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.
Shaman’s Circle
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.