The Raven Has Landed

This magical and foreboding window with a raven swooping over sunflowers in a fantasy landscape is the companion to the butterflies piece I showed you in December.

Why oh why it has taken me so long to share the continuation of this story ? Perhaps only the Raven knows.

When I arrived in Idaho in August last year, I made my way to McCall, where I’ve been living and healing and putting together a new life for myself. That first day, as I stepped out of the car and into the intoxicating coolness of the pine forest, a large black feather lay in my path, greeting me.

I collected it, and looked it up online with the US Fish & Wildlife Feather Identifier--a really cool resource, by the way. A raven feather. I felt it was an affirmation somehow.

I didn't realize at the time I picked it up, just how much my life has changed since living in Guatemala for almost 15 years, and how much it would change, over the last few months living in Idaho. Specifically, I did not realize just how much magic I have inside me, how much it has grown and developed these past years. We often say Guatemala is magical place; I am more and more certain its true.

Over the last few months, I have really been looking at all the aspects of my life, and putting them into balance. I've been dedicated to my nutrition and practicing my diet, and working a lot on my physical fitness. I've been analyzing the various parts of my life, and creating a new perspective for the future. I've been meditating a lot and learning to use my mind in new ways. I am working through the many griefs and losses of the past year, and reconnecting to my most treasured earth family. I've been blessed to root out the underlying causes of some of my biggest personal blocks. I've thrown myself eagerly into the Mayan fire ceremony, reading the creation stories like the Popol Wuj, and for the first time my life I have a daily prayer practice which comes from the healing and experiences I have had in Guatemala, especially in the last year and a half that I got to know my friend, author and Ajq'ij Maya, Carlos Barrios.

I have written about Carlos before, and how he died last year. Losing him is something I am still processing, but I have been fortunate that I have been able to release a lot of the sadness. As I've been able to shed many of my tears and wail my heart's pain, I've also opened the door to a profound spiritual connection with Carlos and the Great Wisdom he gave to me. My experiences of him, both in life and now, as pure spirit, are nothing short of magical to me. Our unfinished journeys become my journeys; his path has, in many ways, become my path. My whole process of healing and purification has been made possible by my embracing and believing in the universal truths, ancestral wisdom, power, and magic of the Mayan spiritual tradition.

The raven has many symbolisms, but for me it represents a very powerful creator energy. To the Northwest Coast Native peoples, the raven is the creator who goes into the darkness of the void to bring the sun to the world. This resonates with my own experience of creativity as an artist. It also resonates with my recent experience of the darkest winter nights--which I've been missing for all these years living in Guatemala--the darkness through which I've discovered some important truths, new intelligence, and fertility creative territory.

Ravens are fascinating and mysterious, and thus far I've had no luck in my attempts to interact with them. I remain captivated by their sudden calls, their mystery, their intelligence. Here's a little video from one of my recent walks. Listen to all those sounds; that is the raven speaking.

What are your experiences with ravens? If you have anything you'd like to add or share, please leave your comments below.

If you're interested in having me create a mosaic window for your home or business, please contact me.