Honouring The Deer - Dartmoor

Honouring the Deer is a deep dive into relationship with the deer; simultaneously deeply practical and soulfully prayerful.

Over six days and nights, we explore how to honour life and death, to better understand this mythic creature, once known to be a symbol of the wildness and fertility of this land.

You will learn the practical skills of how to use every part of the deer; for food, tools, beauty, ceremony, warmth and more. And, whilst we have not inherited the ceremonies and rituals which of course would have accompanied such a time of sacred and abundant harvest, we will explore together what it might mean to unearth these ceremonies, to honour and give thanks for this greatest of gifts: life.

Following the trails of deer through the woods is not always easy - and so it is with following the subtle tracks and signs leading us back to the restoration of ancestral lifeways.

As humans, we have evolved closely with the hooved ones - in climates across the world, they have walked beside us, fed and clothed us… in many regards, they have made us.

Throughout our time together we will be exploring these questions:

How do we honour this death? What does it look like to honour these animal kin?

How do we stay present and allow ourselves to feel all that arises in the face of death, particularly one we have a part in causing?

What would it be like to remem

ber our trails as humans on this land?

How do we become worthy of asking someone to die so we may live?

How can we be in reciprocity?

What culture can emerge when we honour an animal’s life and make beauty from their body?

During our explorations, we will make camp on the edge of ancient Dartmoor woodland, on land being ecologically tended and re-forested.

The purpose within this offering, and the land regeneration project here, is to understand how we as humans can assist in restoring the land to health, whilst simultaneously tending to our own hearts and bodies.

To explore our place as humans in the web of life, weaving ourselves in with joy, respect, reciprocity, humility, and gratitude. A deep remembering, through bloodied hands, full bellies and aching hearts.

We intend to gather together in community as we collectively grieve and celebrate this most ancient of gifts. As we remember our place as hunters, as beauty weavers, gratitude gatherers and feast makers.

Over the course of the six days and nights, we will explore:

Butchery and cooking

Processing a whole deer - from carcass to plate.

Jerky making

Earth oven pit roast

Fat rendering

Bone, Antler & Hoof craft

Tools

Jewellery and buttons

Hide tanning

Leg skin pouches

Tanning a collective hair-on bark tanned deer skin

Tracking & Trailing

Learn how to identify the tracks and signs left by deer

Explore deer behaviour to better understand where they might be in a landscape

Experience finding and following a fresh deer trail with the hope of seeing the animal

Ceremony

Co-creating ceremony with the land to honour death and life and remember what we ought not to forget.

… Reaching a place where we can’t help but be grateful, where we cannot help but know ourselves to be fite fuaite, interwoven, with the vitality of the hooved ones, and the health of the land with whom we thrive.

Your Deer Guides

This is a collaboration between Lucy O'Hagan of Wild Awake and Jessie Watson Brown of Oak and Smoke Tannery .

Separately, we have been following deer and their trails and working with their bodies in life, death and ceremony for over ten years.

Together, we dreamed the offering of ‘Ómós Ois’ whilst following reindeer tracks through the snow one winter in Norway in 2021.

Since then, we have been collectively co-weaving this ceremony in our homes of Donegal and Dartmoor.

While Lucy is on Maternity leave…

This year - Jessie will be joined by two wonderful guest facilitators:

Cat Powell

Having already crafted feasts and nourishment for previous Honouring the Deer camps - Cat will be cooking with and for us, as well as sharing her skills in bone, antler, hoof and skin crafts.

Cat is a food grower, exquisite wild crafter and incredible cook.

Bobby Wild

Bobby is a woodsman, crafter and event facilitator. Bobby will be bringing even more story, song and ceremonial holding to the gathering.

He is passionate about ancestral craft, traditional lifeways, land rights and folk songs.

What’s included?

Simple breakfasts and deer-full dinners on all days

Camp kitchen, toilet, sheltered, covered fireplace, Sauna

Drinking water & hot drinks

All materials for class

Tuition from practitioners who have been honing & teaching these crafts for over 10 years

Fireside deer mythology with a storyteller

Meeting with local hunter and land tender to explore the role of the deer in local ecology

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What’s not included?

Transport to and from the venue (though we can facilitate lift shares)

Lunch and snacks

Camping equipment

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Who’s it for?

Anyone and everyone with a love for the wild, a desire to explore the above questions and and a wish to connect in a nature-based community. No experience necessary. We are welcoming adults and families on this course. Please get in touch if you wish to bring children.
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Exchange

£620

(we have some part-worktrade places available, just ask by emailing honouringthedeer@gmail.com)

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A non-refundable deposit of £150 will secure your place. Full payment will be required 6 weeks before.

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What past participants have said​
 

"This was a life-changing experience for me, a healing of separation and disconnection. I feel deeply humbled by what I've experienced and the sensitive guidance of Jessie and Lucy. When I came home I felt I had been in some far-off mythical land, a lived fairy-tale that revealed so much, seen and unseen, conscious and unconscious".

Paricipant, 2025

"It’s hard to put into words how deeply considered, how beautiful, and how surprisingly moving this ceremony was. If you have an inquisitive mind and you’re concerned with the modern world’s sad and destructive relationship with land, food, heritage and health, then you will find this ceremony uplifting, affirming and powerfully relevant.".

Participant, 2025

"A transformative experience. Being taught the skills of our ancestors, creating community, and learning how we can be a more valuable ally to our native land will forever change my life. It is an initiation into being more resilient, wise, and collaborative with the natural world around you. I have been integrating the skills learned slowly but surely into my daily life. I also made friends that I will cherish forever. We are kin, after sharing such a deep and meaningful experience. Lucy and Jessie hold space with such integrity and prowess. I am so grateful. Buíochas mór ó chroí!"

Participant, 2022