(Sunday, October 30, 2016) new moon Scorpio / tarot Queen of Swords reversed
I look out into our backyard through the large dining room window. Animals of all kinds are lined up, single file, crossing the yard from east to west. Each species has its own line: rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, varieties of birds. Most distinctive is a straight line of red-tailed hawks. They appear in profile, like images of Horus the Egyptian falcon god. They walk with great dignity across the green field. I am so captivated by their presence that I head outside, entering the backyard from the south corner of the house in an effort to avoid disrupting them.
Lola is with me, equally intrigued, yet not in a predatory way. As I turn the south corner she transforms into a young human female. She is blond, shorter than I, and affectionately hugs my left side. The animals see us and their lines start to scatter and intermingle. They are startled but not frightened enough to begin a mass escape. The hawk line becomes disorganized but not as much as the lines of the other animals. They are at the farthest point of the yard, at the tree line near the pond. I try to count them: there are at least 30, maybe as many as 40 birds of prey.
Day notes:
We have many types of hawks visit our yard but the sighting of red-tails and eagles is fairly rare. I have been deeply saddened, terrified, to read this week that wildlife populations have dropped by 50% since 1970.
The orderly lines of animals feel mystical and beautiful to me, as though they are creating a visual treat, a work of conceptual art, for my viewing pleasure. They know I honor the shamanic and enjoy including them in my artwork.
I was tagged in a Friday Facebook post by my writer friend Jana, who now lives in L.A., in celebration of the 30th anniversary of her design business called Smart Set. A group of us who hung out and worked together there were given little titles, mine was “Paints for love, keylines for money.” A very touching remark. (Keylining is an old craft that has been replaced by digital design.) A flock of brilliant, hawk-like intellectuals started Smart Set.
Horus the Sky God was the son of Isis and Osiris, one of the first stories of immaculate conception.
Jamie Sams’ book says hawk is the messenger, bringing information from the ancestors and other realms. Pay attention. Birds of prey, birds of pray.
I have two big cat dreams last week: one of a lioness and her cub, one of a black jaguar and Lola.