Disclaimer: I am rewatching Game of Thrones, so this may have amplified my attention to this matter.

Last week, I had the great fortune to have a series of crow encounters, both in real life and in my spiritual practice. I’ve been paying a lot of attention, intentionally, to noticing synchronicities, and this was a beautiful one.

One of my many walking routes (this is a 1.5 mile one, timed at 25 minutes) is along what I and many others call The Bluff. It is called High Drive Bluff Park, part of a steep and varied hillside that reaches down into the Latah Valley and alongside the Latah River, tucked just West and South of downtown Spokane. Its scattering of trails invites mountain bikers, walkers, hikers, numerous dogs, and lots of critters.

And there are always crows. Crows soaring and cawing, swooping and chattering. Sometimes I have to do a double-take because they are so large I think that maybe its a hawk or other raptor. But nope, a big crow.

This particular morning last week, I came across two crows sitting about 5 feet off the ground on a downed tree trunk, looking at each other. One hopped forward and the other backed up and turned its head away from the other. I stopped and observed. They didn’t seem the least bit concerned about being watched.

Did you know that crows have a remarkable ability to recognize human faces and remember them for extended periods, sometimes years? I didn’t. They can even differentiate between friendly and threatening faces, and hold grudges against individuals they perceive as a threat. This ability is linked to their sophisticated social interactions and communication within their communities.

I spent a few minutes watching these crows, as they remained perched on that tree, chatting away. I let my imagination wander, wondering about all the things they might be sharing, and I secretly hoped I hadn’t wronged either of them. These two could be planning something.

My second encounter was at the house of a childhood friend. He and his wife have a beautiful, natural backyard space. He talks about all the bird sounds and the fact that he recently added bees to his yard, which he claims is a “bird and bee superhighway.” And just as he said it, a large black crow swooped across the yard between the trees. Then he told me about his crows.

He figures there is a crow’s nest in one of the many trees surrounding his property because a pair of crows has become hyper-aware of *his presence. When he was in the back corner of his property, the larger crow (the male) swooped so close that he felt it on the back of his neck and head, and he moved out of the way.

Not wanting to be attacked by the flying creatures, he’s determined to make friends with them. Curious about how to befriend a crow, I wanted to watch.

He placed a few raw, unsalted cashews on a ledge of a birdbath, away from where we were sitting. As he continued to share how he learned what he was showing me — how to make friends with a crow so they don’t attack you — and not five minutes after the nuts were placed, the smaller crow (female) hopped down from her high branch in the big tree across the yard. She bounced a few times on the small limb, then bounced down to a lower one. Then she went lower and to a smaller tree.

Slowly (but not as slow as I would have thought) she made her way to the birdbath, where she hopped around a little before snatching a broken cashew from the ledge. And off she went.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he receives a gift from that crow in the very near future. That’s how you make a friend with a crow.

Lastly, sometimes as part of my meditation practice, I will choose a Tarot card or two, to help me focus on a particular thought that keeps tripping me up or a stress that needs to be calmed. And I picked this card:

The Five of Swords in a Tarot reading generally represents conflict, defeat, and the potential for disharmony.

In a general context, drawing the Five of Swords card is not always a good omen, as it can represent defeat, change, surrender, and walking away. It is a card of self-sabotage, deception, and poor communication. It can also represent serious conflict, stress, and a lack of communication. It can signify a win-at-all-costs mentality, where the desire to be right or dominant overshadows the well-being of others, as well as one's own.

This served as a powerful reminder for me, none of which is too dramatic. However, it's a good reminder that there are always ways we can be humbled, and it's through learning from those moments that we grow.

Crow wisdom

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