Osprey - The Beacon

Keywords:

The Beacon. King of Coasts and Cliffs. Water and Wind. Yin and Yang. The Sun. Solar Worship. Plundering Resources. Overcoming 'Grass is Greener' Syndrome. Respecting Others. Honing the Senses. Precise Timing. Streamlining. Environmental Awareness. Comfort Zones.

General Description:

The osprey is a large, fish-eating bird of prey that is found just about everywhere worldwide. It is not a sea-eagle, but a type of hawk. They are a highly specialised fish catcher, with closeable nostrils, a reversible toe, and spicules under the foot to maximise grip. The osprey occupies freshwater and marine habitats where there is adequate food in nearby fishing grounds. Some species feed on flamingoes, but most feed on fish.

Ospreys nest in trees, on cliffs and occasionally on the ground. They can also nest in colonies, but food has to be especially rich for this to occur. Their nests are built of sticks and grasses, and have a clear view of fishing grounds. These nests can become massive and have been used as navigational guides for fishing boats in the past. Ospreys have also used artificial towers as nesting sites.

Brief mythological associations:

The osprey's scientific name Pandion, is linked with a king of Athens in Greek mythology. It is thought however that the name is poorly attributed, and that osprey is better associated with Tereus, the man who was transformed into a raptor. There are other Greek associations with the osprey in myth, which will be yielded with further research.

In Bolivia, hunters there believe that if they implant osprey bones under their skin, they will become successful, efficient hunters like the osprey itself.

Lessons:

Please remember that if this animal is contacting you, it will often be the best resource for teaching you what its lessons are. What I write is only intended to be a guide, it is not absolute, nor is it infallible.

- The osprey is connected to all aspects of solar worship. And can come into one's life to emphasise the value and healing properties of the sun, and to help those who practice mystically or spiritually to facilitate sun-god communion.

- An osprey doesn't wait for the fish to jump out of the water to meet him, instead he splashes in headfirst into an element that he could not survive within. He even places his head under the water - unlike sea-eagles. He teaches us how to plunder our resources and the necessity to move outside of our comfort zones in order to do this. Osprey teaches us to take risks, and to not be frightened of grasping opportunities just because they seem like they're out of our reach.

- An appearance of osprey in your life can indicate an appearance of the spirit in the form of the Beacon, coming to guide you back to a place of safety or security, or to a feeling of groundedness.

- In terms of working on an energy or elemental level, osprey energy can be called upon when working with the elements of water and wind.

- Osprey tells us that what is right in front of us, is enough, and that we must overcome 'grass is greener' syndrome and constantly wonder 'what if?' about how much better things are on the other side of our horizons.

- We must learn to respect others and their boundaries. Osprey comes into our lives to specifically teach us that those we want to treat with disdain or contempt, should be treated with respect regardless of how we feel. We might be drawn to fierce personalities, and then clash with them, osprey energy teaches us that we are able to maintain our integrity but taking a step back and practicing respect.

- Ospreys come into our life to teach us how to hone our senses, on both a physical and spiritual level. We might have become lazy with meditation, or with a physical endeavour we used to enjoy. We might have let our brains, bodies and spirits become sluggish. Osprey claws us back into shape, so that we learn that we nourish ourselves when we're honed.

- Sometimes opportunity sticks around for a while, but most of the time it doesn't. Osprey teaches us precise timing, and if osprey has come into your life, you are either able to spot opportunities and seize them as soon as they're noticed, or you are learning this trait.

If you have Osprey as your guide:

People with this animal as a guide will often manifest traits similar to the animal itself. I work on the philosophy that we only have one guide, and it teaches us lessons as well as representing the core aspects of our personality. Therefore -

- People with osprey as their guide tend to be quite ambitious and predatory in the workplace, and aren't afraid of using the resources of their department or area as completely as possible to get a higher pay, better benefits or a higher position. They tend to be hard workers. If you have osprey as a guide you have to learn in your life when to relax, and not to stay so constantly focused on the goal all the time. You will benefit from basking in the sun, running sports, and from daily naps. You will teach others how to aim for the stars, but in the process you might over-exhaust yourself.

- Osprey people often have a bright, burning personality that is fierce but also deeply honourable. They draw people to them, and unthinkingly are able to direct other people into better and more nourishing ways of life and/or thinking. They make excellent guides, but they have to be careful not to want to dominate the people they meet.

There will be other ways your guide manifests, and you will recognise them with awareness and communion.

As shadow guide/guide:

The shadow guide is the animal we often fear irrationally, that teaches us things about ourselves that are profound and difficult to confront. Often the traits we fear most within the shadow guide, are the traits that we dislike in ourselves. We must scrutinise why this is, and learn how to work with them.

- If you dislike osprey, you might lose spirit and stop trying when you're not as good at something as you want to be, or you might just not try at all. You don't see the point in honing your senses, because you don't often have the confidence in yourself to believe that you can genuinely get better. Osprey teaches those who dislike it, the tough lesson of learning to self-love in circumstances where sometimes it seems easier to just procrastinate loving ourselves, and making our lives better.

- Those who dislike osprey generally have a submissive or quiet personality that is often more powerfully nourished by darker places and less stark surroundings. You might have fish, mouse, rabbit or sparrow energy. The smaller energies that are complex in a different way. Osprey may seem naturally distasteful to you, with its fierce brightness, but osprey teaches powerful lessons of empowerment and of learning when assertiveness and aggression can pay off.

Contacting Osprey:

Like all animal helpers, this animal will only appear when right and appropriate, and cannot be forced to visit you, commune with you, or share messages with you. I find the osprey tends to - like all winged messengers - visit those it wants to share its energy with, rather than be visited. However it can often be successfully contacted via flute or whistling. And by meditating in the regions where it lives. Windy, sunny days are excellent times to contact osprey. This bird tends to contact people more often in daydreams than in dreams that occur at night-time.