Gift from a Vulture

Vulture has gifted me in many ways over the years, and I’ll tell you part of that story now–a particularly poignant part. Vulture seems to show up when I’m about to make a big transition. It’s as if they are my travel guides during key times. Indigenous people have long viewed animals and birds as totems, offering symbolic support.

Turkey Vulture first showed up almost a decade ago, during one of the biggest transitions of my life. A year or two later I was making another huge transition when Vulture appeared again to give me a very personal gift.

I was moving from Raleigh, NC, where I had lived for 13 years, to Floyd, VA. It was a huge move for me. I was leaving behind everything I knew: my marriage, my friends, my worldview, and more. Before moving to Floyd I spent a month with my sister in SC. During that time, a good friend came to visit and she brought her boat. There was a small and wild river just up the road and we went out on it every day.

On this particular day, we were motoring up river when I noticed two vultures high up in a tree on the riverbank. We stopped the boat and floated there. One vulture flew off; the other vulture stared right at me. We watched one another for several minutes, and then I saw a small feather release from its body. I watched as the feather floated high above the trees into the woods. I watched as the feather floated back out from the woods and over the river. I watched as the feather floated down toward the water, swirling on the wind. And, I watched as the feather softly landed on the water’s surface just a few feet from us. Slowly, we moved toward it, and I was able to reach the feather.

I knew the feather was for me. I knew it was a gift of support from Vulture. I gladly accepted. This morning I told a visiting friend that I wanted a good photo of a vulture so that I could share this story. And just like that, when I went out to walk the dogs, several vultures soared in close. I was able to take the photo you see at the top, and I knew they were there to offer support because I’m about to make another huge transition. I feel deeply honored and grateful.

Please click on the first photo to get a close up view of this magnificent bird.

Tagged as: Becoming, Birds, Encouragement, Gratitude, Photoblog, Possibility

Elora
No comment I would make could possibly add a thing to your exquisite post, Carla. It invites us all to make that spiritual leap of trust, knowing that it will all be well.
Thank you,
Elora
barbara
Carla, A lovely story of your totem bird. Yes, I do believe in totems and nature’s mysticism. You are a nature mystic in spirit. — barbara
http://scintillatingspeck.wordpress.com Jen
Looking forward to hearing about your next huge transition. Thank you for this story.
Carla
Thank you, All, for you kind responses. Barbara, I love that you call me a nature mystic. That really resonates with me.
Marcie
What a beautiful story..and how birds and others show up in our lives at just the right moment and time. Wonderful image of the turkey vulture!!!
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luci
Hi great story! I also had an encounter with a vulture, I will try to explain it my best since english is not my first language.It was really windy the other day and I ventured outside to greet the agitated air in my face. Somehow I felt like I wasnt alone and inside my head I began asking :What do you want? What do you want? to that invisible presence i sensed around me but only the wind and a vulture which was flying really low around my backyard were seen. The vulture felt strangely personal and even made eye contact with me, which its weird to see them around here since I live in a very populated city with no forests only park areas . This big bird insisted on being seen by flying repeatedly around my area very close to the roof , there’s no dead animals that I know of, this is a very clean neighborhood and it didnt seem to make any stops only flying around enjoying the currents:) Suddenly, I hear a voice responding to my earlier question but in my own tone of voice , it told me: look up and down , up and down and you shall see me(this was minutes after the vulture was already gone) and so I did it I looked up and down and up and down and when I looked up my head felt attracted to my left upper side where my eyes meet this vulture once again flying low ,LOOKING AT ME!!I didnt feel scared only surprised that this was happening. I had a short meditation that day and saw a boy in my mind’s eye opening up doors and the name Initrius being given to me. Three days after this, my kitchen caught on fire almost burning my home and then I had a dream in which a boy was showing me around a very old home and through a blue door leading up to a staircase where a gostly presence was surrounding me and two grandfather clocks were before this door as if reminding its time to do something….As I was writing this episode in my diary, I tried to write down what vultures mean to me : purification, cleanness , rebirth and when I looked up the symbol online I found a very interesting page that deem this birds as golden purifiers in many cultures and because they do not kill, only eat whats already dead it is said, the vulture as a totem is given to people who dont harm other creatures as well. I dont know, i am a vegetarian and strongly believe in treating animals with respect so im not sure where this is all leading but I must say one must always be open to these kind of messages, turn off the tv and turn on your intuition , there’s a strange world out there waiting to be explored.

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