Crow Animal Familiar: The Magical Uses of Crow Magic

Crow Animal Familiar: The Magical Uses of Crow Magick covers crow witchcraft, crow animal spirit, and crow spiritual meaning with Plants by Laurali! I have a close kinship with the crow. It has shown up for me many times throughout my life, always bringing an important message.

It started in August. I performed a tea magick spell with Goddess Hekate to open the road to money for me. That same day, I went for a hike, and a batch of crows suddenly surrounded me in the trees, squawking at me.

I remember thinking at the time that they were here for me, but I wasn’t sure what they were trying to say. Two days later, my boyfriend broke up with me and gave me enough money to take care of myself for at least a year.

The crows were warning me of the impending death of my relationship. Since my spell went through Goddess Hekate, they were sent as messengers.

This isn’t the first time the crow spirit has come to me. They’ve come to me when there was a death in the family, and they’ve come to me during times of great transformation. I’ve even found a dead crow on my property before and gave it a proper burial.

Crows and I go way back. I’ve always felt a deep spiritual connection to the crow, a corvid bird known for its clever abilities and high intellectual capabilities. A harbinger of death strongly associated with the Greek Goddess Hekate.

Goddess Hekate, much like the crow, dwells in the underworld. The underworld is where the spirits of the dead go. Ancestors, ghosts, and graveyard magic abound here.

As the Samhain Holiday is fast-approaching, the veil becomes thin, making it easier for spirit messages to come through. If you begin to see crows during this time, something might be coming.

Crows, much like all birds, bring messages, communications, and can be a sign of a huge upheaval in your life. Crows make sure their voices are heard, loud and clear. So, if a crow shows up, they will make sure you get the message.

The crow animal familiar comes to me in moments when I need them the most. Usually, they come by when something is ending in my life, as a message of impending death. When something dies off, something new emerges, sparking transformation.

Most of all, crows carry messages from the underworld. During Samhain Season, there may be a message making its way to you. Pay attention to the signs!

Crow Animal Familiar: The Magical Uses of Crow Magic

Crows are strongly associated with witchcraft, mystery, and all things supernatural. They are branded with a special kind of magic that can only be found in the darkness. This makes the crow animal spirit the perfect ally for doing shadow work.

Without darkness, there is no light. It’s through the dark times when we’re most able to find ourselves. The crow is no stranger to the nighttime and will help you find your way back to the light.

I find comfort in working with crows. Even though they sometimes bring painful messages, they help you see your way through what is to come. In that way, you’ll never feel alone when the crow spirit is around.

In medieval times, a crow would often become a witch’s familiar. The hedgehog animal familiar guides me through dreamwork and hedge riding, but the crow comes and goes as it pleases. I always know it will come around when it’s time for another transition, change, and transformation.

Crows were used for prophecy in a divination practice known as augury. Augury is a sign of what will happen in the future, and crows are often used as omens. When a crow comes to warn you, it means something important is about to happen!

In addition to being an omen of death, crows are also considered to be lucky in some cultures, much like the black cat lucky omen. Therefore, even if something seems unfortunate at the time, it will prove to be fortunate in the near future.

Again, from death we experience new beginnings! When death happens, it clears a pathway for better things to come through, transforming a bleak situation into something positive.

What is crow wisdom? Crow wisdom refers to their guidance, adaptability, and intelligence. Crows can assist you with problem-solving. They are highly connected to the spiritual world, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

They remind us that we’re closer to the spiritual realm than we may think. They are highly sensitive, meaning they can pick up on energy shifts and changes underway. As messengers, they communicate with humans in various ways in order to grab their attention.

You’ll never miss a message from a crow because they make it obvious. They may show up at your doorstep or right outside your window. They may make a fuss when you walk passed them.

Either way, crows will let you know that something is about to go down. Most likely, you won’t know exactly what it is until it hits you. Then, you’ll remember.

You can also ask the crow spirit to carry a message for you to a living person or someone in the afterlife. The crow can be entrusted with a gift, a message, or any kind of surprise.

You can also leave offerings out for the crows that you think they might enjoy. They love shiny trinkets, nesting materials, and sunflower seeds. If you have regular bird visitors, why not give them some thanks?

It’s also important to note the number of crows vying for your attention. Is it a multitude of crows? That day in the park, they were swarming me. A lot of crows means something big is about to take place, something life-changing.

Two or three crows can mean rebirth, new beginnings, and a fresh start. One crow can mean there’s a small yet important change coming your way, so be on the lookout for that. It could be a new job, promotion, or raise!

As you can see, crows do a lot for us! If you vibe with the crow familiar, maybe make an effort to start working with them on a magical level. You can use imagery, figurines, oracle cards, and a crow feather to bridge a deep connection.

The Spiritual Meaning of Crows

Crows represent sovereignty. They want you to come into your personal power, and they are likely to be there to show you the way. To become a sovereign being, one must take ownership of one's life by empowering oneself.

If this is something you find yourself struggling with, the crow familiar can assist you! This kind of personal power requires setting boundaries, taking accountability, and taking charge of your situation.

The crow will guide you using intuition, signs, messages, and downloads of information. They can help you make beneficial changes in your life until the storm passes, so to speak.

It’s important to note that crows don’t just stop by to deliver a message. The crow will stay with you through the changes, empowering you and giving you strength.

Crow Magick

If you want to work with crows, this means you want to master crow magick. This kind of magic involves working with hedge witchcraft, meaning hedge riding, shapeshifting, and dream magick.

Seeing a crow while doing any kind of hedgework means that the crow tells you to delve deeper into the underworld. Don’t be surprised if the crow takes you to a forbidden place, or some place where you eventually come face to face with your shadow self.

You might find yourself shapeshifting into a crow while hedge riding, in order to see things from their higher perspective. You’ll know what it means to take flight. You’ll see beyond what others can see from the crow's vantage point.

Working with crow magick also involves working with the underworld using graveyard witchcraft and using graveyard dirt. This kind of magic requires a lot of protection and defense magick.

Seeing a crow in a graveyard can often mean that someone has just passed and is freshly buried, or that a family member of the deceased is about to experience another death in the family. Crows will often congregate in cemeteries for the peace and quiet.

The graveyard will often offer a safe place away from predators. I also feel that the crow animal spirit feels most comfortable in a funerary setting, as harbingers of death.

I use a lot of animal witchcraft in my magical practice. Working with animal guides deepens the connection between the witch and the wild. Many of these animals show up in my practice as a witch’s familiar.

When the crow animal familiar shows up for me, I always know something big is about to happen. A tower moment, if you will, when everything falls away, much like the death season.

I incorporate crow witchcraft into my practice when I need to make a powerful change in my life. I’ll use a crow oracle card and call upon the crow to assist me. I gaze at the card, speak with the crow, and ask for the changes I wish to see.

Sometimes, I’ll light a candle, too. Candle magick is a great way to make a connection with the spirits of the underworld. I recommend using a black candle for working with the Crow spirit.

When I gaze into the candle, I’ll receive messages from the crow. I’ll see images, hear voices, and receive downloads of information. For this, I use fire witchcraft as a form of divination.

This is because fire has a highly transformative energy. It is often used in spells of transformation, change, and energy shifts. Crow animal familiar responds well to working with the fire element, although the air element is another way you can connect, since birds represent air symbolism.

In this case, I recommend lighting incense, curating a crow playlist, or holding a crow feather to connect with the air element. Air represents the things we cannot see, making it the perfect ally for crow magick.

As you can see, there are many different ways to practice witchcraft with crows. I recommend starting small and working your way up. It all starts with one little feather!

Crows and Samhain Holiday

Since crows are harbingers of death, they make perfect companions during the Samhain holiday season! This period is also known as the death season of life, where everything falls away.

You’ve probably heard of a scarecrow, right? Scarecrows are used to scare birds and other pests from eating crops in the field. Ironically, scarecrows don’t scare the crows for long because they are clever, resourceful creatures.

Scarecrows are a big part of the Samhain holiday, as they symbolically represent scaring away the things that go bump in the night. Wandering ghosts, dark entities, and dark omens are all fair game.

The scarecrow is often put out during the third harvest, when farmers gather the food they grew and prepare for the coming winter months. This takes place during the autumn equinox, as the days begin to grow shorter, and the nights grow longer, and darkness takes over the world.

Since crows are associated with death, rebirth, transition, and change, they make the perfect ally for the Samhain Season. Leaves fall from trees, darkness grows, and many people stay nestled inside the cozy comfort of home.

Crows and Goddess Hekate

Last but not least, Goddess Hekate and crows go hand-in-hand together! Crows are also associated with the Morrigan. Whenever I practice Hekate Magick, a crow is soon to follow.

This is because Hekate is the goddess of ghosts, graveyards, and liminal spaces. She is a psychopomp, escorting dead souls into the afterlife.

The crow is one of her messenger birds. When a death is looming, the crow will be poised to deliver Hekate’s message. Deaths often refer to endings, completion, and the rebirth of a brand-new life.

Hekate is also the goddess of magic, nighttime, the moon phases, and witchcraft. The crow works with the same transformative energy as Hekate, often working in a symbiotic relationship.

Crows are often keepers of hidden knowledge, ready to reveal truths when the timing is right. This aligns with Goddess Hekate’s symbolism. I’ve seen her in my mind’s eye offering a key to the crow familiar spirit.

The crow will then unlock the door to secret, hidden places. These are the places the crow will guide the witch into, many of them dangerous and often unknown. This is where the witch will find her hidden knowledge.

Hekate works with corvid birds for a reason. Corvids are highly intelligent, wise creatures with a connection to the underworld, hidden from view. Some people might have a raven or magpie approach them, but for me, it’s almost always the crow when I’m working with Hekate.

You can often call upon them together in your green hearthcraft practice! Since they are a vibrational match, calling on the crow and Hekate makes for the perfect spiritual team, especially if you already have an established relationship with them.

The crow animal familiar, much like Hekate, will enter your life when you’re ready for it. Seeing crows is often a sign that Hekate is forthcoming. Work with the magic of the crow today and into the farthest reaches of the future to transform your life and become the sovereign being you always dreamed you could be! Blessed be. xo