Pagans, Shamans, Wiccans, your opinions please?

I will give you a bit of background information before I ask my question...
I work at an animal sanctuary. I am the big cat caretaker (lions, tigers, jaguars, etc). We are located in a rural area so unfortunately it is rather common for motorists to hit and kill animals in the road. Occasionally when someone has hit a deer they will bring the body to us so I can feed it to the cats (deer meat is excellent for them as it is similar to the meat they would eat in the wild). I treat the bodies with the utmost respect and I don't butcher them. I place the bodies in the cats' enclosures and let them eat it as they see fit.
This past summer after 2 of our lions had finished eating the body of a young male deer, I took the skull, I cleaned it up and performed a ritual to honour and thank the spirit of the deer (the rest of the bones were buried, I always bury the bones that are left over from the cats' meals). This skull is now on my altar where (to me) it symbolizes the spirit of Nature and the cycle of life.
Recently I was speaking to a Wiccan friend of mine who has criticized me for doing this. In her opinion items that come from animals should not be used on an altar or in magical workings unless said item was found in the animal's natural habitat having been shed naturally or coming from an animal that died of natural causes. I fully understand her point of view and I somewhat agree and yet I disagree at the same time. True, this deer died an unfortunate death but there was no hate behind it (it was an accident, after all) and in the end the deer's body served the noble purpose of aiding another animal.
Your thoughts/opinions on this issue please?

A soul is a soul. I think it's an amazingly wonderful thing you're doing. I've been a Wiccan for 17 years and I do not find anything wrong with this.

Blessed be, friend.

I killed a wicked Wicca and no one spoke up. She is buried under my drive-way.

Please advise. Report Abuse

one of the things that i have always liked about being pagan is there is no wrong or right way to be pagan.

if you feel ok with it then it is fine...if it bothers your friend then she shouldn't do it.

i have often found myself drawn to some things but not to others...that's why i'm eclectic. the goddess doesn't seem to mind.

bb

You will find a ridiculous amount of disagreement about ANYTHING you can possibly think of, in the pagan/wiccan community.

I suggest doing what feels comfortable for you, and telling your friend you respectfully disagree with her opinion.

your Wiccan friend can hold what ever view they wish, it is your altar, do as you wish, so long as you know that you aren't going against your practice!

items that come from animals should not be used on an altar or in magical workings.

Horned Helm.
Nuff said.

answer: personally, cycle of life. The deer gave its life so that another creature could live - that's the way things go in nature. I know a number of Wiccans and other pagans are vegetarians and don't wear leather and such. Its often overlooked that cats CANNOT be vegetarians and get enough protein through veggies. They need meat - that requires a life. Whether that life is taken in a slaughterhouse and a chunk of meat is thrown to the cats or an animal is selected for the cycle directly - its still meat.

It sounds like you have honored the deer greatly on several levels. If you are comfortable with the skull, use it.

The altar of your heart is infinitely more important than that which is in the world, if you honor all life as I do too. Our Father in heaven sees this, there is really no need to squabble with someone else over something you have created in the world to validate the convictions in your heart. The motive in your heart was accepted in the spiritual realms long before your hands created the images in the world. In layman's terms the part that really matters is that you care......and that is a good thing in todays world.

Peace....Christian

in many indigenous cultures, using the bones to honor the food-animals is very appropriate (generally after being eaten by humans, but the principle should hold true).

like it or not, highways and auto-deaths are now a big part of deer life; they are only "unnatural" from our own point of view because we view our own activities as separate from nature - the deer makes no distinction.

Your friend has a right to her opinion, but so do you. If your intentions are noble (and I'd say they are) and you've thought about all considerations as you seem to have, I see no problem. I commend you, actually.

I see *nothing* that you are doing wrong.

As a Wiccan, I think that your friend should have minded her own business.

People who claim all Wiccans have to be vegetarians drive me nuts because they seem to forget how many hunter gods and goddesses there are and seem to disrespect them and their followers completely.

Would she think that a token from a ritual hunt shouldn't be used as well?

Too bad she only seems to respect those who worship the same type of gods as she does.

i think what you did was beautiful, from using the carcass to feed other animals, to honoring the spirit of the deer on your altar. like it or not, nature is as much about death as life. your friend doesn't seem to be in touch with nature, or has unrealistic views about the sanctity of life.

i'm going to venture a guess that she's a vegan.

i bet she doesn't grant the same respect to the plants she kills. i wonder where vegans draw the line between what's acceptable to kill and what's sacred... is a yogurt culture not a mobile life form, or do you have to see it before you get too queesy to eat it.