The Owl: A creature of many myths & legends, a symbol of wisdom, a messenger of change, their supernatural abilities are frequently mentioned in articles that make you wonder: How much of it is truth? As a physical specimen: An owl's neck can turn 270 degrees, they can hear 10 times better than humans, they scan the darkness with binocular vision; and move with silent precision through the night skies whether in field or forest. There are some humans who refer to themselves as 'night owls' because they feel they are more 'alive' and awake at night. Others have had so much unusual and consistent interaction with owls that they refer to themselves as 'owl people.' I am fully aware of the physical aspects of the owl. Those are facts that I believe. I am not so sure when it comes to their supernatural abilities. That said, I am sharing here a number of my personal testimonies that might stir your thoughts on the mystical connection between owls and mankind.



The Protector
In two of our paranormal cases, we had owls apparently protecting the homes of clients who were having issues with dark entities. In one case, two owls spent several days lingering on the grass yard between the house and the woods. The client said, when we looked out, it seemed as if the owls were staring directly at you. This family had pet rabbits that would hop right up to the owls and the owls didn’t flinch, which is quite unusual since rabbits are the No. 1 food source for owls. After the Search4Spirits team worked with the family and removed the dark energy, the owls never showed up in the yard again. Similarly, another client had an owl perch in the tree outside his door several days in a row around the time he noticed increased paranormal activity in his house. In both cases, the owls would make quite a bit of noise on occasion which we assume may have been when the dark energy came closer to the home. It was as if the owls were warning the family or doing what they could to protect them from evil.



A Spiritual Gift
A few years back, I was turkey hunting on a tall ridge covered with oaks overlooking acres of tamarack swamp. I sat, leaned against an old oak trunk and watched the sun rise while listening to the crows, chickadees and occasional gobble from a Tom turkey in the distance. None of the gobbles were near me, but it didn’t matter as I was totally immersed into the stunning theatrics taking place before me. Just then, a small owl came toward my tree. It landed on the branch just above my head. It appeared to be ‘cleaning’ its feathers with its beak. I watched as it plucked one feather out. It held it in its beak for a second, and then let it fall. The small feather slowly descended, so slow that I held out my hand and the feather landed gently into my open palm as a falling snowflake might. I thought to myself, how often does that happen where you catch an owl feather before it hits the ground. I knew the occurrence was rare and must have special meaning, so I tucked the feather into my pocket. I still have that feather today. It’s in a bag, hanging just above my bed, at my shack in the woods.



Owl in the Royal Tomb
In the ancient city of Ur, Iraq, birthplace of Abraham, a number of royal tombs were uncovered dating back as far as 2600 BC, to include the tomb of Queen Puabi. In 2006, I was able to visit Ur and the tombs. I was one of the first to enter the tombs on that day, and as I did, something moved in the dark far corner of the tomb. I stepped back quickly, but soon realized it was a Barn Owl (pictured above). Perhaps it had made its way into the dark corridors of that underground tomb to keep cool. But who is to say it didn't have other spiritual functions that we were unaware of. We were told the tombs often had guardians to protect them. Perhaps that owl was keeping watch on the tomb to ensure people didn’t mess with it?



Owl Attributes
Owls have been said to be messengers from the darkness, carriers of black and white magic, foresight, wisdom, healing and transition prophecies, as well as protection and seduction. Some say they are an omen of pending death, others say it may not be a physical death, rather a sign for letting go of a part of life that doesn't serve you well anymore. My favorite attribute: Owls have the power to see in the darkness, whether physical dark or spiritual darkness. If you are aware of an owl being present in your life, whether dreaming or awake, you just might be experiencing a call to open your spirit to the truth of a situation. That voice is trying to tell you something. Take the time to meditate on it and seek out its purpose.



My First Owl Experience
My first run in with an owl was on my cousin's farm when I was 16. I had climbed a dead tree that had tipped over. The sun was nearly down. I watched a young doe mosey through the woods. A red squirrel scurried on the forest floor. Then I heard a stick break. A loud whooshing noise. I barely had time to react as a large owl was three feet away and closing. I ducked at the last second, clinging to the tree with both hands as the owl's wings literally brushed against me. It took 15 minutes to catch my breath before I could climb out of the tree. I kept a close eye out in case it decided to return. It never did.



Death of the Great White
We were headed up North on the third weekend of the deer season. It was always late when my uncle and I headed to the cabin, because we didn’t leave until after work, and it was nearly a five-hour trip. We were less than an hour from the cabin when the snow started to fall like Mother Nature was attempting to keep us from getting to our destination. I slowed to 20 miles per hour, and had rolled my window down just to see the edge of the road. Everything in the headlights was completely white. That's when it happened. From out of nowhere, a huge Snow Owl, its wing span stretching across the entire front end of the truck, hit us dead on. Its ghostly eyes looked right at us for a split second, a sight I will never forget. I yelled, shit. I didn't know much about owls at the time, but I immediately felt a pain in my heart. It was horrible. We're not going to get a deer this weekend; we’ll be lucky to even see one, I said to my uncle. He agreed. We didn't either. Less than two years later, my uncle died. More than likely didn’t have anything to do with it, but I’ll never forget that doomed feeling that lingered with me for some time.



After Me Again
Not long after we moved to the farm, I was in my bed on the second floor, windows open, and listening to relaxing nature sounds while I meditated. There were a few owl calls mixed in with the other nature sounds on this tape, but I didn't think much of it. Then I heard an owl call from somewhere outside. I shut the tape off, and listened to the owl call three more times. Then all of sudden, there was a loud thud against the screen next to me. I literally jumped out of bed. The owl had hit the screen of the window with so much force that it nearly came right through. I went to look outside in case it had been injured but it was nowhere to be seen.



Owl Games
A deer season after my uncle passed, I was 12 foot up in a tree stand when two large owls landed in the trees near me. They were an odd looking specimen that I didn’t recognize. I wiggled my finger to see if they would notice. They both took flight; headed right for me. The first landed in a tree five feet in front of me. The second owl landed in a tree behind me. The Owl to my front looked directly at me. It turned its head in strange positions, looking me up and down. Meanwhile, I was observing its features as well. Its face didn't have hardly any feathers on it. It looked leathery. I have tried to find this owl in books and on the internet, but have never found an owl that looked quite the same as these two. The owl and I had some back and forth. It would stare at me. Then I would look into its eyes, and it would quickly turn away. Then I would turn away, and it would resume looking at me, and back and forth our little game went. The two owls hung out until dusk when I climbed out of the stand. It was before the days of cell phones and I really wish I could have taken a picture of them.



Owl & the Child
Almost as soon as my daughter could talk; she indicated to us that something was in the corner of her room. We even moved her bed so it wasn’t near that corner. It wasn’t until she was a little older, that she referred to the entity as being an owl. We had hoped that maybe she just recalled it from a reading of Winnie the Pooh, but this went on for two years. We discussed it as parents and decided that whatever it was; it meant no harm. We both felt the owl was watching over her, much as an Angel would, and left it at that. It is well documented that many children have the ability to see, hear and feel spirit activity, but then as they grow, they are distracted from this connection or leave it behind because it is frightening or too hard to make sense of. Since those days, I have had a few paranormal cases where it has been mentioned that there was an owl in the house or in a room in the house.



Owl Logic
The wise old owl has become a familiar image in education over the years, and it can be found in numerous roles as an educator for children. This may not be far from the truth. Though seldom seen due to its nocturnal habits, it is possible that these creatures have a more crucial role in the spiritual development and physical protection of our children and even of us as adults. Unfortunately, it is at a level beyond the realm of understanding. But that doesn't mean it isn't true. I for one believe owls will seek out those who are willing to connect. Not that you can communicate. Just connect. I have read other true stories on owl and Human connections. We can't all be crazy. Based on these stories, I feel there is more than coincidence involved in my life experiences with the owls.



The Owl Who Waited (2024)

Last night, on the way to a client’s house, on a rural highway that curved past small lakes and fields, we saw an owl on the shoulder of the road. It was a strange location for an owl to be in daylight, and so close to traffic, we noted. Jump ahead three hours…We are on our way home from the investigation, when an owl flies out of the ditch and heads straight for us—in the same location where we had seen the owl earlier. The owl attempted to back off at the last second but it did hit the car just below the headlight on the driver’s side front fender. We turned around, and went back to see if it was injured. The owl was standing on the shoulder of the road exactly as it had been three hours earlier. We walked right up to it. It did not attempt to get away. It just stood there; its head swiveling back and forth, its big eyes opening and closing. We noticed a few feathers were offset from the wing and it may have been injured but how do you know? A passing car stopped. The man said it was probably just stunned and it would eventually fly away. With those words of encouragement, and knowing there was not much else we could do, we drove off. We headed to the next road crossing, turned around, and headed back toward the owl. Two cars had passed by. We drove slowly. The owl was nowhere to be seen. We were hopeful it had flown off, and would be okay. We continued on our way. We had only gone up the hill, when a person in a truck coming from the opposite direction began flashing the headlights from high to low beam over and over, and they were honking the horn nonstop as they passed. I quickly checked; our lights were on low beam. So why?! My only thought was perhaps there was damage to the front end of the car and something was hanging down onto the road, or…had the owl taken flight, only to perch upon the roof of our car as we passed? Strange as that might sound, is as surreal as the moment seemed. I pulled over in a field approach, got out and took a look around the vehicle. I saw nothing; no damage; no owl catching a ride. But things didn’t feel normal. Three times as I headed down the road, I slammed on the breaks and shadows on the side of the road in some sort of post traumatic response. Mark also noticed how eerie the night had become. It wasn’t until 20 miles later, the energy suddenly shifted, and everything went back to feeling, well, as normal as one might expect it to be—a strange ordeal indeed.



Owl Serenade (2024)

In the middle of last night, an owl parked itself in the oak tree on the corner of our house nearest my bedroom. I woke and listened to its vocalizations for a half hour. With all the different owl experiences I've had in my life, I wondered if it wasn't trying to talk to me. I said a couple prayers, and it seemed to calm down, and then I fell back asleep.





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Owl Encounters