The Cursed “Cow Tongue” of Colorado

Odd story today from out of Colorado.  A cow tongue was found wrapped in plastic and tied with nylon cord.  After the Fuzz called in the bomb squad (in a cornfield! LOL!) to check out said package, and identified it as non-bomb like, it was unwrapped.  Evidently they found a cow tongue inside, with sutures that closed a cavity with some paper with writing in Spanish, different types of pepper (chili?), and a photograph (presumably of a person).  This is definitely one of those “news of the weird” type things.

Although I think this is rather silly news, I can imagine that the farmer probably feels somewhat freaked out.  I was “witched” by a Navajo neighbor one time in the past, not a good feeling.  I had no idea, however, that the “terrerists” were now intent on wreaking havoc on America’s cornfields!  Dear gods!  When will those monsters draw the line!  Is nothing sacred!!!

You can read more about the story here.

Beware the Cursed Cow Tongue of Longmont!!!

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Faery Seership Journals: Entry 2

Well I finally did it.  After months of preparation, work and dedication I have completed my first performance of the Seven Stage Visionary Process from the Tree of Enchantment.  Getting to the point where I felt comfortable doing it, and then performing it, proved to be one of the better magical experiences of my life.  I decided to make a two day experience out of it and felt a need to be alone.  One of my most important mentors told me once that experiences with the Fair Folk are greatly enhanced when you are alone.  They are much more prone to making their presence known.

For the location I choose a remote spot on Pikes Peak, dominated by springs,high altitude marsh, and coniferous forest.  From my experience the genius loci of Pikes Peak concentrates in this valley.  It is a place where it feels respectful to be quiet, is gorgeous to the eyes and senses, and is somewhat intimidating.  To be honest there are times that I genuinely feel like the spirit of the place is looking right into my soul.  Although powerful, the valley is intimidating; like a mentor or guru that sees things about you instantly, things you would rather ignore.  Despite those feelings I feel closer to myself, and to the Truth when I am there.  I figured it was the perfect place for my first full foray into Faery Seership.  I packed for two days and one night, outfitting myself with my Mega Bug tent (I highly recommend it for it’s light weight and it’s ability to be rock solid in high wind), some good simple foods: apples, pre-cooked rice, packets of soy sauce (I get them from the sushi section at King Soopers) and some hazelnuts for offerings.

Flicker Feather

My wife dropped me off at the trail head, gave me a brief blessing and hug, and off I went.  Just after I crested the first rise and disappeared from the view of the road, I stopped dead in my tracks.  Sticking straight up out of the middle of the trail was a Flicker feather!  I have never seen a feather with the point buried in the ground when I am our on a hike before, ever.  I felt like it was a way the spirits of the place where telling me to pay attention.  I picked it up, and from the moment I did to the moment I left the next day, I felt like I was being watched the entire time, it still gives me chills.  The hike up was gorgeous and I found a delicious patch of wild strawberry on the way up.  Yum.

The valley itself is filled with spruce, pine, fir, and aspen.  And the wildflowers!  There were marsh marigolds, elephant heads, shooting stars, indian paintbrush, daisy, dandelions, and a many others that I could not identify.  When you first enter the valley there is a large stone that has a chair shaped basin in it’s midst.  For me, it simply radiates croí.  I took my shoes and socks off before I entered the valley and approached the Stone Chair.  There is just something about the Stone Chair.  I am sure many of you have similiar places in nature that make you feel “different” as well.  After some prayers and silence, I found a place to camp near the edge of the forest.  I felt great.

I spent the rest of the afternoon marveling at the wildflowers, following elk track, and generally exploring the secret places.  I felt a sense of reverent silence the entire time.  It felt almost blasphemous to make noise.  This also made me somewhat nervous, however, as the valley is known for Black Bear and Mountain Lion, I really did not want to surprise a large carnivore!  But I simply could not bring myself to do anything but be as quiet as possible.  I did find a leg bone of an elk that had quite obviously been cracked open by either a bear or lion for the marrow.  Funny how even the remote possibility of running into a wild carnivore makes you well, alert. 

I set the time for the ceremony that night at midnight, timing it solely by the position of the Moon (which was Full) being directly overhead.  So after exploring I went back to my tent and took a short nap.  I woke up to the sounds of something rather large moving through the forest.  I am not sure what it was (most likely Elk) but it was yet another reminder of the  vulnerability that comes with solitude in the wild.

When the Sun began to go down the feel of the valley changed.  I had never been there at night before, and I was amazed at how alone I felt.  For some reason I began to feel like I had camped in the wrong spot.  At first I chalked it up to being alone and a little scared, but the feeling kept growing.  After the Sun had disappeared from view I began to feel a sense of panic that I must move the campsite.  So I packed up my stuff and moved to the lip of the valley to a flat spot in a small grove of Ponderosa Pine.  I felt instantly and substantively better.  I am still not sure where the feeling came from but I have learned to trust my instincts on these “feelings”.

The Moon came up not long after the Sun had fully set and I ate dinner away from my campsite on top of a massive boulder that overlooks the Great Plains to the east, breathtaking.  I always make it a point to eat a good distance from where I plan to sleep when I am in bear country.  After dinner I did some journaling, the Faery Well, and then rested in the tent as the Moon climbed higher and higher.  This was the first time I had done a ceremony, on my own, at night, out in BFE.  I will be honest, I got more and more freaked out the higher the Moon rose.  I had decided earlier in the day that I would perform the Seven Stages at the Stone Chair.  Thoughts of fear just flooded through me, “I am out here alone with the bears and mountain lions, about to perform a magic ceremony at midnight under the Full Moon.  Am I totally crazy or what?!”  But I had prepared for this for months!  I knew I would have felt like a total failure if I did all that prep work, hiked all the way up there, and then chickened out!  I had to stay the course and do it.

When the Moon was directly overhead I gathered up my ceremonial items and headed down to the Stone Chair.  I was scared out of my mind.  Every hair on my body was standing tall and screaming for me to turn around.  But at the same time I felt totally present, totally alive.  I made it to the Stone Chair, set up, and started.  In the interests of personal privacy I will not go into the experiences of the ceremony itself, but suffice it to say I did make contact, and by the end of the ceremony my fear was gone. GONE.  I felt totally secure afterward, and totally at peace.  I was amazed that I could walk into that valley feeling one way, and leave feeling the exact opposite.  One thing I learned, the opposite of fear is not courage, it is peace.  A bolt of my clan tartan was like a talisman through the whole rite and will be a regular addition to my material repertoire when dealing with the Fair Folk.

I left the next day feeling humbled and centered.  On the hike down I found another feather on the trail!  This time a Stellers Jay feather, deep rich blue with fierce stripes of black.  It fit with the communication I had during the ceremony so perfectly that it was spooky.  All in all, a great experience from start to finish.  My next Seven Stage Ceremonies will be done in the park near my house to get more familiar with the techniques.  When I feel like I have reached a greater level of comfort with it I plan on another solo backpack and ceremony in the Fall.  This time behind the peak near a massive stone pinnacle.

Bald Eagle Ceremony in Colorado Goes Awry

This in one case where a lot of good intentions came together in a bad way.  Back on June 4th of this year, the body of a bald eagle was found in a park in Boulder, Colorado.  The eagle’s body was believed to be the result of poaching with the feathers and talons subsequently sold on the black market.  Evidently, this follows a recent trend of poaching bald eagle parts all over the country where the feathers and talons can fetch a high price.  As it turns out, however, this was not the reason for the animals death or mutilation.

As it turns out, a Navajo man, Darrell Pino, had received the body of the eagle from the National Eagle Repository near Denver for use in a ceremony.  Pino had gone through years of paperwork to obtain the animal for use in religious ceremony.  The animal was found by a hiker on the ground near a trail.  The hiker reported the find to the Colorado Division of Wildlife.  Although Pino had wrapped the body of the eagle in a red blanket and placed it inside a sacred tree, it is unclear how the animal ended up on the ground.  My guess is that the red of the blanket may have stood out and someone climbed up there to see what it was, found a dead animal, freaked, and left it on the ground after it fell.  After playing by the rules and jumping through all the proper red tape, Pino was understandably upset:

Pino performed a series of ceremonies over months honoring the eagle and preserving tail feathers and talons for other ritual uses. He then wrapped the eagle’s body in red cloth and placed it in a sacred tree in a ceremony held in May with Lakota elder Lee Plenty Wolf.

“When it first came out, it saddened my heart,” Pino said. “It’s only an animal to you, but to us it’s a relative . . . a direct link to our ancestors — a message to the Creator. This relative was brought down from the tree in a very bad way. I hope that at some point in time, our religion will be respected.”

Although I understand Pino’s frustration and genuine sadness over this event, I do not think that was a case of willful disrespect.  The fault here, in my opinion, lies with communication between the DOW and the National Eagle Repository.  Lets hope that the Colorado Division of Wildlife contacts the National Eagle Repository in the future in such cases.  I also think that Pino needs to be more careful with where he places the body of his birds if he intends on doing the ceremony again sometime in the future.  People simply do not think of Native American ceremonial practices as a first explanation when coming across the body of a mutilated bald eagle.  I never would have myself, although I will in the future.  I am more in line with Myron on this:

Myron Pourier, a tribal official with the Oglala Sioux, or Lakota, of South Dakota, said it isn’t the larger community’s fault it is ignorant of native culture.

“It’s our job in the Lakota nation to educate people about our way,” Pourier said.

To desecrate the grave of a bald eagle is like going to a Christian graveyard and defacing a tombstone, he said.

I am, based unfortunately on past experiences, very careful as to what I leave lying around and pick my ceremonial sites very carefully.  Hopefully this was a good lesson learned all around.

Book Review: The Faery Teachings by Orion Foxwood

The Faery Teachings by Orion Foxwood

I can definitely report that “The Faery Teachings” has been a rich and enjoyable read.  Although touted as an “introduction” to Faery Seership, it does not read or provide as an introductory book.  The amount of knowledge and experience really shines through.  The overview of Faery Seership is broad but very compelling, giving the reader a palpable sense of what the possibilities, dangers, challenges, and gifts that accompany any serious practice of this rich tradition.

The cosmological overview of the Faery Seer’s world is especially intense and full of many possibilities of meaning.  Orion gives the reader a good sense of the meaning of the Three Realms of Celtic lore, Land (talamh), Sea (muir), and Sky (neamh).  The author talks in more detail about what the Three Realms are like, the spirits that indwell them, and more importantly how they are worked with.  The book has a very direct way of talking about the function of the Fair Folk in our world and how we can develop a relationship with them.  Orion does not archetype the Faery Realm to death, and offers a refreshing viewpoint on the reality of other realms of being.  In an excellent chapter on the paths between our world and the Faery Realms he says:

These paths begin in the inner world and lead outward, only to lead inward again.  They feed life essence outward to sustain our world and carry experience inward.  As long as they are active, life will continue in our world.  Should they ever close, it will be the end of life as we know it.  So, for those foolish humans who think that the Faery have died and the hidden paths closed because humanity has strayed away from their role in keeping the roads open and honoring the Faery ones, think twice.  The paths are open, only not to us on a personal level.  They can be again if we commit to re-energize them and seek the deeper companionship of the Elder race.

The author leads the reader through the many different types of Faery beings, and how contact is recognized and strengthened with them.  I found myself absolutely amazed at the depth of meaning and knowledge that this tradition holds.  The author provides some very effective exercises and methods for opening to contact with the Faery realms and the Land itself.  After working with these exercises for a few weeks I can attest to their efficacy on a personal level.  They work.

The author does an excellent job of explaining the use “an da shealladh” or the “Second Sight”.  The role of Second Sight in Faery Seership is paramount and all of the exercises of Faery Seership are designed to enhance it.  He says:

The “sight’ is the primary means by which the seer sees.  It is the mechanism for communication with beings that live in a a stratum of life that is not composed of the base elements that give form, depth, structure, solidity, and substance as we know it. . . Some people are born with it through genetic inheritance, others acquire it through strange life experiences that usually involve trauma or contact with the spirit world and others develop it through training and discipline.

The book is simply a must read for those who plan on pursuing Faery Seership, or for anyone interested in the Faery realms and the beings that dwell there.  Be prepared, this is a rich and very informative read!

Colorado Just Got a Little Wilder

Good news over the past few days about two endangered species here in Colorado.

The first report is about a Wolverine tracked entering the northern border of the state on June 1st.  Although there have been unconfirmed sightings before, this is the first confirmed report of a Wolverine in over 90 years here in Colorado!  But here is the interesting part for me.  If there is a remnant population of Wolverines still extant in the Southern Rockies it is quite possible that the radio collared male may find himself a mate and actually breed.  If this were to happen then the Colorado Wildlife Commission (a body basically owned by ranchers, farmers and wool growers) may have their hand forced to implement some kind of re-introduction program.  I will be watching this story with keen interest, and promise to keep you all updated.  Predators like the Wolverine form important foundations to the ecosystem, and seeing as they are endangered through a large percentage of their former range, Colorado could make an ideal place for recovery.

The second piece of good news has to do with the ongoing Colorado Lynx Re-Introduction Program started in 1996.  The past few years have seen a fall in the snowshoe hare population in Colorado, but this year could be different.  The Colorado Division of Wildlife has confirmed finding two litters of Lynx kittens totaling 10 new kits!  This is great news for the Lynx Re-Introduction program here.  Not only are these births good in and of themselves but these kittens are the first born to parents that were born in Colorado not in Canada.  Could it be the population is starting to take hold?  Looks like!

Faery Seership Journals: Entry 1

I am blessed to live on a sacred land
Walking a sacred path
From a sacred origin
To a sacred destination

The above prayer/poem (is there a difference?) came to me after performing a Faery Seership exercise in the park near my home.  It is an exercise called the Faery Well that is designed to help the newbie Faery Seer connect more intimately with the land.  It is similar in purpose to the smudging done by Native Americans, just different in technique.  I have had some amazing success with this technique.  It has a very palpable effect on my mind and seems to make me feel more comfortable in harsher weather conditions.  Weird, eh?  Weird but true.  After performing the Faery Well regularly for about a month I had this prayer come to me right after I was done.  I was feeling incredibly open and youthful, and walking on a small game trail that runs through the hills near my home.  These feelings of euphoria were at their most intense when this prayer simply leapt to my lips.  Saying it out loud lead to a feeling of all consuming gratitude for the Faery Seership path, my ancestors, and nature.

Along with this practice I have been working more with my ancestors.  I now have an area on the west side of my home that holds an ancestral altar.  A place that is specifically designated as an interface point between us.  I work with it once a day and have found it to be an invaluable practice.  I have seen more and more that our ancestors are intimately connected with our day to day lives and have been there for me more than I realized.  Working with them in a more conscious way has lead to a plethora of intense emotions and experiences.  I have found, however, that this work can be uncomfortable.  You start to find skeletons in the family closets that have to be faced, dealt with, but ultimately learned from.  When you face uncomfortable facts about your family, you face uncomfortable facts about yourself.  There is no way around it.  But along the way you find riches and gifts that you have access to and become more conscious of.

Ancestral work has been some of the most rewarding work I have yet done.

My last area of focus has been a small succession of waterfalls in the creek behind my house.  I have been making regular visits to this place and use some of the Faery Seer exercises I have learned from both The Tree of Enchantment and The Faery Teachings.  Not only has my connection with this place deepened it actually feels and looks physically bigger to me.  I am not sure quite how to explain this, but it is like stepping into a vast cathedral of leaf, branch, root, and vine.  I feel smaller when I enter, but more connected.  Some of my trance work has yielded brief images but the majority of experiences have been auditory (the water sounds, well, weird) and emotional (intense feelings of euphoria and gratitude).  These waterfalls are starting to feel more and more like a doorway for me into a deeper connection with “the sacred land” and myself.  Very excited!

World on Fire

I wish I knew how to write this and not sound like an alarmist. I wish I knew how to convey to you all, my fellow pagani, how deeply concerned I am about one issue above all others.

Global warming.

For the past few years I have been slowly researching this issue, weighing the facts, listening to those who are convinced that it is happening, and those who are convinced it is not. I keep my eye on Scientific American, the media, blogs, documentaries, and read some books on the subject. I personally am convinced that global climate change is very real and that the collective actions of humanity are the cause. The knowledge of this is truly starting to keep me up at night.

Native American Sacred Sites: Part III

The last native sacred site that I wish to discuss involves the Hopi tribe of Arizona. A site that, sadly, no longer exists. The Hopi tribe once surrounded their homeland with a series of shrines that aid in communion with the Creator and their kachina allies. The documentary speaks about one of the these shrines literally getting bulldozed in an asphalt mining operation. Since some of these Hopi shrines are now on privately owned land the Hopi have no say over the fate of these shrines. Although they did communicate their concern to the landowner, their pleas fell on the deaf ears that only profits create.

What strikes me as so sad about the destruction of these sacred places is the different value that our “free-market” culture places on the Land. “Raping the land” has become a cliche, but what is a cliche but a succinct truth? The Hopi have been the victims of our never-ending thirst for new resources to exploit, as have many other cultures and of coarse, working class people from all over.

Paganism, and Druidism in particular arises at this time in history for a purpose. That purpose is to help all of humanity learn to value the land in a different way. The heart-felt, unshakable knowledge that the Land is a goddess and the ultimate source of our life; this revelation turns our values towards the welfare of the community and the needs of the Land, not towards a world rampant with the coldness of social Darwinism and individualism at all cost.

One of the most mind blowing books that I have ever read is “The Book of the Hopi” by Frank Waters. I highly recommend it to all pagans and Celts that I meet and respect. The essence of the traditional Hopi worldview is one of voluntary hardship. The traditional Hopi view sees hardship as a continual purification that keeps us healthy in spirit. The Hopi must rely on their prayers for rain, rain to water their crops, crops to feed their families, and families to keep the Hopi alive to see the next dawn. This reliance on ceremony is meant to keep them thankful to their Creator by honoring the Land that sustains them.

Our corporate culture sees the Land in a manner that amounts to suicide. Could it be that Pagans, Druids, Witches, etc. are individuals who hold some of the greatest hope for the future? I like to think so. But are we up to the challenge?

Native American Sacred Sites: Part I

Having recently watched an excellent documentary called “In the Light of Reverence: Protecting America’s Sacred Land“, as well as past experience with Ute, Hopi, and Apache sacred land here in Colorado, I wanted to share some personal insights into this *very* complex issue.

I think foremost that it is important for all pagans to remember that we were not in this land first. One of the most disappointing scenes in the film is when they interview a new-age woman who claims that she has as much right to access a spring sacred to the Wintu tribe because “she was once a Native American” in a past life. She then goes on to list the various cultures that she has been a part of in past lives. What angered me about this point off view, is that it is based on a colonial attitude towards other cultures that says, “Hey I can do what I want to any cultural site because I was one of them in a past life.” A ridiculous and arrogant point of view, in my opinion.

The Wintu have been doing ceremony at this particular spring for thousands of years. They were almost wiped out during the California Gold Rush. When the government payed white folk $5 for each Indian head they brought in, effectively reducing their numbers from 12,000 at time of contact to around 400+.  After malaria, head hunting, and a “friendship feast” hosted by white folk in which the food was poisoned it is no wonder that this tribe is small. One of the current members of the Wintu asks a very good and tearful question. “There are a lot of other springs on this mountain, why can’t those people”, referring to Rainbow Gathering members, New-Agers, and Neo-Pagans, “go to one of them?” Indeed, why not?

The Wintu fought a proposed ski-resort that would have effected the spring, and won. In fact, they usually leave the place alone. To many Native tribes it is considered important to leave these sacred places alone. Leaving a place alone is considered a form of respect. The spring, however, is given very little time to be alone, as it’s sacred history has made it a mecca for neo-pagans, and “new-agers” of various ilk. This, in my opinion, is a continuation of cultural genocide on the Wintu. I do *not* think that cultural oppression is the intention of other folk who come to the spring and do ceremony, but ignorance on the impact that it has on Wintu.

I believe it is very important for pagans today to be respectful of these ancient sacred places. For one, the tribe to whom it is sacred has been interacting with that place for thousands of years, they know it and it’s spirits well, very well. To pop on in, do a meditation and think that you know the place fully is, I think, misguided. I look forward to any comments that you may have on this topic. Part II will focus on Devil’s Tower and the Lakota.

Colorado Druids

I have been spending some time recently helping to develop a new volunteer organization, comprised entirely of pagans, for natural restoration work here in Colorado. The idea is to get many pagans of different traditions together to volunteer for outdoor wilderness restoration, beautification, and preservation. All in the name of a more engaged pagan community that represents itself in other ways that just weird outfits, public ritual, and heavy black eye shadow! Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with those things!

Our intent is to simply get pagans outside working with the Forest Service, and other environmental organizations. We are hoping that this will help put a different face on the pagan community, one that shows our commitment to the environment, as well as to the community at large.

How will we identify ourselves as pagans? Very simply. Each volunteer will wear a dark green t-shirt with these emblems:

We chose the term “Druid” because it is a familiar term to most people, and it is often associated with “green attitudes”. The large image goes on the back of the shirt, while the small emblem (the twisted up dude) goes on the front of the shirt. We chose the slogan, “Polytheism with Purpose” instead of “Paganism with Purpose” because most people know what the term “polytheism” means, whereas “paganism” is used in many different ways, with multiple meanings.

I am interested to hear if others have done something similar in their area, whether it is for environmental causes or something else. Does anyone have any suggestions?