There have been several big black crows hanging around our yard lately. As a somewhat superstitious person, whenever I see a group of them I do a quick head count and attempt to apply the old rhyme to my current circumstances. "One crow sorrow, two crows joy, three crows a girl, four crows a boy" and so on. (Before I knew the sex of the baby, I was particularly interested in groups of three and four.) But I can never remember the entire rhyme and sometimes there are a lot of crows. So I just looked it up. There are a couple of interesting versions here. Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of variation -- for instance sometimes seven is for a secret, sometimes it's for sickness. Eight's even more contradictory -- sometimes it's for a wish, sometimes it's said to mean death. And subsequent investigation only served to confuse the matter further. For example, this page entitled Crow Divination asserts the following principles:
- Crows are of varying
distinction and intelligence, therefore notice must be taken of the
varying classes of crows.
- Crows respond to events with characteristic behavioral patterns,
therefore by noting the character of the response one may learn the
character of the event
- Crow behavior and response differs according to time of day.
- The angle of direction between the observer and the crow has
significance.
I'm particularly fond of the first principle. Since some crows, like people, are clearly better than others this gives you a potential out when you are confronted with the ominous, such as the lone crow ("one crow sorrow"). Take a very close look -- does this particular crow look kind of dumb? If so, you can totally discount its prediction.
The Crow Divination page goes on to divide the day into a number of "watches" and provides explanations for the meanings of the calls of crows, depending on the direction from which they emanate. So, for example, if between 6 and 9 am you hear a crow's caw from the "Zenith" direction (whatever that is), a demon will appear. But if you hear that same caw from that same direction between 9 am and 12 noon, you can expect a fulfillment of your wishes.
This is all too complicated and, it seems to me, rather random. So I've decided to begin my own list of meanings. Here's a start:
One crow staring at your feet in surprise, as if you are wearing two
different socks: You are wearing two different socks.
One crow approaching from the northeast: Remember to renew your newspaper
subscription.
One dimwitted crow looking bashfully in your direction and smiling moonily:
You are particularly attractive today. If you do not have a romantic partner,
expect to meet someone of mediocre quality who will express an interest in your
physique. If you do have a romantic partner, he or she may perform a small
household chore, like washing the dishes, unasked tonight.
Two crows tugging at a plastic bag: You are conflicted about recycling. On
the one hand, it’s good for the planet. On the other, it’s sometimes a dirty
and time-consuming task. (Can also be interpreted to mean rebirth, literally or
figuratively, or afterbirth, or as a suggestion to use up leftovers for
dinner.)
Any number of crows rearing back their heads with looks of mild disgust when
you attempt to converse with them: It’s probably nothing but you might need a
breath mint.
Any number of crows rearing back their heads with looks of utter disgust
when you attempt to converse with them: You are a bad person.
Note: it can be
difficult to distinguish between expressions of mild and utter disgust on the
face of a crow. Actually, it can be difficult to distinguish between any
expressions on the face of a crow or, indeed, even identify an expression. This can complicate matters. And one must
never forget to take into account the class of the crow – does a distinguished crow
of great intelligence looking at you with mild disgust outweigh a dim-witted
crow looking at you with great fondness? You see how tricky this can get.