tornado watch Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Since When Did We Move to Tornado Alley?

This afternoon’s weather was wild. We started receiving alerts this afternoon that moved beyond tornado ‘watches’ to full blown tornado warnings. It’s eerie to be told to ‘take shelter immediately’ when you live in eastern Pennsylvania.

We’re not in Kansas, Spartacus. And it’s weird to feel like we are!

Within minutes of receiving the alert via my cell phone, the skies rapidly turned dark gray/green and the rain cascaded from the sky in a deluge. It was startling how quickly our back yard went underwater.

Then the hail arrived. The size of large marbles, they pounded on our metal porch roof.

Non-Stop Thunder

But the strangest thing of all, which I was not able to capture even in a video, was a low, rumbling, non-stop thunder. And when I say non-stop, I mean that it just kept going and going and going – for at least a couple minutes.

It was the oddest thing. I kept thinking I was hearing things; that perhaps I was experiencing an auditory hallucination that simply sounded like it was non-stop thunder, but was actually just a strange way the pouring rain was impacting our slate roof. Or our front porch roof.

But no. Not only did I go outside to try to get a better bead on the origin of this strange thunder (only to sense that it was not coming from any rain impact with the house at all, but rather was coming from some distance south and a tad west of us). It was at a decibel level, though, that I could not capture with my iPhone (not to mention that the rain was simply so loud itself that it was drowning everything else out).

I was excited to see a good friend post on Facebook that she, too, had heard this odd non-stop thunder. I just wonder what it was.

Funnel Cloud Spotted

Later this evening I saw that what appears to be a substantial funnel cloud was spotted in Warrington, PA. I doubt that what I heard was emanating from there (that’s pretty far away from us), but I cannot say for sure.

I am grateful that my home and animals are all OK – and as far as I know, no one else sustained damage or injury either.

This was definitely intense. I hope all of you are safe and sound.

(T-912)

Cloud Bank – Photo: L. Weikel

Tornado Watch? Warnings?

Just last Sunday a tornado touched down only a few miles from our home. It was the first tornado to land in Bucks County in 22 years.

When I left Medicine in Balance earlier this evening, I was bowled over by the wet blanket of dank air that draped over my shoulders as soon as I walked out of the air-conditioned building. It felt like I was walking through warm, musty soup. Looking south, I saw massive thunderheads building.

As I slid into the driver’s seat of my car, I reached into my purse and pulled out my cell phone, switching it from ‘silent.’ My cricket signal for text messages chirped within seconds – a text message from Karl alerting me that our area was under a Tornado Watch until 10:00 p.m. this evening.

It’s Still Wild Out Now

While I am the first to admit that I love wild weather, especially thunderstorms, I also readily acknowledge the unsettled, prickly, hair standing slightly on end feeling that comes with precipitous drops in air pressure that accompany such major storms. It’s a little exciting and scary.

My drive home was highlighted by gorgeous lightning displays. Massive cloud banks flickering pink with slate blue outlines were mesmerizing. The telltale zig-zag of chain lightning also warranted top billing in tonight’s show. Indeed, even as I sat pondering what I might write about tonight, my attention kept getting grabbed by the relentless flashes of light visible through our windows.

We have our whole house fan on and despite that, even as I sit here now, I can hear rain falling from the sky in sheets – but across the road, in the field and trees. All of a sudden the air being pulled in by the fan is 15 degrees cooler. And our wind chimes are crankily clanging one single note; it’s as if they’re stuck in a single-minded, close-loop state.

What Was It I Picked Today?

I’m reminded of the Medicine Cards I chose on my day: Grouse/Raven. I was so preoccupied with my client, and then the other responsibilities of my day that I hadn’t given them a single thought throughout the day.

The key words for Grouse are ‘Sacred Spiral.’ And the pertinent aspect of this card that I was reminded of just moments ago is this:

“…The sacred Spiral is also one of the oldest known symbols for personal power. When you think of Grouse medicine, visualize a whirlpool or even a tornado, for the Sacred Spiral will take you to the center. The spiral is a metaphor for personal vision and enlightenment. Many initiates on Vision Quests pain spiral on their bodies and believe that the Great Mystery will favor them with visions of power and purpose because of this symbol.”

Not sure if there’s any connection here. Or if there’s any significance or message whatsoever. Probably not. But hey – tornadoes are showing up in my life. I’m even being told to watch for them. I’m hoping they start bringing bright flashes of illumination to me and my perspective on my life. I’m craving some new insights.

(T-913)