Pilgrimage of the Great Wheel: Standing Stone

Last fall, I took a job in California. It was a last minute assignment for the winter, and I was excited. I resolved to stop at a sacred site on the Pilgrimage of the Great Wheel on my way west, the Standing Stone. This sacred journey is something that has come to me in the past few years - I am visiting all the points of a great wheel of ley lines that covers the southeast of the US to experience their power and to honor these sacred places. Check out this linked post for details.

When I visit Jomeokee each year, the center of the Great Wheel, I am delighted to see it preserved as a state park. Thought most people who visit are not aware of its cultural importance or history as a sacred site, it is yet revered and cared for. Same for the Great Dismal Swamp that I visited last fall. But Standing Stone is not that kind of story. Standing Stone has not been so lucky. Visiting Standing Stone was so upsetting that I never finished this blog post.

Though I had done research in advance, nothing about this visit went as planned. I found Standing Stone State Park easily enough, and it was a lovely wooded place with a mountain lake and a campground. The one thing they don't have is the Standing Stone. Undeterred, I asked a ranger where it might be found and was directed to Monterey, TN. I'd driven through the town to get there, so it was easy enough to retrace my steps. 

Arriving in the town, I discovered that there was a monument to Standing Stone near the town library. This monument is not the original location of the Standing Stone either.

I went into the library and did some more research, trying to find the original location. Using GPS coordinates, I drove around the neighborhood nearby and looked for a likely spot. I was considering land elevation and orientation, trying to consider where a monument would have been visible before the creation of this town.

Essentially, what happened is that the Standing Stone was destroyed to make way for a new railroad. It was blown up with dynamite, and for many years, several large chunks of the stone were used for other purposes or intentionally preserved. When at last the monument was created, a small fragment of the stone was placed on top.

From my earliest research about this site, the Standing Stone marked the boundary between Shawnee and Cherokee nation territories. The stone also stood along an established trade route, which became known as an "old Indian trail" after the settlement of the area by Europeans. As far as I know, such a place would have been used for trading and council purposes between different tribes. This would have been a place of peace.

What upsets me is not only that the original stone was removed, but also that very little of its history is known. Reading the very brief information available about the stone, only a tiny portion of that refers to the native people who erected the stone. Most of it is about the Europeans who defaced it, and who eventually destroyed it.

I remember feeling so depressed and angry during this visit. It was a small town, and seemed ordinary enough. There was no tangible energy, no reminder of what was. A whole culture and history, erased.

So for this pilgrimage visit, there is no poetry. No beautiful sentiment of spiritual vision. What I did was fume, to be frank. I may have done some angry journaling, but I think that's best left where it lies on my bookshelf. When I calmed down, I just sat there, at the monument, and offered my presence. I offered my prayers of healing and acknowledgement for what happened in this place.

There are so many more things I could say about how this country has handled things, but I truly do not have the desire to do so at this time. People who know me know what my opinion is, and I'm sure many of you share it. As for me, I will continue on my pilgrimage. The next chance I get to speak with first nation elders, I will ask if any stories of Standing Stone are known.

This weekend, I go back to Jomeokee once again. This will be my third vision quest there. This year, I am in need of anchoring in the midst of all this travelling. I'm feeling a deep need to get centered and grounded before I leave NC once again. This feels like a pivotal time for me, a true turning point. My life is transforming, and I am so grateful. I am also afraid and full of doubts. I am like everyone else - trying to figure it out as I go along.

I honor you, Great Medicine Wheel of Jomeokee! Great Guide, this pilgrimage I make in your honor. This land I walk to gain your wisdom, each step trodden by countless ancestors who have gone before me. Fill me with your medicine. Teach me, Great Guide. Lead me on...

Blessed Beltane

spring poetry

MAIDENS. I

Others must by a long dark way
Stray to the mystic bards,
Or ask some one who has heard them sing
Or touch the magic chords.
Only the maidens question not
The bridges that lead to Dream;
Their luminous smiles are like strands of pearls
On a silver vase agleam.

The maidens' doors of Life lead out
Where the song of the poet soars,
And out beyond to the great world—
To the world beyond the doors.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

Blessed Ostara

May this Spring fill your heart with the growing love of the goddess and the horned one. May the seeds of your intentions and your gardens be blessed with strength and fertility. May you frolic in the sunshine that is now overtaking the darkness. Let us celebrate and be joyful! Blessed be. Naho. Namaste. OM Shanti!

Upcoming Events: Mark Your Calendars

Spring is right around the corner, and as the land begins to reawaken, so too do we. It's time for some events! With my transition to full-time gypsy life, Clan of the Wildlings has become an internet-based coven. That means that most of our events are now open to all - we will practice at the same day and time, with a suggested format. In keeping with my mission of unity, some of these events are sponsored by international organizations. Each listing will contain our Facebook page for the event, as well as a link to the international event or organization.

Coming up this month, we are hosting the following events:

International Women's Day Meditation
Wednesday, March 8 at 7pm your local time
Sponsored by Unify.org and the Global Sisterhood.
Our Facebook Event Page

Join the Unify Global Sisterhood Movement as we rise together on International Women’s Day! We will gather at Supported by Angels in South Lake Tahoe, along with Sister Circles world-wide to unite for a global synchronized meditation, prayer, and action to transform, uplift, and inspire the world! The Global Sisterhood launched March 8, 2016 with 650 Sister Circles in over 65 countries gathering to cultivate sacred sisterhood, shifting competition, comparison, and jealousy into respect, unity, and upliftment. Since then, thousands of women around the world have been uniting both virtually and in local sister circles every new moon with an empowerment theme. Together we are a Worldwide Sacred Sisterhood of women devoted to transforming themselves and transforming the world.

World Water Day Blessing Wave
Wednesday, March 22 anytime that day, 11am in South Lake Tahoe
Sponsored by UN Water.
Our Facebook Event Page

Join the World Water Day event, along with international organizations like UNESCO, the United Nations, and All the waters of Earth are connected. We are all mostly water. We are all connected. Let us come together to bless the waters that surround us. Let us honor the sacred waters that nourish our bodies, grow our crops, and sustain the land.

A Poem for Artemis

My power lies in silence

There is a wholeness, a harmony

From which rude speech

Can only detract

When I move in rhythm

Then I can connect

To all the rustlings and stirrings –

The soft and subtle sounds

That can so easily be missed

My power lies in silence

And I allow my body to speak

Muscles moving smoothly

Fully embodied wisdom

Flowing through me

Wild, unfettered and utterly free

Frankly sexual, yet totally pure

Sacred love, body of Goddess,

Gifts of flesh and spirit overflowing

From the endless cup

Still, what the maiden does

After the thrill of the hunt

Never can change her,

Never restrain her

Free

My power lies in silence

Ever virgin I am and will remain

Running under the Moon

Hunter and hunted

I live and die and live again

The sacred dance of life

That turns the Wheel

My power lies in silence

A silence greater than words

Beyond them as the stars

Are beyond the clouds

In the immaculate sky

Copyright Tanaria Lightbearer 1/29/17

Imbolc

A blessed Imbolc to all! I visited my home range of mountains, the Rockies in CO, this week. I skiied atop their peaks, drove among the valleys, and soaked in hot springs deep within the heart of the mountain. 

What I can share from this experience is the abiding wisdom of the mountains: 

Seek your center. Tend the flame that lives deep within. Stay connected to the Earth. Trust yourself and your ability to maintain your equilibrium. Trust the mountain and let go. Go slowly, but with confidence. Abide.

May the returning light bless you with the strength and drive to fulfill your self-dedications for this turning of the Great Wheel. May we come through the winter whole and healthy, ready to plant the seeds of spring. 

May we tend the flame for all beings everywhere, that we may bring a new way of coexistence into being. May all beings be filled with compassion. May we be at peace. Naho. Blessed be. Namaste. OM shanti!

The Long Nights are Ending...and the New Year has Begun

Today the Golden Eagle appeared to me, on the side of the road. This is the sort of everyday miracle that reminds us that the transcendant is not other, it is not beyond us or apart from us. The sacred lives in each moment; each moment is a space that contains the infinite potential of reality. Each moment is both prosaic and sublime.

A hawk, perhaps a sharp shinned, perched on a power line in the biting cold of this Sierra Nevada winter morning....the morning of the last day of the calendar year. Suddenly, a huge form winged in and hovered, suspended in the air with wings outstretched for a timeless time...it was huge. Majestic is a word that immediately permeated my being.

Here was power, the power of the skies, the winds, and the storm. Here was the power of the sky fire, the lightning. Could this be connected to the Thunderbird? Sacred transformer, spirit journeyer, beloved of the sun god of the skies, I honor you. Are you calling to me?

My breathing stopped...even my heart skipped a beat. Was this happening? Could this be a golden eagle? It dwarfed the hawk, and landed as if it was the natural ruler of all it surveyed...all it could reach by wing. The whole world its home, the eagle flies in these desert mountains, among the clouds, above the sage brush and the ancient stones, bones of our Mother Earth, Gaia, Pachamama, sacred ground.

As soon as I could, I ran to the oracle to identify this visitation. It could also have been a juvenile Bald Eagle. But I knew in my guts that it wasn't. It was Golden Eagle. When I realized the truth, my whole being felt light, and I fairly vibrated around on my way. I went out into the purifying cold and hiked to a spot with a beautiful view of the Carson Valley. I offered the song of my flute in gratitude.

Eagle soars above, ruler of the skies. Eagle can signal us to find or acknowledge our path. Eagle can inspire us to heights previously unimagined. Eagle, spirit of the Upper World, beloved of the Sun, bringer of the bliss of illumination and enlightenment.

These are some words about its medicine, but keep in mind that the lessons of our spirit guides are individual much of the time. No written source can tell you the message coming from a totem at a given time. Meditation, prayer, and dreams reveal its meaning, often over time.

Many solar gods are equated with this symbol, giving the eagle associations with the lifting of depression or a more conscious awareness. 

Lofty ambitions that require great skill to achieve. 

An alternative lightning emblem. In ancient Greece, people placed eagles on temple rooftops to protect the building from lightning, as they felt this creature controlled the fire from the sky. 

Eagles are commanding presences. Whether they want to or not, they attract attention. Those with this animal personality have strong leadership skills and take swift action when it is needed. 

Among ancient Mediterranean people, the eagle was associated with the sun god, fire, and lightning. Zeus, the father of the classical gods, took the form of an eagle when he carried his young lover Ganymede to Mt. Olympus. 

For the Romans, this bird became a kind of totem for the emperor, who was thought to reincarnate as an eagle. Alternatively, this may also symbolize traditionally masculine characteristics like pride and fierceness developing. 

The eagle became a popular symbol of power among the Germanic people because the great bird was representative of Wodan, the ruler of the gods. 

Because the eagel could appear to fly so close to the sun, the Medicine priests of all the tribes regarded the large bird as a very special messenger of the Great Mystery. 

In India, the Vedic tradition also portrays the eagle as a messenger of divinity and as the bearer of soma, the favorite drink of the Vedi gods, from Indra. 

The eagle was the totemic form of Prometheus, who "stole" fire from heaven, like the eastern fire-lightning-sun hero, man, or angel embodied in the Garuda bird. Garuda flew to the mountain of paradise to steal the gods' secret of immortality. Later, he assumed the golden body of the sun. American Indians had a similar hero, the thunderbird or lightning bird. 

If the eagle has appeared to you in your dreams or visions and revealed itself as your totem animal, you may expect to receive renewed strength of body, mind, and spirit. At the same time, you will find your meditations becoming more profound and your visions more prophetic in content. If you maintain a harmonious and balanced lifestyle, you will feel a stronger connection with the Great Mystery than ever before in your spiritual pilgrimage on earth. 

Just as the eagle can soar high above the earth and rise above its companions and its competitors, you must guard against the powerful eagle vibrations causing you to withdraw from your family and friends and grow aloof from your community. If you listen carefully to your spirit helper, it will instruct you in the sacred responsibility of sharing your prophetic insights with others and show you how to become the most effective kind of spiritual teacher. 

This new year, it is a year of power, both on a global scale and a personal one for me. One of the first teachings I got from this visitation was to trust what I am becoming, and to fly a new path. Yes. I hear you, Great One. I hear you, Eagle. Let us journey together and see what lies beyond the misty mountains. What is in the West, where the Sun goes down?

What will be in this new year? What will you create? What heights will you scale? What will you hunt?

Let the blessings flow into us all like the golden light of the Sun, and may you be blessed by the wingbeats of the Golden Eagle. Ho, Ruler of the Skies! Ho, fire of the Sun! Ho, ruler of the storm! Ho, spirit lightning!

I welcome you, light of the Sun! The Long Nights are ending and the New Year has begun!

Blessed be. Naho! Namaste. OM shanti!