When I was about five years old, I received a very special gift from my mother’s father, my grandfather: a small turquoise and silver ring. I can’t remember the occasion for the gift, or any specific circumstances around receiving it,
Cherokee
Alchemy & the Divine Masculine
As I walked through the dense forest on this crisp, cold winter afternoon, I came upon his tiny cottage. Unlike our houses ~ even our remote, rural houses ~ his cottage was not built along the edge of a road
From My Grandmother
Child, look back into your history, into your roots, and you will see a time when life was simple. Less comfortable, yes, but as we weren’t attached to being comfortable as you are today, it wasn’t so much of a
To My Cherokee Great Grandmother
Beloved Great Grandmother, I come to you today with an offering, and it’s the only offering I can give you with my fullness and truth: my broken heart. I know that you will receive it with tenderness and care, and
Weeping for the World
“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” ~ Chief Seattle Today I wept for
Beyond the Door
Come with me into an image, come with your courage and heart, and with your tears and your outrage. Look with me into the north central US, to the bitter cold of winter. In a circle stands a group of
Owl Medicine: Balance & Respect
One of the things that I find to be a perpetual journey in this modern world is finding ways to live in balance. Balance between external focus and inner work, balance between the human world and nature, balance between the
What are the Munay-Ki Rites?
The Munay – Ki Rites are inspired by the Rites of the Shaman’s Path of the Q’ero Nation, the descendants of the Inka, the indigenous people of the holy mountains of the Andes in Peru. Munay – Ki comes from
Ritual
“A ceremony with a good ritual eases the relationship between God and man.” Julieta Casimiro, Mazatec, Huautla de Jimenez, Mexico I recently gathered with a small group of women around a fire, and after offering a series of fragrant herbs
Sunshine Medicine
Today, as the lingering rain clouds drifted away, sunshine began to emerge and the bare branches on the trees behind the house began to shine. The bamboo was glistening in the brightest green, and I finally edged my way out