Significance?

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Permalink Reply by Carl Fisher on July 24, 2010 at 12:02am

I've worked with hawks before, in a non-magical sense. I don't know much about them magically. There are many things that could be going on here, and unfortunately you don't know what to look for to narrow it down, which can be frustrating. Its hard when you want to know more about something but you don't even know what questions to ask.

The specific species of hawk can be significant in finding out what is going on, as different species behave differently. It is also important to find out whether these are juveniles (babies) or adults. If they are juveniles, there is probably a nest near your backyard and they are just learning how to fly now. This is where knowing the species would come in handy, as different species will fledge (leave the nest) at different times of the year, and you could determine if this was the case.

If they are adults, there are a large number of possibilities. They could be a mated pair, and they are just now joining together for the courtship of the mating season- again knowing the exact species would help determine if this was possible. They could be a pair fighting over a recently caught kill or over a territory line.

The screeching also could have been for several reasons, but the fact that it stopped when you showed up likely means it was screeching at the other hawk and your interruption caused it to quiet in the hopes that you would not attack it. If you'd gone any closer it probably would have flown away.

If you could describe the situation and the hawks in more detail, I might be able to help you figure out what was going on.

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Permalink Reply by Tarra on July 24, 2010 at 7:17pm

I think they may be a mating pair. We live in a small city not far from farmland so it may have come from there. I looked on the web and the picture is pretty much exactly like the one we had. Its called a sharp-shinned hawk, pretty common here. I am just hoping a cat doesn't get it or something because I think maybe his foot is hurt from falling off the roof.
Thanks for the help!

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Permalink Reply by Carl Fisher on July 26, 2010 at 12:57am

Not a problem. Do you have a bird feeder in your backyard? Because if you do, they might have been going after the little guys. These hawks specialize in taking down small birds, and their great at maneuvering through brush, so I wouldn't be too worried about it getting hurt on your house. I'm fairly certain it didn't really crash, though such things can happen. If it did hurt its leg, it would have a hard time getting around, and an especially hard time catching anything else to eat.

Check out this website- http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sharp-shinned_Hawk/id

It gives more detail on the appearance and other birds of prey that look similar. If you're pretty sure it was an adult, compare the plummage (feather coloring) to the Coopers hawk, just to be sure. But if its feathers looked more like a juvenile, compare it to a merlin just to be sure. You can also listen to the little sound bite to see if that is what the screech sounded like.

If it was a mating pair, the female would have been much larger than the male as sharp-shinned's have a fairly big difference in size between sexes.

However, I'm pretty sure what you saw was fledglings/juveniles now. Sharp-shinned hawks fledge from late June to early September, so you probably caught sight of a couple youngins learning how to fly and trying to go after their first kill.

Tarra said:

I think they may be a mating pair. We live in a small city not far from farmland so it may have come from there. I looked on the web and the picture is pretty much exactly like the one we had. Its called a sharp-shinned hawk, pretty common here. I am just hoping a cat doesn't get it or something because I think maybe his foot is hurt from falling off the roof.
Thanks for the help!

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Permalink Reply by Bones on July 26, 2010 at 3:23am

Please forgive me in answering this in a different light. I have only came to the Craft within the last couple of months; but I believe my past experience has opened up the Craft within me in a different light.

To me, a hawk is nature’s messager for protection and guidance for keeping focus on the positives such as growing, learning, loving, and being at peace with one self.

It can also mean healing and empowerment through visions as ones life moves forward. Hawks are also visionary and provide messages for the Spirit and the Universe when we are unaware of what we need. They help us be aware of messages when minds could be closed at the moment, but internally ready to move forward at a given point in time. They also helps us to commune the spirits by freeing ourselves of thoughts and beliefs that are archaic in the point and time we are in giving our particular development.

Thus, a hawk could represent freeing ourselves of our current burdens in life by unifying all aspects of the heavens and the earth by relaying higher concepts of ideals and information we currently need in our mundane life.

Also, they can alert of us specific actions to not take because we have not grown to the point to do so. This can pertain to relationships where you want to go in a certain direction but it does not feel right to do so deep down inside. Or, it could be since hawks are misunderstood, you might be getting an answer that you seek, but not like. In general, hawks can much more clearer with their vision than we can.

If your situation is attracting someone in your life that does not feel quite feel right but forcing the issue, you may need to take some more time in trying to discern what you really want in life and how to achieve for the betterment of yourself.

As a side note, hawks were – in Native American traditions – messagers of potential changes in one life and needed to be aware of it.

Unfortunately, hawks have many different meanings and a person needs to decide which element of the hawk pertains to them and no one out side of yourself can predict it.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Fisher on July 28, 2010 at 12:07am

Hey thanks! ^-^ I liked reading this, since I previously didn''t know anything about hawks from the magical side of things. My uncle is a falconer, and thats where I garnered all my basic scientific knowledge, but reading through your post helped me piece some things together about my own experiences with these great birds.

I never really thought of them as messengers before. Perhaps we can combine our knowledge? Since these were likely juveniles learning to fly their message might have had something to do with striking a new path or endeavors in learning? And sharp-shinned's are particularly agile, a necessity when maneuvering among close trees, so maybe there is a message there- a need to be quick on your feet and ready to make swift changes?

Bones said:

Please forgive me in answering this in a different light. I have only came to the Craft within the last couple of months; but I believe my past experience has opened up the Craft within me in a different light.

To me, a hawk is nature’s messager for protection and guidance for keeping focus on the positives such as growing, learning, loving, and being at peace with one self.

It can also mean healing and empowerment through visions as ones life moves forward. Hawks are also visionary and provide messages for the Spirit and the Universe when we are unaware of what we need. They help us be aware of messages when minds could be closed at the moment, but internally ready to move forward at a given point in time. They also helps us to commune the spirits by freeing ourselves of thoughts and beliefs that are archaic in the point and time we are in giving our particular development.

Thus, a hawk could represent freeing ourselves of our current burdens in life by unifying all aspects of the heavens and the earth by relaying higher concepts of ideals and information we currently need in our mundane life.

Also, they can alert of us specific actions to not take because we have not grown to the point to do so. This can pertain to relationships where you want to go in a certain direction but it does not feel right to do so deep down inside. Or, it could be since hawks are misunderstood, you might be getting an answer that you seek, but not like. In general, hawks can much more clearer with their vision than we can.

If your situation is attracting someone in your life that does not feel quite feel right but forcing the issue, you may need to take some more time in trying to discern what you really want in life and how to achieve for the betterment of yourself.

As a side note, hawks were – in Native American traditions – messagers of potential changes in one life and needed to be aware of it.

Unfortunately, hawks have many different meanings and a person needs to decide which element of the hawk pertains to them and no one out side of yourself can predict it.

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Permalink Reply by Tarra on July 28, 2010 at 10:20pm

Thanks for the info everyone! They seemed to have gone on their way, we haven't seen them around for a couple of days. They are very beautiful birds and now I do think they were juveniles. Bones, thanks for the input! I am trying to take the next step in my life with changing careers. I have been at the same job since I was 17 (I am 32 now) and it is an extremely scary thing for me to do, I like the security of my job however it is time for me to move on. I am starting school in October for small business/entrepreneur and plan on opening a spiritual shop near home. Perhaps this hawk was telling me to stop worrying and just go for it. It seems that thats what everything I do lately is saying. I have been getting signs from other things too including my dear goddess Hecate!
Carl, you mentioned reflecting on your experiences with these animals and such, I am curious if you have seen a connection in your own life.
Soliel, this is the first and only time I have ever seen them around the city! I was as surprised as well!

BB
Tarra

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Permalink Reply by Carl Fisher on July 29, 2010 at 10:02am

Tarra said:

Carl, you mentioned reflecting on your experiences with these animals and such, I am curious if you have seen a connection in your own life.

BB
Tarra

Well, I'm still figuring out if there were any messages directed at me, but I know a lot about the personalities of some of the specific birds- in particular horned owls. I was privilaged to help train one for my uncle. When the bird was still "wild", every time we approached her she would puff out her feathers, hunch her shoulders, hiss, clack her beak, and try to back into a corner. It looked very frightening and intimidating, but my uncle assured me that horned owls are big bluffers. It was a good bluff. I was pretty sure that if I reached toward her she was going to gouge out my eyes, but true to my uncle's word, as soon as we had the bird in hand she was docile and as easy to train as a little kitten.

I guess a lesson I learned from that experience, or perhaps the message this owl was giving me, was that I needed to tackle even the most daunting tasks in my life, and as I did it would be far easier than it looked. This was about the time of my life that I was heading off to school for mariner studies to become a captain. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it, but here I am now- captain of a charter boat. ^-^

Since I got to work with quite a few birds and had a lot of experiences with them, I'm still trying to work everything out and see if there were any more magical messages meant for me. This one though is my most memorable.

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Permalink Reply by Bones on July 30, 2010 at 8:15pm

Tarra, you are welcome!

Both of you - Carl and Tarra - have seen to figure your specialized message from one of the best of nature's messagers!

Recently, Hawks have played a role in my life.

I started having terrible headaches at the beginning of May 2010 and decided to try nontraditional medicine since traditional medicine was not working out at all.

So, I contacted the metaphysical shop for a health consultation and it changed my life forever in the most awesome way!

Starting at around the middle of May, I started receiving Reiki treatments and attending guided meditation classes at the metaphysical shop. After several sessions, her pentacle fell out of shirt and I started asking questions. Fortunately, she was a solitaire for ten years and trying to get her third degree and answered all of my questions with ease.

Even after asking the questions and being hooked on the concept of the Craft, I was still apprehensive about for a couple weeks until June 13th.

Every time I went to and the from the metaphysical shop once or twice a week (because I could not keep away from the unique energy of the store), I saw hawks in the sky; and when I saw approximately 13 hawks in the sky on the 12th going to the shop, I knew than the Craft was for me and finally dispelled any and all apprehension concerning the Craft due to my Judeo–Christian background.

Without the Craft, I would not be as happy and peaceful as I am now in life and it took six Reiki treatments and a Kolaimni class to finally heal my broken heart and old wounds.

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