Magick Naked Body Art

I found an interesting article about Chaos Magick and Sigils (actually - the idea contained within the article is what's interesting - the article itself is a pretty dense read) and I think it has potential... potential, that is, if a person has the patience and persistance to actually read the whole thing - which I actually did. And the courage, energy, enthusiasm, and art supplies to actually do it. And, by potential, I also mean potential to be a fun, cool thing to do, as well as an interesting way to create art and chaos at the same time. As for the magick? I do not know... but hey, who cares if the magick would work or not? It would at least be cool and fun, don't you think?

So here's the premise behind the idea. But wait, before we start, I think it might be a good idea to give a definition of the word, "sigil." Along with a couple of pictures. So, here's that:

 

A sigil (or /ˈsɪgəl/; pl. sigilia or sigils) is a symbol created for a specific magical purpose. A sigil is usually made up of a complex combination of several specific symbols or geometric figures each with a specific meaning or intent.

The term sigil derives from the Latin sigillum meaning "seal," though it may also be related to the Hebrew סגולה (segulah meaning "word, action or item of spiritual effect"). A sigil may have an abstract, pictorial or semi-abstract form, and it may or may not be enclosed within a circle, square, or triangle,.

 

Ok... so now that's clear - it is, isn't it? On to the article, which will no doubt be about as clear as mud. So here's that:

 

MAGICK SIGILS - RITUAL AND ACTION:

One of the problems, perhaps the only problem, with the process of sigilisation as it has been developed over the last seventy years or so is the disassociation of the intention and the operation. The pioneers of sigils have always maintained that it was essential, once the sigil had been designed and reified (using whatever method), that the operator should at least forget having done the working for this purpose and, if at all possible, forget the sigil itself after it had been destroyed or consigned to the realms of magical (unaware) consciousness.

 

For this reason some sigilisors have adopted the scheme of making sigils and storing them with many other sigils, withdrawing particular ones at random and empowering them in ignorance of their intention. This has the required effect of separating the intended result from the working but also fragments the energies used. It is a useful experiment but little more.

 

There are two kinds of sigilisors - those who have been doing it for a while and those who are just starting to experiment. The first group tends to experience few difficulties excepting those of personal style and elegance of technique. The second group, largely through unsureness, suffers from more tangible difficulties and it was largely on their behalf that experiments with action sigils were undertaken.

 

The starting premise for this scheme of sigils is that the intellectual input usually involved in designing the sigil is entirely removed. This requires two magical operations rather than one. These two operations compartmentalize the creation of the sigil into the first ritual and the empowerment of it into the second thereby making it easier to empower the sigil without consciously restimulating memories of its intention and, since this method of creating the sigil produces an abstract rather than a symbol form it becomes far easier to enter the state of positive non-desiring and to work ‘without lust of result’.

 

It should be noted at this point that I have only experimented with this technique on a group basis and that I have done no solo working with it although, in theory at least. It should make little difference except insofar as the note on abandonment of individual identity is concerned. To keep a short story short I now resort to ritual rubric.

 

Ok... now for the good part!
This is the how-to:

The following must be done in advance:

• The operators carefully define the intention of the sigil.
• An incense is made and is used for this working only.
• Music is created and recorded and is to be used for this working only.
• A large blank canvas is attached firmly to the temple wall.
• Pigments appropriate to the work in hand are chosen and placed in open vessels near the canvas.
• Special attention should be made to lighting whether that be of the traditional type, in which case many candles or lamps should be used, or whether it be stroboscopes and other mind-bending gadgets of evil empire.
• Incense, music and lighting should be arranged so that, once lit or turned on, they need no further attention for the remainder of the rite.

The opening:
This is a rite within a rite put together by concensus of those concerned.
It’s functions are:

• To set the mood of the rite.
• To begin the rite.
• To forcefully remind the operators of the intention of the rite.
• To afford an opportunity for a strong sacrament to be shared.
• A period of silence in which each summons his/her allies, gods, demons or whatever.

The music starts. The operator who puts the tape together must bear in mind the kinds of activities that will take place over it (as follows) and must ensure that the tape is at least as long as the rite from this point onwards.

 

In order to bring a gnostic state upon themselves the participants begin to whirl. This is a technique in itself and must be practised several, or even many times before it is used ritually. It is best to start slowly and establish a rhythm, gradually building up speed until the arms rise by the force generated. This speed should be maintained while attention is focused on the object of the rite, eyes open. Experienced exponents might intone a mantra at the same time. The likely duration of this process is subject to four variables:-

1. The strength of the sacrament
2. The effect created by the lighting, incense and music.
3. The proclivities of the individual participants.
4. Chaos, but less than one hour would be a waste.

Whirling is a technique most often used to induce the ability to walk on hot coals. If you feel that you are ready to that you have achieved the desired state. (Prior to using whirling in ritual it is useful to set up a firewalk to demonstrate to oneself the effectiveness of this technique). The gnostic state has been entered when awareness of the body disappears and self is centred in or totally exterior to the body.

 

A difficulty with this kind of rite is in arranging the transition between one activity and another, especially when each individual must achieve the required mindstate in his/her own time. This means that the transition is graded and that for some time two activities are taking place concurrently.

 

"Each in turn as he was taken" stops whirling (not suddenly to avoid dizziness) and maintaining concentration on the object of the rite, approaches the canvass, smears Body with paint and transfers this to the canvass using any and all body parts except the hands and feet which leave too recognisable and symbolic an imprint.

As other participants join in this activity all ideas of individualness in terms of Body and Self are surrendered to the notion of one Body, one Self, one organism with intention. There should be no difference in the minds of the participants between my Body and your Body, this Self and that Self. It is all one Body no matter whose the hand that smears or the thigh that receives the paint. This submission, this temporary abandonment of individual identity has four advantages:

1. In the absence of the individual Self there is no internal dialogue.
2. In the absence of the individual Self attention can be easily concentrated.
3. Paradoxically, in the absence of individual Self exteriorisation is facilitated because one has abandoned the notion of Self owning a particular Body to which it must necessarily remain attached. Exterior to Body is the ideal condition in which to create magical effects.
4. In the absence of individual Self one automatically forgets that one is performing ritual and this leaves one free to operate in present time, no longer concerned about or constrained by the structure of the rite. This is an excellent bonus. It is what every practical ritualist seeks to achieve.

This part of the ritual should go on for as long as the participants can hold their concentration and until everyone is satisfied with the operation.

 

An ending, previously designed through consensus, is performed.
It’s functions are:

• To ensure that all participants are centred in their Bodies.
• To shut down concentration on the object of the rite.
• To bring the rite to an end.

The ritualists leave the temple, bathe and relax in one another’s company. The first rite is finished, an abstract sigil having been produced, and there should now be an interval of some days, if not a week or two, before the second rite.

 

There are many possible starting points for the ritual of empowerment and these depend mainly on the participants’ preferred methods of working. They may prefer, for example, to work with the sigil itself, although its physical size may be somewhat inconvenient in terms of practicality. They might use a large colour photograph or even a colour intensified video image. Whatever, the ritualists now resort to their favourite method of hurling the sigil into Chaos in order to activate it. The only restriction on them is not to give the purpose of the sigil any consideration and the temple should be furnished with this in mind.

 

Authors Details: Ray Sherwin

A Real Shaman

I found a great blog post about shamanism at a pretty cool website called Blue Plant Shaman. The whole thing is worth reading - I just pulled the juicy part out for posting here. It's a list for the basic requirement for a person to be a good Shaman. And hey, I think I qualify! And I've gotta say, I like this guy!

1. You need to come from a dysfunctional family.
2. You need to understand abuse, alcohol, drug, sexual, physical, mental, verbal, the more the better.
3. You need to have a fast mind. This is usually shown through a quick humor and/or problem solving skills.
4. You may have a thought that nothing is sacred nor should it be.
5. You will probably have a very strong sex drive.
6. You may think some things are funny while other people severely disagree.
7. You have the ability to teach without formal training.
8. Even the most introverted people will instantly open up to you.
9. You can make friends with the most vicious junk yard dog because you can relate.
10. You had the “visits” from the other side at an early age.

Sometimes we can seem like a twisted bunch, but everyone wants to come to our parties.

They can be all the things that you would never expect a Shaman to be in places that seem so unholy or spiritual. Normally you won’t find them in some air conditioned classroom teaching someone else’s bullshit because the have an “I passed a Shamanic course” paper on the wall.

Shamanism is getting into life and everything that goes with it. Shamanism is about experimentation and testing your theories before you try to teach something. A real Shaman will let you know you are a fucked up individual and not try to dress it up with some white lighter justification. A real Shaman will help you develop who you really are, not who everyone thinks you should be. A real Shaman understands that some things just can’t be fixed and may take a temporary job as a sniper in a third world shit hole.

So Shamanism has evolved a long way from telling the story of when the Great Raven flapped its wings seven times and created the universe, or how some chic that was fucking around on her husband said God knocked her up. Shamanism became the reality show that HBO won’t even air.

“The people you see on this show are real. Their names and identities have not been changed, no one is protected. The situations are real and there are no co incidences between what you see in Shamanism and real life you dumbass, new age flake.”

Personally, I really don’t want to hang with anyone in Shamanism that doesn’t have some kind of bad reputation or rumors. People make mistakes. Or do they? Maybe it’s divine guidance for our higher learning. Yeah, that’s it. I channeled that.

Shamanism is about being yourself, being honest about it, and being ok with that.

Shamanism is living a life that will make a great true story that will be told as a teaching implement. Live it. Don’t leave any blank pages. One day the book will close.

If I was to say there was only one sin, it would be not living true to your nature. A Shaman will live according to their true nature and that’s the main reason they usually don’t fit in. So goes Shamanism through the ages. It will always be one of those places that the out of ordinary people go to fit in with the other black sheep of humanity that people look to for spiritual guidance.

Turn Back Your Biological Clock

Rejuvenation is the deliberate restoration of youth and vigor through self-intervention in the aging process. Negative mental states such as anxiety, depression, hostility, and insecurity tend to be debilitating, hastening the aging process. Positive mental states such as self-confidence, self-esteem, self-acceptance, and a sense of personal adequacy are empowering and inject rejuvenating energies into the body, eradicating those disempowering states which contribute to aging. Love, for example, is one of the most empowering rejuvenation elements know. When present in the psyche, it neutralizes hate, its negative counterpart that is destructive. Dormant rejuvenating forces already exist within each of us and can be activated to intervene in the physical aging process.

Psychic Rejuvenation

• Step 1:

Relaxation. Physical relaxation sets the stage for using your psychic faculties to intervene in the body's many functions. Close your eyes, slow down your breathing and allow your muscles to relax...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, shirleytwofeathers.com, and can be found in the Alternative Therapies section, here: Turn Back Your Biological Clock

The Nature of Things

The Sioux idea of living creatures is that trees, buffalo and men are temporary energy swirls, turbulance patterns... that's an early intuitive recognition of energy as a quality of matter. But that's an old insight, you know, extremely old - probably a Paleolithic shaman's insight. You find that perception registered so many ways in archaic and primitive lore. I would say that it is probably the most basic insight into the nature of things, and that our more common, recent Occidental view of the universe as consisting of fixed things is out of the main stream, a deviation from basic human perception.

~Gary Snyder

Things a Shaman Sees

Everything that is
is alive

on a steep river bank
there's a voice that speaks
I've seen the master of that voice
he bowed to me
I spoke with him
he answers all my questions

everything that is
is alive
little gray bird
little blue breast
sings in a hollow bough
she calls her spirits dances
sings her shaman songs
woodpecker on a tree
that's his drum
he's got a drumming nose
and the tree shakes
cries out like a drum
when the axe bites its side

at these things answer
my call

everything that is
is alive

the lantern walks around
the walls of this house have tongues
even this bowl has its own true home
the hides asleep in their bags
were up talking all night
antlers on the graves
rise and circle the mounds
while the dead themselves get up
and go visit the living ones.

~David Cloutier

Odin - An alternative Story

ODIN: The Norse Biggy. ODIN is Father of the Gods, King of ASGARD, Ruler of the AESIR and the Lord of War, Death and Knowledge. To travel the world without being recognised, he wears a huge wide-brimmed hat. He also — thanks to LOKI — rides an eight-legged horse named SLEIPNIR into battle. All he needs is a six-shooter and a sheriff's badge to be able to stand in for John Wayne in True Grit.

His biggest fans include the Berserkers, which should give you some idea. He's also very hot on Knowledge and Military Intelligence, having two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, who fly around the world every day bringing up-to-date reports.

ODIN himself has only one eye, having traded the other one for a sip from MIMIR's Well of Wisdom during his visit to the great World Tree YGGDRASIL. Consequently he's full of knowledge, while his missing eye is hidden in an unknown location care of MIMIR the Talking Head. The eye enabled MIMIR to focus on far-distant events, allowing ODIN the ability to always see far ahead.

To become the Top Wise Guy, ODIN put himself through some incredibly rigorous ordeals. The Well of Wisdom lies under the second root of YGGDRASIL, which allows the Dew of Knowledge to seep into it. So ODIN stabbed himself with his own spear and hung himself on the tree for nine days and nights. He was then allowed a peep, and saw magic runes appear on rocks beneath him. With a superhuman effort he struggled to lift them, which must have been quite an acrobatic feat. Running his eye over the mystic symbols, he was instantly freed of all encumbrances; restored and rejuvenated with everlasting vigour enabling him to drop lightly to the ground.

His ordeal accomplished, ODIN was at last able to take a well-deserved swig from MIMIR's well, making him well-wise as well as wise. It was even tastier than his usual tipple Kvas, the Mead of Inspiration, a special brew made from the blood of KVASIR. If you think a wise one-eyed Norse cowboy on an eight-legged horse would be easy to recognise, this ain't necessarily so for ODIN is a shape-changer, and his range of disguises make Sherlock Holmes look like Miss Marple. He also travels incognito under a variety of false names.

Sharing primeval God status with brothers VE and VILI, the Great ODIN helped bring the world as we know it into being, so we can forgive his little foibles. The legend tells that in the ice-laden wastes of NIFLHEIM, he got into a rather catastophic snowball fight with YMIR, the king of the FROST-GIANTS. The Abominable Snowgiant was slashed into pieces and ODIN made the world from all the bits. He even found a use for the eyebrows. ODIN's dad is BOR, son of BURI, son of an ice cube. Married to FRIGG (with the occasional Freya fling and flirtation with RIND).

About the "Kiva" of the North

Yesterday, when I did my morning meditation, it seemed important to find out the meaning metaphysical meaning of North. And so... from the Sun Bear teaching about the Medicine Wheel comes this in depth explanation of the direction of North and what it means:

Spirit Keeper: Waboose
Element: Earth
Mineral: Alabaster
Plant: Sweet Grass
Animal: White Buffalo
Color: White
Season: Winter
Time of Day: Midnight
The time of life: When we are elders with the snow upon our heads and the time of life when we are newborns coming back into the world.



The North is the most paradoxical time of the Medicine Wheel. It is the time when things seem to be sleeping. Yet within this apparent dormancy some of the deepest growth is occurring. It is in the winter when seeds lie frozen within the earth that they take into themselves all of the earth's energy that allows them to grow in the seasons that follow. It is in the North that our bodies cannot move as easily as they have in the past or will in the future, that we seem forced to take into ourselves the wisdom of the Spirit we will use as we continue our journey around the wheel.

The time of Waboose is a time of slowing down, of apparent restriction, when outward activity definitely diminishes. It is a time of darkness, quiet, and dreams. It is a time when humans are fragile, when their skin is wrinkled and resembles the soil and the face of the Earth Mother herself. It is a time when people tend to reminisce and from their reminiscences share the wisdom they have gained. It is a time of assessing accomplishments and aims and of preparing for the major giveaway of death and of birth. It is a time when many people come to an understanding of their own life, an acceptance of what they have or have not achieved. It can be a time of peace, a time of power, a time of forgiveness and compassion for all around you. It is a time to give up old patterns, to surrender to the small changes of body and mind in preparation for the major changes that will come.

Waboose is a time of both ending and beginning, of life and death, of new life cloaked in apparent death. In the winter the earth appears dead, but there is much happening within. The same is true in human life. Even when we shed our human envelopes, our spirit, our energy goes to a place that prepares us for the new beginning that will come.

The major lesson of Waboose is that of the giveaway. When we are elders it is our responsibility to give away to the people all of the knowledge that we have gained. It is our responsibility to impart to our relations what we have learned as we have journeyed around the Medicine Wheel of life. It is our responsibility, ultimately, to give away our body to the Earth Mother who has fed us during all the time we have walked on her. When we are infants we readily give away all of the love we have gained in the world between, knowing then that the more we give the more we have available.

One of the gifts of Waboose is an intuitive understanding of this giveaway. Coming with this understanding are increased psychic abilities and a great acumen in attuning to dreams or visions, both your own and those of other people.

The white buffalo, the animal associated with Waboose, is an animal who gave up everything for the people: meat, hide, bones, and spirit. It is the White Buffalo Woman who gave the pipe to the people.

When you are experiencing a moon influenced by Waboose, it is a good time to contemplate your life, to contemplate the paradoxes of life. It is a good time to think about questions of life and death and to examine your attitudes toward both. It is a time to learn patience. It is a time when your psychic and mystical abilities will be far above average. It is a time to see how you feel about giving away all the many gifts that life has given to you. It is a time to practice the small giveaways that will prepare you for the larger ones.

During times of Waboose, you will need to make a point of grounding yourself, of remembering that you are a being of the earth as well as the sky. One of the paradoxes of Waboose is that while this is a time of intuition and mystical abilities, Waboose is also the direction that governs the physical level of life, both how we relate to our bodies and how we relate to the world around us. While your mind wanders through the skies, you must also learn that you need to take care of your body here on earth.

Waboose is the place of physical healing, the place we come to give thanks for healing that has occurred and to ask for healing that is needed both for ourselves and for others. This can be healing of the body or healing of the way in which we relate to the world around us. The power of Waboose is the power of spirituality grounded on earth; the power of patience that allows all things to grow in their proper way. The power of Waboose is acceptance of life, acceptance of death, and acceptance of the necessity of sharing all that has been given you.

An Amazing Experience

Day 40 - Living by the book.

I had the most amazing experience today!

I turned to a picture of a medicine man and his wife standing beside their "medicine tipi." It was painted red, and there were symbols drawn on the front of it.

He smiled at me and invited me in. I went into the tipi and was immediately struck by the smells - rich and thick - of skins and herbs, smoke and dirt. There was a small central fire pit encircled by round stones, bags and stuff hung from the sides.

We sat across from one another and he lit his pipe and passed it to me.

At this point, I questioned the validity of what I was seeing, saying "Wouldn't there be talk and other protocol before the pipe?"

He smiled and waved his hands as if to brush my doubts aside and said, "We meet here in the dream world. I do what I want here. If I say we smoke - we smoke."

And so we smoked the pipe and I wondered about smudge and sage, but there was none in evidence, so I let that go.

Then he had me lie down. He then put a thick white paste on my forehead and either he said, or I knew, that this was for better seeing. He put a big lump of something dark that seemed like clay or moist earth on my heart, and I could feel it pulling the toxins out of my body right away.

My hands were at my sides and he turned them, palms down, so that they rested on smooth round stones. I felt that this was to keep me grounded.

He uncrossed my ankles and proceeded to sing songs and blow smoke and sometimes spit, or blow some kind of liquid at me. Then I had this feeling of being strangled, not real intense, but still pretty clear.

And I saw that a hangman's noose was around my neck and I saw my body being pulled up to hang from the top of the tipi.

The medicine man pulled me down, and now there was, in addition to the noose, a white cloth bag over my head, like muslin. Later, I wondered if I was accessing a previous life memory of being hanged. In the moment, I was just interested and curious about this turn of events.

The medicine man worked quickly to untie the knotted rope which he then threw into the fire. It flared up and sizzled and then turned into a snake and slithered away.

He then pulled the cowl off my head and threw it into the fire - it took the white paste on my forehead with it and when it hit the flames it blazed up and a flock of black birds (crows?) flew out.

Around my neck there were still the ligature marks, and it occurred to me that maybe my eyes were bugged out as well.

The medicine man reapplied the white paste and then went to work carefully peeling the marks off my neck, but it was slow going as they kept reappearing. Finally he took a kind of sponge soaked in some sort of healing liquid, and what he did was roll the ligature marks up a little at a time. Then he'd swab behind it and the skin would heal.

As he was working, I realized that the soil or clay on my chest had burnt and was shrivelled, dry, and black. The medicine man stopped what he was doing with my neck, and took the charred earth and threw it into the fire where it flared and sizzled and then transformed into a number of dark spiders which scurried away.

He put another mound or earth on my chest, and then went back to working on my neck, peeling the ligature marks off and swabbing behind, going slowly, making sure the flesh was healing. When he came to the front of my throat, there was a hole underneath, out of which flew a big swarm of screaming butterflies. The screaming wasn't audible, but it was understood. Very weird.

He looked in the hole to see if "everyone" was out, and back in a far dark corner was a frightened, big eyed, skinny being. He (the medicine man) said, "Do you belong here?"

Both the being and I said, "Yes." simultaneously. I did not want him to pull her out, nor did she wish to leave. Whoever she was, she was clearly malnourished and scared, having been hiding in dark corners for so long.

The medicine man unrolled the ligature marks just enough to cover the hole and then he started working on the other side. It was really odd, watching the marks on my throat, which looked like bruises and shrivelled skin being rolled up just like masking tape. He worked slowly rolling and swabbing the skin underneath, making sure the new skin healed before moving on.

Finally he had both sides rolled up, and it looked like a scroll stuck there on the front of my throat. I had a fleeting thought, wondering what might be written on it, and I knew that to unroll it and read it would be to undo all the work thus far.

With a flourish, the medicine man pulled the scrolled up ligature marks and tossed them into the fire. It melted into a whitish worm shape and crawled away. He then reached a finger into the hole and pulled that dark skinny big eyed being up to the light.

Again, he asked, "Do you belong here?"
Again, the answer was, "Yes."

And he said, "Well, OK then, but it's time you occupy the space in a good way. Build a fire, make yourself comfortable, go hunting, and feed yourself properly."

When he said, "Go hunting." I had a momentary vision of a warrior in full regalia mounted on a winged war horse. It occurs to me now that the hunting wasn't just for food and nourishment, but for power as well.

The medicine man then showed the being how to travel to and through the heart and how to see out of the third eye. I had some qualms about it at this point, was I really sure I wanted this dark skinny almost gollum-like creature to remain within me?

But, it didn't seem right to evict her either, and it occurred to me that this must be a deeply neglected, thoroughly repudiated part of my self. I also wondered about allowing her to move through my heart - worried this might cause "damage" or "leakage" of some sort.

And I was reassured with a knowing that this part of me needed to be fully expressed with heart and vision, not just spoken or verbalized in a superficial way.

The medicine man worked with that dark spirit to rebuild the hole in my throat, building it out of living tissue so that it was a "real" fix, not a temporary patch.

When that was complete, I had a realization of who that newly empowered part of me is. And almost as soon as I "knew" it, I "forgot" what I knew. Interesting... huh?

With that completed, the medicine man turned his attention to the lump of earth on my chest. As he pulled it off, it was as if a dark netting or web was pulled out of me. It felt really good to have that ripped out, like an "aahhh" and my whole body relaxed. He tossed it into the fire and there was a huge explosion. Kaboom! There was thunder and lightning and stars. The inside of the tipi turned a dark indigo and the stars and the lights settled into it so that it looked as if it had been painted to resemble the night sky.

He took the rocks from under my hands and placed them just inside the circle of stones that ringed the fire pit. They turned red as they heated and purified.

He then painted the soles of my feet red, and told me that I would/could now walk the "good red road."

He moved to my head and pulled off the white paste. It flared up into red and orange flames when it hit the fire. Then he proceeded to wrap me up in a cocoon of light. As soon as he was done, my eyes spontaneously opened - and I knew it was complete.

Wow!

The Metaphysical Roadrunner

OK... so I found the definitive information on what Roadrunners represent as totems and messages from spirit. The short version looks like this: Roadrunner represents quick thinking, being able to shift dimensions easily, and being able to switch directions quickly.



For a more in depth understanding, there's all this:

Roadrunners are ground dwelling cuckoos ranging in length from 20 to 24 inches from the tip of its tail to the end of its beak. Legend has it that the roadrunner got its name from running on the road alongside horse drawn carriages. Also known as the chaparral cock this legendary bird is famous for its distinctive appearance, its ability to eat rattlesnakes and its preferences for scooting across the American deserts as seen in Warner Brothers cartoons.

Because of its lightening quickness, the roadrunner is one of the few animals that preys upon rattlesnakes. Using its wings like a matador's cape, it snaps up a coiled rattlesnake by the tail, cracks it like a whip and repeatedly slams its head against the ground till dead. It then swallows its prey whole, but is often unable to swallow the entire length at one time. This does not stop the roadrunner from its normal routine. It will continue to meander about with the snake dangling from its mouth, consuming another inch or two as the snake slowly digests.

Although speed is its ally time is irrelevant to the roadrunner. It can do several things at once and isn't bothered with completing one thing before moving on to the next. This is partly due to its great mental agility represented by the crest on its head.. Many native cultures believe a "crest" symbolizes quick and efficient thinking capabilities. Those with this medicine have the ability to think quickly on their feet, flow with rapid change and understand the proper use of speed.

The roadrunner is a large black and white mottled ground bird. It has strong feet, a long tail and an over sized bill. It can run up to 17 miles per hour. When the roadrunner senses danger or is traveling downhill, it flies, but it cannot keep its large body airborne for more than a few seconds and so, it prefers walking or running. It has a clownish gait when running or walking and reminds us to laugh with ourselves and not take things too seriously.

The roadrunner is a vocal bird producing a variety of sounds from crows, chuckles, clacking and coos. Roadrunner asks us to use sound to benefit ourselves. Distract unwanted influences or say the right thing at the right time. By listening to the roadrunner we discover the right tone to use in any situation from a low coo to a screeching chuckle. Sound as well as speed can pierce through a situation and change its energy. Shamans are known to use both to shape shift realities when necessary.

Roadrunners are uniquely suited to desert environments and inhabit open, flat or rolling terrain with scattered cover of dry brush, chaparral or other desert scrub. When spring arrives, the male roadrunner acquires food for himself and then offers choice morsels to a female as an inducement to mating. He often dances around her while she begs for food, then gives her the morsel after breeding briefly. Roadrunner teaches us the importance of honoring our personal needs first before giving to others. Some might think of this as a selfish act but in truth it is a balanced one. Although roadrunner has an ulterior motive when offering the female food (that of breeding) it carries the message of survival. Take care of yourself first and then assist others.

Because roadrunner is always thinking of ways to get what it wants it reminds those with this medicine to use the ingenuity of their minds. If a problem occurs "think" yourself out of it. Highly intelligent, roadrunner medicine people have the mental capabilities to fix or change any situation. Procrastination is not part of this medicine. Roadrunner reminds us that mental alertness, speedy action coupled with the right use of sound always produces harmonious outcomes.

My Traveling Companion

It occurred to me that it might be fun to ask one of the faeries to come with me on my trip to Texas. Solus volunteered. So I propped his picture on the dashboard, and pretty much talked to him all the way down and all the way back. I tried really really hard to get him to talk back to me, to show up in person, or something...

Here's what the reading of the card says:
Knowledge. Consciousness. Synthesis. Spiritual empowerment.

Solus stands midway between the realm of the Singers and that of manifest reality - the realms of Faery, this world, and other realms and dimensions. The Singers dwell in a cosmos without boundaries or differentiations, but we and the faeries live in worlds where there are limitations to overcome and boundaries to identify and expand, which helps us to grow.

When we don't know what we need or who to turn to, Solus will help us, if we ask. To an Oracle group member, Solus said, "Allow the surface noise to fade. I'm here waiting."

Solus encourages us to stand on our own feet, to recognize and utilize our own wisdom, to depend on our own strength, and to acknowledge and work with our own good qualities, using them as stepping-stones to improve the less good. Yet at the same time, Solus recognizes that we cannot do everything alone, and helps us to make the connections and to have the insights that will help us to accept wisdom, energy, and assistance from other realms - especially the realms of the Singers and of the Faery.

With faith in the human spirit, Solus sees us as arrows fired from a bow, choosing our own directions and soaring into undreamed-of heights, empowered by trust and the creative life force.

Starter Reading:

Solus is radiant, energizing, vitalizing. This presence in a reading often indicates that something new is being brought into being in our lives, partly through our own efforts and partly through the help we are receiving from other realms. Miracles may take place. Movement into the light is occurring. This is a time for taking action, passing on our blessings and learning, and for service given from a position of strength.

Animal Communication?

Animals communicate regularly through telepathy. It is the most basic form of communication, an ability we are all born with. As humans, we learn to rely on verbal communication and our telepathic skills are pushed aside and become rusty. Like a muscle, unless used regularly, these skills become weak and inefficient. Humans, given the proper mindset and training, have the ability to communicate telepathically with all species.

Communicating with an animal is a two way process, there is a sender and a receiver. Now here is the amazing part....telepathy can be done in person or over distance! A great example of this is when you are thinking of someone and the phone rings, low and behold it is the very person you were just thinking about. Coincidence or Telepathy!! We have all had telepathic experiences, we just don't recognize them as such.

What are Devas?

The word deva comes from the Sanskrit language, meaning "a being of brilliant light" and is used to indicate a non-physical being. We are using the word deva here as a general name for both nature spirits and angelic beings.

How did devas come into being? It is said that in the beginning, when earth solidified and the physical life forms were formed, the devas were so far behind in evolution that they could not form physical bodies.

Consciousness of the devas is directed to expansion in contrast to our consciousness that is focused and limited by the form of the human body. Devas are always conscious of their cosmic environment, and want to become ever more conscious of that what they encompass. Devic beings want to be, while physical beings want to do. Devic beings concentrate creating, while physical beings want to develop.

Devas have an instinctive knowledge, they do not have to acquire knowledge like we do. The have instinctive knowledge of cosmic patterns, relationships, and harmonies.

They do not have form as we understand form in the physical world. In their, astral, realm they are like fluidic open vortexes of cosmic consciousness. When people are able to perceive them, they often will take a form extracted from the human mind. Thus we will see them in a more or less human form, but in essence they are only vortexes of energies.

They have memory and learn from past experiences. They are conscious of the archetypes of the field in which they work. They react to and improve their work according to the physical influences on the life forms with which they work. They are only interested in their own field of work. For example, the deva of the oak trees is only interested in the growth of oak trees, a landscape deva is only interested in the life forms of that landscape, a healing deva only works with healing energies. It is therefore useless to ask a oak tree deva how to heal a human body. Devas are only knowledgeable in their own particular field.

Working with devas is of a mutual benefit. Devas acquire experience of focused consciousness and action, while humans can learn to surrender to the silence of the devic consciousness and its sensitivity to cosmic influences. Devas are always willing to help people.

Many people have tried to classify and name the numerous nature spirits, but one has to understand that there are many, many forms of nature spirits, and one form blends over into another. On top of that their names are not consistent among the authors who classified them. But what does it matter, the most important thing, is that you have an idea of what they are and what they do.

If you are really interested in working with nature spirits, one recommended book is the Nature Spirits and Elemental Beings by Marko Pogacnik, available from Findhorn Press.

Great Brotherhood of Light

I am not an expert on this subject, so I went looking to see what I could find, and came up with two explanations. The first is from Wikipedia:

The Great Brotherhood of Light, also known as the Great White Brotherhood , is perceived as a spiritual organization composed of those Ascended Masters who have risen from the Earth into immortality, but still maintain an active watch over the world.

The Great White Brotherhood also includes members of the Heavenly Host (the Spiritual Hierarchy directly concerned with the evolution of our world), Beneficent Members from other planets that are interested in our welfare, as well as certain unascended chelas.

The Ascended Masters are believed to be joined together in service to the Earth under the name of the Great White Brotherhood. The use of the term "white" is supposed to refer to their advanced spirituality (i.e., that they have a white colored aura) and has nothing to do with race.

And from Energetic Synthesis comes this other explanation:

The Great White Brotherhood is a very large group of Ascended Beings and Spiritual Masters and is composed of highly evolved men, woman and beings beyond gender from multiple universes. They exist on various inner dimensional planes and work as a collective consciousness in a singular yet varied purpose.

Their purpose historically has been to assist us and the planet through forwarding the evolutionary processes. They have been the group instilling universal principals and law throughout creation. They have also assisted humanity in developing social, moral, and societal frameworks that are in accordance with the current age as well as assisting us in moving from one Age to another. They assist, support and influence Planetary Leadership during evolutionary cycles such as we are transiting now.

The White Brotherhood’s current project is to help insure a smooth transition from the Piscean Age to the Aquarian Age, navigating us towards our destiny of Ascension. The White Brotherhood insure that our evolution and healing is in line with universal law and is appropriate and in agreement with the New Era energetic dynamics.

The Red Jesus

So here is the Red Jesus. The pictures do not do justice to him, they do not show the detail nor do they show his face very well bcause there is no contrast.. it just shows up as mostly red.. but he really does have a very beautiful face.. Anyway.. I love him.

This is the story of how he came to live in my house:

I was going through a particularly difficult time (not unusual for me), and some friends and I went "gallery" hopping in downtown Kansas City. We wandered into a little home decor store, and there, on a bottom shelf, in a corner, were a number of vibrant ... amazingly vibrant ... red ... brilliant red ... Jesus statues. I couldn't take my eyes off them. Finally I picked one up, and what a surprise! It was actually a velvet flocked hollow plastic bank.

At the time I had about $5 to my name, the Jesus bank was $20 (or something like that), so, reluctantly, I put him back down and that was that. Or so I thought.

Well, I couldn't stop thinking about him, nor could I stop talking about him. It occured to me that if a person had a religious icon that vibrant, that beautiful, that eye riveting, how could it not be really powerful? And the fact that it was a bank made it even better. I was convinced that if you were to put your prayers, your hopes and wishes into that bank, that they would absolutely come true. How could they not?

Since I couldn't buy one, it occured to me that I could use it as a visual meditational tool, and so I started imagining that I was giving my problems and worries to the Red Jesus... Amazingly, I found that I could give the situation to him and really and truly actually let go of it.

At the time, I was struggling with a really gruesome situation at home. During the winter 2 of my sheep had wandered onto the pond, broken through the ice, and drowned. It was now coming into summer, and I still hadn't figured out how to get them out of there. I cannot describe how awful it was. I had seen them go down, not a thing I could do to help them, and every time I looked out my window, there they were floating. I had asked my neighbor for help, called around here and there, and no luck... nobody wanted to have anything to do with it.. I didn't want to have anything to do with it...

This was the first thing that I gave over to the Red Jesus.

Three days later... yes... three days later, someone offered to come get the sheep out of the pond for me, I didn't have to have anything to do with it at all. Didn't even have to watch or anything. It cost me $200, and somehow that money was there to pay them with. It was a miracle!

So, I was telling my sister this story, and she suggested that I should go back downtown and get a Red Jesus for my house. And I said, well, I don't have the money, and so far it's working for me - so - the way I see it, if the Red Jesus needs to actually be in my house, he'll show up there.

Three days later... yes... three days later, my friend Daniel handed me a gift bag. Guess what was in it? You guessed it! My very own Red Jesus. How cool was that?

I have had miraculous results with him. If I can really give him the situation... really let go of any need to control the results... just say "Here, this is the problem, I'm sure you can fix it in the best possible way." Within 3 days, whatever it was that was a problem gets totally resolved.

My sister was fascinated as well. This is what she had to say, "He is very beautiful and so odd he just has to be a symbol and I got very curious as to who and why someone would manufacture such a thing. So, I looked up Red Jesus and this is what I found - I found him, exactly like yours on Wickedcoolstuff.com; I found a red jesus nation wristband - Red is the color of his blood, representing salvation, hope and a secured eternity... There were a couple of paintings titled red jesus and apparently the group Cult has a song out - Red Jesus. The words of Jesus in some bibles are printed in red. This was a cursory search - my curiosity remains piqued. It would make a wonderful title for a book wouldn't it?"

I think he is very powerful. Jesus saves, literally!

Incubating a Dragon

Several weeks ago, I found a Shaman Stone at a rock shop. It was the same day that I bought the Celestite. It isn't much to look at, but I love this little stone. When I hold it in my hand, it gets warm, and then I can't put it down.

Because I wanted to carry it around all the time, I got the idea that I would make a bag for my Shaman Stone so I could wear it and have it with me all the time without having to worry that something might happen to it in my pocket.

And that's what I did. On the evening of the Solstice, there was a full moon, and I was thinking about dragons, and suddenly it occured to me that if I made a "dragon" bag for my stone, I might feel a teeny wee bit better about my inability to acutally BE a dragon. So I found some really cool yarn, all fiery and free spirited, and knitted a little bag for my stone.

I popped it into the bag and put it around my neck and, I swear to God, it felt alive. Like a little baby dragon incubating inside that warm round stone. It sits right over my heart, and when I touch it, or hold it in my hand, it's like a small warm egg. So. Maybe I'm nutty - but that's OK - I'm feeling so much better now that I'm "dragon sitting."

If the unbelievable actually happens, and a dragon does hatch, I'm pretty sure his name will be Moqui. And yes, I do know that the chances of a real live dragon are pretty much non existent, but even if I don't end up with a dragon - I'm pretty sure that something magical will come from it. How can it not? And I'm willing to wait and see. So I'll keep you posted!

Thunder Stones

Have you ever seen one of these? Moqui Balls - are very interesting minerals found in the state of Utah. These mostly smooth, elliptical or round balls of compacted sandstone are encased in a "shell" of hematite (an ore of iron).

They are also referred to as "Thunderballs" or "Shaman Stones" and have been used for centuries by Shamans and other mystics. Considered sacred among the Shamanic members of ancient tribes, they were used in rituals to contact extra-terrestrials, for visioning and for out-of-body journeys. The name "Thunderballs" refer to how they were sometimes used in more dramatic ways. The Shaman would throw them into the sacred fires and they would explode. They are used for healing and balancing.



These strange ironstone concretions are found at the base of the Navajo Sandstone formation and come in sizes from small marbles to baseball sizes. (They can no longer be collected there because it is now part of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.) Although newly discovered in the United States, the Moqui have been found on several continents and in ancient archaeological excavations.



Named after the Moqui Indians who inhabited the lands around the Navajo Sandstone Formation in Utah, where most Moqui Marbles are found, the theory of how these spheres are formed is still under discussion. Some geologists believe them to be concretions formed 25-130 million years ago from minerals precipitated out of large volumes of groundwater flowing through permeable sandstone.



They are recommended to the user of both the ancient ways and the future ways. Moqui Balls can be used to align the energy centers, to relieve energy blockages, to stimulate the CHI, to ground and center, and to provide protection. Grinding with two Moqui Balls promotes receptivity to frequencies which are usually inaudible. The journey with the Moqui balls allow one to live to the fullest, while understanding the sanctity of, and performing healing for the earth. Moqui Balls need no special care, they are lovely to hold and act to protect when placed in ones environments, the energy being like a good friend.

Manifested by nature, enjoyed by mankind, the Moqui Balls brings the synthesis of the male/female duality, and the actualization of singularity, allowing one to recognize the self, and the independence and liberty of ones nature.

They don't need special care, they are equally balanced between grounding and energizing, and act as a connector to the Earth's energies. Moqui Marbles readily accept subtle energy charges and hold them indefinitely. Treat them with love and they will return it when you need it most.

So, I went to a sweat and this is how it was:

OK, so it wasn't exactly like the picture... but I did go to a sweat at the Potawatomi Reservation over in Kansas. I have been to a number of sweats in the past, so it wasn't something I've never done before. However, the last sweat I went to was 3 years ago, and was pretty hot, and I hadn't been to one since. So, when I got the invitation for this one, I was just a little bit nervous about it.

OK so... this post and other cool stuff can be found at my new website, Hey It's Me, which is hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com

All of the other sweats I've been at were either do-it-yourself-out-of-a-book run by me, or led by a visiting medicine man, teacher, shaman, etc... and largely attended by New Agers, pagans, and Native American spiritual wanna-be's. In other words, mostly "white" people. This one was way different, most of the people there were Native Americans and sweat lodge veterans... we had a fair amount of young warrior types. Plenty of good male energy, that's for sure. And I started feeling a little bit worried about how vastly different their idea of a nice sweat would be from my idea of a nice sweat. Would it be something like this?

hot versus HOT

It was a little bit worrisome. So when we got there, the fire is all blazing hot, nice big fire... you can't stand within 4 feet of it without getting blasted, and I'm thinking... hey... I need to make friends with the heat. So I spent some time, standing as close to the fire as I could manage it, saying to the cells in my body "heat is good", talking to the rocks ... saying stuff like "hi, I'm Shirley, I'm your friend" ... and at the same time sending all kinds of good vibes to the little Native American guy (Edmore Green) who was running the sweat... Sending him silent mental messages that said stuff like "please don't kill the white lady" and "I'm not all that white you know, I've got Comanche and Chickasaw ancestors" and "please be kind" etc. etc.

But everybody was really friendly and sweet, so I started to relax a little bit, and decided that maybe I was worrying over nothing. As people showed up, they went around and introduced themselves and shook hands, which really really nice. The lodge itself was like the Taj Mahal of lodges. Nice and big, not real low to the ground, and I took that to be a good sign. The higher the interior of the lodge, the cooler it tends to be, and it looked to me like it was almost shoulder high. The floor of it was covered with carpet, so we wouldn't be sitting on the bare ground which was also nice. And it didn't look like there would be a problem with crickets, grasshoppers, or spiders... another bonus!

So, I was feeling really good about the whole thing when we all piled in. There were so many people we had to sit in a double row, and I ended up in the very back (one of the hottest parts of a lodge), but thankfully I was in the back row, not right up next to where the rocks would be, and there was room to stretch my feet out. The two guys sitting next to me counted the people (27) and then they counted the rocks as they were brought in (28). It didn't occur to me until later what that actually meant... 28 rocks. Big ones too. That last sweat I was at, the one that was so freaking hot I thought I might die was a 24 rock sweat...

OK.. so there I am feeling all confident and comfortable, the rocks are all in, and they drop the door down and it's like pitch dark. That lodge was one well insulated little space! Right away it got hot. Really hot. Then he poured some water on the rocks and said some prayers and started singing poured some more water... within 3 minutes I was about to die. I noticed a little bit of sniffling and coughing... and then one guy started really coughing! He was coughing and gagging and puking. At least that's how it sounded to me.

I was thinking, "Wow!" That guy is really feeling it too. Maybe Edmore will be kind and tone it down a little bit. But no, more water, more steam... It's fricking hot. And the guy that's gagging, and coughing and choking and puking doesn't quit. So, I'm thinking... OK... if he can do it, I can do it. So, I'm sitting there, rocking back and forth talking to myself... it went something like this:

"OMG I can't stand it!"
"Yes, you can. If he can do it you can do it."
"No, I can't."
"Yes, you can. You'll get used to it."
"That guy is going to pass out."
"Well good... then they'll open the door and let some of the heat out."
"I can't stand it! I really can't."
"You have to stand it... you are not leaving until it's over."

Finally, the door is opened, and the first "endurance" is over. I was thinking to myself... OK... there's a reason why they call them endurance's. He did leave the door open for a really long time, long enough for me to get completely cooled off. And I'm thinking, that now it's all going to be alright because now I'm used to it, and obviously Edmore is making sure that whoever it is that's been about to die doesn't actually die... and if this sweat doesn't kill that guy, it's sure as hell not going to kill me.

The second endurance wasn't so bad. It was hot, but not as hot as the first one. I was like patting myself on the back. Feeling pretty good about it. Like I was somehow "tougher" than the Native American dude on the far side of the lodge. I never did figure out who it was that was doing so much coughing. But he did continue to cough through the second round. And at this point, I decided that it had to just be that terrible kind of cough that makes you gag and choke because I never once smelled vomit, and I think it would have been smelling pretty bad in there if he had actually been puking.

When the door opened after the second endurance, Edmore went and got some medicine and passed it around for anyone who was coughing. A really nice way to offer help to the guy having so much trouble while still allowing him to preserve his pride. I don't know what the medicine was... I couldn't see it since it was dark in the lodge... too dark to see anything even with the door open, I think it must have been some sort of herbal chew or something... we passed it around. He also talked about how there was this bad cold stuff going around, and that he had planned for a really hot sweat to break up the congestion and stuff since so many people there had gotten the flu....

Right after that, he passed around a cow horn full of water for us to drink... each person taking a few swallows ... and passing it on... It's a good thing I don't believe in germs. Because I was drinking that water! Every time he passed it around, I had some. That horn went around 2 or 3 times each time the door opened. I kept telling myself... "Shirley, you don't believe in germs." and "That water was blessed." and "Water! Thank you God! I love water!"

So, come the third round and I'm pretty sure I'm going to live through it just fine. Having had my confidence boosted by that milder second round, and by the fact that I had lived through the first one. Then they shut the door... And people are praying, and Edmore is singing, and it's really cool, and sacred, and communal, and hot... really really hot. The prayers go on and on and on and on. The guy with the coughing problem keeps on coughing, he sounds just terrible. And I'm saying to myself. "If he can do it you can do it." Every now and then I start having anxiety, but I just go with it, doing all this self talk, and the whole time I am really deeply appreciating that guy who is having so much trouble. I'm like blessing him and thanking him. If it wasn't for him, it might be way hotter, I might be the one puking and dying... so I'm like LOVING this guy! I feel like he's saving my life in some obscure way.

After what seems like hours ... we finally come to the end of the third round. Just one more round to go. OK... so far so good. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And even though I know that the last round is usually the hardest one, I'm feeling like the worst has got to be over. He's going easy on us because he doesn't actually want to kill anyone, and I've made it this far... and I'm saying to myself "How bad can it get?"

Ha ha.
Don't ever ask yourself that when you are in a sweat lodge filled with Native American men who like a nice hot sweat. Trust me. Just don't.

The first thing I noticed is that the dude that was coughing ... has stopped coughing. Totally stopped. And the lodge gets hotter and hotter and hotter and hotter. I start to feel really anxious, like what if I can't breathe or something. So I open my mouth to take in a nice deep breath... and the air is burning hot. I started to image blisters popping up all over my lungs. So I said "Shut up with that shit." And turned off my mind. And then I tried putting my towel up to cover my head but that only made it worse. Like it stirred up some dormant corner of hell and sent it swirling around me. Ever heard the expression, "fanning the fire?" Well, that's what if felt like if I moved. So I stopped moving, except for my compulsive rocking back and forth, which is keeping me calm and stopping me from clawing my way out through the wall.

Finally, the prayers are completed and Edmore starts singing his shaman songs. And all the while, it's getting hotter and hotter and hotter. And Edmore is singing this song and that song, and dumping more and more water on the rocks, and my head is starting to hurt, and my eyes are burning, and I'm just rocking back and forth doing my silent mantra. Around and around in my head, I was singing my own shaman song. It went something like this:

"Shut the fuck up and open the door!" "You're OK, Shirley. No resistance. The heat is your friend." "I'm dying back here - open the frickin door!" "It's OK... everything is OK... you are OK... no resistance... just relax." "Enough already with the singing! Shut up! Open the fucking door!" "Every thing's going to be OK. Just relax now. Keep breathing." "Who's going to take care of my dog if I'm dead? Huh? Huh? Huh?" "We're almost done. You're not going to die." "Hey, coughing dude... start coughing again... please!" "Be calm. It can't last forever." (Red = hysterical silent screaming) and (Green = tone of voice useful in dealing with lunatics and hysterical children)

Finally, he stops singing, and throws the door open. The heat and the steam goes billowing out the door. I'm toasted. But I made it... then everybody gets out their pipes, and pipes get passed, pipe songs get sung, and I'm just happy to be alive.

The Story of False Face

The story of False Face
as told by Mad Bear Anderson.

I will tell you his story - who he is and how he came to look like that. But he is gone on now, evolved beyond this. These Beings have graduated and gone to a higher world - and they are high, high, high, beyond us. Yet we keep the False Face in this form and we pay honor and respect to it. It reminds us of a lesson far ahead of us - a hard lesson that we have yet to learn.

I call him False face even though that wasn't his name at his time. That was never the name of him or his people but that is how we refer to it. False Face had studied and learned all the basic things in the universe. Then he had prepared and developed himself in all the medicine ways. It took centuries of hard work, but eventually he developed all the spiritual powers known on this Earth. He knew all the ways of the Creator.

One day False Face stood out in a large field looking at the skies and at the mountains in the distance. And he thought to himself: Knowing as I do all the ways of the Creator, all things in this world are possible for me. I now understand how all things are done. Why, if it should be my will, those mountains should have to move.

And then he heard the voice of the Creator whom he knew as the Great Lord of the Universe. The voice said, "Yes, I am the Lord and the mountains are there by my will."

False face paused for a moment. Many times he had heard the voice of the Creator; but now he was thinking only of himself. Speaking aloud, he announced in a powerful voice, "I have come to know the ways of the Lord and I can duplicate them all! I can move these mountains if I wish!"

And the Creator repeated, "Yes, I am the Lord and I can move mountains."

"Not you!" shouted False Face. "I am referring to myself, I am talking about me. Have I developed all this for nothing? Can I do nothing myself? I have learned all the rules of power and creation! Do you still think I am useless without you?"

"You are never without me," the Great Spirit answered in a gentle voice, "for I am always with you."

"But I know all your secrets now," False Face protested. "I know how you do all these things."

"It is because you have come to me," said the Great Spirit.

In spite of all that he had learned, in spite of all his training and wisdom, False Face experienced a rush of great pride and anger, and he shouted at the Creator. "Go away. Leave me alone. I don't need you anymore. I am now powerful and you want to think of me as your little child. I am not your little child anymore. I can do anything that you can do. So just leave me alone."

"Alone?" said the Great Spirit. "There is no alone. How can I leave you? We are one and cannot be apart."

These gentle, loving words only made False Face more angry. It seemed to him, in his anger, that the Lord was discrediting him in spite of all his long efforts and the remarkable knowledge and power that he had attained. It seemed to him that the Great Spirit was still claiming all power for himself.

In his angry state, False Face determined to have a contest with the Lord of the Universe and he challenged Him. "I know you don't want these mountains moved, Lord. But I am going to move them against your will. Then you will see that I am something in my own right. You can pit your power against me if you wish, Lord!"

"I do not pit anything against anything," answered the Lord. "This idea of a contest is a temporary dream. Wake up and come to me now and you will see that nothing is anything in its own right apart from all that is."

But False Face repeated his challenge, "You are trying to take everything away from me, Lord. You cannot take this chance away. Do what you like. Oppose me if you like, but I am going to move these mountains anyway, knowing that you want them where they are, so that it will be clear that it is done by my will alone."

False face waited there in the field, grim and determined, and there was nothing but silence. So he went about the contest. Though he strained with all his might, trying everything that he had learned and developed over the centuries, nothing happened. Nothing at all. There was only a soft breeze, and the mountains stood in the distance as always. he flew into a rage, cursing in a way that cannot be repeated and, when there was only silence, daring the Lord to respond. He called the Great Spirit a fake and a liar, claiming the Creator had pitted his Great Will against him in spite of promising he would not.

Then an idea occurred to him. He would have his contest yet. He shouted at the Lord, daring the Lord to move the mountain while he tried to block Him with his own will as the Lord had done to him. He believed that if the Lord had neutralized his power then he could do the same to Him. But he also believed that the Lord might well want the mountains where they were and would be unwilling to move them. In either case, nothing would happen. He craved to claim victory over the Lord and he felt sure he would win his dare.

He shouted his challenge again. He clenched his fists and squinted his eyes and screamed into the sky; and before he could finish his sentence, he heard a trembling and a rumbling. He spun around to look just as the mountain was coming to his side. That was a mistake, for that caused the mountain to strike his face and break his nose.

And at that the gentle voice of the Great Spirit was heard again. "Now look what we have done to our beloved self. No matter. It is very temporary. We shall now set it right with our collective will, shall we?"

False Face felt a moment of great pain, and then he had a sudden awareness. There was no contest. There had never been any contest. This was another of his countless lessons. But this was the ultimate lesson and he had arranged it - he and His Own Self - so that he could be free from the desire to be a separate, independent something in its own right. So that he could be free from being apart and alone.

-oOo-

Mad Bear went on to say: "Just think what we have to look forward to. After all our learning and development, we are still going to come to that last great contest - that last big hurdle for the powerful ego. Isn't that something? But once you have made that last hurdle, that's it. Then you graduate and go on to a higher level. "

The False Face Society

The False Face Society is the best known of many medicinal societies among the Iroquois. The society is best known for its dramatic wooden masks, the "false faces." The masks are used in healing rituals which invoke spirits and a dream world. Those cured by the society become members. Also, echoing the significance of dreams to the Iroquois, anyone who dreams that they should be a member of the society may join.

The masks are considered to be living and breathing. They are fed with cornmeal 'Mush' and they accept gifts of tobacco as payment for rituals. The design of the masks is somewhat variable, but most share certain features. The masks have long, black, reddish brown, brown, grey or white horse hair. Before the introduction of horses by the Europeans, corn husks and buffalo hair were used. The eyes are deep-set and accented by metal. The noses are bent and crooked. The other facial features are variable. The masks are painted red and black. Most often carry pouches of tobacco on their foreheads and/or nostrils. Basswood is usually used for the masks although other types of wood are sometimes used.

When making a mask, an Iroquois man walks through the woods until he is moved by a spirit to carve a mask from the tree. The spirit inspires the unique elements of the mask's design and the resulting product represents the spirit itself. The masks are carved directly on the tree and only removed when completed. Masks are painted red if they were begun in the morning or black if they were begun in the afternoon. Red masks are thought to be more powerful. Masks with both colors represent spirits with "divided bodies.

The story behind the rituals and the artifacts can be found here: The Story of False Face as told by Mad Bear Anderson.

Mad Bear

I just finished reading a book called "Mad Bear - Spirit, Heailng, and the Sacred in the Life of a Native American Medicine Man" by Doug Boyd. This book has really resonated with me, I'm not entirely sure why, but for some reason reading it has given me a number of significant "aha!" moments. Just last week I was asking the "Master of the Universe" to send me a teacher... I had no idea it would be in the form of this old book, and yet that's exactly what has happened.

Mad Bear was a member of the Bear Clan of the Tuscarora Nation of the Six-Nation Iroquois Confederacy of the United States and Canada. A Native American rights-activist, he was also a medicine man and a leader with great power and influence both among his own people and cross culturally.

This is how Doug Boyd describes him: "Mad Bear did not at all match my image of him. I had never seen anyone quite like him before, yet it seemed very reasonable to me that there should be such a person. His name suited him, or perhaps it was the other way around. Big and round, with short black hair, he was wearing a Hawaiian-print shirt and a wide grin which clamped a tipped cigar between big teeth." Mad Bear is a highly sophisticated, articulate, and skilled Medicine Man who has traveled widely and lived and studied with Druids, Vikings, Tibetans, Hindu yogis, and various aboriginal peoples in Asia and Africa. He has been the catalyst for many healings."

The first story in the book is the legend of "False Face." That story made a huge impact on me, so I thought I'd share it here at shirleytwofeathers. The internet version of the story is a little different than the one posted here, and I think this one is better. I didn't want to muck it up with all this preliminary stuff, so I'm posting it separately. Interested in reading it? Here's a direct link to The Story of False Face as told by Mad Bear