The Mystery of the Raven

Ravens are fascinating yet imposing birds, with their glossy black plumage and sharp beaks. In the famous poem, The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe refers to the raven that taps on the narrator’s chamber door on a dark December night as a “grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore.” The bird’s ability to speak is revealed throughout the poem as the raven says “nevermore.”

The raven’s lifespan is between 25 and 30 years, but they have been known to live up to 45 years. Highly intelligent, they have the ability to mimic human speech. Research has found that young ravens are smarter than adult chimps. And they’re smarter than two-year-old human children, too!

They have amazing problem-solving and communication skills. They are even known to craft tools to help them catch their prey.

The raven is able to adapt and survive in a range of different environments. This amazing bird can thrive in habitats as diverse as the Arctic wilderness and scorching South American deserts.

One of the reasons ravens are so good at surviving in wildly different habitats is their lack of fussiness about food. They are consummate omnivores, demolishing everything from carrion to other birds’ eggs, insects, fruit, seeds and vegetables.

Ravens are often thought of as solitary birds. But in fact their behaviour can be very collaborative. They work together with their mates to build their nests and raise their young. And amazingly, they also cooperate with other animals.

But for all that, ravens frequently get a bad rap. That’s perhaps because they’re carrion birds – those that eat dead or dying animals. And with their black feathers and pointy beaks, they can look pretty intimidating.

Ravens often appear in European myths and legends as harbingers of doom and death. They’re associated with the occult and psychic powers, and are frequently portrayed as the companions of witches and wizards.

But those negative associations are far from the whole story.

In China and Japan, the raven is associated with family loyalty, particularly that of children to their parents. And in Tibet, the raven is seen as both lucky and wise.

The raven carries important symbolism to many Native American tribes. For the Mohawks, it offers help to those who are lost, and carries messages from the spirit world.

The Navajo tribe believes that two ravens cawing also carries a message for those who hear them. They are believed to foretell pain in the future, but that it will be succeeded by happiness.

For the Haida people, the raven is both a magician and a healer. And they believe the appearance of a raven augurs visitors to the home.

Even in Europe, the negative associations of ravens appear to have been a relatively recent development.

In Norse mythology, the god Odin was accompanied by two ravens named Huginn and Muninn. Huginn was associated with thought and Muninn with memory. Odin sent them out over the world every day to report back on what was happening. So ravens were closely associated with wisdom.

The ancient Greeks connected ravens with the god Apollo. And Roman legend tells the story of a general who defeated his opponent in battle with the help of a raven.

Ravens also appear frequently in the Christian Bible and Jewish Talmud, including in the story of the Great Flood. Ravens are commanded by God to feed the prophet Elijah in the desert. And ravens are used on three separate occasions as examples of the way God provides for all His creatures.

The raven also known as the trickster is a symbol of wisdom, mystery, creativity, and intellect the raven may also symbolize intimidation and mischief.

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