Music to blog too (x)

week 47

Music to blog to

My creative stint appears to be every 3 weeks, when I find myself blogging until the birds are yawning and up early to catch them worms, I listen to a collection of new age music.  So as 'x' is a free card week, I shall give you the list of awesome music I play whilst typing my thoughts for Pagan Blog Project.

• Sacred Spirit. I have had this cd for about 20 years and I have yet to tire of it. Ambient, trancy in places and haunting... you can still buy it from Amazon or other places.  I play this during my tarot readings, spirit work etc.  The YouTube link below is the whole album... some heated comments on this video but I say ignore them and don't get drawn in by YouTrolls and enjoy the journey.

• Nigel Shaw - Requiem.  I met Nigel a few years back when he was performing for his friends, at their handfasting.  I had a chat with him about playing the native american flute and where to get music sheets from... really nice chap and very talented musician.  I really need to check out the rest of his work but Requiem is spine tinglingly good. Opens me up and takes me away. If you're interested, visit the website to purchase the music and other arts.  Nigel Shaw's YouTube channel can be found via the video below.

• Dragonfly Moon - Full Circle.  I met Scott and Susan at Beltane Bash in London a few years go when they were teaching a drumming class and performing. They were also performing at the handfasting that Nigel was (all good friends).  A lovely couple who live on a little Scottish island. Scott and Susan work as Dragonfly Moon and have released a few solo albums too, all of which I own.  My favourite is Full Circle, with Rigatona's daughter being a close second. Scott once said to me that he was taught music classically for 15 years and then spent the next 15 unlearning it.  Both very talented musician and song writers. If you get a chance to see them, do!  Here is a video I compiled with my images, set to two of their songs from Full Circle.  I'm a bit out of touch it seems... just looking on their facebook page and it seems they are no longer performing and aren't together anymore either.  Bummer :(  Reverb

• Peter Nightingale - Last Buffalo. An amazing flute player, he can make a tune out of ANYTHING. I can't find anything online to share. He's on my Facebook friends and travels to the USA a lot to be part of tribal ceremonies. 
• David Maracles - Spirit Flutes. You know those cd's you get at garden centres? The ones with the button, you press and it plays a track of each album displayed... well I got one from Woolworths years ago that I still play often.  Chilled out native Amercian style music. 

There's a few more but they should keep you busy for now.

Universal Great Spirit

week 42

Universal Great Spirit

Why is the great world spirit always referred to as a man? God is a Him. Allah is a Him. Jehovah.. Buddha... Grandfather Great Spirit is a Him. The male is the dominant fatherly spirit, whereas we refer to Mother Earth, Gaia and other nurturing spirits as She. Women have a duality, reflected in for example, Demeter - nurturing and mourning mother. Gives life and takes life in destruction whilst mourning the loss of her daughter Persphonie. It's an interesting way to look at things and it's deep rooted in most cultures, throughout recorded history. I don't know enough to really go in to it, it was a random thought, that found it's way through my fingers as I typed.

My mum gave me the book Black Elk speaks, which I thought was one of those automatic writing accounts from a Native American.  It wasn't. It's a book compiled by a journalist and published in 1932, who spoke with the holy man towards the end of his life. He recounts his memories as a young man living with his tribe, the changes with the forced locations to reservations and the brutal treatment given to them by the American government as their lands were stolen right from under them.  Mostly he talks about his journeying in to the spirit realms and how he became a great leader among his people.  It's not a how-to book, it's a biography, one which I highly recommend. You can read each chapter online via the First People website.

The True Peace
"The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Taka (the Great Spirit), and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is known that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men."

Black Elk - Oglala Sioux


Earth Prayer
Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hear my feeble voice. You lived first, and you are older than all need, older than all prayer. All things belong to you -- the two-legged, the four-legged, the wings of the air, and all green things that live.

"You have set the powers of the four quarters of the earth to cross each other. You have made me cross the good road and road of difficulties, and where they cross, the place is holy. Day in, day out, forevermore, you are the life of things."

Hey! Lean to hear my feeble voice.
At the center of the sacred hoop
You have said that I should make the tree to bloom.
With tears running, O Great Spirit, my Grandfather,
With running eyes I must say
The tree has never bloomed
Here I stand, and the tree is withered.
Again, I recall the great vision you gave me.
It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives.
Nourish it then
That it may leaf
And bloom
And fill with singing birds!
Hear me, that the people may once again
Find the good road
And the shielding tree.

" I think I have told you, but if I have not, you must have understood, that a man who has a vision is not able to use the power of it until after he has performed the vision on earth for the people to see... It was even then only after the heyoka ceremony, in which I performed my dog vision, that I had the power to practice as a medicine man, curing sick people; and many I cured with the power that came through me. Of course it was not I who cured. It was the power from the outer world, and the visions and ceremonies had only made me like a hole through which the power could come to the two-leggeds. If I thought that I was doing it myself, the hole would close up and no power could come through. Then everything I could do would be foolish..."

Revealing this, they walk.
A sacred herb -- revealing it, they walk.
Revealing this, they walk.
The sacred life of bison -- revealing it, they walk.
Revealing this, they walk.
A sacred eagle feather -- revealing it, they walk.
Revealing this, they walk.
The eagle and the bison -- like relatives they walk.

"The Six Grandfathers have placed in this world many things, all of which should be happy. Every little thing is sent for something, and in that thing there should be happiness and the power to make happy. Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus we should do, for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the World."

Black Elk - Oglala Sioux

It would appear that there are many cultures who do believe in a great spirit, a creator, a Universal being that resides at the centre of the Universe and in our hearts and minds.  Isn't it strange that so many peoples, have the same idea? And that idea is personified in male human form. I wrote in one of my first blogs about the All. About our connection to the Universe and standing there and feeling it in the world around us.  Those are hard feelings to put in to words and I'm not sure I can succeed in doing so. Besides, those would be my feelings about my perception of the Universe. It's different for each person.  Instead, I shall leave you with some inspirational images.

Remember my Truth and Trust blog. Don't be one of those people who tell others their path is wrong.

We are only here for a blink of an eye. Live. Laugh. Love.

Pow Wow

week 31

Out of the list of prompts, this one jumped out. I've only ever been to one pow wow in 2006 and that was a lovely weekend, with lots of colour, dancing and creative people. I enjoyed it. I keep meaning to go to another but haven't done yet.  Is it pagan? No, not really, well not this one anyway. I should imagine like morris dancers, most of this lot were Christian.  If 'pagan' is the umbrella term for anyone who doesn't believe in one god, then are Native American's pagan?  The revere the Great Spirit. They revere nature spirits... so by definition, they aren't pagan as they have the one great spirit... pah! Pigeonholes and pedantics ... who cares?!  I don't lol.

My friend Fred told me about a pow wow at the Bison farm not far from Stonehenge. I love Native American things and went along for the weekend.  I'm not sure what I was expecting but what I found was special.  People, normal people, dressing up in traditional ceremonial dance costumes and taking part in traditional Native American grass and fan dancing.  Everyone was invited to join in, regardless of dress. And those little steps really tire you out!  Fantastic drumming and I don't mean some out of rhythm bongos or African drums, these were proper pow wow Indian dance drums. The sound was very intoxicating and I found myself trancing out at times, which is what they are supposed to do, tap into that part of you, and take you away with the beat and lead you into ecstatic dance.

The bison farm, farms bison for the meat market. Bison is a very low fat meat, dense and really tasty, there was owls and other animals there too. Anyway... the pow wow.  Feathers, tassles, coloured beads (not plastic ones either!), big elaborate costumes. No one was pretending to be an indian, which I was afraid of, but they were dressed up in the dance outfits and honouring the Dance. I've since watched Treme and seen the 'indians' that do Mardis Gras - each area has a tribe and they make huge colourful outfits, play music and dance their territories. There are many animals and birds that do this display for territory and mating purposes, so to me, this is no different.  They did it for fun though and I was envious of the efforts that had gone into these outfits.

Also there were some licensed traders of Native American crafts. Kind of like fair trade but for the tribes, you can only sell genuine crafts if you have a license.  I bought a bone, horn and glass bead Mohawk bracelet, a cedar seed and blue bead necklace and some porcupine quills.  It was at the pow wow where I met Blue Deer who made flutes. I commissioned him to make me a bog oak flute with turquoise inlay. These are all happy memories that I have just recalled after finding these pictures on my computer. I have 50,000+ images, all memories waiting to be revisited.  Here's a selection of images I took... enjoy.

My friend Fred

ever look at someone and see their totem? Guess what his is .. 

She bangs her drum

and hollers some more

Stomps about

The circle is hers

She twists and twirls and

Dances the dance of the demented

She stops to breathe, scents of nature

Bangs her staff on the ground

The earths dull thud, thud, thud

She hollers again and dances some more

Twisting, turning and spinning around

The dance of the demented

(by me, about... me?)

Owl

Week 29

OWL

Animal and human spirit guides come and go depending on where you are on your journey through life and what you need at that time.  One of the animals that seems to be working with me at the moment is owl, specifically Barn Owls.  When you are drawn to something over and over again, you have to stop and wonder why.  So I dug out my *medicine cards and read up on Owl.

Owl is 'deception'. Associated with clairvoyance, astral projection and magic (dark/light), owl sees what is really there and cannot be deceived.  A deadly hunter that flies silently, thanks to it's amazing feathers that literally absorb sound. Their prey really don't know what's coming until it hits them.

Owl has always been associated with wisdom and you must remember the little clockwork owl in Clash of the Titans.  Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and her owl is said to have revealed unseen truths to her and lit up her dark side so she could truly see all around.  You know about their impressive head rotation, they really do see all the way around.  If you can see it all, you can be furnished with the whole truth and speak the whole truth.  This scares people apparently as you can see through people's ulterior motives and call them out on them.

The card says that* "if you've pulled the Owl card, you are being asked to use your powers of keen, silent observation to intuit some life situation.  Owl is befriending you and aiding you in seeing the total truth. Owl can bring you messages in the night through dreams or meditation. Pay attention to the signals and omens. The Truth always brings further enlightenment."  Going on my current situation, I can certainly see why Owl is around.

Interestingly, Native American stories, which these Medicine cards are based on, have contradicting views on Owls. Owl is a harrbringer of death, so to see or hear one means there will be a death.  So I had a look into this a bit more and found a really interesting article on it.  America is a big place and there were many Indian nations, most share the same viewpoint about owls - they were either feared or embraced.

Read this great article by someone who's gleamed this knowledge from many tribal elders over the years.

I found the remains of a barn owl in 2010 in the woods. I have two wings and a foot that I have been storing, ready to turn into a smudge fan and other craft tools, for my use.  Maybe Owl is reminding me to get a move on with it, four years is long enough to dry out.

Kyle is an amazing wildlife photographer, check his website out