The Four Sisters of Everlasting Beauty – January 2023

From Shaman's Circle, 1996, by Nancy Wood

The Four Sisters of Everlasting Beauty danced on a mountaintop 
      in order to summon fire from deep within the earth. They 
      danced until flames poured from within veins in the rock, 
      cleansing them of selfishness and blame. The First Sister

Was the Dancing Woman of Mirth, whose direction was East. She wore 
      yellow, the color of awakening moments. She brought laughter,
      the first necessity in a world of sadness. The First Sister said:
      The spirit of laughter is the same as wind or water. It soothes

The troubled earth and makes hard edges disappear, even in the face of 
      sorrow. The Second Sister was the Woman of Long Experience, 
      whose direction was South. She wore blue, the color of memory. 
      She brought the imprint of fossils, also a collection of bones, the

Second necessity in a world filled with self-importance and envy. The 
      Second Sister said: The spirit of fossils and bones is the same as
      long memory, a connection to the ancestors. It reminds the sick of health

And to the healthy gives warning of their mortality. The Third Sister
      was the Woman of Unfulfilled Dreams, whose direction was West.
      She wore red, the color of purpose and daring. She brought tears,
      the third necessity in times when cleansing is required. The Third Sister

Said: The Spirit of weeping is nothing more than human rain, shed for loss 
      as well as love, and for children we never had. The unfulfilled
      dreams of warriors and women, of birds taken from the nest, and of 
      animals denied their place in life, justify my gift of tears.

The Fourth Sister was the Retreating Woman of Consciousness, whose 
      direction was North. She wore white,
      the color of beginning anew. She brought awareness, the fourth necessity 
      in a world of schemes and invention. The Fourth Sister said:
      Honor yourself before all else and you will embrace
      all life. All direction. All stars. All light.

And the other Three Sisters agreed.

The Shortest Day/The Longest Day – June 2022

From Shaman’s Circle, 1996, by Nancy Wood

 

December 21

O sun, the father of us all, maker of ripe flowers, creator

of fat corn, return this day to our part of the shrinking sky.

Your journey to the south is now complete and we pray to you

to remember the drear, dark days of winter caught between

Your strong fingers struggling to release the earth from sleep. In this

long gasp of icy silence, all creatures find renewal, a pale hope

That spring will not forget to come this year, nor will birds forget to lay eggs

heavy with the yolk of generation.

 

June 21

Now the earth lies panting in the rich blood of summer, and you are content,

O sun, father of full orchards and the restlessness of elk. We observe

Your deep shadows and hear the laughter of leaves green with continuity,

but we are not deceived by the smoothness of our ripe landscape.

Even the longest day contains the seeds of winter and on the wind we hear

the song that icicles sing to stay awake. The longest day is merely

A pause between the places where our lives are lived, and in its fullness

we dance for the right of bumblebees to gather distant honey.

Feather – May 2022

From Shaman’s Circle, 1996, by Nancy Wood

 

The bluebird and I were friends, the kind that depend on one another

to reaffirm life’s patterns and to embrace the cleansing wind.

He awakened me with a song each morning and in his voice I recognized

his wider experience of rising above difficulty to reach

The purity of clouds and wind and sun. In my garden I offered him

water and seed and acceptance, never knowing if he understood

My simple gifts were meant to praise him. Then one day upon the ground

I noticed a single bluebird feather. What deeper gift can a bird

Give than what enables him to fly? Or to sing the song of his creation

to me, forever rooted to the ground?

The Path – January 2020

From Shaman’s Circle, 1996, by Nancy Wood

 

Whatever you become, my child, may it be rooted in grace.

Whatever your path through life,

may it offer you steepness and rough places, so that you do not become

complacent. Nothing is owed to you, but everything is available to you,

 

Even the decision to do nothing and to travel nowhere.

It’s up to you to decide

whether to follow the wisdom of our ancestors, or to pursue

the cheap solutions of the world. Your courage will arise

 

If you call it by name, just as love will find its way into your heart, in time.

My child, I cannot shoulder your mistakes

in order to keep you free from pain,

but I can open your eyes to beauty, if you will only take the time.

Joined – December 2019

From Shaman’s Circle, 1996, by Nancy Wood

 

Our connection to nature is nothing more

than a deep conversation,

like that between two related stones or trees,

an expanding bond of kinship

that sharpens perceptions and catches

sunlight devouring ice on streams,

a refrain of winter’s resistance

To the unconditional surrender of spring.

 

Who knows the meaning behind a conversation

between two partners of the soul,

so perfectly joined that they seem as natural

as veins on leaves? Our connection

to nature is a magical cord that offers solace,

granting us witness to the birth of stars.