Birds

The Heron and the Crow as the yin-yang has been on my mind today. It's sort of tripping me out that these crows keep squawking at me from my balcony while I paint. What does that mean? They were so beautiful and comforting before, sweetly watching me paint on grey days.
Here's an old rhyme about a crow:

Crow

One means anger
Two means mirth
Three is a wedding
Four a birth
Five is heaven
Six is Hell
But Seven is
The devil's own self

Other symbols about the crow from different cultures...
(Hindu) Thievery
(Christian) Solitude, the Devil
(Hebrew) Carrion, or a corpse
(Japanese) Ill omen or misfortune
(Chinese) Malice

Eeeek! I'm scaring myself. But then there is the Heron, a symbol in several cultures of quietness and watchfulness. I'm glad at least that I've gotten to see them several times lately...a good omen.

My horoscope sign has an affinity to the Hawk. The hawk is able to fly directly up at the sun and gaze at it unflinchingly. In Egypt it is soul and inspiration. In Aztec it is a messenger and in Hindu it is light.

I like the symbolism of all of the birds that are part of my day but really there is one I love the best, the wren. Wrens are considered the world over to be the King of Birds. It's a smart little bird who mates for life. The wren has a "down-to-earth soul," and is one of the wisest of birds. "They are gregarious yet have a rich inner world and a hidden reserve,"according to The Secret Language of Birds. Wisdom, intuition, kindness, grace an humility are all qualities associated with this bird. Also, feathers of the wren can protect against magical spells and sorcery so they are considered very useful to have around the house. It's very unlucky to kill a wren. I'll have wrens instead of crows outside of my next studio, that'll be nice.