This Moon is exceptionally powerful this time around due to the fact that we are also in the Initiator Wind and in the month of November. All of these are situated in the Northwest of the Wheel. I don't know if we have ever had these line up like that before, but to me it shows a greater focus on what these represent.
The Winds and Moons are powers of Nature that influence us in our daily lives.The Winds give us our challenges and the Moons show us where we are at emotionally.
Having Initiator as a Role and seeing how it works in my life has brought me to a place of humility. Our Roles are bigger than us and when we step back and allow them to work through us, we are being in service to the Wheel, Creator and Mother Earth. Its tough being an Initiator because we trigger issues in others and then we have to deal with the backlash of their reactions. An Initiated Initiator will be able to stand strong in their Centre when this occurs. If we do react to the reactions of others, we know we still have work to do.
My teacher Okwaho wrote about the Moon of Humility that if we are relatively balanced in our previous moons, "...we begin to think for ourselves and we become humble in the knowledge of the world around us and in us".
At our Moonlodge on Saturday, I felt humbled by the presence of strong women who were humble enough to be in their power (Medicine) and also to humbly listen as their were being shown their unresolve and broken moons.
This Moon is important because it is at age 11, the time that we get initiated into finding our purpose in life, that which will lead us to happiness and wellness. We live this Moon again at ages 24, 37,50, 63, 76....
At age 24, I found myself a young mother with a two year old son and a mentally ill husband. We had just moved from Vancouver to Montreal, and a huge ancestral story was about to unfold.
At age 37, in 1988, I was in the process of leaving my marriage and going on a journey of self-discovery, I had chosen to face my fears and go out on my own. It took a lot of courage to do this at the time and I have no regrets. I lived through so much, so many adventures and lessons, that my life reads like a novel, full of exciting characters, dreams and initiations.
At 50, I returned to my origins, the place of my birth, this time to care-take my aging parents. I was fulfilling a sacred contract as Keeper of the Elders and Keeper of the Dead, although at the time, I did not know of these Inner Roles on the Medicine Wheel. I was merely following my inner and outer guidance.
A few years ago I went through an Initiation of my Initiator. It was probably one of the most challenging initiations of my life. I had been going in the wrong direction and had to find my way back to my path, my community and my teachers. It took a year of hard work and incredible humility, humiliation and determination.
Initiations do not happen overnight and humility is not easily learned. Our ego defenses are very strong and resistant to change. As Okwaho says, it often takes humiliation to become humble.
Recently I had to initiate our entire tribe and stand strong when the backlash came. It was a great test for me and them. What was great is that they all went to a place of humility and did their work. This wheel is not over yet but I have hope for us all. I trust this group more than any other before because they have proved their devotion to the path of truth.
I am glad to be an Elder now and have all these experiences behind me. There will be more initiations and more opportunities to find humility. I believe that aging alone humbles us, as we look back and see how perfect our lives have been and how powerful and powerless we are at the same time.
Okwaho says that Humility is needed to pass through the gates to the Dreaming. When we are being initiated, if we can see it as an opportunity to grow and learn, instead of being defensive and reactive, we will find our way to Creator, we will pass through the gates.
