Ravens are considered to be harbingers of ill-omen and death in most Western folklore. They are considered so evil, that their favorite food is said to be the flesh of a dead man.
In Chinese, Egyptian, Greek and Semitic myths, the raven is a messenger of bad or stormy weather. In Sweden, they represent the ghosts of murdered people. In Germany, they are symbols of eternally dammed souls.
Odin, the most powerful of all Norse gods, had 2 pet ravens, Hugin and Munin who saw and heard everything and reported such information to Odin.
In the Bible, the raven was the first animal to fly or leave Noah’s Ark, to see if the flood had died down. Ravens are mentioned in 7 of the Bible’s verses.
The raven is a key mythological figure in North American folklore. It is regarded as the beast that created the Earth, a trickster and sly being and even its black plumage is explained in an ancient Indian story.
In Irish Celtic folklore, ravens were mediators between the gods and the mortals. They would bring prophecies and messages between the realm of the gods and Earth. The Celtic goddess Morrigan takes the form of a raven to visit those who will soon die on the battlefield.
The best raven myth is that of the Welsh/Celtic god, Brân the Blessed. The Welsh word for raven is bran. Brân the Blessed was the King of the Britons and was dying after a vicious battle against the Irish. He was so anxious to protect his people, that he told his followers to cut off his head and bury it under the White Hill, so that his presence would prevent Britain from ever being invaded. This is why the Tower of London (built over White Hill) is populated by ravens and has 6 official raven residents. Legend has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower, the British empire will fall.
From the above amazing facts about ravens, it just goes to show you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover or in this case, a bird by its color. Whether scavenger, predator or prankster, the raven is a classic example of brains with an eye for mischief.