Crescent Shadows On-Line Newsletter of the Hudson Valley Pagan Network, Inc.

The weather is getting cooler; the leaves are dead or dying and falling to the earth blanketing the ground with a noisy carpet. The woods smell differently than they did only a month ago, earthier, and less flowery. You can now feel the early winter winds chilling you to the bone, at times, battling the fading summer winds of warmth. The squirrels and chipmunks are very busy in their endless quest to gather and store food. This is the start of hunting season.

To hunt – means to pursue, shoot, kill OR capture wildlife AND includes ALL lesser acts that disturb or worry wildlife whether or not they result in taking. By New York State’s definition of hunting almost anyone who walks in the woods is technically hunting. If you spend any time in the woods you have probably disturbed or worried wildlife. If you “spooked” a deer or a flock of turkeys you may also have pursued them in order to get another peek. Obviously intention has a lot to do with how the law is interpreted.

For me family and me it is a return to basics and roots, our heritage. Hunting has been a part of my life since I was a young child. My father and uncles taught me how to hunt. Hunting is something that has always been a part of our lives. This year once again my wife will join me in several hunts. This makes hunting even more special for me, and leaves a lot of my hunting companions jealous. The preparation for the hunt is the same as it has been for centuries. Equipment is gathered, a final cleaning completed, repairs made. Some equipment may be retired and new purchased.  Magickal rituals are performed for success. The only difference between a hunter of today and our prehistoric counterparts is technology. The hunter of the past used all the technology available to him just as a modern hunter does.

There are several skills that both hunters and warriors use. Hunting skill, knowledge, stamina, honor, and bravery. The first three are self-explanatory, honor speaks to the acknowledgement of the quarry’s value as a living thing and it’s spirit. Bravery, hunting you ask? Have you ever faced down a Cape Buffalo with modern weapons? Me neither, but there are countless stories of professional, now dead, hunters in Africa who were more than well prepared and armed to face the quarry and the quarry won anyway. Deer and bear hurt and sometimes kill hunters. You usually don’t hear those stories because they are not as newsworthy as the accidental shooting stories, which are miniscule in number compared to the number of hunters in the field each year. Last year there was 1,784,652 hunters in NYS. Less than .001 percent of these folks were involved in accidents.

Modern warriors, Marine snipers, are more often than not superb hunters and woodsmen. Carlos Hathcock, the father of Marine Corp sniper platoons states, “Those boys with good hunting sense and who are woodwise make the BEST snipers (warriors).” He goes on to say that good marksmanship while required can be taught. There are however, other qualities needed. They include field craft skills, great knowledge of nature and the outdoors, a sense of belonging to the wilds, and MOST IMPORTANT, strong mental stability and extreme patience. Even in modern times, hunters turned warriors insure our survival and freedoms.

As important to our hunting as our equipment, are ritual and the spiritual aspect. Our pagan ancestors must have agreed. They had many hunting and warrior deities. The following is a list of Warriors, warrioresses, and hunters popular in Celtic myth. This large number shows just how important and interwoven into ancient Celtic belief hunting and warrior spirit was.

Aife, Alain Barbe-Tortre, Andraste, Anluan, Arawen, Baile, Boadicea, King Brian Boru, Cally Berry, Casawallan, Catnenn, Cernunnos, Conall, Cuchulain, Cumhal, Dagda, Ebha Ni Murchu, Fionn MacCumhal, Finvarra, Flidais, Garbh Ogh, Giona MacLugha, Gugemar, Gwyn Ap Nuad,  Gwyddion, Irgalach, Llew, Luaths Lurgann, Lugh, Luchtain, Mabon, Queen Maeve, Nessa, Nomenoe, Oghma, Owain, Owen Lawgoch, Pryderi, Scathach, Tristan, Veleda, Uathach.

Edain McCoy writes, “… Queen Maeve led her court on a very dangerous hunt for the Wild Sow of the Wilderness….  Sows were sacred to several Celtic Goddesses. Slaying AND consuming a sow were acts of sympathetic magick designed to bring the power of that deity into one’s self. This story is told in her book Celtic Myth & Magick. The hunt she leads is as much a spiritual one as a quest of power.” Maeve was a powerful warrior and huntress. In that same spirit a pagan hunter can honor his or her Gods and Goddesses with a successful hunt. The ancient peoples acknowledged that hunting and warrior spirit were very much a part of each other. A successful hunt meant survival throughout the winter; successful warriors insured the survival of a people. Every hunt of ours begins with ritual. Usually this is a short simple blessing to Cernnunos or another God or Goddess of the hunt. A short “thank you” ritual always follows the hunt.

What is a successful hunt? Each individual must answer that question. For me it is a day where I see lots of animals and birds, whether or not I’m hunting them. The actual killing of an animal adds to a hunt but it is not the sole purpose anymore, times change. We eat everything we kill and have found ways to use as much of the leftovers i.e.: bones, hides etc. as possible. I’m sure our Native American friends could out do us in that department but we do our best. Unless you are a hunter it will be very hard to explain the sadness you feel upon killing another living thing, plant or animal. There is, however, a sense of accomplishment too. The sadness passes as you realize that this creature has given its life so that we can live, the Wheel continues to turn. Yes, I could go to the store and buy something that gave its life for us at another’s hand but it’s not the same. Hunting keeps us in touch with the cycles of birth, death and rebirth. The Wheel is always turning, someday it will be my turn and creatures on this earth will eat me to survive. I will die so they may live. When my time comes don’t feel bad for me, just a brief moment of sadness, and then let Nature take its course.
 

Shadowbird

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Last Updated: January 30, 2002
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