The Values of a Vulture

While out traveling the roads this morning I was treated to a sighting of a huge turkey vulture.  She came so close to my car I could see her eyes. Her feathers appeared black at first, but as she flew away I noticed that they were more brownish.  And did I mention the huge wingspan?  They can get up to to six feet wingtip to wingtip, although I don't think this one was that big.  She circled down, flew alongside me for a moment, then flew up and away.  I was probably going about 45 down a country road, and she easily out flew me.

 Most people would not think of the vulture as special, or interesting.  And yeah, they really are rather ugly.  But they provide such an important function in nature.  They are the purifiers.  They eat the dead things, which they can smell from hundreds of feet in the air with their very keen sense of smell. Their digestive systems eliminate disease and bacteria from their droppings, so that whatever they have eaten, (and yes, the more rotten the better to a vulture) goes back to the earth clean. They are very patient, and will fly for hours, before finding an appropriate meal.  In the mornings they apparently spread their wings, welcoming the sun, (and drying the morning dampness from their feathers.)  The only have one or two young at a time, and stay with them longer then most other birds and are very nurturing. They are very social and often let others know when a large meal has been found. They rarely kill, although they do clean up after others.  They are a very integral part of the wheel, turning death inexorably back towards life.

So, upon further research I have discovered that the vulture was, in many early cultures associated with the mother goddesses. The Egyptians hieroglyph for mother is a vulture, and the goddesses Nekhebet and Mut, were known to take vulture form to protect the dead.  Isis was sometimes shown with vulture wings, and at Catul Huyuk there are murals depicting priestesses in vulture feather garments. In some cultures they are linked to vengeance, specifically of crimes against nature (the harpy is a descendant of this)  In many Native American traditions the vulture is seen as a renewing spirit, bringing in a new day.  They are the epitome of resourcefulness, making do with whatever they find, and leaving each place better for their visit.

Not sure yet what exactly my vulture was trying to tell me, but I am honored to have made her acquaintance.