Posted on behalf of House Morgan.

Morgan hunts. Hunting, no matter the quarry, is a passion which requires skill. The hunter is driven to stalk, track, probe, uncover that which is issuing the summons, the call from a hidden place.

In the stalking, catching, but not necessarily killing, the prey is the passion that drives a true Hunter. Shooting may now involve a camera rather than a gun, hunting that special sharp ‘shot’. Skinning, stripping the surface, the outer layers from a ‘kill’ may involve words rather than a knife; may be more concerned with revealing a plot, a scam, a crime, a hidden identity, a hidden agenda.

The Hunter/Huntress, is found in many mythologies due to the vital place hunting held in tribal life. It remains active in many societies today, but is it still relevant? It depends on what you call hunting, and how you relate to the driving force behind it. Hunting was an ancestral necessity, an aspect of the instinct which ensured our survival and that of our tribe. The hunter held a highly responsible place in the life of a tribe. What skills they had! What faculties did they use? Seeing, dreaming, stillness, silence, their extraordinary sense perception on high alert, their whole body consciously aware of the presence surrounding them. Some hunted alone, some hunted in packs where every member knew each other’s skill and presence.

But hunters exist on other levels too. Those who seek knowledge, researchers in every sphere of life are hunters, what they hunt will, in one way or other, change their life and the life of others – revelation is always a risk and the hunter must act accordingly. Hunting is a visceral act, feeling the thread, the connection, to that which is hunted. The researcher or detective knowing they are on the brink of a discovery become remote, their passion palpable, their instinct alert, poised to recognise the revelation and pounce at the precise moment. Investigative journalists also, and barristers questioning a suspect or witness in court; they are all driven to hunt for truth. This is the root of the myths of the fantastic animal that leads the hunter into the Otherworld.

But is it possible to operate as a hunter in everyday life? To stay awake, alert, extend your senses to the limit. To develop extra-ordinary senses that receive information without immediately placing meaning onto it. To stay awake, to stalk the mystery, moving slowly, quietly, becoming still, remaining hidden, ‘touching the world lightly’. To use your senses to inform, your mind to question, your will to keep on track.

The hunting of living creatures requires study; study of their habitat, their habits, their food, their needs, their routines, all these are clues necessary to a successful hunt. If you were being hunted, how easy would it be to trap you? Are you aware of your habits, your routines? Times, places, travel, work, recreation, contacts, attitude, responses; is your life predictable, are you predictable? Is it possible to outwit a Hunter/ Stalker and lead them away, misdirect them?

Being alert, attentive, vigilant, reading the signs, the hunter patiently waits and watches, if something is hidden they will uncover it; unless they recognise and acknowledge the need to call off the hunt.
Gathering may complement hunting. Traditionally, they have been considered two separate activities but are they so different? What are the qualities they share? Use of all the senses. Attention to season, terrain, memory. How were new foods discovered? New plants for healing? How did they find out what part is active, leaf, flower, root, seed? Again, the honing of all the senses in the service of Attention is essential; error leads to sickness and death. This is the true meaning and purpose of sensitivity. Are you sensitive?

As the advent of agriculture and associated husbandry led to the development of civilisation the need to hunt for food dwindled. But is physical food our only requirement for growth and sustenance? Consider the food required to fulfil our other needs; food for the mind, the heart, the spirit. The hunt for your path, your partner, your profession or career, your passion. What feeds your passion, what gives your life meaning?

Archeologists hunt our past to enrich our future. Their discoveries of ancient ruins, ancient languages, the earliest writings, the earliest music, our measurement of time and depictions of early god forms have all been revealed by these passionate hunters. Without their findings most of our diverse cultural heritage would remain lost and our lives much the poorer. And those who hunt their ancestry, currently a very popular activity, how does it feel to recognise a name, date, place that fits? You’ve been hunting.

Hunters methods are subtle, invisible, how do they track the mysteries that lie beneath the surface? Some call it the Underworld as much of what we value begins as hidden treasure – gold, silver, jewel, histories, seeds, truths – all lie beneath a covering, a surface. Truth can be staring us in the face, but perhaps we prefer not to see it.

But the greatest hunter is Death. Death stalks you all your life and can take you at any moment, are you prepared? “In a world where death is the Hunter, my friend, there is no time for regrets or doubts. There is only time for decision.”*

How can you prepare? By hunting that which feeds the deeper parts of you and store its power for use when needed. The greatest power to draw the Hunter is Knowledge, Knowledge not information. Information is what intrigues the mind and forms signposts along the way.
Knowledge that transforms the being, nurtures the soul and frees the spirit.

* Carlos Castaneda Journey to Ixtlan

House Morgan