Bird Magic: Wisdom of the Ancient Goddess for Pagans & Wiccans - Sandra Kynes 2016

Vulture: Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture
The Profiles

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Associated with death and renewal for thousands of years, it has only been in more recent centuries that vultures have acquired a sinister connotation. While their common name comes from the Latin vuellere, “to tear,” the vulture’s family name, Cathartidae, comes from the Greek kathartes, meaning “a cleanser.” ¹⁶³ Cleansing and purification were considered part of the cycle of renewal and transformation. Not equipped for killing, vultures are recyclers relying on nature to provide for them.

In addition to ridding the world of dead carcasses, vultures were believed to conduct souls to the next world. According to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a vulture goddess guarded the first gate to the underworld. In addition, the Egyptian goddess Nekhbet was often depicted as a vulture or wearing a vulture headdress, as was the goddess Mut. Both goddesses were called upon to ease childbirth. Also, Mut’s name meant “mother.” ¹⁶⁴

To the Greeks, the vulture was a symbol of the duality and unity of heaven and earth, the spiritual and material. Both the Greeks and Romans used the vulture’s flight pattern for augury. Worldwide, the vulture has been regarded as a bird of mystery and power. Vulture feathers were used as amulets and considered a powerful totem to the Pueblo people of the American Southwest. In South America, the Maya regarded vultures as solar birds and associated them with the cosmos and the cycles of life.

Vultures are graceful flyers as they circle high on thermals, which they have the unique ability to see. Black vultures and turkey vultures often soar together and can be distinguished in flight: the black vulture uses strong wing beats followed by short glides, whereas the turkey vulture rolls and sways from side to side. On the ground, black vultures look compact compared to the lanky turkey vultures.

Magical Workings

This powerful bird is a guardian of the mysteries that turn the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Call on vulture to guide a loved one over the threshold into the afterlife toward eventual renewal and transformation. Vulture’s compassionate nature provides comfort to those who remain in this world.

Long regarded as a symbol of mother goddesses, this bird shows us how to nurture others as well as ourselves. Call on it to aid in childbirth for strength and protection as you welcome a new person into this world. Vulture fosters loyalty and trust in families, and can be especially helpful when resolving problems. It supports all forms of divination and aids in the development of psychic skills. Call on vulture to guide you in shamanic work and spiritual growth.

Make Connection

To connect with vulture energy, drape a red cloth or blanket around your shoulders and across your arms so you can hold one end in each hand. Open your arms wide, creating large wings, as you visualize yourself in the ancient vulture shrine room at Çatalhüyük. With vulture you stand at the threshold between life and death, and life renewed. Along with the frightening power of vulture, you will also find compassion and gentleness. Vulture will reveal both sides of itself when you are ready.

Associations

Zodiac: Scorpio

Element(s): Air, earth, water

Sabbat(s): Imbolc, Samhain

Goddesses: Artemis, Hathor, Isis, Mut, Nekhbet, Nephthys, Tiamat

Gods: Apollo, Ares, Cronus, Mars, Saturn, Zeus

Bird Identification

Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)

Size: 23 to 27 inches

Wingspan: 54 to 59 inches

Comparative size: Red-tailed hawk to goose

Description: Overall almost uniformly black; small, bare, grayish head; narrow, hooked bill; broad, rounded wings; short, rounded tail; white patch near wingtips

Range: From the Mid-Atlantic south to Florida and west to Missouri, south and west through part of Texas, most of Mexico, Central America, and South America

Habitat: Open areas with nearby forests

Eggs: Pale green or bluish white with a few large, brown blotches

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Also known as: Turkey buzzard

Size: 25 to 32 inches

Wingspan: 67 to 70 inches

Comparative size: Goose

Description: Long, broad wings; long tail; small, bare, red head; pale bill; dark brown all over; trailing edge and wingtips slightly lighter

Range: From southern British Columbia east to southern Maine and south throughout the United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America

Habitat: Open areas such as roadsides, suburbs, fields, and woodlands

Eggs: White slightly tinged with gray, blue, or green, along with dark brown spots

Collective noun(s): A colony, a committee, a looming, or a wake of vultures

163. Fraser and Gray, Australian Bird Names, 258.

164. Pat Remler, Egyptian Mythology A to Z, Third Edition (New York: Chelsea House, 2010), 126.