MOON OF HUMILITY & INITIATOR WIND

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.

***Initiators are also known as Sacred Clowns. The photo at the top is one Halloween when I discovered as aspect of my Inner Clown. I named her Hettie Carbuncle.

The Shaman & Shamanism

(The following is taken from a post on our private site....) 

FROM OKWAHO....

"I think the best gift a Shaman, Sorcerer or God could ever give to us is the space and time to work things out on our own. We can make it and find the divine in us to make it.... A Shaman has a role but his or her role is not to live life for you - where you have chosen to give up. If anything a Shaman should inspire, breath strength in you when you are down but make sure you get back on your feet.... "

I was deeply touched by this and wrote back...
 

"Your words helped me to understand why I am where I am. You have

breathed life into me so many times when I was down... yet you would

not let me become dependent on you and that has made me stronger and more in touch with my own essence, the divine in me. It is easy to get entranced with the Shaman and want that energy to carry us, but it

will not help us in the end. One of the judgments I've heard about the

Shaman from those who don't know... is that they think we are "guru

worshipers" and don't have minds of our own... they are so wrong. Even

when I tried to give my power away to Lisa, she wouldn't let me...lol.

Thank God!

Thank you Shaman for helping me to find myself. Thank you community

for showing me who I am - light and shadow - and sticking with me through thick and thin. It has been such a healing for me. We are blessed here in GP to have each other, but we work hard at it too. We are blessed to have technology to stay connected and gatherings in Quebec to meet

in person."

 ******************************************************************************************************

It is true that even some of my close friends or family think that I am being overly influenced by our Teacher, Okwaho. I know that in the past, I would put her on a pedestal, being so infatuated with her energy, her power and beauty. Who would not be? 

I used to be an AMMA devotee. Amma is a holy woman from India who embodies the Divine Mother. In India, they have a better understanding and respect for the Holy Ones amongst them than we have here on this continent. Amma is always surrounded by an entourage of Devotees who take care of her physical body and needs, while she goes into in trance and tends to the multitudes of followers. The followers have no fear of being "seduced", "brainwashed", or "overly influenced" by their Guru... they have absolute trust, something we Westerners could learn from.  Amma did not need me, I needed her. She helped me to find my way back to my path, knowing that my journey with her was temporary.


The Shaman does not want "followers", it is hard work to take care of so many!!! Yet the Holy ones all over the world... in India, Africa, Australia, North and South America... continue to serve in spite of the hard work and the persecution which seems to be directed at them so often. In the past, they were put to death...  today they are ignored, ridiculed or judged by those who do not understand, those who don't take the time to ask questions, to open their minds or even to observe those that they judge to see if they are for real .... It always amazes me how humans can pass judgments on things they know nothing about!

So what is the purpose of the Shaman in a community, or on this Earth?

As Keeper of the Shaman, I do have an infatuation with this energy... it calls to me like a bee to honey. The Shaman is an energy or Wind that blows through its carrier, and brings wisdom, divinity and love to all who are in its reach. I have had the Shaman energy blow through me briefly...  and I felt such incredible unconditional love for everyone, and I just seemed to know things. Others felt it too. One woman followed me around after as if infatuated, unable to leave, mistaking me for something that moved through me... The energy did what it needed to do and left. 


But there are some who carry this energy more often and for longer periods of time... these individuals sacrifice everything to the Shaman, in service to Creator and Creation. They give up their personal in order to become a Collective creature. It takes many arduous initiations to get to the point where you can carry this energy for any length of time.

The Shaman can inhabit a stone, a tree, a crystal, a person, an animal.... It comes and goes... it chooses where it goes and when..... we do not control it.

There are so many misconceptions about the Shaman and Shamanism -  judgments made out of fear of the unknown, ignorance, superstition, rumors... etc. Many people are afraid to tell their friends and family that they are on a Shamanic path and follow the teachings of a Shaman, because of the judgments. I find this really sad. Why are East Indian Gurus, Enlightened Masters and Holy ones accepted, yet Shamans are not? People will cross the ocean to get a glimpse of the Pope and bow down in worship, kissing his ring.


Is it a matter of shame, seeing what was done to the Aboriginals, Shamans and all...? Is it too soon and too close to home for those who live on this continent? I find it strange that  that people go to other countries, South America, for example, to find Shamans and Traditional Shamanic teachings... when it is available right in our own back yard. 

It is true that Okwaho, my Teacher, has supported, encouraged and empowered me to find my own way when I just wanted her to give me the answers or tell me what to do.... That would be so much easier, simpler and quicker. But she trusted in me enough to let me go at a time when I was completely lost in ego and thinking I knew what I was doing. She let me make my own choices and follow where that led me.... She always told me to "Tell my own story" when I wanted to just talk about her and her teachings. 


 It took me many years to understand what she meant, because I didn't value my own experiences, my own life, MY dreams and stories... I didn't see the power in ME.. but she did and she continued to nourish it in me with infinite patience when I was being a real  pain in the butt!!! She cared enough to give me the tough love, to show me where I was out of sacredness and not in my Truth and Power. The ego is a tough nut to crack, especially in today's world which is so totally ego-centered. But even ego is accepted as part of the whole on this path, and we explore it to bring it into balance, unlike some practices that throw out the ego altogether. You gotta love a path that says that all of who we are has a place and purpose! We get to dive headlong into life  and explore our imbalances, illusions and indoctrinations, to live the experience of life to the fullest and find our way home through what we live. We honor our journeys and stories because that is all we have, what the Creator gave us.

We need the Shaman today to remind us of sacredness, to show us the way,  to point out the beauty and divinity to us. Because much of this has been lost or destroyed or broken in us. 


We can only see what is in the mirror. I found that with Amma, when I was in judgment, doubt, ego or my mental, I could not see or believe who she was. When I let go of all of that... then I could be fully in the experience and open to what she wasshowing me.


The same goes for the Shaman... we only see what we are open to seeing and believing. It takes humility to have a Teacher, and as they say, the Teacher appears when the Student is ready. And the student is ready when he or she is humbled enough by life, has enough strength to get past the arrogance or insecurity of the ego, or disbelief in the Mysteries of Life... and is willing and able to face the Creator with a rawness of soul and an openness to Truth. Amma showed me my Light, the Shaman showed me both my Light and my Shadow.... and loved and accepted all of me when even I could not!

One thing that makes us so lucky.... and this path so unique...  is that it exists in spite of 500 years of attempts to extinguish it. We are survivors! We are strong! Those of us who have found our way back to these teachings and to the Shaman.... have come through hell and high water to get here, because deep down inside we are seeking TRUTH and COMMUNITY and to understand ourselves and our world in a way that only the Medicine Wheel can show us. 


Many are Dreamers, Healers, Warriors, etc..  who need to explore their what they are living when no one else seems to understand.  


We are lucky to have the Medicine Wheel as a tool for survival in these difficult times and a Shaman to help us to find that which we have forgotten or had taken away from us... our medicine or power!

Hau!

(As you can see, this is a topic that I am passionate about and will return to again and again I'm sure, there so much to share, teach and learn.)

 

THE FOUR ANCHORS

The Medicine Wheel was given to us by the Star People so that we may connect with the Earth and the Stars and remember Sacredness, magic and Inter-connectedness. 

The Wheel that I work with was taught to me by my Teacher/Shaman, Lisa, Foss Tardiff, aka Okwaho Lablanc. This wheel has 36 stones on it.

The Anchors are the first stones that we lay down, like the four poles that we put up when building a tipi, or four cornerstones of a building. The Anchors are what ground us in the world of matter. Without them, the tipi would fly away, the building would collapse. Our work in the mundane world is also what grounds and anchors us to reality. 

The FOUR WINDS are also known as Challenges, Roles. They are the FOUR DIRECTIONS that orientate us in time and space.

WHAT IS A MEDICINE WHEEL?

What we call Medicine Wheels today were called SACRED CIRCLES by our Ancestors, who say that these were given to us by the Star People. 

The Wheel is a map of Natural and Cosmological laws that help us to survive and thrive on this Earth, so that we may live in harmony and balance with all life. The Lakota Elder Black Elk said that when we stopped living in round houses (teepee's) that the Sacred Hoop was broken and humans lost their connection with Nature. That was the beginning of a downward spiral of destruction that is evident in the world today. 

The Sacred Circle is about CREATION- LIFE! When we lay down the stones of a wheel, we are creating an electric-magnetic force that magnifies the energies of the environment where that wheel is placed.

On the Medicine Wheel, there are Four Directions: 
- EAST for New Beginnings. Sunrise, Spring, Child, Birth, Water, Sage

- SOUTH is for Noon, Summer, Adolescence, Fire, Cedar
- WEST is for Sunset, endings, Autumn, Adulthood, Air, Sweetgrass
- NORTH is Midnight, Winter, Elder, Earth, Tobacco

The Wheel can be seen everywhere, in everything. It is in the circles of our Eyes, in the roundness of birds’ nest and the spiraling of a plants as they grow.  The Earth circles the Sun,the Moon circles the Earth, creating day and night and the four seasons.

When we lay down a circle of stones, the wheel may appear to be flat, but it is actually a 3-dimensional energy force, that spirals down into the earth and up towards the sky. 

On the Medicine Wheel that I learned from Lisa Foss Tardiff (Okwaho Lablanc) of the Eastern tribes… there are 36 stones. Some wheels have as little as 4 - others have over 200. Each stone gives us a different perspective, they all rotate around the Center where Creator resides. If we place the Creator at the Center of all our activities, we would be able to manifest our own Divinity. But today, ego has become the focus – we have lost our awareness of our place in Creation. Humans have put themselves above all others, considering other species, plant and animal, to be less important. 

       
By returning to Sacred Circle living, and knowing our place in the grander scheme of life - we can all find harmony and balance in today’s world and live according to what Creator and Creation intended.

I teach the Medicine wheel and hold Sacred circles twice a month on the New Moon and Full Moon. If you would like me to come to you to do a wheel, you can contact me at wheelkeeper@hotmail.com

Hau!

Wheelkeeper