The Daily Pegasus

What is your favorite animal?

    The legendary wordsmith Whodini once said, “the freaks come out at night.” I have a feeling he was lumping owls into that group of “freaks.” When looked upon at closer inspection, you can see that these nocturnal creatures really are eccentric to say the least. There’s many ways we can analyze the species of owl, but for those of you who are unaware, I like to get metaphysical.

    Owls are seen as a symbol of wisdom. Whether they’re actually wise is irrelevant. The idea probably originally comes from the acute observational skills that owls have, like spinning their heads 270°. It’s already known that birds have immaculate eyesight—but a bird that can spin it’s head (almost) all the way around, must be great at observing it’s environment. That’s actually one of the first lessons my mother taught me, always pay attention to your surroundings. This was a lesson that was vital for me to understand, walking myself to the bus stop at 6 years old in gang-infested South Side Chicago. That was around the same time I first learned owls could spin their heads like that. I’m sure like every kid, when I heard this, I tried to do the ole exorcist move myself.. and of course I failed. Later on in life however, I found out that I’m double jointed. This gives me a bit of a connection with owls right there. Not to mention my eyes are the most prominent thing about me. People love to mention how “big and buldgy” my eyes are.

    “Looking” at the metaphor of an Owl’s eyes, it suggest a certain ability to aquire information. With gaining information, comes knowledge. When that knowledge is then applied in a practical manner, it transmutes into “widsom.” So from this logic, one could say you’ll never reach a state of wisdom without first gaining the proper insights, no pun intended—and in order to do that, one must first observe.

    As a 12th House stellieum individual (Sun, Mercury, Jupiter), I have an even deeper connection to this picture we just painted. In astrology, the 12th House is all about dreams, illusions, and the imagination. It’s really so much more than just that, but we’ll start here for now. The 12th House is the last house, the one right before the 1st House. Understanding that, the first house is all about getting things “started.” Making things happen. This is a very active, action-oriented part of ourselves. Right before you take an action, you have to observe first. You have to look before you jump.

    This is what Aries (and 1st house people) tend to get wrong. They often leap without looking. This is because they’re literally the “head” of the zodiac, so all they’re thinking about is being first, or being the leader, or simply just “getting shit out of the way.” *Enters fearlessness.* It takes guts in order to jump without looking; it’s literally risking your life (or future) for the passion of the present moment.

    As a 12th House Aries, however, I approach things much more like the owl. I’m constantly in “observation mode.” So much so, that I can experience “analysis paralysis.” The house right before the start, and thus the very last house, is all about observation. Just from this understanding, we see so much… it’s the last house. Meaning unlike any other house, the 12th has the ability to look back on ALL the mistakes every zodiac has made, through each of the houses. It’s because of this, that 12th House people (and Pisces, which is ruled by the 12th House) often get “cold feet” before starting something. They’ve literally just witnessed everyone make every mistake in the book, now they’re afraid to follow in the same footsteps.

    Although I’m not Pisces, I can definitely relate to this aspect. Not just because of the 12th House neither, but because of my personality type. According to the Myers-Briggs type indicator, my personality type is INTP. One of the biggest stereotypes about this type, is that we’re highly observant, but also lazy. They also say this “laziness” can play out in many ways beyond someone simply being lethargic. It’s more so about someone being such a detailed person, such a perfectionist, so afraid to make a mistake, that they never actually begin! Thankfully my Aries nature kind of rectified this, but even still, I can be quite procrastinate. In fact, I was supposed to have this 365 articles posted by this time, after last year. Am I close to that goal? Nowhere near it, at the moment. That’s all good though, because during that time I’ve been acquiring “wisdom.”

     It’s as if the 12th House is a liminal space between what was and what will be. It’s the unpredictable realm of the opportune. It’s the buffering loading screen. This is where I reside. This immense potential energy can be too much for some to handle. *Enters fear.* Walking seamlessly in and out of the physical world, into the metaphysical world, takes us out of the present moment, which leads to spiritual attacks. That’s why the 12th House can be such a “hidden enemies” type of place. However they’re only hidden because you lack the wisdom.

    This isn’t exactly an astrology article but it all ties into my personal connection with owls. Again, considering I am a 12th House Aries, I make a lot of my connections with reality through “unrealistic” means, such as using astrology to help determine my “favorite animal.” That being said, looking more into astrology, the 12th isn’t all bad and dark. Like I said, it rules dreams and imagination. Which makes sense because dreams come from our imagination, which often times are dark and scary.

    Think about when you dream most? Probably at night, when it’s most dark. Think about when you see the most illusions with your eyes? Either you’re intoxicated, watching a form of media, or literally in the dark where shadows are shaping into monsters and shit. Oddly enough, the 12th House deals with all of those things: drugs/alcohol, creative arts, and illusions. Even more so, the night is probably the most ripe with all of these themes. Linking this back to owls, when do they become most active? At night, in the dark. What are some of the most widely used animals in the occult (a source of fear/mysticism depending on you)? Snakes, goats, and of course owls. It’s the night that owls represent, not the 12th House, that’s the real crux of this post. The 12th House just deals with the night as well, since it deals with liminal and transitional spaces, however that’s really the 8th house’s domain. The 8th House is still rooted in the material world, that’s why it goes so deep. The 12th, however, is airy fairy. Its light, even in its darkness, that’s why it’s more foggy than “dark” here. Darkness in this aspect is more so about the unseen/unknown, where as 8th House darkness is more quite literal the absence of light.

    Regardless, the night is such a mystical time of “day.” It’s the space between the next day. It’s where we all temporarily transition from this realm into the next—until reality calls us back. It’s where we go to explore our dreams, aka our subconscious (another 12th House theme). So considering I’m a “night owl” myself, it’s only right for me to give them some homage.

    These majestic beings are the oracles of the night. The all seeing eyes. Funny enough, there’s a conspiracy theory of an owl on the back of the one dollar bill—which also has jas the eye symbol on it. Speaking of occultism..

    I almost said wolves are my favorite animals, but instead I chose another creature that loves to howl into the night. Or “hoo.” What made me choose them over wolves? Their wings. I’ve always had an affinity for avian creatures, and even had a couple of birds in my childhood. Their wings allow them to do what I always wished I could, get the fuck OUTTA HERE!.. Now granted, thanks to my imagination (shout out the 12th house) I can take flight as much as I please, but not here in reality. So I envy the birds.

     Now you take the eyesight of an owl along with its ability to fly, what do you have symbolically? Wisdom and freedom. What more could you ask for? Sure one might say something more fierce or aggressive. Perhaps you’d like me to say an animal with more offense/defense mechanisms? Don’t get me wrong, owls ain’t something to fuck with.. but they also don’t really need to prove themselves in that way. They don’t have to outwardly exert themselves so much. When you have wisdom, you see beyond the reason to fight, and if the other party can’t, you can just leave. Sounds cowardly, but also sounds efficient. Sounds wise. Who needs the biggest claws and teeth (signs of ego) when you have wisdom and freedom?

    Considering I’m American, one might say the eagle is more of a symbol of freedom than owls. To this, I can agree. However American freedom isn’t exactly “freedom.” It’s capitalism. That’s a whole different conversation. The point is, there’s baggage with that freedom which often times feel more enslaving actually. Then again, that’s how baggage works.

    Moreover, owls operate in the liminality where as eagles don’t. Eagles are much more bold, which my Aries nature can definitely fuck with. But owls are more behind the scenes, which is where my Aries energies can actually thrive. I speak the same magical language. I live in the same twilight zone. Why? Because I value information (Venus in Gemini), gaining wisdom and knowledge. Think about it, the animal of wisdom is nocturnal, you think that’s a coincidence?

    Nothing is ever coincidence when it comes to metaphysics. Synchronicity is the right word. The darkness though, people misunderstand. Hence why it’s so scary, people fear what they don’t understand. People look at black and think “Empty.” People hear “darkness” and imagine a void. Anyone who’s taken color theory understand that black is actually all pigments combined. Black is full, not empty.

    In physics, we understand black comes from the absorption of light. So again, black is full, not empty. We see black because it’s absent of reflective light, however it’s not absent of light, it’s consuming it. So you see how misunderstood black is? Not to mention that I am “black” (whatever that means, African-American), there’s yet another synchronicity with the nighttime.

    Ok so now we understand black is full of light. Did you know light is also considered “information?” Just in practical terms, you can’t receive information without light. No lights equal no phones, no computers, no news. Or take tech away, how about you wouldn’t be able to read in the dark? Still can receive info from other humans, right? They have to actually leave the house and enter the light of day, to get that info to you though. Or how about “no light” equals “no food” and all human info will definitely cease soon. I can go on and on, or I can just stop with the metaphor of “light bulb over your head.”

    If black is full of light, that means it’s full of information, which also would mean it’s a great source for knowledge. Black is a library of information that can be tapped into once fear is shed. You’re probably wondering why I’m ranting about black so much now? Because that’s the unknown. The unknown is the mystery. Mystery is where novelty is, where you can find something new and bring it back to the world. Mystery is where hidden truths are, where you can save someone in need by revealing what’s been buried. Mystery is how magic happens, by surrendering your power to the divine instead of assuming you have to “have it all figured out.” I’m ranting about black because that’s what night symbolizes, that’s where the liminality is, that’s where the owl become awakened. Perhaps it’s a wise animal because it spends so much time in that information-dense darkness. Maybe that’s why the occult used them as symbols so often. They serve as the bridge between the known and unknown. Both mystery and knowledge symbolized in one.