The Owl: The Story behind Body and Wisdom’s Logo

The Owl has been a close ally for me in my life. Being my spirit animal, it has helped me to connect to the otherworld and has been an important part of my life for the past 12 years. I see the Owl as a holding force for Body and Wisdom through its strength, wisdom and protection. This bird also represents a bridging for my work between the somatic and shamanic sides of my healing work. The more I learn to embody the wisdom of this animal, the more the owl helps to guide and evolve my work.

When creating a logo for Body and Wisdom, I knew the owl needed to be integrated into the website design. In researching the history of this animal, I discovered that the earliest known marking or drawing of the owl is around 30,000 years old. It appears on the limestone wall of the Chavet cave in southern France. This ancient image has informed the logo design of the owl as well as the colour of the cave being introduced through the colour palette of the website. We also got inspiration from the native Irish and European owls.

What inspires me about owls is how they balance their strength and wisdom. They symbolise strong awareness and are the invisible seer in the dark containing the powers of death and transformation through connecting to the natural renewal process of life. They are known as the greatest hunters of the night like the eagles are of the day and they are a common companion to shamans who were traditionally assisted by owls in evoking the spirits. The depth of the Owl’s wisdom consists of not only being able to bring what is in the dark into light but also the ability to live in the dark itself.