The information space in which a city resident is placed today is oversaturated. News, advertising, volumes of work information - all this is forced to process our consciousness and subconscious. We control consciousness at the very least. But, as a rule, “our hands don’t reach the subconscious.” This is dangerous because not all information that is perceived by the eyes and ears is as innocent as it seems at the first tired and blinkered glance. Meanwhile, bringing some of the information that we routinely receive from the subconscious to the level of consciousness, and analyzing it will allow us to better understand what is happening around us and, perhaps, protect ourselves, our family and friends from danger. An example is the symbol of an owl, which is used today very often in various fields. In some places it is completely “sterile”, and in others it can be a warning sign of real danger.
Why is the owl a symbol of wisdom?
The owl is a majestic nocturnal predator, whose appearance and habits have long given rise to the image of a bird shrouded in a mysterious and even mystical trail. She has long been feared and revered as an unusual creature, capable of bringing both good and evil. Therefore, in order to understand why the owl is a symbol of wisdom and who gave it such symbolism, one should turn to old beliefs and ideas about this bird.
How and why did the image of a wise owl arise?
Even at the dawn of the development of ancient civilizations, the image of an owl was most often associated with wise deities on whom the fate of people depended. This bird seemed so unusual that it was revered as the embodiment of the magical thoughts of the gods.
Not everyone can see an owl, because it hunts exclusively at night. For the same reason, she was considered the embodiment of darkness, a threat to all living things. That is why, in most dream books, an owl has long been interpreted as a negative sign. But it was precisely the nocturnal image of these birds and the ability to see in the dark that gave them the notorious image of the symbol of wisdom.
People believed that if the owl was given the ability to see in the night, then this bird could notice what was inaccessible to the eyes of others. In addition, she could see everything around her without moving, but only by turning her head, in a way that others could not do.
Therefore, they believed that she knew more than anyone else in the world about everything and, therefore, embodied the image of a wise being. This is where the belief arose that an owl flies around the world at night, learns about everything, and at dawn reports it to the gods, whose messenger it later appeared in the myths of a number of peoples of the world.
Wise owl as perceived by different peoples
The Slavs considered the owl to be the keeper of treasures. According to their beliefs, she protected treasures hidden in the earth and served as a messenger between the worlds - earthly and otherworldly. Therefore, the owl in Slavic mythology also acted as a wise bird, because it knew everything secret.
It is not surprising that later, when Christianity supplanted paganism, the image of an owl became associated with Christ, bringing the truth to people. In ancient Russian fairy tales, this “prophetic” bird was called nothing more than a “wise little head”, capable of helping the hero and giving him good advice. She was also considered Leshy’s faithful assistant.
The North American Indians, among whom animism and totemism were widespread, also paid special attention to the owl as a symbol of wisdom. This bird of prey in Indian myths appears as a wise deity of high spirit. Brave warriors decorated their heads with owl feathers, believing that such a talisman would give them steadfastness in battle and protect them from death.
In some Indian tribes there was even a belief that the souls of warriors after death moved into owls, so these birds could not be killed. The Indians considered the owl to be the embodiment of magical powers, which also gave this bird an aura of wisdom.
Among a number of peoples, the owl was considered a faithful assistant to shamans and wise men, who, with its help, could communicate with spirits and receive wise advice from them. The English imagined the wise wizard Merlin with an owl on his shoulder. In India, this bird was considered a prophetess and prophetess, capable of predicting fate.
But the most striking image of the owl as a symbol of wisdom became among the ancient Greeks. In their minds, this bird acted as a faithful companion of the goddess Athena. It was in Ancient Greece that the most ancient image of an owl was discovered. The appearance of this bird was minted on coins with Athena.
To the ancient Greeks, this bird, in its way of life, resembled philosophers seeking solitude in search of truth. This could also serve as an imprint on the image of the owl, which became the personification of wisdom.
The ancient Greeks believed that meeting an owl could turn out to be extremely lucky for them, because they would be able to find a solution to any, even the most complex problem. If this bird flew over the battlefield, then this completely foreshadowed victory for the Greek troops.
The wisdom of the owl - what is the reason?
If we ignore the long-standing myths, thanks to which the image of an owl became a symbol of wisdom, then we can find more scientific explanations for such symbolism. In particular, scientists believe that these birds are endowed with special abilities because of their unusual voice.
Firstly, people have long been frightened by the variety of sounds of an owl's voice - from the most familiar hoot to a terrible screech and imitation of barking, meowing and even human muttering, as, for example, the Nepalese eagle owl does. Secondly, scientists believe that any vocalization of an owl has a rather strange effect on both people and animals (including wild ones).
Jackals, cows, and wolves respond to the owl's call with their voices. All this could be the reason for the owl’s ascension to the rank of a creature close to deities, and therefore endowed with sacred knowledge and special wisdom.
It is curious that a number of biologists are confident that owls are actually very smart birds. The reason for this, they see, is that owls have larger brains than other birds. The guesses about the wisdom of the owl and its habits are confirmed.
This bird is very patient, never fusses, hunts very thoughtfully, developing a strategy for attacking prey, rather than rushing at the first target that catches its eye. The owl also has very sensitive hearing and is able to detect the slightest rustle, which allows it to easily identify a hidden victim.
The appearance of the owl could also be the reason why this bird began to be considered a symbol of wisdom. Representatives of the owl family have a human-like head due to their face, which resembles a sage in thought. The large round eyes of this bird resemble glasses, which were believed to be worn most often by wise people, scientists, and inventors.
One way or another, people have long been accustomed to consider the owl a symbol of knowledge and wisdom. This symbolism remains relevant to this day, especially when purchasing owl figurines and various amulets with the appearance of this bird.
Are larks born or made?
Roman Buzunov, head of the sleep medicine department of the Barvikha clinical sanatorium, Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation:
The tendency to go to bed or wake up early or late is genetically predetermined, like eye color or shoe size. Circadian, or daily, rhythms vary from person to person. A person’s biological clock can lag behind the astronomical one - in which case he is a night owl, or rush - in which case he will be a lark.
Mikhail Poluektov, head of the department of sleep medicine at the 1st Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov:
The ability for a shorter or longer sleep-wake cycle is inherent at the cellular level: one interesting study was conducted that compared the periods of activity of skin cells, fibroblasts, in larks and owls - they differed by several tens of minutes. In addition to the genetic mechanism, there is also a so-called time-setter. For living beings, the main time-setter is sunlight. When the first rays of the sun hit the retina of the eye, regardless of whether the person is an owl or a lark, his internal clock is set to the right time. Although for larks and owls these clocks are set differently.
Vladislav Vyazovsky, neurophysiologist, senior researcher at the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics at the University of Oxford:
There are many genes that are somehow associated with sleep. Through experimental mutagenesis, breeds of mice and fruit flies have been bred that sleep less or more than they should, or fall asleep earlier or later every day. Probably, in a family of larks, children are more likely to be like this too, because they have lived from early childhood in the mode of larks - among them there may be both real larks who inherited this chronotype, and involuntarily larks, who in fact, at the genetic level, are more likely owls, but they don’t know about it.
Wise dreams
Since ancient times, it has been believed that the wisest and most correct decisions come to a person in a dream on the wings of owls. It’s hard to disagree with this, because many, for example D.I. Mendeleev's insight came precisely in a dream.
The mysterious night cry of the bird, according to scientists, is one of the reasons why the owl is considered wise. The ability to make uniquely powerful sounds: sharply hoot and laugh loudly does not leave any animal around indifferent.
Another reason is the larger mass of the bird’s brain compared to other birds, which affects the behavior of the owl. Patience and thoughtful decisions are characteristic of this bird.
And of course the appearance: a big head with an intelligent look, wise eyes that understand everything.
What are the benefits of knowing your chronotype?
What is the use of knowing when your mental and physical productivity will peak? With this information, you can optimize your workflow so that key tasks occur at peak performance. It is best to purposefully leave the most difficult tasks for peak performance.
You will understand what time is most convenient for sleep so that you have enough time to get enough sleep.
What distinguishing features do you know between owls and larks? Share your knowledge in the comments.
How to use an owl amulet to predict the future
The magical meaning of talismans is clairvoyance and obtaining hidden information. If a person is interested in the answer to any question, he should voice it before going to bed and leave a figurine or decoration in the form of a bird under the pillow. You need to remain vigilant and attentive. Most often, answers come in the form of dreams. The talisman can be valid for 3 days. If you fail to get an answer, do not repeat the procedure again. Perhaps the talisman is trying to warn the owner against a false path or hopes that are not destined to come true.
Is it true that you need eight hours of sleep?
Vladislav Vyazovsky:
Scientists' opinions on the optimal number of hours of sleep vary: some believe that you need to sleep seven to eight hours, others believe that you need to sleep as much as you want, and some researchers are even sure that there may be no “obligatory” sleep at all. a little, but longer is just for fun or to fill the time with something. What is important is not only, and probably not so much, the duration of sleep, but its quality, which is expressed in the distribution of sleep stages, characteristics of the encephalogram, and so on. For example, with age, sleep becomes shorter and more shallow, but this does not mean that it is disturbed; there may be less need for it.
Mikhail Poluektov:
The main criterion for assessing the required duration of sleep is daytime well-being: if a person has no complaints during the day after six hours of sleep, it means that such a duration of sleep is programmed genetically. The population norm of sleep is seven to eight hours, and this is not a recommendation for how much sleep you need, but the figure most often found in relevant professional surveys. Swiss scientists observed the sleep of newborns and found that every year children's average daily sleep duration decreases slightly. This may indicate a slow but steady process of evolution that selects for people who sleep less because they can function efficiently the rest of the time.
