Hawk and Raven Meaning: Some insight and Native American wisdom on Whats-Your-Sign.com

Last Updated on December 9, 2024 by Avia

Best Buddies or Mortal Enemies?

Hawk and Raven Meaning

The following is a question about hawk and raven meaning in Native American cultures. It’s a pretty fascinating topic, and I’m very glad I was able to answer this question to satisfaction. Here is the question she asked…

Question about Hawk and Raven Meaning

“Avia, right before my friend passed he said, You will see Hawk and Raven meaning when seen together. I Googled this & found something here about conflict. When I visit his grave I often see hawk and raven but they are not fighting. Conflict resolution? Anything you can offer as to the meaning of this would be appreciated.” ~Annie

raven symbolism and raven meaning — A Question About Hawk and Raven

Avia’s Response Hawk and Raven Meaning Question
Exploring Native American Wisdom for Answers

From the outset, allow me to extend my deepest empathy for you regarding your friend passing into non-physical. Also, thank you for sharing this moving experience with me.

Regarding your friend’s oracular statement: “You will see Hawk and Raven together.” …I cannot begin to dive into the full complexity/meaning of this statement, but I have a few ideas….

Hawks and ravens are not typically bosom buddies. However, they do come together for the essential balance of life and homeostasis in nature.

When seen together, hawks and ravens often experience a tug-of-war. Both birds are territorial and extremely protective of what is theirs. If one senses a threat from the other, both will defend themselves (or their area, their young, their food, etc) to the impressive degrees.

That is not to say these two are mortal enemies. In fact, there are Native American legends pairing the hawk and raven together (or falcon/crow depending on the tribe). The Apache, for example, have a legend that the hawk and raven (crow) teamed together in order to bring light upon the earth.

Loosely, the tale is a moral, teaching the community how to overcome differences to work together in order to produce something worthwhile to the tribe.

The story describes the hawk and raven being in a constant battle with each other until one day the world turned dark. The raven and hawk worked together to rip the sky open to reveal the sun, and then the world became right again because the raven/hawk exposed a mighty Light (the sun) and returned life back to the lands.

There are variations (Apache, Navajo) of the story theorizing this story was created during a solar eclipse, causing the ‘world’ to go dark. Other versions feature this story as a creation myth…in the beginning, the world was in darkness and it was up to the hawk and raven to pull down the veil in the sky to reveal the sun.

In this sense, your friend’s hawk and raven meaning could represent overcoming conflict in order to let in life-giving light. This could mean using your connection with your friend to create something brilliant. It could mean bringing people together to overcome differences in order to bring about much-needed change.

When interpreting oracles, signs, symbolic episodes, etc…it often helps to consider the elements separately.

The raven (or crow) is known for its curious, often playful nature. Contrarily, the hawk is viewed as a serious type, whose biggest symbolic trait is focus and fierce perception.

Together, raven and hawk represent a symbolic balance. Raven helps hawk to chill out a bit and not be so stern about everything. Whereas the hawk teaches the raven to get a grip, take things more seriously, get focused.

These are just a few ideas about hawk and raven meaning. I hope this helps.

Oh, and if you liked this, I bet you’d enjoy my post on Native American Hawk and Crow Meaning and Stories here.

Mighty brightly,