went south/east.
The bird was white and beautiful, not scary at all and it had some black tiny circles on the wings.
Hi! I had a dream last night ,I went to the window and there was this black owl who was staring at me.I didn’t feel scared or anything I stared at him as well I was curious about him but then I woke up…
Dear M.Nicole – I believe it is a good thing to be curious about what lives in your inner world; what is part of your still unknown potential.
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/potential/
So why not carry that curiosity into your waking life and explore the owl as it appears in your dream?
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
and
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/practical-techniques-for-understanding-your-dreams/#TalkingAs
Anna 🙂
I’m not sure if I just read so much into the animals I see in my dreams for I have helped a family of polar bears and I have seen a tiger more than once.
But this morning I remember being in a dream where I was signing up for some type of marathon where you can take your pets. In my dream I was walking my cat it was winter and there was snow on the mountains but earlier that day it was not really cold it felt more like spring. My cat started to get really impatient as I was waiting for my sister to pick me up so I held her in my arms afraid that she was going to run. After she was okay I remember a woman walking me towards another saying “she’s here” but I didn’t understand what she meant, clearly it wasn’t my sister. The blonde haired lady we were walking to had a bird perched on her wrist and as It turned to me and I could look at it closer it was a young looking owl with beautiful brown feathers..it’s ears had tiny feathers on top aswell. I felt a wash of sadress as They grabbed it roughly grabbed it from her and took it away (I don’t know who they were) I woke up soon after.
Dear Victoria – I believe that in your dream you are exploring which inner aspect you will take with you in your participation in life. In it we are part of a ‘race’ – the human race. The imagery of the marathon is wonderful in depicting this. In it is all manner of human expression; like Impatience (the cat), Patience (waiting for your sister), and your Sister (what feelings/memories do you associate with her? Is she a symbol for your vulnerable self and why didn’t she show up in your dream?); Spring (New growth, and what was latent is emerging, what was dead coming to life again. Spring may indicate that the seeds of what you have already sown through your actions are now springing into life or manifestation. It can also suggest a new start in business or relationship, or it can indicate childhood or youth.); Winter (Emotional coldness, a quiescence awaiting an appropriate period for growth or the end of a cycle of action and fruitfulness. Winter can also denote the absence of relationship or an unfruitful period of life, old age or death in some form.)
“She is here” refers to YOU, you are HERE and “Who are you”?
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/self-observation/
And
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/you-me/
And
http://dreamhawk.com/news/who-are-you-really/
Which still unconscious aspect of you, symbolised by “they”, does not want your intuition to be part of the human race?
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/autonomous-complex/
Which aspect of you does the blond haired lady represent, who “carries your intuition”; the owl?
To get a better feeling understanding of all these aspects that are part of the inner world you have created, you can use “Being the person or thing” or “Talking as”.
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
And
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/practical-techniques-for-understanding-your-dreams/#TalkingAs
Does this give you a start with understanding your dream?
Anna 🙂
I saw the same burrowing owl twice in the same spot by a shopping center by my house different days, and I had a dream about it last night it ran up to me didn’t fly, but it’s wings were lifted up, then he stopped and talked to me in a deep but quiet voice saying, “don’t go with your friends, as tempting as it is, they will get you in trouble, just meet with them another time, if you meet with them now you have a time limit to say you’ll see them later” he flew away. This owl also looked just like the burrowing owl I see, just bigger and a little whiter in color. What does this mean? I woke up not thinking about it, but I walked by the spot where I saw the owl a few weeks ago (didn’t see him this time, but I hardly see him anyways) but I’m scared/ excited with the feeling that I can go to the right path while staying true to my instincts. Please tell me your opinions it would really take a lot of worry off my back.
Dear Thomas – The voice of your intuition – I would not call it instincts http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/instinct/ – can certainly help you to avoid certain situations that might get you into trouble.
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/intuition-in-dreams/
and
http://dreamhawk.com/inner-life/using-your-intuition-1/
Does that answer your question?
Anna 🙂
I dreamed that I had been given a gift. It was a tube of some sort and something was in it. I reached inside of it and felt something move. It scared me so I removed my hand quickly. I began to examine the tube (there were people around me, I sensed they were close friends and family)…. I noticed something sticking out of the bottom….it looked like a twig so I went to pull it and the tube became transparent, then I saw feathers and what looked like a ball of feathers rose up…when it did, it scared me and I closed my eyes. But I didn’t feel the need to run or scream…. I felt the need to open my eyes and when I did…. I was looking above my head and there was the chest of some sort of bird… I must have dropped to my knees and didn’t realize it, but I stood to try to see exactly what it was and it was a beautiful sweet little owl. It was half white and have tan in color. The feathers on the left eye was pure white and the other was a pretty tan color. It was sweet and it looked like it loved me and it wanted to be near me. I held it…it stood on my arm. And then I put him down (it seemed to be male) and then It was a little boy, maybe 2 or 3 years old crying as if he wanted me to pick him up. Such a weird dream but I remember it so vividly and I’m just curious to know the meaning behind this dream. I didn’t feel threatened at all. But it seemed as if the little boy and the owl were the same entity.
I dreamt that I was involved in some praying within a synagogue. I was ‘doing it wrong’ and left the prayer session. Outside of the building there was a huge light brown owl it came to me and I held my arm out. It chose to sit on my shoulder. I was petting him and he enjoyed it.
The group of people came out of the synagogue and accused me of not being Jewish. Afterwards, there were many owls flying around and some of them landed on other people’s arms but not many.
Most of the people were young (under 35)
I had a dream that i woke up just before dawn and as i walked past my window i noticed a large brown owl, it took me a second to figure out what it was but then as i begin to make out the features I realized there were many more. I stood there in awe and counted them, and then grabbed my phone to take a photo but woke before i could
I had a dream my wife n i were asleep but u could hear a bird at the window when we opened the curtain there was a white puppy my wife grabbed him then it appeared a white owl with a babys face trtrying to tell us something but i couldn’t hear what it was trying to say… what does this mean
Dear Frank – I wonder if you and your wife are trying to conceive a child.
If not a physical baby then this owl/baby could also express that something new is about to enter your relationship with your (inner) female and it is asking to be let into consciousness.
See also http://dreamhawk.com/pregnancy-childbirth/the-baby-in-your-dream/
Physically a man is predominantly male, but also has nipples and produces some female hormones. Psychologically, we may only express part of our potential in everyday life. In a man, the more feeling and caring side may be given less expression. Apart from this some functions, such as intuition and unconscious creativity may also be held in latency. These secondary or latent characteristics are depicted by the female in male dreams.
See http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/archetype-of-the-anima-jungs-view-of-the-female-in-the-male/
It will be worthwhile to try “Being the owl/baby and talking as the owl/baby” and
explore if you will be able to understand its message for you.
See
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/acting-on-your-dream/#BeingPerson
and
http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/practical-techniques-for-understanding-your-dreams/#TalkingAs
Good Luck!
Anna 🙂
I had a dream of a beautiful tawny owl. It was up above my head in a rafter, but I could see it’s wing was hurt. It flew down to me and landed on my left arm. I hugged it in my dream, and felt like I needed to protect it. When I woke up I felt guilty as though I abandoned it, like I could’ve done more for it even though it was a dream.
Dear Brooke – There is no need to feel guilty about abandoning the owl, because in reality you cannot abandon what is part of your inner nature; your intuition and your inner wisdom.
You can ask the owl though what you can do to heal its wing, so it can fly again.
Imagine yourself in the dream and continue it as a fantasy or daydream. Consider what it is that troubles you or is not what you want in your dream. Now take time to think how you would alter it and how to have an ending that would satisfy you. Now you can, in your imagination, enter your dream and alter the dream in any way that satisfies. Experiment with it, play with it, until you find a fuller sense of self-expression.
See also http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/practical-techniques-for-understanding-your-dreams/#TalkingAs
Did you read the book about intuition yet?
See http://dreamhawk.com/inner-life/using-your-intuition-1/
Good Luck!
Anna 🙂