Hey dear Hive community, first of all I would like to welcome you all to my new post and hope you have a great start to the new week! Today I would like to discuss the mythology and symbolism of an enchanting animal and hope you can learn something new.
Here are some pictures of a raven that I have taken today and over the centuries different opinions about the symbolic meaning have formed in different cultures. The raven is often regarded as a sign of death and in the European Middle Ages it was considered a sign of negativity and in occultism there is often the faith that the raven has access to the underworld and it is also often associated with magical powers. At that time, he was often considered a harbinger of warnings of wars or disasters and was often associated with the Lightbringer Lucifer and, according to some interpretations, the raven has the power to bring light into the darkness. It can also be found in alchemy and the raven was often regarded there as an animal that had access to the subconscious and was associated with nigredo what for a process of blackening stands and for alchemical processes it was of great importance. In many alchemist writings as well as works of art, the raven can be found and it is also often associated with the transformation of substances and specifically it is linked to the metal lead which in turn was associated with the planet saturn. In other cultures, the raven was considered a symbol of happiness and due to the intelligence, it was considered an adaptable animal and was also considered a carrier of positive messages or happiness and in Asian culture it is often seen as a sign of family cohesion. There are views that the raven can establish a connection with the subconscious and it is also often seen as a sign of healing as well as regeneration and as an intelligent animal it should even have the ability to transform or speak.
The best-known god who was associated with ravens is Odin from the Norse mythology who had two ravens with the names Hugin and Munin and they were considered his faithful companions with whom he could even talk and they could also transform into different beings. In Norse mythology, it was generally regarded as a sacred bird that was in contact with divine powers and even then it was thought that the raven was a sign of wisdom as well as coming disasters. Also in Greek mythology, the raven was considered a sacred or mystical bird and was also associated with the god of healing and the light Apollo and it was also considered a kind of connection between different galaxies. The raven was often considered a guardian animal in ancient Greece and in a legend Apollo once sends Coronis ravens who were supposed to protect her and the Romans regarded the raven as a wise animal and often asked him for advice and saw them as an oracle. In some cultures, the raven even appears in connection with the history of creation of the world and the Celts also revered ravens and regarded it as a sign of the connection between two worlds and also in heraldry, ravens often appear and can be admired by numerous coats of arms. The raven also often appears in art and it is no wonder that some artists have been inspired by the wonderful charisma of this animal and there are numerous paintings in which the raven can be found.
Thank you very much for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new about nature! I captured these pictures with my Camera Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens!