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| Guardian of the Seven Sisters by Laura Smith-Riva |
And so it is with the work of hunting down all that blocks me or is no longer useful or needed on my spiritual journey. Small changes are integrated more easily. Larger shifts require smaller bites, time to process. Perhaps a bit of the prey is stashed in a tree hollow or some marsh grass to be returned to later.
In Druidry, the hunter ally is first invited in during the Ovate grade - a time of deep reflection in which the student begins to see and acknowledge those parts which are out of balance, bloated or diminished. We hunt for the energies which feed off our fears and siphon our magic, our possibility, our power - all that impedes us on our journey.
My hunter ally came as Owl. She is the perfect response to my sun sign leonine qualities. She teaches me to become a warrior, but not the warrior that is familiar to me who lives within the more yang qualities of reason and logic, the extroverted problem solver, an action oriented doer in all forms. Owl, as a supplicant to the darkness, thrives on the stillness, the silence, contemplation. The moon is her companion and as such the yin qualities of receptivity, deep intuition, and the watery depths of feeling and emotion are her offerings. And yet, she is a fierce hunter, moving through the nocturnal landscape with stealth and surety.
Philip Carr-Gomm in the Druid Animal Oracle connects the Owl to the Cailleach, a Celtic goddess of death. He says: “Because the Owl is sacred to the Goddess in her crone-aspect, one of its many Gaelic names is Cauilleach-oidhche (Crone of the Night). The barn owl is Cauilleach-oidhche gheal, “white old woman of the night.” The Cailleach is the goddess of death, and the owl’s call was often sensed as an omen that someone would die.”
The Cailleach, whose name translates as “Veiled One", is considered one of the oldest deities and is said to predate even the Celtic mythology of which she is part of. She harkens from the most ancient human imaginings, and so has a basis in many cultural mythologies including that of the great Hindu goddess Kali. She holds sway over the winter and is invoked as times such as Imbolc as a herald who determines the length and harshness of winter. As such, she also embodies the feminine wisdom inherent in her powers over the cycle of death and rebirth. In this context, what winter/death does she preside over if not those parts of ourselves that no longer serve? This is why she is both feared and venerated. The ego structure fears most the death of itself, and yet do we not all yearn for winter to give way to new beginnings, transformation and change? The waxing and waning cycles of the moon, as with the seasons, reflect a pattern of death and rebirth that is necessary for our continued growth.
Working with Owl as hunter ally continues to translate to a more contemplative part of myself emerging. One who cultivates intuition and plumbs the depths of magic. As I persist in my work with my hunter ally, I have had to open to deeper feeling and the expression of it, which is vulnerable for me. I have had to become more still, taking on less and getting more comfortable with a life that does not worship at the altar of productivity but one which places a greater value on reflection and presence. I have had to learn to ask for help. But more than ask, I have had to learn to actually receive it without the familiar underlying guilt or shame.
As I reach across the abyss from my amazonian sun sign, I find the depths of the Mystic. For truly, we are not fixed into the binary. The deepest expression of our work is about integration and within that integration, acceptance and loving kindness towards self and other for the struggles and challenges we face, and for all that is possible for ourselves and for the world as we step into our authenticity and power.
For more information about Druidry and druid training visit the Green Mountain Druid School.
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