What Does Seeing a Hawk Mean?

By Nate Long “Owl”

There’s a common question that I’m asked by those who are new to the Shamanic Practice regarding the appearance of animals as they go about their everyday lives.  “I saw a hawk fly over the highway on my way to work… what does that mean?”      Of course the hawk in this example could be substituted for any animal.

My first instinctual reply:   “Ask the Hawk”

However… this is somewhat of a cop-out on my part… even though I do always encourage people to ask questions of their guides.   There are books out there and online applications with definitions of animal guide meanings… but I would actually encourage you to do the following before you ever grab your phone and ask Google.

Your intentions and actions and mindset are far more relevant to the meaning than what any book could tell you.

Here is some advice that I have picked up from both my “earthly” teachers and my “spiritual” teachers.

When an animal crosses your path:

• Stop (energetically at least) and take a breath
• Observe the animal as closely as possible
  • Do not ask “Why” … only observe
  • What direction does it move?
  • What color, size, shape is it?
  • Is it traveling with others of its kind?
  • Does it make sound?
• Observe where you are during this
  • What were your thoughts at the exact moment you saw it?
  • What time of day? What is the weather like?
  • Did seeing it evoke a thought or idea?
  • Are there other obscure thoughts or sights that come up?
• At a later time
  • Journal about this incident
  • Journey/meditate and “relive” the incident to discover other unrecognized details
  • In your Journey, bring up the image of the animal and ask it what its intentions are

Some final notes:

• You can use this for anything that may seem to speak to you, such as a strange cloud formation or a wonderful sunset or a spectacular tree.
• You can also, with practice, use this when encountering animal guides within your shamanic journey.
• Not every animal you see is a spirit guide or totem or teacher.
• You can get valuable input from a book or teacher or elder, but please recognize that their perspective and context will likely be drastically different from your own.