#sawlodge

~Jolaoso Pretty Thunder

i give you

ebb and flood

fistfuls of harvest

at the junction

of the seasons

lark in the tangled

meadow shows

your eyes, hands

a ridge, gullies

our bodies are painted

we are ashborn

and are returning

back to magma flow

back to stars

i will rest here

and am close

dove sunset

a song there

Copyright © Jolaoso Pretty Thunder 2015. All Rights Reserved. 

~Brittany Jade

   As we cross through this Autumn Equinox, we remember that traditionally, this is the time of year that human beings take time to honor and connect back with those members of our families and communities who are no longer physically with us. 

     Although some of us may be more involved than others in specific daily Spiritual practices we can all relate to the need to honor those who brought us into being by coming before us. When we set aside a small portion of our most prized morsels of food, drink and incense before partaking this is a way to show our Ancestors how we remember that their bite comes first.

    Favorable times for making offerings to our Ancestors are during the sunset hours, waning/dark phases of the moon as well as the "waning" time of year (Fall turning into Winter).

   Different specific practices are incorporated into making Ancestor offerings depending on the traditions of that area of Earth. When putting out a 'Spirit plate' a wide range of foods typical to that region are offered in a small sized yet full portion of food served on ceramic, wood, or leaf.

    There are many many variations of foods, drinks and other offerings according to the tradition. However, most Indigenous traditions seem to stay in keeping with the belief that it is always most effective to offer goods that were particular favorites of your Ancestors. If Grandma Clara always had butterscotch candies in her purse perhaps, she would enjoy another taste now. If Aunt Mary loved her coffee black then serve her up a tiny cup. Even including that after meal smoke for John-Marc could be thoughtful. 

   This offering is always placed on the ground and preferably at the base of a special tree or place designated for your offerings. When you have placed the Ancestor plate (or leaf) on the ground, take a moment to pray for those benevolent Ancestors who came before you. Even our younger friends, children, and siblings who have passed on before us become our Ancestors and stand by our side. Pray in whatever ways work best for you: chanting, singing, words, silence, tears, or laughter . . . all prayers are heard when they are born of gratitude. Children can particularly enjoy laying down the offering. As our Children and Elders are generally closer to the world of the Ancestors, it is appropriate for them to be the messengers.

    The practice of setting aside an offering for Ancestors is a practice which can be easily integrated into our daily lives and a powerful prayer to share with our loved ones (and self) during this season. Human beings have been experiencing this way to feel tangibly in touch with their relatives who have passed on for at least thousands of years.

     And, after all . . . if we forget to pray for our Ancestors, they may very well forget to pray for us.

Sweet Circle of Life

she passed to the other side

through the door of a small cave

when she returned to this life

she was smiling and said,

it is sweet sweet

death is not to be feared, no

it is a part of life’s circle

a song we must dance to fully

no fear on our earth journey

our walk around moon and sun

Historically, in the states of Michoacán, Oaxaca, Puebla and San Luis Potosí,  Día De Los Muertos has always been one of Mexico’s traditional holidays. A two-day celebration which honors ancestors and reunites them with their family and friends. Though most families begin planning for this celebration early in October, it takes place on November 1 and 2.   It is form of ceremony where the living commune with the dead – during the time when the curtain between the worlds is lifted and the bright and beautiful offerings of the living beckon the spirits back from Mictlán (the indigenous name for the place of the dead). The historical roots of this celebration date back to the pre-Spanish cultures of Meso-America of the indigenous people, especially the Nahua (Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecas, Tlaxcaltec, Chichimec, Tecpanec) and others native to Mexico.  The custom of honoring the dead at this time and in these ways has survived five centuries of colonization.

Families’ and individuals build altars and spiritual shrines dedicated to those who have gone on before them to the Other Side, that place of many names and many explanations but only those who have gone on before us really know .  .  .  These altars and shrines are decorated with cempasúchil and wool flowers, calla lilies, babies breath and lavender orchids are also used to adorn them in some parts of Mexico however the most traditional flower associated with the day is the cemapsúchil.  Those of us who celebrate in the US mainly use marigolds to create our home altars.

Food, drink and other personal offerings the ancestors may have favored in their life before moving on are also offered. The traditional pan de muertos, or bread of the dead is offered and the calaveras or sugar skulls are especially favored for the children’s offerings given on November 1 “Día de los Angelitos (Day of the Little Angels). November 2 is for the adults and referred to as Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).  The elaborate food offerings prepared can include anything the ancestors may have loved to eat during their time on earth.  Tamales, mole, arroz, frijoles, tortillas, atole, fruit, coffee, sweets, alcoholic beverages, even cigarettes or tobacco.  There are home altars, and in some towns public altars and of course the altars at the cemeteries. The other items on the altars or shrines represent or are representative of the four cardinal directions and four elements.

Día de los Muertos is also a devotional celebration of the continuous cycle of life.   On November 1 and 2 the cemeteries  and actually some entire towns like Oaxaca, are dressed up for this special celebration of life and death.  

 Our ancestors tried to teach us that there should be no fear of something that is so integral to living. Death is inevitable and we must wake everyday in gratitude for another day of life.  However, with the Colonization came Christianity and the notions of limbo, purgatory, and hell.  The fear of death shouldn’t have been inculcated along with their ideas of the life cycle because after all their own Christ died and rose from the cave where he was buried. But we have decided not to focus on what Día de los Muertos isn’t because there is so much we could say on that subject such as the gross cultural appropriation of yet another Indigenous ceremonial celebration by the Disney’s and the Corporate octopuses of the world, who’d market their own momma’s if it would net them a big profit.   But enough said about that.

Día de los Muertos is not a sad or mournful occasion it is a time to celebrate our ancestors whose shoulders we stand on, our survival, and our lives. Que Viva La Vida!

The Editor

~Sharon Elliott

(passages)

basket

made of reeds and straw

straps of tanned goat hide

sits on the ground

in front of the door

waiting

 the first day

a child

opens the door

peeks outside

sees the basket

squeals with delight

pours into it

pebbles

shells

sticks

shiny foil hearts

a doll’s head

pieces of ribbon

sea glass

paper with her name

awkward letters printed in pencil

 the next day

a young woman opens the door

eyes the basket with trepidation

sees what the child has left

retreats into the house

brings back her journal

bound in blue paper

places it tenderly inside the basket

turns to leave

looks back once

closes the door

 the next day

a mother opens the door

looks askance at the basket

drums her fingers on the doorframe

puts inside a rabbit fur

tucks her infant in

coos a song

weeps

picks up her infant

puts it down again

tucked into the basket

retreats

tears dripping down her cheeks

 the next day

a middle-aged woman

with long flowing salt and pepper hair

opens the door with a bang

spies the basket

clicks her tongue behind her teeth

wails a greeting to what is inside

puts into it her heart

her pen

her hope

her fear

her crazy made up song of lament and healing

her soul flops over in her chest

flutters a greeting

tells her to go back inside

 the next day

an old woman creaks the door open

bent

walking tenuously on the weathered porch

her rheumy eyes

look around

coming to rest on the basket

she smiles

a glee wells up inside her

she shuffles over

picks up the basket

thinking it will be heavy

it is light as a feather

weighty as her whole life

she straps it to her back

picks up her walking stick

looks toward the moon

sets forth walking

on the silver path illuminated there

heart full of compassion

she does not look back

 Copyright © 2012 Sharon Elliott. All Rights Reserved.

Oya is one of the greatest sorceresses of the Yoruba pantheon and has close ties to the ancestors. She is guardian, or gatekeeper of the cemetery, and is said to be the only Orisha who is not afraid to face Iku – death.  The wind in all its manifestations, and air, even in its form of, “our last breath,” is said to belong to Oya.  As does the clash of cool and hot air, which produces the fire of the lightening, this is seen before the thunderclap.  As female warrior she represents the courage to face and manage instant and sometimes devastating change. She embodies the alpha female quality of fierce strength combined with the wherewithal and intelligence to find nonviolent solutions to problems.  Those with her energy are strong, assertive, courageous, independent and always willing to take risks especially to help others.

In her earthly incarnation she was called Iyansan, mother of nine, though it is said that before she birthed her nine children she had problems with fertility and because of this, she went to consult the sacred Ifa Oracle.  She was instructed through Orunmila, to do ebo and advised of the proper remedy to take in order to have children. 

She is the master of change and as such is attributed with having the ability to shape shift whenever necessary.  She is the patron of the marketplace and the up and down nature of the wheel of fortune and the winning and losing of fortunes.  She is invoked in times of serious illness and when change is needed.  It is however important to be specific as to the rapidity with which one would like to see that change happen because violent change can be very unsettling – to say the least.

One of her totems is the African buffalo, and her attributes include copper items, buffalo horns, bones, machetes, and masks.  Oya’s colors are vibrant and varied; she likes purples, maroons, deep oranges, reds, and fabrics with multicolored patterns reminiscent of the varied flowers brought to the cemetery.  Offerings include eggplant, dark grapes, pomegranates, plums, akara, bean fritters, and red wine.  Her number is nine.

~Rachael ‘Spatula’ Hendrichen

Many cultures throughout time have recognized the season of fall as a time when nature transitions toward the death and stillness of winter.  It is this time where we may also feel more connected to and aware of things around and within us that we are ready to take an honest look at and put to rest.  In ancient Chinese culture, the wisdom of ‘science’ was based on the experiences of humanity at its best and worst.  The worst or most troubling afflictions a person may endure, were considered ghostly behaviors.  Ghosts and even demons were created by humans who lost their lives in the midst of great suffering, and continued to wander still unsettled, suffering and confused.  During the time when the Chinese government employed many astrologers, they took great measures after a battle to do large rituals that would put the spirits of the warriors whose lives were lost to rest.

 In the modern day, more than perhaps ever before, the transitions from life to death are not recognized or properly honored. Suffering that remains unexpressed and unresolved before death is common in our society.  If we take a moment to consider that in helping and caring for life, we also must help and care for death, we can become empowered to do what we can for those around us and to help our own ancestors find resolution. We are all connected and are all ancestors to each other.  By acknowledging our role and responsibility in assisting death, and resolving ghostly behaviors within us, we can come full circle and resolve karmic repetitive patterns.    

 Often we are taught to think that ghosts are terrifying, powerful, evil, and strong.  According to ancient Chinese thought, ghosts are confused and weak, and often linger near their blood relatives (as the sense of smell and hearing are the only remnants senses they have left).  Perhaps they came into being because of a slow painful death through some addiction, suicide, trauma, dying away from home, or any other suffering. Their confusion would lend to the idea that they then haunt their relatives, to repeat the same pattern that lead to their own death.  By influencing family members toward the same demise, they get stronger and can turn into demons (ghosts that are even more confused).  

 The best thing we can do to help our lineage is to be honest with ourselves about our own behaviors.  We may even have a clear idea as to what destructive patterns we may have inherited or we may have yet to discover it.  As ghosts are weak, we can think of addictions as weak – where doing something once might not kill you (having a drink or a cigarette), doing something a million times might land you reluctantly in your grave.  It is weakness, not strength, that sneaks in and convinces us just do it one more time (over and over again).   By looking at these patterns as ghostly behavior, we can separate them from who we really are, and let them go.  

 We might all recognize those places in life where we are unable to learn from experience.  Ghostly patterns can feel compelling; an urge to participate in something we may know full well will not work out well for us.  Engaging in abusive relationships, harming ourselves, binging on substances or experiences, and then going back for more – are patterns that we must find the strength to become aware of and free ourselves from. We can do this knowing that it is not just for ourselves, but also for our ancestors and our children.

 Creating a ritual, and making offerings of incense, food, flowers, mantras, and prayers, can help us transition out of ghostly patterns and into a higher respect for ourselves.  Dedicating a time in the day to serve and help others creates positivity that ghosts do not enjoy being around.  Taking your blood back to your ancestral homeland and making an offering can also help put these patterns to rest.   We all come from many place and many traditions, although I am not Chinese, I find this understanding, as taught to me by my teacher Liu Ming, to be helpful and wise.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or advice on this subject, as it is part of my healing practice to help with the transitions between the seen and the unseen world.  [email protected]

~Darasia Selby

On September 23 the Sun moves into airy Libra, bringing us into a new season with the Equinox, when day and night are perfectly balanced as we prepare for longer nights and shorter days (in the Northern Hemisphere; our family in the Southern Hemisphere experiences the opposite effect).

This time of year is the season of the ancestors, a time of going within with gratitude for the bountiful harvest.  The holidays of this season -- Halloween, All Souls Day, the Day of the Dead, Ghede Parties in Haitian Vodou -- all point to the shadowy energy of this time.  As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer we face the darkness within and without to discover what is lurking beneath the surface.

The Sun is in the sign of Libra but in the constellation of grounded and detail-oriented Virgo, bringing a more stable and steady energy to this Libran month.  As an Air sign, Libra's focus is on relationships and communication and, being ruled by Venus (femininity, attraction, and beauty), relationships and communication is refined. Libra is relationship-oriented, preferring to focus on the needs of "the other" before the needs of "the self."   In Libra, confrontation is avoided at all costs, for better or for worse.   Librans strive for balance, objectivity, and are able to see sides of coin that don't even exist to most people!  Libras greatest lesson for humanity is non-judgmental, unconditional love and its greatest need is clarity and decisiveness.

In Libra, with a Virgo influence, we focus on the particular way we approach our relationships with others.  How would you evaluate your relationships?  Are they healthy, balanced, and reciprocal?  Being too headstrong and aggressive doesn't lead to healthy relationships but being a doormat isn't a viable option either.  The key is balance -- in how you treat others and how others treat you. 

For all of Libra's refined communication, this month presents some challenges with communication.  We begin the month with Mercury in Retrograde in Libra, where it will remain until October 9.  Mercury, the planet of communication, will appear to be going backward and thus communication tends to be confusing and chaotic.  Along with this, we have Mars, the planet of drive and aggression, entering Libra on September 24. The decisive energy that Libra needs is more than available with this Mars placement but the goal is to be decisive without being aggressive in speech.  Putting honey on the tongue is a helpful way to bring sweetness to your words, especially for you hot fire signs! 

On September 25, Pluto goes Direct in Capricorn after a period of retrograde movement (seemingly moving backwards). Pluto eliminates all that is unnecessary and outdated and, in Capricorn, Pluto tears down institutions and traditions that no longer serve humanity.  In our personal lives, Pluto pushes us outside of our comfort zones, particularly in our careers and work lives.  This is a time to dream big...and Pluto is in this placement for another 8 years so you have ample time to use this energy for your benefit!

On September 28, we have a Full Super Moon in a lunar eclipse, in fiery and independent Aries. Lunar eclipses call us to embrace the shadow, repressed side of ourselves and, in Aries, we are called to draw upon our warrior nature.  This is a perfect balance to Libra, where we look out for both our needs and the needs of others.

For women, this time is especially important as our energy is naturally aligned with the Moon and Her cycles.  Take time for yourself.  Walk on the earth.  Charge your crystals and other spiritual items.  Do a ritual that honors yourself and your Divine Feminine.  A ritual can be as simple as lighting a candle. meditating, and affirming yourself.

On October 11, Jupiter in Virgo combines with Pluto in Capricorn to create a powerful energy to manifest goals and dreams into tangible realities. This is particularly powerful because on October 12, the Moon returns to newness in Libra.  New Moons are a time for introspection and going within to tap into our own power.  New Moons are also an excellent time to add power to your intentions and goals. Creating a vision board is the powerful tool to empower your intentions.  I remember doing creating a vision board for the New Year and by the following year, almost everything I envisioned had manifested!  Spirit makes the impossible possible.

 Additional Information for this Libra month:

Chakra: heart (and sacral)

Colors: blue, pink, green, orange

Herbs/Plants: burdock, thyme, angelica

Planet: Venus

Scents/Oils: jasmine, rose

Stones: citrine, chrysophase, and rose quartz

Tarot: The Empress, Queen of Swords

 "the lesson of the falling leaves

the leaves believe such letting go is love

such love is faith

such faith is grace

such grace is god

i agree with the leaves"

- Lucille Clifton

Article is Copyright © 2015 Darasia Selby.  All Rights Reserved.

~Odilia Galván Rodríguez

cool wind at sunrise

loosed the light fog from dark claws

undressing the day

danced dreams-visioning

chokecherry flesh blossoming

thick the tree of life

  humble offerings

our prayers twisted tight

flown in multi-colors

  day undressed  

sun merciless

on the altar   of our flesh

© 2015 Odilia Galván Rodríguez. All Rights Reserved.