Chicken Soup for the Shaman's Soul

Confession time. When I saw this headline I immediately thought of South American shamanism and thought I might find a good recipe for cream of mushroom soup. Instead this is far weirder and a lot more fun to read.

Culinary Adventures of an Urban Shaman.

I brought home the chicken, and then proceeded to thoroughly clean the entire kitchen in preparation. When it was time for the ritual, I brought her out of the refrigerator. I laid her on the countertop, and I went into the light trance I use when talking to skin spirits. The spirit of this particular chicken had already vacated the body, but was hovering nearby. I thanked her for her flesh, and I apologized for her death. Then I asked her to show me her life; for a moment I saw her with other chickens in a field outdoors on a sunny day, next to a large barn. The chickens were scratching at the dirt, eating, and doing the various other things chickens do when not cooped up. I’d already suspected her life wasn’t bad, comparatively speaking, since she was free range, but it was nice to get that confirmation.

This is the first time I have read a modern day account of someone from the 'spooky set' communicating with animal spirits without it turning into a rant of how the animals told them to stop eating animals. Very surprising and refreshing.

I spoke with the spirit of a dead dog once when I was a kid. It was not a pleasant experience. Or I was hallucinating. Or it was a wood sprite in the form of a dog. Or it was an alien from the Dog Star, Sirius. Or maybe I made the whole thing up. Never trust your own senses. Other people's doubly so.