Homing: Ravens and the Robin
Home is not always one place, nor one feeling. It is a dynamic interplay of connection, memory, and magic, which reveals itself in forests, mountains, and seascapes—in the relationships we nurture with the land and its beings, and within the unseen realms of our existence. In this post, I share the unfolding journey of what home means to me, inviting you to join me in reflecting on your own relationship with this essential and transformative question. Let us open to the magic that home can bring.
I have been in transition this past week or so, as I travelled from the Appalachians back to the Scottish Highlands - a more unusual form of Medicine Walk perhaps, from one landscape to the next through airports via planes, but one nonetheless.
What is home?
One of the questions that has been arising strongly has been about Home. What is home ? Is it where I feel rooted, where I feel connection, belonging, welcomed … with certain people, places, within me … or is it all of those things ? Is it in the intimate details only known through attention and time, or the overwhelming, seemingly paradoxical, vastness and stillness of simply knowing - this is where I am, this is home?
Raven has been strongly present. Closely accompanying me, carrying messages to and fro. Raven appears when magic is present and potent, supporting us traverse unknown scapes, mysterious times and places. Reminding us that it’s OK not to know - to keep on moving, and to stay centred in trust.
I love hearing Raven’s caw of affection - which always makes me smile. Raven appeared in all the places where questions and senses of home emerged, reminding me to pay attention to all the realms and time frames - it was and still is a potent journey into deeper understanding of Home that is still unfolding. And this may happen on Medicine Walks, you may be called to witness and/or release something from the land like an embedded memory - trust what you are being shown and feeling - allow it to flow.
A robin flew into the kitchen
The morning after my return, to what is currently my physical ‘home’ ( I am in the process of selling ), a Robin flew into the kitchen, perched and circled, before calmly leaving. The kitchen is the hearth, the heart of the home - and Robin signifies new beginnings. Therefore, this felt like a wonderful welcome home blessing! I could interpret this as the new meaning of home is starting to be revealed to me.
Specifically, I have been contemplating the sense of home when it is connected to land. One that has been rooted through to our bones for generations, that deep sense of belonging where one no longer knows where one ends the other begins.
The domino effect of trauma begetting trauma sweeps though humanity
In my family history and in the lands that I am so strongly connected to, the stories of dispossession ripple through. In the Appalachians I met these stories again in a new way, where those who’d once been dispossessed became perpetrators, generations later becoming dispossessed again … and I am reminded how the domino effect of trauma begetting trauma sweeps though humanity - until it is witnessed and acknowledged, with accountability and responsibility being taken by all. And I am only left with more questions, more reflections.
I know I’m not alone in the feeling evoked when arriving in a place
I was so welcomed by those ancient souls the Appalachians, greeted by so many of my four-legged and winged kin. I felt privileged to touch both the joy and grief held within those ancient stones and their river songs … Yet it differs from the intimacy I have with the land that I have lived in for over 27 years now … where I see the same places daily, weekly or with other regularity and witness the changes throughout the seasons and the years, becoming familiar with the nooks and cranny’s, plants, trees and other beings. And so my exploration of what is home continues.
I know I’m not alone in the feeling evoked when arriving in a place and instantly sense a deep connection of coming home. Different places inspire different expressions of being, I find it in forests, mountains and sea scapes. Each brings nurturance and nourishment, representing different elemental factors that may be missing in usual dwelling places that are essential for the well-being of our personal inner terrain.
Yet, not all will feel like a call of coming home. Knowing that there can be an authentic connection, a sense of belonging, an energetic intimacy and connection with the other realms present, without having previously experienced the physical realms does not detract from that calling - for we are multi-realm beings currently living in a linear paradigm.
And so, I believe that to find the true balance of what home means, we need to let the magic in.
With much Love
from my Heart to yours,
~ Tania Aurora White Crow ~
