what does a crow signify in primitive or folk art decor?

Answer 1

the crow totem is related to:
omens of change. the crow is fascinated with shadows. looking into the eye of crow is the gateway to the supernatural and the mysteries of creation. the crow is the left hand guardian.
the crow lives in the void with no sense of time. the crow understands both the physical and spiritual world as an illusion.
the crow simultaneously sees three fates; past, present and future. the crow merges light and darkness as well as seeing inner and outer realities.

the crow in mayan culture has the ability to see the future "crossed eyed" signifying the ability to percieve right and wrong with a higher sense of understanding and morality.

some native american women wore sacred law belts that contained knowlege of the crow that were kept in black lodges, the lodges of women, signifying that all things born of women are signified by the crow.

sacred writings were considered under the protection of the crow. the crow feathers signify the spirit made flesh. the crow is the keeper of sacred law.

Answer 2

Primitive Crow

Answer 3

What type of primitive/folk art are you refering to? Many cultures around the world viewed crow (ravens) as symobls.

this is an excert from wikipedia:

Tradition, Mythology and Folklore

The Twa Corbies by Arthur Rackham Crows, and especially ravens, often feature in European legends or mythology as portents or harbingers of doom or death, because of their dark plumage, unnerving calls, and tendency to eat carrion. They are commonly thought to circle above scenes of death such as battles. The Child ballad The Three Ravens depicts three ravens discussing whether they can eat a dead knight, but finds that his hawk, his hound, and his true love prevent them; in the parody version The Twa Corbies, these guards have already forgotten the dead man, and the ravens can eat their fill. Their depiction of evil has also led to some exaggeration of their appetite. In modern films such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Omen II and Exorcist: The Beginning, crows are shown tearing out people's eyes while they are still alive. This, of course, does not happen as crows can distinguish between carrion and living people.

In Native American folklore, Crow is often seen as a similar trickster to Coyote. However, Crow's tricks tend to be more out of malice and they rarely (if ever) are portrayed as a hero. One possible explanation for this is that crows are often considered a pest to crops, which the tribes who came up with the stories featuring Crow needed to survive.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Chaldean myth, the character Utnapishtim releases a dove and a raven to find land, similar to what Noah does in the book of Genesis. However, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the dove merely circles and returns. Only then does Utnapishtim send forth the raven, who does not return. Utnapishtim extrapolates from this that the raven has found land, which is why it hasn't returned. This would seem to indicate some acknowledgement of crow intelligence, which may have been apparent even in ancient times, and to some might imply that the higher intelligence of crows, when compared to other birds, is striking enough that it was known even then.

In occult circles, distinctions are sometimes made between crows and ravens. In mythology and folklore as a whole, crows tend to be symbolic more of the spiritual aspect of death, or the transition of the spirit into the afterlife, whereas ravens tend more often to be associated with the negative (physical) aspect of death. However, few if any individual mythologies or folklores make such a distinction, and there are ample exceptions. Another reason for this distinction is that while crows are typically highly social animals, ravens don't seem to congregate in large numbers anywhere but a) near carrion where they meet seemingly by chance, or b) at cemeteries, where large numbers sometimes live together, even though carrion there is no more available (and probably less attainable) than any road or field. [citation needed]

Amongst Neopagans, crows are often thought to be highly psychic and are associated with the element of ether or spirit, rather than the element of air as with most other birds. This may in part be due to the long-standing occult tradition of associating the color black with "the abyss" of infinite knowledge (see akasha), or perhaps also to the more modern occult belief that wearing the "color" black aids in psychic ability, as it absorbs more electromagnetic energy, since surfaces appear black by absorbing all frequencies in the visible spectrum, reflecting no color.

According to the Bible (Leviticus 11:15), crows are not kosher.

Compendium of Materia Medica states that crows are kind birds that feed their old and weakened parents; this is often cited as a fine example of filial piety.

Answer 4

how dull and boring it must have been back in primitive times for them to have to draw and carve one, who wants a crow staring at you from the mantle, but whatever floats your boat well with all due respect to crows, and Edgar you know who, i guess a crow or two is alright, what are you going to do, they are here to stay oh, yeah, and what would pumpkins do without them

Answer 5

A crow is the Ferryman, so to speak. He takes the souls of the newly dead to the other side.

Answer 6

the crow is a soul of someone departed

Answer 7

crows,snakes,pigs,hogs


represent the devil ...and other terms evil


in the bible..a man was controled by an evil spirit (devil) and he begged jesus for help

jesus helped him and sended the evil spirit into the pig

saying

" we shall not eat the pig because there is a demon that will rest in it" and of course we all know snakes represent them too

Answer 8

a soul collecter he shows up the morning of a death and leaves at the moment of death .

Answer 9

they wish to emanate the message they are vigilant

Answer 10

death, evil or soul catchers