Spirituality, Symbolism, Omens and a New Year

It’s New Year’s Day, the first day of 2024. In many ways it is the same as any other day that has come before, the sun will rise and set as it always does, yet the significance that we place on this one day is surmountable. We wrap up all our hopes for health, love, weight loss, romance, financial success, career success, etc., into this one day. This New Year’s Day is a new start, a rebirth, a reset of old habits and hope for future possibilities.

I wanted to start the day in the early hours of the morning (one of my resets for this new year is to return to my daily morning meditation practice). My practice petered out as I navigated building the business, hosting roommates, extra-long workdays, visits with friends, and all of the things we get wrapped up in. I love walking the dogs in the early hours of the morning, when the night sky still lingers and 20 minutes into our walk there is the hint of dawn in the east introducing the new day. Today, as I stepped out into the cool, frosty morning air my senses were alert to the cacophony of owls hooting across the neighborhood. It was a beautiful sound, you could hear one call, then one answer, and that continued throughout my whole walk this morning. In fact, one of the owls flew low, right over my head before landing on the rooftop to our townhomes, joining its friend. I have two dogs, on two separate walks and the owls where there the whole time, following us. I love nature and wondered what kind of omen this may have been, was there any significance or meaning to being visited by owls?

Of course, I came inside poured a cup of coffee and immediately googled this! What I learned was fascinating!

Owls have many spiritual and symbolic associations across many cultures. In some cultures, they are a bad omen bringing warnings (uh oh).

In other cultures, they are associated with “wisdom, intuition, and the ability to see things that are hidden or not easily understood” (quora.com). Cultures that consider the owl sacred, associate owls with wisdom, creative thinking, clarity, and concentration. Hearing an owl brings us the opportunity to refocus on our lives and to be open to finding answers to life’s big questions. Hearing the owl at night can represent gaining a new direction in life, with its calls guiding you from one place to another. The owl is also seen as a symbol of death, transformation, and revival. This can be interpreted positively, a significant life change is coming. When at a crossroads or feeling stuck, the owl calls for personal reinvention (spiritualmeanings.org). The final interpretation of hearing an owl hoot is that our guardian angels and spiritual masters are conveying guidance and advice. Owls have protective energy, warning us of negative forces we should be aware of. Owls are highly spiritual, they are seen as a representation of higher consciousness, enlightenment, and superior intellect (ipublishing.co.in).

Now that you’ve learned everything you never needed to know about the symbolism of hearing and seeing owls, only time will tell whether or not my encounter with these spiritual creatures is a warning, a communication with spiritual masters, or a symbol of transformation! I have not seen or heard the owls since new year’s morning which makes their visit with me extremely special, it was a significant way to start the new year.

In bringing this first blog of the new year to a close, it’s now been 10 days since my visit with the owls. I did find out that the temporary job I had for the holidays is coming to an end. I was hopeful to stay on permanently but that’s not what the universe has planned for me. I chose to see that as a sign that I should continue pursuing this dream of having my own business. Rather than dwell on the loss of income, which is significant, I booked space with LiveFit wellness suites to start teaching yoga a few times a week beginning in February! I also opened up my calendar to begin taking aromatherapy appointments, and I have started the process for planning educational workshops! Is it all going to work out? I have no idea!! But I’m trusting my spirit owl guides are encouraging this personal reinvention and change of life.

I’m quite sure that I happened outside at a time the owls were engaged in the process of mating calls, and that it was nothing more than an intimate moment with mother nature, but since I don’t want to miss anything I did make an appointment to talk with my spirit guides next week!

Have you ever had an encounter with nature that felt spiritual for you personally? Take a few minutes to journal and reflect on that experience. If you’re feeling brave, share a brief summary of that experience and what it meant to you on our Facebook Page!

Want to further connect with your spiritual side or just reconnect with your breath and find peaceful moments? Join me at one of our upcoming yoga classes at LiveFit Wellness, registration is now open! Essential oils can elicit a spiritual connection as well! If you are seeking support for your mental well-being book an aromatherapy consultation today and explore the health benefits of essential oils.