Sky Yeager
Shamanic Practitioner - Usui Reiki Master - MariEL Reiki Medicine
You can now listen to a podcast recording of my latest article below And find more episodes on Spotify |
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You can now listen to a podcast recording of my latest article below And find more episodes on Spotify |
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In the last two articles we’ve looked at creating and participating in ceremony in our personal practice and in our community. We’ve seen how that weaves together to both anchor our intentions and radiate them into the collective energy field. We can also create these ceremonies in partnership with the spirits of the land. It is also a community ceremony but this focuses on co-creating with the nature spirits and devas. The first thing to do in planning this kind of ceremony is to get permission from the land, the genius loci, which can be thought of as the Spirit of the land and all the spirits and beings who live there. We can receive this with our intuitive knowing senses, or we can use divining methods like shamanic journey, or using our pendulum or muscle testing to get yes or no answers. If we get a no, we must respect that. Perhaps the timing is not right or maybe nature has something else in mind. Once we get permission, we also need to think about the purpose. Ceremonies for gratitude and love for the earth and nature spirits are usually always welcomed. Balancing or tending ceremonies may be called for in an area that has been stressed by human causes as in logging, mining, industrial agriculture, or even forest fires. For areas that have been polluted by toxins or that feel heavy from invasive energies we may want to focus on clearing and tending ceremonies. Things to keep in mind when we co-create in nature are choosing materials that are easily compostable and that also will not introduce invasive species in wild areas. If we want to bring rose petals and herbs from our garden to use in the ceremony, remove any seeds and seed pods that could introduce non native species to the area. Also we will want to cook those on a shallow baking tray at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. This will kill any insect eggs or fungus that may be beneficial in our garden space, but could upset an ecosystem balance in wild areas. When possible, creating with materials that we find already in the area is ideal, and becomes part of the ceremony itself. Again find a way to receive permission from them and to thank them because that is also part of the ceremony. Stones and shells who want to take part in mandalas or cairns may be in your path or seem to catch your eye with a glow or sparkle. Sometimes we can feel the willingness of every being in an area to participate. Living only an hour away from the coast now, I often feel called to create ceremonies there to honor and bless the ocean and all the beings in that region. Sometimes it’s small and personal where I stand in the tide and offer prayers of gratitude and love with a bit of sacred tobacco or flower petals. Sometimes a group of us are called together to drum and sing and offer tending for the renewed health and vitality of the ocean and the beaches. Occasionally my ceremonialist friends Gayle and Roger and I get a call to create a mandala at certain beaches. These are so much fun and usually done with materials found right there. It is a good exercise in being open to the feelings and energies of the nature beings in the area to tune into what they want. Much of the focus is on Mama Ocean, but each stone, shell, kelp frond and feather have their own energy, and there are a myriad of fae and elemental beings in the area to consider and include. Afterwards, we love that the tide rises over it and takes the energy and prayers and distributes them to exactly where they need to go. Most of us have probably come across cairns in our travels hiking. These are stones that are stacked one upon another to create a small tower or mound. I remember first seeing these on a family vacation hiking a mountain in Vermont. My brother and I were very young and we delighted in adding stones to them and creating new ones. I’m sure I asked my parents about them but my memory from so long ago is hazy, they might have told us that some were trail markers. Maybe some are, but much of the time they feel like sacred play to me. The stone and nature beings call to us to interact and create with them, and whether done with a light childlike joy or a purposeful intention, the result is creation of partnership and alignment. An important thing to keep in mind is that many of our interactions with nature can be done ceremonially with our intentions. Collecting wild herbs, firewood, stones or shells can be done ceremonially with respect and gratitude and reciprocated by a gift of a song or strand of our hair. Even when we are out hiking and we need to go off trail to share our urine, we ask the earth to receive our water as a blessing. Where there is reverence, there is ceremony. Whatever the intention of our ceremony was, afterwards we may get a feeling of peace that settles over us and the area. But sometimes we may also get a larger sign that our ceremony or blessing was accepted, like an eagle flying overhead or a butterfly landing in the area. If we don’t receive any feelings or signs, that is okay too. We do these ceremonies as much for ourselves as for the nature spirits. And who knows what wonderful things nature does with the energy that we create together? Mandala on Oregon coast for Mama Ocean and all the coastal nature beings
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MissionTo help you tend to soul issues that may manifest in physical, emotional, mental or spiritual aspects of your life, and to give you tools to empower your path to harmony and well-being. Categories
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Links-There are so many kindred spirits doing the work out there. I include these links to help our community connect with one another.
FAIRY CONGRESS - Offers a summer weekend gathering in person with workshops, circles and of course faeries and nature beings! They also offer a winter virtual weekend with amazing guest speakers like Orion Foxwood, David Spangler and R.J. Stewart. I highly recommend joining the online network to participate in monthly workshops, circles, and book clubs. https://fairycongress.com/ SACRED HOOP Magazine Guide to Shamanism Compilation- http://www.sacredhoop.org/Pages/FreeGuide.html Owner Valeria Pearson lovingly created SOLE TO SOUL YOGA studio with a community focus. There are classes for all levels and events that lift the spirit. I am grateful to be able to hold circles and events in her studio. https://www.soletosoulyogaoregon.com/ My friend and herbalist mentor, LAWRENCE BIRCH is a Certified Clinical Herbalist, plant whisperer and shamanic practitioner. If you need custom tincture blends or are interested in a wildcrafting apprenticeship, he is the teacher extraordinaire: http://givingtreefarm.com/ ROGER WHEELOCK and GAYLE RUTH are shamanic practitioners and teachers in the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition. https://www.rainmother.com/ I am grateful to be able to take part in ceremony with them, and to support their love for the Peruvian people through the World Ayni Association. Roger has a practice in Asheville, NC https://www.communityshaman.com/ NEW WORLD KIRTAN = Kitzie's podcasts include interviews with artists and kirtan music. I love attending her weekly Satsang group and the New World Kirtan Band concerts - newworldkirtan.com/ NOTE!
None of the writing on this website was generated by AI and are all my original thoughts except what what I have included as references from others.
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Want to keep in touch? Every month I send an email with my latest article. I also have updates about workshop offerings and community events. I never sell or share your information and I will never abuse the privilege of being allowed into your mailbox.
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