"Grandson", he spoke with a heavy heart, "the winters are too long and cold, the summers too short and hot. The rains no longer come in their time."
"When I was young, like you, these hills were covered in tall grass," my Grampa Pena indicated, hands waving waist high."Wild flowers were everywhere."
Stunned, I looked about the surrounding terrain, now a semi-arid desert along the San Juan River of Southern Colorado.
"It's this way because nobody cares for the Earth anymore. There is no one to call Her awake in the spring, dance Her dance of celebration in the summer, or sing her to sleep in the fall. Nobody dreams the dreams of the Earth Mother in the winter anymore."
"Yes sir," he continued, speaking in his throaty, staccato though fluent English, "like a mother, who gives everything to her children, but they spit on her, beat her and steal from her, that mother, she's just gonna pull away after a while, with nothing left to give." The old man curled the extended fingers of his left hand into a ball and jerked his fist backwards to emphasize the wisdom he spoke.
"In your day Grandson, it will get much, much, worse."
Then my mentor, an honorable man of 101 years, arms extended, began a shuffling movement forward and back, first to the east, then to the south, west, north, turning to face east once again, arms reaching to enclose a circle which was next drawn into his heart, hands dropping then to his sides.
"Grandson," he humbly spoke, "this is the dance to call the Earth Mother alive. I am giving it to you. You gotta carry this dance out there to those people."
The Earth calls out in urgent need. In our time we are bearing witness to the disintegration of the seasons and weather patterns. The very fabric of our societies and our families is falling apart. Ravaged by strange diseases, chronic viral infections, our health is deteriorating.
Things have, as my Grampa Pena warned, gotten "much, much worse."
As individuals of conscious self-determination, we have a responsibility to respond to this crisis. Respond, not with anguish and despair, but rather in a manner of empowerment of our life expressions which enable appreciation, joy, celebration, of our wonderful life in union with our Earth Mother.
And, as self-determined communities of conscious peoples, we must join together our hearts in song, dance, and appreciation, that our singular efforts, collectively enjoined, might send a shock wave of love and healing forth into the very heart of our Mother.
The alternative of paralytic complacency is to dishonor our own ability to determine the unfoldment of the continuance of life itself upon this planet.
There is no nobler commitment of our spiritual and social resources than to communicate, unequivocally, to the Earth and all her creatures, that we do care, and are willing to powerfully demonstrate this in a dedication to the renewal of our Mother's life.
The Earth Renewal Ceremonial, passed into my caretakership by my predecessor, Juan Pena, provides just such a means of expression.
Earth Renewal is a ceremonial comprised of interactive elements. Intent is primary amongst these. And our intent is nothing less than the healing and regeneration of the Earth.
You, my friend, and I, we are the Earth. The condition of the Earth is dependent upon our state-of-being. As well, our condition is predicated upon the state-of-being of the Earth. Where we, as humans, are filled with thoughts of distress and depravation, there the Earth will express our turmoil as ravaging storms, tornadoes, torrents of rain or drought. When we are joyous and co-operative, the weather is respondent to the needs of the land.
Where the Earth is suffering from rape, pillage and disdain, we as the human race, experience societal numbness and grief. The Earth, when held in a state of appreciation and honor, evokes our highest creative unfoldment, materially as well as spiritually.
Therefore, to heal the Earth is to heal ourselves; to heal ourselves we must heal the Earth.
"CLOAK OF WATER
CLOAK OF FIRE
CLOAK OF AIR
CLOAK OF EARTH
WE BRING YOU BIRTH...
"WATER FLOWING
FIRE BURNING
AIR BLOWING
EARTH GROWING
WE BRING YOU BIRTH..."
As we sing the song of Earth Renewal, our attention is placed upon each element and its manifest presence in our world. This provides a thought-structure which the power (i.e. life force) of the Earth Mother can express through into manifestation, that is, birth.
The song itself is sung in support of those who are dancing. Four radial arms of dancers are formed, each arm radiating from the central dance pole (or "Yupa") towards each of the cardinal directions marked by a flag of appropriate color.
It is here that the dancers move in the shuffling manner which Grampa Pena showed me. With 3 short steps forward and 2 strides back, the dancers present themselves to each of the four directions, then drawing the power of each back to their central station, building within themselves the counter-balanced forces of those directions, finally gathering it together with a sweep of the arms and releasing it to the Earth as hands drop to the sides in conclusion.
Each group of the four radial arms dances in succession to the accompaniment of the singers, who are awaiting their turn to dance.
Throughout the ceremony, drummers keep a lively beat around a large reverberant drum placed, in relationship to the Yupa, and at the dance circle's perimeter, in the position of the rising sun.
As the dancers dance in their clockwise direction, embodying Earth, the drummers keep the rhythmic heartbeat of our Sun.
In addition, those honored ladies who are in their moon-time dance counter clockwise around the circle of Earth dancers. These women embody Moon, it's cleansing and empowering presence, thereby being honored and integrated into the ceremonial.
Central to the ceremonial, and placed in the center of the ceremonial grounds, is the Yupa, the Sacred Tree of Life.
The Yupa is comprised of two structures, the upright pole and the hoop.
Seven notches are carved into the body of the tree by the men who have received it from the forest. These notches represent the seven "stars-within", the notched pole also being an archaic ladder, used ceremonially to climb the seven levels of consciousness.
A hoop constructed of thirteen willows woven together and braced with cross members, making a four-directionally dissected circle, represents the plane of earthly life. The creation of this hoop is brought forth by the women who will be dancing.
Representing the masculine and feminine principles, the two structures are joined together in an act of cosmic union.
To this are tied ribbons. Denoting the attributes of each direction, red is tied to the east, green to the south, indigo in the west, and white in the north. Golden yellow ribbon is affixed atop the pole, representing the sun, as blue is wrapped around the tree below the hoop to honor Earth Mother. Later, a red ribbon is tied above the notches to evoke the presence of Eagle Brother, considered the progenitor and protector of these Shamanic Ways.
Around this central pole the dancers dance to the directions. When all four groups, each positioned in their respective directions, have completed four rounds of dancing, it is said that they have danced the Universe. A Universe is viewed as one-fourth of a completed ceremony.
The Earth Renewal Ceremony now begins to reveal its balance and harmony with Creation through an interpretation of its mathematical precision.
Through repeated and dedicated dancing of this ceremonial, we participate in a journey of our spirits' progression, laid out as a map embodied within the dynamics of the Earth Renewal.
There are 7 notches, each representing a shift in consciousness. There are 13 "stairs" in each level, represented by the 13 willows in the hoop, or cycles in one solar year. 7x13= 91.
Bringing expression to these 91 "steps" of spiritual evolvement through our dancing, we find: 91 Knowledges in the East; 91 lessons of life, South; 91 deaths, or surrenders of spiritually contrary beliefs and practices, West; and 91 wisdoms of the North. 91 x 4 directions = 364.
Having completed this full cycle, we become integrated and singular, that is, the tree, itself. 364+1=365.
However, this movement is done as but one of four completed cycles. Thus we add only 1/4 per Universe.
365+1/4 = 365 1/4
It becomes clear now that the Earth Renewal Ceremony, built upon all its constituent parts, is a map giving guidance to life lived in harmony with the sacred dance of our Sun, Moon, and Earth!
The vision and wisdom of our Grandfathers and Grandmothers shows itself to have a depth and expansiveness which the members of contemporary society would do well to pay attention to.
It is not enough, however, to sit back in our intellectual armchairs and applaud their gift to us. This gift, to be fulfilled, must be received, honored, and, most of all, participated in.
It is only through our commitment in action that our vision of a healthier, safer, more abundant personal life and planet will come to bear fruit.
Let us join together, as Grampa Pena intended, to call the Earth awake! Dance in Celebration! Sing her to sleep! Dream the dreams of our Earth Mother!