At the beginning of January in 1993 I moved from Washington state to live with my Grandparents near the small village of Zigzag, Oregon on the western base of Mt. Hood in the Cascade range foothills. Towering glacier and snow capped 11,245 foot tall Mt. Hood, known as Wy'east to the Native Americans, commands the landscape and puts out a powerful energy which one just has to experience for themselves. Like the majority of prominent mountains, Wy'east is masculine, and He creates his own weather. The natural creation of this area is BEAUTIFUL beyond words. Some of the most dense and biodiverse Fir tree forests in the world are found here. Douglas fir, Western Red Cedar, Silver fir, Noble fir, Grand fir, Ponderosa pine, Western Hemlock, Mountain hemlock, Sitka spruce, alder, and ash are just a few of the commonly GIANT trees which make the nature of this area look and feel totally EPIC. It is said that one cannot ever count all of the different shades of green popping out everywhere in the forests of Oregon. This is absolutely true. My Grandfather and I fished for Salmon, trout, and steelhead in the little natural deep water pool where the icy mountain sourced Sandy and Salmon rivers joined together just behind their retirement home. My thoroughly skilled old world craft perfection Grandfather designed and helped build their home himself. A vast single room cabin like interior with a high triangle ceiling and two cozy bedroom lofts were perfectly heated in the winter time by a classic wood pellet stove. Deer, black bear, cougar, bobcat, red fox, various squirrels, chipmunks, marten, and huge numbers of bird species live all around the area. Every once in a while a neighbor would call and tell us that a black bear was roaming around the little community of a dozen or so homes so watch out just in case it was a Mama with her cubs. Under the rocks and boulders of the rivers edge one could find scorpions, and bronze colored northern alligator lizards and ball tailed rubber boas were somewhat easy to find underneath logs in the forest, especially near any little clearings. I can tell you a lot of things about the woods and mountains of The Pacific Northwest (Yes, dogmen, sasquatch, and some crazy "rednecks" do live here for sure), it's potentially one of the most dangerous places in the US to go for a hike with people disappearing out of thin air in the forests or drowning in the rivers and lakes all of the time, but right now I am going to tell you about what I learned about hunting. I never hunted myself. I didn't want to kill any animal people, and maybe would not have been able to go through with it. I would have been too concerned that the animal would suffer great pain and agony, and would not risk the depression resulting in my actions. I killed a colorful western flicker woodpecker with my pellet rifle one time when I was 12, and vowed not to kill any animals ever again as it hurt me too. What a waste I thought when I walked over to the beautiful birds' body for a look at my kill after he had thrashed his wings about and suffered in death. Many of my new friends living in the area would go deer hunting with their Fathers. There is a particular, sacred way I became aware of how to go about doing these things. A way that was explained to me by an elder Native American Man named Charley who lived a few miles away, and would sometimes come down to the river to fish. Charley at the time was a few years younger than my Grandfather, maybe about 65 years old. From what I remember, he was of Blackfoot, Atfalati, and maybe Multnomah tribal heritage, and looked like he was of full blood, with red skin and red undertones. He had Long white hair which he often held braided and almost always wore a sun faded black cowboy style hat. He was taller than my Grandfather, likely being about my height now around 6'2". Charley was quite a fisherman, and my Grandfather and him always greeted each other, grinned and laughed together a lot, and shared where they thought the fish were going to be. Come to think of it, Charley might have been the only Native American living in that area back then. I never met his wife but heard that she was a White Woman whose baked goods and warm knitted winter sweaters and snow hats were prized by those who knew her.
THE NATIVE WAY TO HARVEST AN ANIMAL'S BODY FOR FOOD
If you need to feed your family and are thinking of harvesting a deer or any other animal, even a snake, first thing you should do is conduct a ritual with the great animal spirit. In this case we will talk about the deer. Connect with the great deer spirit in meditation and explain to the great deer spirit that you are hungry and would like a deer's body for sustenance. Ask the deer spirit if any deer would be willing to volunteer and provide their body for your survival. Send the deer spirit your GRATITUDE without any expectations. After connecting, explaining, and asking the great spirit, choose a time to go out for the hunt. You will follow intuition as to when and where to go. If the intention is pure, and the spirit finds a volunteer and grants your request, during your hunt a deer will show themselves to you. As soon as the deer is visible, thank the deer spirit with your full gratitude, being sure to assess and feel this particular deer's energy to clearly determine that this is the one for you. The deer might possibly communicate with you, or simply stay still grazing after it notices you. Take the deer with your .306 Rifle or bow, being careful to strike a blow which will separate the deer's soul from the body as quickly and painless as possible. Approach the deer with complete reverence. Be sure the deer's soul has fully left the carcass and has returned to the deer astral plane, source, or great deer spirit. If the deer is still alive, soul present, you must calmly and lovingly without any violence or aggression, finish the deer. Gently with warm heart place your left hand (the receiving hand) on the deer with gratitude and love, just confirm that the deer's soul has departed. Now you should thank that individual deer soul and the great deer spirit as well. Wait for an intuitive time near the deer's body to make sure all of his/her essence has departed, all the while with full gratitude and your heart's love warmth being sent to the deer's soul and great spirit. Before leaving with the meat, leave an offering for the other deer in the area who will be missing the deer you have just harvested. Leave carrots or other natural goodies which the other deer will enjoy and be nourished by. You can leave a pile of carrots, never at the place of death, but not so far away either, maybe 100 feet away, follow your feelings and choose a good place. Tell the great deer spirit that the carrots are for the deer's family and leave them on a rock, log, or on a bed of leaves. Place your offering in the chosen spot with only your right hand (giving hand). Gently and graciously pick up the deer's body and take it home to butcher. Be sure to use every last part of that deer's body, and continue to have full gratitude until the last parts of the venison have been consumed. Enjoy the venison and don't overeat, just eat enough each meal to sustain yourself so that you are no longer hungry. Share the meat and make a good time together with family, neighbors, and friends. Look to eat a different source of protein after the meat is gone, until a time when you and your family feel it's appropriate to ask the great deer spirit again for a volunteer.
SACRED RECIPROCITY AND PLANTS
When harvesting plants, treat the plant like you are pruning it. Before taking any part of a plant, pluck off one of your hairs (ouch) as you are going to do virtually the same thing to that plant right? Place the hair at the base of the plant for your DNA and proteins to be utilized by the plant from gradually breaking down and fertilizing the soil. One can also offer with reverence some saliva and just water the plant's base a bit, never spitting with force, just let a bit of saliva drop from you mouth and onto the plant or direct soil beneath it. Prune the plant mainly with your left receiving hand, give to the plant with your right giving hand. This is good for now.
JK
I don't recommend conducting ritual with the Great Dogman spirit! You might be offering yourself! Hahahaha!
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