Owls

Romans called the owl strix, the same word that meant “witch”. Greeks said the owl was sacred to Athene, their own version of the ancient Mesopotamia “Eye-Goddess” whose staring owl-eyed images have been found throughout the Middle East, especially around the Mother-city of Mari.

The owl was also the totem of Lilith, Blodeuwedd, Anath, and other versions of the Triple Goddess of the moon.

In ancient Greece, to hear the hoot of an Owl presaged imminent death. The deaths of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Commodus Aurelius, and Agrippa were apparently all predicted by an Owl.

In ancient Rome, it was common superstition that witches transformed into Owls, and sucked the blood of babies.

One of the medieval names for the owl was “night hag”; it was said to be a witch in bird form. During the witch trials that swept Europe in the middle ages, it was believed that owls were one of the many shapes a witch could take. Thus, the owl is still associated with the witch.