Ómós Ois
An antlered offering in service to our deer kin
A collaborative trail with Wild Awake and Rekindled Hearth
Ois: Deer
Fia: Deer, wild
Ómós Ois is a deep dive into relationship with the deer; simultaneously deeply practical and soulfully prayerful.
Over six days and nights, we explore “Ómós Ois”, “Deer honouring”, 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 remember 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?
This ceremony takes place in both of our homes in North West Donegal, Ireland, and Dartmoor, England. Both ceremonies are held on land which is being stewarded back to ecological and social health. Future Oak Farm in Donegal and Moor Barton Wilding on Dartmoor.
The purpose of these respective land restoration projects, and indeed within this offering itself, 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.
What past participants have said
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"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
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"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
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"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
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.
What’s included?
Simple breakfasts and dinners on all days
Camp kitchen, toilet, sheltered communal space
Drinking water & hot drinks
All materials for class
Tuition from practitioners who have been honing & teaching these crafts for over 10 years
Meeting with local hunter and land tender to explore the role of the deer in local ecology
What’s not included?
Transport to and from the venue
Lunch and snacks
Camping equipment
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.
