Retracing the Animal Presences

Retracing the Animal Presences

"In the infancy of culture ritual and art were one, and the hunters who drew the animals they desired and performed ritual dances in fissures deep in the rock must also have had poetry to evoke this physical and spiritual sympathy."

__ Jacquetta Hawkes, "A Land"

The cave and rock paintings of the ancient world depict the bison, mammoth, horse and deer, all of which have a powerful presence not found in domesticated animals. These wild creatures who prefigure a primal world of nature are figurative of more than meat and hid: they hold and mediate spiritual powers greater than the present consumerist mentality can evoke. The spirits of animals open gateways to deeper worlds of understanding, shared worlds in which people and animals learned from each other.

We do not know what rituals attended the painting of these creatures in ancient times, but looking at comparable cultures extant today, we can see that among the aboriginal Australians, for example, the rock and cave paintings are retraced by subsequent generations. This is a method of honoring and reconnecting with spiritual presences drawn by ancestors.

The power to re-evoke the spirits of animals with whom we once shared our world more equitably is still with us, if we will set aside the time and space. Returning to our own dark cave, lit only by the torch of our willing understanding, we come again to the ritual kindling of spiritual vision, wherein the ancient animal powers speak to us, creature to creature, in the dance of life.

"Meditate upon a species of animal now under threat of extinction. Listen to its wisdom with respect and thankfulness. Make a drawing of your experience."

[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]