Entering the Silence 4A

 
 Some relief from the pressure of expectations was provided over the next few days, as sweat lodges drew to a close, and altars came together – and Sun Wolf stopped staring at me, allowing my brain to make essential adjustments.  I was thankful for the calm.

Grandfather had made the assignments during the final sweat lodge.  Strikes the Enemy and Moves by Night would place young seedlings of our clan power upon the altars.  They had been nurturing these from the planting of the seeds in August.  Pa’chua was a hard plant to grow and tend to, dying back many times.  No medicine could be gathered from her until the 7th year of her growth.

I heard a prayer offered, “I am grateful.  What is Sacred Law?  Tears nurture me.  They soften my rootedness to old patterns.  I lesson my resistance to new growth.  I am responsible in my co-creation; I am at peace with the Sacred Parents.

Strikes the Enemy and Moves by Night were talking softly, and then I saw one jut his chin towards me…

“She is like the river where it comes near the falls,” Moves by Night said softly.  “The water moves slowly, then…”

Strikes the Enemy nodded, agreeing with the analogy.  So, an image of the water falls down stream, where the others camped filled my mind.  The water always chooses to jump off the cliff to join with the stream below.  It was no accident.

Sun Wolf had been called to make tiponi and now Moves by Night was my guardian.  I looked around.  The entire canyon sported greenery after the monsoon season.  Down by the pond I had played with the crayfish, frogs, and last year I got bit by the rattlesnake.

The impression of my survival had become a matter of curiosity to many, but the valuable significance was an on-going presence in my life.  Here and there, sheltered in the shadows, was the woman who sat with me after the snake bite.  Some of my better daydreams had revealed her since.  The other presence was Kato’ya, the Rainbow Serpent… our clan’s 4th World totem.  A transition into the 5th World was supposed to happen in my lifetime.  Then Nakia would be our totem.

Sun Wolf sat on his blanket by the fire methodically smudging the materials for his tiponi… ancestral dolls.  This was his first year making this type of offering.  Before that he was making feathers, like me.  He was an acknowledged feather paho maker.  He got to start making tiponi after he caught the eaglet and now found himself no longer the expert in his craft.

Still, Sun Wolf was anxious to master the offering that gave him permission to manifest himself in dreams and visions.  His training in the DreamWalk had begun.  Consequently, in these beginning moments, he was all thumbs.

By the time Grandfather Sun was directly over us, I knew how the components upheld the knowledge of our Creation story.  How life changed, and yet was the same.  Humans had moved further and further from these practices, and Grandfather was constantly reminding me, it was as it needed to be, taking me to the Spirit Cliff where we would talk for hours, and he would talk overlapping stories to see how we would return Mother home.  It was hard for me to accept, especially as I watched more and more Natives become entrenched in Christianity and mistrust.  At the time I had opened to societal chaos and did not know that DreamWalking in this life was part of the service I chose.

Now it seemed in memory, a stimulating, pleasant activity, when ideas that created our living life belief system were openly discussed between us… of course, allowing for age relevance in how things were discussed, as I grew.

Sun Wolf had already proven himself worthy.  Soon, his thire clan initiation would begin his feathered shawl.  He was beginning to move differently.  I smiled.  Thoughts of shapeshifting always made me feel good.

The fire was lit, interrupting my daydreaming.  My dad loped up, and slid his clan stick onto the altar, giving evidence to my paternal support.

“ukehi, I am grateful, Guardian of great healing medicine.”

“Today, I see that all events, all experiences, are connected.”

Sun Wolf relaxed somewhat.  “The path I travel, alone and with others, brings me brighter days.”

“I trust my path.  It’s right for me and nothing will harm me as I stand in the light of my sacred truth.”

Strikes the Enemy stood and moved into a fast walk and started toward the tree line.  Moves by Night lightly touched my shoulder and moved quietly behind Strikes the Enemy.

The vision took place on a broad, open sky.  Creation desired it to be so.  As soon as the wolf was in view, the boys drew closer from two directions, looking intensely at the wolf.  Around this circle danced my cousins.  The perimeter was ringed by our ancestors, quietly circling, ready for the moment.  The wolf, in the center, was calming as this moment unfolded.

Three elders emerged from the tree line and approached at a walk.  Sun Wolf glanced around.  It was time.

“Moves by Night,” he called, “do not move!”

“Of course, brother.” The other smiled.

Sun Wolf, stepped forward with Strikes the Enemy and Moves by Night, walking slowly forward to meet the elders.  Observing the ritual, the approaching elders stopped halfway between the boys and the wolf and waited.  Strikes the Enemy and the others carefully walked to a conversational distance.

Beyond the wolf, I could see the puppies where they slowly began emerging.  The mother watched protectively, as did my cousins.

One of the elders began quietly talking with the boys.  They seemed to understand, but I suddenly felt left out.

There followed some slow and precise structuring of communications.  Strikes the Enemy stated that the Elders were curious about the wolf, who appeared to be somewhat tame.

“It’s MoonFire, she feeds them and refers to them as our Clan Mother’s family,” Moves by Night responded.  “She talks to everything… ALL THE TIME.”

The elders smiled and glanced my way.  I turned red, everyone knew that it was only through Coyote, younger brother of Wolf that the original Story of Creation is known.  Our family began with Snake and Coyote.  I could tell from the looks the boys were giving me, that it was hoped that my warrior nature, would control my indignation, as a six-year-old who could not yet comprehend… not everyone knew our stories.

Moves by Night would oversee my daily training soon.  He was the methodical cousin, and he ALWAYS had an opinion.  After all, I thought, the object of his comments was more within my own head than with my cousin.  What a strange realization.

“My Uncle,” he said to the other, “have you news?”  There it was again, the conversation not meant for me.

The wrinkles around the eyes of the elders tightened just a trifle, and his smile hardened.

“I’ll let you know,” he sighed lowly, “I’ll see you in the morning.”  He turned, exposing his back to my cousin with grace, and walked slowly back into the trees.
The wolf did likewise, and my two cousins circled, continuing their respective tasks.