This was a day of considerable reflection and contemplation for me personally. Various endings were in mind and heart. The 40-acre parcel of land which was designated “Live Oak Monastery” land was sold after a bit over nine years of being in my stewardship. There were many threads and connections, relationships connected to that property. Initiation into the Unnamed Path had occurred there for me in 2012. Additionally, my own beloved mother passed in December 2020, and I was honoring her memory this day by strolling around the Greenwood cemetery in San Diego, CA. Here is a short video of ravens at Greenwood that day. In this evening about midnight, I held a brief fire ritual to burn some old photos of that 40 acre land mentioned above. Many endings.
Anthropologically, there are some interesting folk-beliefs about cemeteries and ravens. The tales range from Japan to Scandanavia, central Europe and beyond. Taken from a folklore website: In Sweden the call of the raven after dark was interpreted as the howl of torment of a murdered soul. Meanwhile, in Germany and Denmark, they were associated with the damned or even the devil himself. The raven shares this dubious honor with blackbirds and crows, whose appearance has also been associated with impending death. In both Japan and France, there is the association with birds as psychopomps, helping transport the spirit or soul of the dead into the afterlife.
February Full Moon
Brief video from Greenwood: https://www.dropbox.com/s/iil0npr6lanwx5m/2021.02.26%20Greenwood.MOV?dl=0