Song Of Each New Sun Excerpt from the book, Songs of Bleeding With honor I greet this new day Great Mystery, I thank you for all of my gifts MotherEarth, I thank you for the honor of sleeping and walking on your breast Brother Sun, I thank you for returning your warmth and light this day Sister of the South, I thank you for the beauty and laughter you bring today Sister of the West, I thank you for the dreams and visions of the night Sister of the North, I thank you for the lessons and teachings you bring today Sister of the East, I thank you for the inspiration of my being here today Grandmothers, I thank you for your guidance as you speak through my womb cycle today All My Relations, I honor your presence in this world we share together I give only kindness and love to all that I meet today Song of the Blood Lodge Excerpt from the book, Songs of Bleeding In ancient times, the women's Bleeding Lodge was a structure set apart from the rest of the community where women would go to dream and communicate with the Ancestors when they were bleeding. Since life follows the cycles of the Earth and Moon, activities of our Ancient Ancestors also closely followed the cycles of the earth and Moon. The women all cycled together, ovulating at the full moon and bleeding at the new moon. When women started to bleed, they left their homes and families to go to the sacred introspective space of the Bleeding Lodge. The Lodge was honored and respected by the entire community, for the dreams and visions of the bleeding women brought vital survival information such as planting and healing knowledge and guidance on community relations. When there were questions that needed to be answered, the women would go to the Lodge and ask the Ancestors. All questions were always answered by the Ancient Ancestors. The entire community benefited through the powerful gifts of the women's bleeding cycle. Since our Ancient Grandmothers probably all bled together, many women shared the Womb Lodge at one time. Ceremonies to honor our womb cycles, celebrate the cycles of the Earth and Moon, and rites of passage were developed by these women from visions and dreams during their bleeding times in the Sacred Lodge. These traditions were passed down in the initiatory rites of the Blood Lodge from mother to daughter. As our current culture has separated us so far from honoring the cycles of the earth and Moon, these ancient women's rites have become almost forgotten. But, as we granddaughters of these ancient women dream during our bleeding cycles, fragments of their powerful honoring and healing ceremonies fill our spirits. We know that there is a wisdom within our wombs that is our birthright. The spirits of the Ancient Ones have returned to teach us the ways of honoring and healing the Earth. It is no coincidence that these Grandmothers are feeding our dreams at this time when the Earth is in dire need of the healing ceremonies of the Blood Lodges. We must return to the old ceremonies of honoring if we want to heal ourselves and our planet. The answers to our survival questions will come through the Blood Lodges. During our bleeding times, our Grandmothers can help us remember ancient ceremonies, wisdom and rites of passage. We must remember to ask, and they will teach us. The Ancient Ancestors know all the answers and they will help us remember everything we need to know, just as they have helped our Ancestors. Our Blood Lodges today are not usually a particular physical place but more an attitude of community that occurs whenever women come together in any Sacred Space to honor and celebrate our bleeding cycle. So, we make our womb-space wherever we meet...a spare room in someone's house, in the basement of a local church or YWCA, or any private outdoor place where women can be safe and uninterrupted. The Bleeding lodge is when women come together to celebrate the ancient ceremonies of honoring our bleeding cycles, communicate with the Ancestors, share our gifts and pass the women's wisdom on to our daughters. The Lodge reminds us that we live within the cycles of the Earth and Moon. When we honor our cycles, we honor the cycles of life. When we honor our wombs, we honor the Great Mother. Remembering and recreating these ancient ceremonies will bring right relation to all Children of Earth. Perhaps, eventually, Bleeding Lodges will once again become respected women's places in our communities. Morning Ceremony Excerpt from Chapter 4 of the book, All Our Relations Every morning Joe and I wake up and greet the light of Grandfather Sun as the new day begins. We hurry to get dressed and run outside. Our dog Willow follows us with her tail wagging. We can't wait to say 'good morning' to All of Our Relations. The Stone People smile under our feet as Joe and I gently walk over them on our way through the garden. We say hello to these Grandmothers and Grandfathers. We know that the stones are our oldest ancestors for they have been here since MotherEarth was formed. I am happy this morning to see the flowers sharing their beautiful colors and fragrant smells with everyone. The bees buzz gratefully and the little butterflies dance around the blossoms, greeting this day in their own ways. I pick a small daisy and tie it into my hair before going on. Sprouts are coming up everywhere in the garden. Row after row of little green leaves reach through the soil to greet the sunlight. Sunshine will make the sprouts shoot up quickly and soon little flowers will appear and grow into vegetables. Before long, we will be filling our baskets with the blessings of our garden, gifts to us from MotherEarth and FatherSky. Joe and I stand barefoot in the garden, feeling the soil squish between our toes. Under our feet, we can feel MotherEarth's heartbeat. We reach our hands up to the sky and we can feel the golden energy of FatherSky. We know that this is magic. Big, fluffy clouds roll by overhead. As we watch, they change shapes. I see a dragon and a turtle in the clouds. Another cloud looks like a smiling chubby face. Joe points to a wispy cloud that looks like a bird taking off. On the hills far away, we can see little clouds of fog still clinging to the treetops. Along the garden's edge, the spiders weave their webs in the tall grass. The many patterns of the spider's webs tell us all the stories of the Earth. The sun's light shines on tiny beads of dew that have collected overnight on the webs and they sparkle. As Joe and I watch the spiders weaving in the grass, we think about all of the things we want to do today. A fly flies by and gets caught in one of the webs. This spider has breakfast. Will we achieve everything we set out to do this day? We know that each and every one of Our Relations are special and we share our love with them through the sparkle in our eyes. Joe and I know that today is a gift to treasure. We are grateful for our family and all of the gifts we have to share. We laugh and play and enjoy the day until the darkness of night and Grandmother Moon calls us inside to dream again. Exercise: Dance of the Winged Ones Excerpt from Chapter 9 of the book, All Our Relations Gather a circle of friends together or do this dance to honor the Winged Ones by yourself. Either way, it's a lot of fun! The dance is done in a clockwise direction around a circle (move to your left). You can dance in your yarn circle after the Morning Ceremony or just imagine a circle on the ground to dance around. Someone can drum or rattle while the dancers 'fly' around the circle. Think about each Winged One when you dance their dance and thank them for being here to brighten up our world. In the first round, flap your wings and fly like Crow circling overhead. Sing the crow's song, Caw...Caw. Answer each other's caws like crows talking to each other as they fly through the Sky. The second time around the circle, spread big turkey wings and fluff up those long feathers. Fly little short hops like Turkey who stays close to the ground. Can you also gobble like Turkey? In the third round, you are Owl flying through the dark night. Open your eyes wide and spread your wings far. Fly silently with fluffy, soft feathers like Owl soaring through the night. Now, you are Hummingbird. Use your hands to make tiny hummingbird wings. Move your little wings fast, faster, and faster still until they are moving so fast you can hardly see them. Dance in small circles like Hummingbird flying around the flowers. Stop sometimes to poke your long beak down into the flowers to drink the sweet nectar. Circle around as Hawk this time. Spread your majestic wings and glide through the air, searching for a tasty treat on the ground. Look around with clear vision and see things happening far away. Can you make a long whistle like Hawk? Now, dance around the circle as your favorite Winged One. You could fly like Robin, stopping to dig up earthworms with his beak. You could perch and coo like Dove. You could even be Eagle, the highest of flyers. If you are dancing with your friends, each person can take a turn naming a Winged One and showing the others how that bird flies. Everyone can follow, dancing around the circle to honor that Winged One. Perhaps the Winged Ones will even join in your song and dance as they pass by overhead.