The "State of Formation" is a journalist-style blog of the Parliament of the World's Religions and Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, with contributors. Recently, Rebecca Levi posted about her upcoming wedding ceremony (Jewish and lesbian)... making a statement or engaging in authentic religious ritual? Check this article out, and others.
-M. Mueller
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Reflections on the Year - Michelle Mueller
It's been an adventurous year: another two semesters at the religiously diverse Graduate Theological Union, my first attendance at the biennial Women & Mythology conference, spending the summer with Mormons in Provo, Utah, communing with gay and lesbian Mormons in Seattle for a weekend in October, AAR (American Academy of Religion), speaking on issues in Paganism for a panel on LGBTQ youth and religion, and finally, a weekend with Unitarian Universalist emerging scholars.
I'm saddened about the change in the Parliament of the World's Religions. Have been anxiously looking forward to it. The Council is doing what it can to plan for the future of the Parliament. While Brussels has withdrawn its bid, there is a possibility of a Parliament at a different site in the next few years. We will likely not know the outcome for several months.
I am gearing up for another year of academic work and interfaith/theological/multireligious conferences. The specifics have yet to be revealed. One thing is for sure: I'll be teaching NeoPagan Liturgy: Earth Ritual as a "hybrid" course (for students in residency, and online for those at a distance) in Fall 2013 at Starr King School for the Ministry, with my faculty advisor's mentorship. I am so grateful for the Graduate Theological Union including contemporary Paganism in its curriculum. In the acceptance notification, Academic Dean Arthur Holder wrote:
"Congratulations for submitting a worthy project that represents the best elements and talents of our doctoral program."
For more information, see our website: http://pagansonthehill.blogspot.com.
I'm saddened about the change in the Parliament of the World's Religions. Have been anxiously looking forward to it. The Council is doing what it can to plan for the future of the Parliament. While Brussels has withdrawn its bid, there is a possibility of a Parliament at a different site in the next few years. We will likely not know the outcome for several months.
I am gearing up for another year of academic work and interfaith/theological/multireligious conferences. The specifics have yet to be revealed. One thing is for sure: I'll be teaching NeoPagan Liturgy: Earth Ritual as a "hybrid" course (for students in residency, and online for those at a distance) in Fall 2013 at Starr King School for the Ministry, with my faculty advisor's mentorship. I am so grateful for the Graduate Theological Union including contemporary Paganism in its curriculum. In the acceptance notification, Academic Dean Arthur Holder wrote:
"Congratulations for submitting a worthy project that represents the best elements and talents of our doctoral program."
For more information, see our website: http://pagansonthehill.blogspot.com.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Witches, Black Panthers & Sufis
Interfaith at Samhaintide
Marin Interfaith Council has been offering monthly interfaith contemplative services for peace. The October gathering, at Sausalito Presbyterian Church, was to feature Pagan religions (specifically "Wiccan") in honor of the season of Samhain. I had committed to conducting this hour-long service; however, I was also selected to be a Deputy Inspector at the polls and the mandatory training for that job was scheduled for the same evening. So I asked my friend Gwion Raven, who had helped me at the Thanksgiving Eve service for the homeless (and their supporters) last year, if he would do it. I had planned on two readings, which I suggested he use. He did use them, plus taught some chants that the group did together. In reflecting on his experience, Gwion said, "It really affected me...I had never experienced being recognized as a Pagan and been so warmly welcomed in a Christian church. [Attendees showed] genuine curiosity." I thank Gwion for his work.
The following day, when I attended MIC's clergy luncheon, three people, including Paul Mowry, the new pastor at Sausalito Presbyterian, who had been to the contemplative service told me how much they enjoyed it. I was glad to hear that and glad to relay that feedback to Gwion.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Interfaith as Matrix for Social Justice
The topic of discussion at the luncheon, held in the new Hannah Project1 Gallery space at Marin City,2 where we sat amidst an exhibit of photographs and other ephemera called "Architects, Activists, and Avengers: The Black Panther Party 1968, and featuring photographs by Pirkle Jones and his wife and collaborator, Ruth-Marion Baruch, was "The Role of Religious Communities in Movement Making."
I shared a table with two friends from Green Gulch Zen Center and Chris Highland, while we listened to three speakers. Sister Colleen McDermott, Ph.D., told us of her study of the Highlander Center in Tennessee.
Founded in 1932 during the Great Depression in Tennessee as the Highlander Folk School, it began with programs to help rural women and organized different groups working for social justice and workers' rights. Among its founders and prominent participants were Myles Horton and his wife, née Zilphia Mae Johnson, Jane Wilburn Sapp, and Septima Poinsette Clark. In the '30s and '40s the institute helped organize miners and textile mill workers.
In the 1950s Highlander taught desegregation and citizenship workshops with such participants as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Ralph Abernathy, and organized voter registration efforts. The ubiquitous movement song "We Shall Overcome" comes from Highlander, which has always included music and the arts in its programming. SNCC (Student Nonviolent Organizing Committee) has roots at Highlander.
During the 1960s and '70s Highlander refocussed on Appalachia, organized protests against toxic dumping, and more recently it has featured LGBT programs, multilingual programs for organizing immigrants (Pueblos de Latinoamerica Justice School), and post-Katrina relief.
Sister Colleen pointed out that religious organizations such as churches have the institutional structure that's an important underpinning of efforts at social change. Institutions grant the authority to speak up and engage. Myles Horton's early seminary studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York informed his dedication to organizing for social justice.
This is one of my arguments for having Pagans establish institutions such as Cherry Hill Seminary.
Pastor Johnathan Logan, Sr., from Cornerstone Church of God in Christ in Marin City, spoke of his church's mission, quoted in part below:
Glorifies God by its standards of holiness, righteousness, and obedience to His Word. Demonstrates Christ's command to love one another. ... Worship God in spirit and truth recognizing that Jesus is Head of the Church Recognize its interdependence with other members within the body of Christ which [sic] may not be of the same denominational affiliation. ... Fulfills Christ's command to evangelize the world.
Third to speak was Pastor Veronica Goines of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, a "historical multicultural congregation" also in Marin City.
I found the speakers demonstrated an inordinate underlying assumption of an Abrahamic religious viewpoint. For instance, the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. was invoked frequently, yet no mention was made of such figures as Malcolm X and others in the Black Muslim movement that also arose from those fertile and changing times. Neither was there acknowledgement of the African diaspora religions that also gained adherents since those transformative years of the '60s and early '70s.
Now I understand that Marin's population is predominantly white. And I know that this program was not intended to reflect every change to have arisen from religious communities in the those times. Further, local branches of the Black Muslim church have either dissipated or fallen into corruption.3
I wanted to mention this as I, a polytheist, sat there with my non-deist friends amidst the assumption of monotheism, but I couldn't come up with a constructive way to comment. Having said all this, I will say I enjoyed the program; I learned a lot that I hadn't known before and may never have been exposed to otherwise. The speakers provided insights and provoked further reflections. It was worth every minute.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visionary Marin
In a busy two weeks for MIC, we concluded with the annual Visionary Marin Awards Ceremony, this year honoring Dr. Nahid Angha. Musicians played while people sampled delicious food prepared by the sisters of Brahma Kumaris and from Green Gulch Farm and elsewhere, and bid on an array of silent auction items as well as buying raffle tickets for several beautiful gift baskets. A slide show of photos of religious activities by the member congregations of MIC demonstrated the rich variety of our membership. I was pleased to see some photos of Pagans dancing round a Maypole that I had taken.
Among the many accomplishments that led MIC to give Nahid this year's Visionary Marin award is her founding of the International Association of Sufism and Sufi Women Organization , "an international humanitarian organization promoting universal human rights."
We learned more about Nahid from a Q&A session done with the Rev. Charles Gibbs, Executive Director of the United Religions Initiative.
Everyone left feeling that their culinary, intellectual, and community appetites had been satisfied. Plus we met our fundraising goal for the year. Kudos to the Rev. Carol Hovis and her assistant, Allison Kirk, and the many volunteers who worked with them to make this event a success.
~~~~~~~~~~
1. The Hannah Project assists African-American and other low-income students ages 8-22 and their families in efforts to boost academic performance and college graduation rates.
2. Marin City, begun with housing designed by the late Frank Lloyd Wright for the many workers who migrated here during World War II to work on the Liberty ships in the Sausalito shipyards. It is now home to the largest African-American community in the county. Coincidentally, the famed architect's final commission was our Marin County Civic Center.
3. See Your Black Muslim Bakery and murder of journalist Chauncey Bailey.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
“My Prayer is Your Prayer too”
“My Prayer is Your Prayer, too” was the theme for 2012’s World Day of Prayer, held at the One World Spiritual Center,
in Marietta, Georgia. Although this was
the first interfaith prayer event at the Marietta center, it was Dogwood Local
Council’s second year to participate.
Last year, organizer and host, Rev. Sydney Lindquist, invited
us to Gainesville Unity’s World Day of Prayer for which we created a beautiful
elemental altar. We also contributed to
the prayer book and various members offered Wiccan prayers for the hourly
blessings. The event was widely successful and enjoyed by
many members of our community.
More importantly, our presence was so well-received that
Sydney asked us back to this year’s event, now held in Marietta. For 2012, we created a harvest altar complete
with pumpkins, fall mums and a real apple cake.
Our Wiccan prayers were printed in the program and I, personally, was
able to offer a special prayer for the 11am hourly blessing.
A Blessing of Unity by Miraselena
Unity – You are the rainbow of difference that creates beauty
Unity – You are a vacuum that desperately seeks to be filled with the wisdom that can only come from another’s experience.
Unity – You are the spirit that begins deep in the Earth, rises through trees, upwards radiating out, touching everything, all that there is, and, then, ascending into the heavens.
Unity – You are that same spirit that, then, rains from above bringing us light and nourishment.
Unity – You are the nurturing hug of a mother, gifted to our world.
Unity – You are the single force that builds community and, only through you, can we find peace.
Unity – You are the many voices that can become one voice only through the harmony of diversity.
Unity – You are our hope.
Unity – You are hand that holds another in friendship and trust.
May we always find the courage to reach out to you and invite you into our lives with respect and dignity for all.
Blessed Be.
The prayer vigil began at 7pm on Wednesday September 12th
and lasted a full twenty-four hours. The
large, otherwise unadorned, church room was dimly lit with a faint smell of
incense filling the space. In the
background, music played ever so quietly to ease the transition from the
outside world into this sacred experience.
The tables and altars, from fifteen different faiths, were setup around
the perimeter of the room with a small stage and podium at one end. In the center, they had placed a cloth
adorned with a giant painted labyrinth.
Talking was kept to a minimum and shoes were not allowed in at all.
During the 24 hour vigil, people could come and go as they
pleased in order to experience the difference and sameness in the way humanity
prays. For me, attending was a
spirit-opening experience that bonded me to others in a unique way. It helped to find the common ground or path,
if you will, through a forest of spiritual differences.
The World Day of Prayer ended with a drum circle and Peace Concert on Thursday night starting
at 6pm. This year, we were able to add
our time and energy to the Concert. Accompanied
by Eibhlean’s skilled drumming, I chanted a variety of different Wiccan songs
to introduce the audience to the vibrancy of Pagan sacred
music. The experience was well-received
and, once again, we were asked to come back again next year.
And, I really hope that we do…for our sake and the future of
the humanity!
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Homeless in Marin
We gathered in the plaza in front of St. Raphael's, near where a tree was planted by this same group about ten years ago. I took the two photos below a few years ago; the tree has grown larger now.
My contribution was a prayer to the Mother of Justice, followed by singing of a beautiful round called "When We Are Gone," written by Anne Hill and Starhawk and published in The Pagan Book of Living and Dying (as is the prayer). We have done this enough times now for some of the people to know the song, so the singing was fuller, richer, and sweeter than it's been in past years.
Sometimes people ask why I do this. The answers are many, but the main one is that there are Pagans among our nation's homeless, and they have told me how much they appreciate seeing a Pagan face among the speakers. They have also said they're glad to see acknowledgement of goddess worship.
In service to Coventina,
M. Macha NightMare (Aline O'Brien)
* * * * *
* Ron Greene has several entries on the homeless in Marin, accompanied by moving photos, on his blog site. In this photo, I am in the left foreground wearing purple and a big pentacle.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Dear All,
As most of you know, I attended the North American Interfaith Network Connect this year in Atlanta Georgia. It is late because I did not wish to interrupt Don’s postings. What a wonderful experience!! As one of only two, anything like Witches, at this event, I usually feel a bit left out and spend most of my time explaining why one issue or another does not apply.
This year was a completely different experience. I came determined to discuss the questions that everyone seems reluctant to discuss and discovered that everyone wanted to discuss them. The younger people especially were really looking for some depth to conversation. As an example they were by far and away in agreement that their favorite panel, on LGBT(et al) where there was actually some drama when, after two young people shared their feelings of isolation because of church policies, a person stood up and read a verse from the Koran condemning alternative sexual orientations. Unfortunately he approached this in a very insensitive manner and…well you can imagine the conversation from there, as I must who did not get to the panel despite my best efforts. I was pleased to discover later that they agreed that they liked my presentation second best. I had the opportunity at one point to accuse them of ageism when I found them all sitting at one table, and they asked if I wanted to volunteer as their token “elder”.
My favorite part of the weekend was when the moderator of our panel introduced us as women of a certain age who were no longer afraid to say what they felt needed to be said. (Not a snicker here).
I had started out as a panel presentation on “The hard questions” and the planners asked if I would combine my talk with another. I know all these ladies and was pleased to do so. They said that we could have 20minutes each originally but when we got to the presentation we discovered that they had allowed us 10 minutes. I curtailed my talk and the moderator, my friend Bettina Grey, did her best to keep the others down in time, but most had written out their talks and it was difficult. This presentation will be available in the evening after council this year.
There was a huge part of this Connect that was based around social justice and Martin Luther King figured large in the tours that we took along with Jimmy Carter. I was able to meet some personal heros of my own, who had marched with and helped plan with King. Dr Rev. Vivian who is now in his late 80’s is one of those men. It was a seminal moment for me.
There is so much more to report but our sight (http://nain.org/nainconnect12report.htm) NAIN.org has done a much better job so I direct you there for pictorial proof of my attendance along with a complete report on the event.
Blessings,
Rachael Watcher
As most of you know, I attended the North American Interfaith Network Connect this year in Atlanta Georgia. It is late because I did not wish to interrupt Don’s postings. What a wonderful experience!! As one of only two, anything like Witches, at this event, I usually feel a bit left out and spend most of my time explaining why one issue or another does not apply.
This year was a completely different experience. I came determined to discuss the questions that everyone seems reluctant to discuss and discovered that everyone wanted to discuss them. The younger people especially were really looking for some depth to conversation. As an example they were by far and away in agreement that their favorite panel, on LGBT(et al) where there was actually some drama when, after two young people shared their feelings of isolation because of church policies, a person stood up and read a verse from the Koran condemning alternative sexual orientations. Unfortunately he approached this in a very insensitive manner and…well you can imagine the conversation from there, as I must who did not get to the panel despite my best efforts. I was pleased to discover later that they agreed that they liked my presentation second best. I had the opportunity at one point to accuse them of ageism when I found them all sitting at one table, and they asked if I wanted to volunteer as their token “elder”.
My favorite part of the weekend was when the moderator of our panel introduced us as women of a certain age who were no longer afraid to say what they felt needed to be said. (Not a snicker here).
I had started out as a panel presentation on “The hard questions” and the planners asked if I would combine my talk with another. I know all these ladies and was pleased to do so. They said that we could have 20minutes each originally but when we got to the presentation we discovered that they had allowed us 10 minutes. I curtailed my talk and the moderator, my friend Bettina Grey, did her best to keep the others down in time, but most had written out their talks and it was difficult. This presentation will be available in the evening after council this year.
There was a huge part of this Connect that was based around social justice and Martin Luther King figured large in the tours that we took along with Jimmy Carter. I was able to meet some personal heros of my own, who had marched with and helped plan with King. Dr Rev. Vivian who is now in his late 80’s is one of those men. It was a seminal moment for me.
There is so much more to report but our sight (http://nain.org/nainconnect12report.htm) NAIN.org has done a much better job so I direct you there for pictorial proof of my attendance along with a complete report on the event.
Blessings,
Rachael Watcher
Saturday, August 4, 2012
CoG Interfaith Rep meeting w/ Mayan leader, pt. 6 – Saturday (Nuestra Aventura en Guatemala, Dias Seis – Sabado)
Greg and I woke in our hotel in Panajachel for our last full
day in Guatemala. After breakfast, we walked around part of Lake
Atitlan, marveling at the variety
of flowering plants. Sooner than we
would have liked, we packed our bags and boarded a hotel shuttle for the three
and a half hour ride back to Guatemala City. Three and a half hours seemed short, given
the lengths of the trips that got us here; five and a half hours seemed more
reasonable. The reason for the
difference was that our driver, Alfonso, averaged 100 mph for the whole
drive! Even when we once again
encountered blinding rain on the pass over the mountains, he only slowed to
what we would consider a reckless speed.
The drive, between bouts of car-sickness, gave us time to
reflect on the trip. It obviously did
not go as expected. Our brief time with
Tata confirmed the bonds of friendship and fellowship he feels between him and
me and between the Maya and the Wicca.
There is definitely a relationship to be nurtured here. (We have been talking about hosting another
meeting of Elders later in the year, but that is still in the planning
stages.) As it turned out, we spent
almost all of our time with Wilma. She,
too, is a practitioner of the old Maya ways – one of considerable knowledge
& skill. We always talk about the
balance of male & female energies (and, or course, everything in between)
in the spiritual paths of the people of the Earth, so it was fitting that we
experience Wilma’s way of working, having experienced Tata’s. We formed a strong bond of love and respect
with her. She shared secrets of the old
ways with us. We look forward to working
with both her and Tata in the future. I
came to meet with a Maya leader and was blessed to end up meeting with two!
We arrived in Guatemala City
around 4pm and found our hotel near
the airport. Here we have had a chance
to relax, get our bags packed, and prepare for the 13 hour flight home (with a
layover in Atlanta). We may have time to go to the Archeological
Museum or the Popol
Vuh Museum
before we leave, but probably not. We
have one final task we must perform before we leave Guatemala. Yoland Trevino, emeritus Chair of the Global
Council of the United Religions Initiative, is an indigenous Mayan and was born
in Guatemala. Her sister lives near our hotel and will be
dropping off family papers for us to deliver to her.
Unless something really interesting happens tomorrow,
this’ll be the final report from this trip, but there will be more encounters
with the Maya to come. As Tata says,
“The Maya and the Wicca are brothers [and sisters].”
I would like to thank my very good friend Greg Stafford, who
dropped everything to come with me at the last minute, help with translation,
provide spiritual support in & out of ceremony, and generally watched my
back as I traveled in a country where I didn’t really know the language or
culture.
Blessed Be,
Don Frew (with Greg Stafford)
CoG National Information Officer
CoG Interfaith Rep meeting w/ Mayan leader, pt. 5 – Friday (Nuestra Aventura en Guatemala, Dias Quince – Viernes)
We woke to another beautiful day. Greg was glad that his over-the-top Pepto
Bismol counter-attack had succeeded in defeating la venga. He downplayed the
triumph saying “Of course, now I probably won’t s**t for a week.” We ate breakfast and met Vilma, who arrived
in a cab driven by a friend – Don Patriceño.
She told us that Tata was recovering, but was at home under the care of
Kukumatz.
Don Patriceño drove us all up the road, then onto a dirt
road, from which point we had to walk to the sacred site up a path. The site was in the middle of a large milpa, or corn field with rows of beans
in-between, on the slopes of a large hill.
It was a bit of a steep walk up to it and I carried a bag of ritual
ingredients bigger than a golf bag that easily weighed over 50 lbs. It was serious & strenuous work, but I
viewed it as part of the sacrificial preparation for the rite.
The site had three altars of simple stone – two for positive
magic and one for “binding” type work.
The site is cared for by a Guardian, the land owner, who keeps out anyone
who shouldn’t be there, watches over candles or fires left burning, cleans up
after the rituals, etc. He appeared when
we arrived, recognized Wilma, and then disappeared until the ceremony was
over. When I finally set down Wilma’s bundle,
it was like a “Bag of Holding.” She proceeded to draw a seemingly endless
variety of incenses, velas, and
ritual items from within. We talked
about how the Elements are viewed in our three traditions. Wilma pointed to the fire and said that it
was the home of “los salamandres”, indicating influence from the Western
magickal tradition.
Wilma set four candles burning on the main (positive) altar,
while I did two more and Greg two more as well. She prepared a fire similar to yesterday’s that
consisted of several types of incense, and over in front of the second
(positive) altar, a second fire for healing, again as yesterday. She explained to us again the meaning of the
day, which was 7 Ajpu, and bears the
powers of the deer hunter, the sun, and the hero. It represents “triumph over problems and
difficulties”, which seemed auspicious.
Also, the numbers 7, 8, and 9 represent balance and “measured strength”,
also auspicious for the task at hand (if you’ll pardon the pun).
The ceremony was essentially the same as yesterday, except
this time Greg could look at the healing while he watched the main fire so it
wouldn’t torch the milpa. Being familiar with the process, both Greg and
I felt more comfortable and connected. It
was a deeper connection with the Spirits of this place and the Spirits &
Gods of these people (the Maya) and of my people (the Wicca), who all seemed to
be working together quite happily. Wilma
was very pleased about this, and about the other positive things the fire was
telling her about the future of our people working together. (During the rite, all three of us saw Spirits
in and about the site. I kept seeing a
man in a hat and wearing white & blue Maya cloth crouching in a corn
row. At first I thought he was
harvesting the corn, but a few times he disappeared while I was looking at
him!)
For me, the healing part of the ceremony was very personal, so I’m not going to say a
lot. It began with Wilma leading me over
to the second fire. She did the cleaning
passes again, but this time, in addition to limes and eggs, she held small cans
of I-don’t-know-what. She tossed ALL
of these into the fire. The timing of
the cans exploding later was deemed significant.
[Note: It was a very long day and I dozed off writing this
part of the report. I dreamed that the
ritual continued, but Wilma was wearing a red shawl. When she approached the second fire, it
transformed into a crouching young man wearing white & blue – the Spirit
from the milpa? She draped her shawl over them both and
whispered in his ear. He stood and
walked over to me, now sitting at this computer desk. He placed his hand on my left shoulder and
watched me type. I woke and decided that
I should finish this tomorrow.]
After the cleansing, we returned to the main fire to make
offerings and pray for healing. I was
told not to look at the smaller fire until it had burned out, even when cans
exploded like cannon-shells. She led us
all in making offerings of various substances for her giant bag – many
different kinds of incenses, but also hundreds of velas of different colors. The
first (and loudest) can exploded as I was making a particular offering, which
Wilma said indicated the favor of the Spirits.
More positive omens came during the end of the rite. An orange butterfly entered the space and flew
to the candle altar. It then circled the
main fire sunwise and dashed away. Wilma
reminded us that butterflies are often Spirits of the Dead and I wondered if
this was Gary Smith. We made offerings
for the Dead, followed by offerings for the living. When I made an offering for Rachael Watcher, the
flames suddenly twisted around like a spiral, like a little cyclone about two
feet tall. Wilma noted this and her earlier
comment about the “salamanders” then seemed especially significant.
It felt good to have Wilma do the ceremony as she brought a
healing, feminine energy to it. As we
wrapped up, the Guardian appeared to see if we were done and he should clean
the site. Wilma said that this would be
the last work for this trip. What we had
done here would continue to progress. She
& Tata wanted us to have enough time left see something more of Guatemala
than the truck stop hotel. We asked her about
Panachel, a former Maya village and now a tourist center on Lake
Atitlan. Wilma told us the lake was no longer “the most
beautiful lake in the world,” as the guidebook said. We decided we needed to see it before it got
worse. So we went back to the hotel,
quickly packed our bags, checked out, and took Don Patriceño’s taxi to
beautiful Panajachel. On the way, we stopped
at Tata’s house to drop off some photos and say one last goodbye.
Going over the crest of the mountains between Panajachel and
Chimaltenango we went through one of the hardest rains I’d ever seen. Don Patriceño slowed the taxi to a crawl for
much of the mountain pass. We finally
reached Panajachel to find that is still
very much one of the most beautiful lakes in the world! The lake is surrounded by three
volcanoes. We took a hotel outside
Panajachel with a few more amenities that an electric showerhead, and took hot
showers that reminded us of how fortunate we are in our daily lives to have
such luxuries in our own houses.
We headed into Panachel in another tuk tuk. Greg had discovered
the address of the only book store in town, where we got out. A couple of women vending on the sidewalk urged
us to buy their wares, but with books ahead of us we had no interest. It was a cute little shop, with every book
sealed closed, to be opened with the permission of the proprietress. Probably 80% were Spanish, and many of those
within our field of interest were American in origin, and hence more expensive
than buying them new at home. We both
bought some that we though unlikely to be found at home, and then ventured back
into the street, passing the women who once again urged us to purchase their
weavings, without success.
The street of shops and vendors was pretty typical of such a
place anywhere. Many small shops all
sold essentially the same things, none of which interested us. As we came back up the street vendors came at
us in force after Greg purchased some cheap woven friendship bracelets from a
young boy who told us he needed money for his school and to feed his seven
brothers and five sisters. It was just
the first huckstering story we got, but not the last.
Once they saw money pass hands, the women with more
expensive materials got much more aggressive. Neither of us could just brush them off, even
when they bore nothing of interest. One woman had a pretty blue manta that attracted Greg’s interest enough
to haggle over the price. That incited the rest of the women to a frenzy of
entreaties, close to begging in some cases. After I, too, bought a manta, one of the women from in front of
the book store, who had been dogging along with the crowd, got angry. “I saw you first,” she cried, and didn’t stop
as we strolled away.
A young girl approached and when Greg called her senora she laughed and corrected him. Her laughter, contrasting with the other older
women, was almost magnetic, her eyes were lovely, and since her wares were also
quite nice he decided to purchase one. This
only brought the rest in closer towards their prey (us). The angry woman who had seen us first started
badgering me and I was polite in my refusal, but at last she said, “You are a
bad man,” and stamped away. Meanwhile
Greg had purchased a second piece from the girl with the lovely eyes, who was
named Thomasa. Greg told her, “When you
go to church you remember to say, ‘Thank you, God for my magic eyes’,” which
was just more reason for her to laugh. Her
wares were quite nice, and I even
bought one. Greg said, “This has probably made her whole month. (turning to
her) Que
dice, senorita?” “Gracias Dios por mis ojos magicos,” she laughed, and we
all went on our way content and happy... Except for the first woman who seemed to be
muttering curses at me as she watched all this from a distance and will
probably hate la senorita forever
now.
In one shop, I saw a perfect gift for Anna. (Since she’ll probably read this before I get
home, I won’t say what it was.) The proprietress was a tiny woman, the top of
whose head came up to Greg’s arm pit. We got into a serious haggle over this item, with Greg translating. Her comments included “This is hand done by
me,” and “You’ll never see something this beautiful,” and “I
have to feed my family” and “Look at this work! No factory work here!” and
especially “Oh, I need medicine for my poor old leg, look at it,” which she
accentuated with a sudden limp and expressions of great trouble and agony, all
of which disappeared the next moment as she joyfully claimed “Look at these
tiny stitches with my old hands.” It
went on for five or more minutes, nonstop.
In the end, we reached an agreement that left us both very happy.
We retired to the hotel for a very fine dinner, watching the
lightning over the volcanoes again.
Greg retired, I sat down to try to write this, and fell asleep at the keyboard
(as I mentioned above). The ceiling of
our room kept flashing light and dark from the lightning across the lake. In this way, we were lulled into sleep… and
dreams.
More to come…
Blessed Be,
Don Frew (with unfailing aid and support from Greg Stafford)
CoG National Interfaith Representative
Thursday, August 2, 2012
CoG Interfaith Rep meeting w/ Mayan leader, pt. 4 – Thursday (Nuestra Aventura en Guatemala, Dias Quatro – Jueves)
We were up early to prepare for the ceremony. A shower and change into clean clothes seemed
appropriate. After a quick breakfast of
cornflakes in mosh, Kukumatz picked us
up at 7am.
We drove to a place owned by a friend of theirs, a Maya who
maintained a sacred space for ceremonies.
At the site Wilma said that Tata had finally agreed to see a doctor, so she would be doing the ceremony today. I’ll
describe what I can, but some things that happened and were said are Maya
secrets and I can’t discuss them,
while others are personal and I won’t
discuss them.
Wilma said that today is 6 Kawoq – a day of lightning, thunder, rain (all of which we had
plenty of yesterday &, judging from the sky right now, soon); for the
Ancestors; to accomplish work for humanity, to resolve problems and remove obstacles;
a day for those who intercede for health or to end problems. We told her that today is Lughnasad and what
that means in the Wiccan tradition.
The ritual space was rectangular, about 40 by 15 feet. At the East end was an enclosed altar, open
on the side towards the ritual space, about 6 feet deep and 5 and a half feet
high. This was filled with stone figures
and offering containers, pictures on the wall of Jesus and St. George, and a
stuffed owl with its wings spread on the North wall, and other things. The sculptures resembled those from Tata’s
altar room; in fact the central “figure” was a large rough stone with no
discernable carvings.
Towards the West of the space, was a small unlit fire laid
on the earth. This was specifically for
my healing work. In the center ritual
space was a larger fire circle. Before
we arrived, the circle had been marked with what appeared to be pine needles
and, within that, a circle of white corn meal. That circle it was quartered
more corn meal, with over that, a symbol.
To the southeast was a table about the size of a ping-pong
table heaped with bags and piles of items and offerings, some for the
construction of the fire and the rest to be offered to the fire once it was
going. As we watched Wilma took the
first of these: some sort of incense, shaped like little, squat volcanoes, and
packed in stacks inside wrapped palm (?) leaves. These she laid over the design that had been
marked. In the very center, she placed a
tied bundle of about 40 upright handmade cigars with long-wicked candles mixed
in with them. A similar bundle was
placed before the altar. This was followed
by layer upon layer of myrrh, blocks of chocolate, sweetgrass, palo santo, cacao beans, something we
didn’t quite catch that represented “money”, frankincense, various unknown incenses
pressed into unusual shapes, seeds, etc.
Greg and I had both stopped trying to count by this time to be present
in the ceremony. The layers included hundreds of small candles (velas) – some in colors for the
directions (East / Red, South / Yellow, West / Black, North / White) and some
representing Sky (Blue) and the Natural World (Green).
Once the fire was ready to be lit, Wilma donned a ceremonial
head-scarf and invited me to don my cord.
I then sat to the North of the central fire, with Greg to my right, in
the west. Wilma gave each of us a cloth
filled with velas and offerings –
both from her table and ones that we had brought (sage, tobacco, nuts, and
fruit) – to hold until the time was right.
She then moved between the fire and the table of offerings.
With a handful of burning velas Wilma then lit all three fires. She lit the central one and
those at the altar by lighting the cigars first. As she did this, she invoked / prayed in
K’iche’ Mayan. She kept adding offerings
to the fire and the fire kept getting hotter and hotter. Greg and I moved further and further back,
fearing that our personal candles would melt (or our pants catch fire). Wilma invoked the Ancestors – the
Grandfathers & Grandmothers – those of the Maya, of this place, and of her
visitors, Greg and me. The string around
the bundle of cigars burned through and the cigars fell over to the North &
South, indicating to Wilma that the connection between North & South had
been made and that our Spirits working together.
Wilma then instructed Greg and I to each make our own
offerings to the Ancestors. (I
understood it to be to my Ancestors and to those of the Maya. Greg understood it to be to his ancestors and
to those we had in common with the Maya.)
This was to be a time of offering, not of requesting, which would come
later. We offered from our hearts, with
humility, respect, and tears in our eyes. When Wilma made her own offering the Spirits
told her to sing. She told us that the
offerings had been accepted.
Wilma then took me to the smaller, healing circle, which
included purple candles. She told Greg not to watch the healing. Instead he
should be sure that our empty offering bags on the ground by the fire did not burn.
She did a cleansing, holding both an egg and a lime in each hand as she made
passes over my body, placing these in the fire after each pass. She paid special attention to my left hand,
arm, and the sight of my injury near the spine.
Soon the fire was full of eggs and limes.
After four passes, accompanied by K’iche’ prayers, she
directed me to sit next to Greg again.
As I did so, the first of the eggs in the fire exploded with a “pop” and
sent a eggshells lined up directly towards me.
Wilma took this as a good sign.
She gave us each a handful of white velas
so we could each give thanks to all
of the Spirits who had been with us. After
that the ceremony was basically over, but she said we had to wait for the fires
to go out. Greg asked if he could offer
a song. Wilma said “yes” and he sang a
heart-song that he sings in ceremony. (It
is “The Web”, by his friend Philip Caesar, and begins “Reaching out in all
directions…”) After he was finished she told us that she had stopped singing in
ritual years ago, but today the spirits had told her to sing. Our hostess from
the house then brought out a tray with glasses and a pitcher of orange drink,
made from the fruit from on a nearby tree.
(Greg and I, aware that this may have been made with local water, nonetheless
accepted the hospitality offered. We’ll
let you know the results tomorrow.)
Wilma explained that this had been an “introduction” – a
chance for me & Greg & our Spirits to meet theirs – and that the real
healing work was to come.
While drinking, I told Wilma about having met Tata for the
first time in Pittsburgh at the URI
Charter Signing. With a start, she said
that she had been there too and that
we must have met, as Tata had told her that he thought she and I had met. He
was right. In fact, I had purchased a
softball-sized chunk of copal from her that day, 12 years ago.
We also shared memories of Gary Smith, the Lakota
representative who had been instrumental in introducing me & Rowan
Fairgrove to various indigenous people before his death in 2003. [Tom, the scrawny hotel cat, just wandered
into our room and after a little coaxing is curled up purring in Greg’s lap
while I type. I think I have just taken
more pictures of the cat than of everything else on this trip combined. We are obviously both in serious cat-withdrawal.]
Wilma noted that the fire was not yet
out and that we should offer thanks for Gary,
the work he did, and the way he was responsible for bringing us together.
Once everything was done we asked if we could take a few
photos of the altar and of each other with her.
Greg asked to make sure it was okay to share the information about the
ceremony with others. She agreed, as
long as the photos and info would be shared with people who would treat them
respectfully. All together the ceremony
had been about three hours long. She
said that, if all was well, we would go to Tata’s special place tomorrow.
Wilma & Kukumatz drove us back to the hotel. She got out of the car to hug us “Hasta Mañana” and to say that we should
be sure to “pay attention to your sleep.” The import of this didn’t register with us until
we sat in our room and talked briefly, then woke! We had both dozed off almost immediately and
both had dreamed dreams with surprising similarities. We will tell Wilma about our dreams tomorrow,
and hopefully with Tata.
After our naps, we had a bite to eat in the hotel, studying
the K’iche’ version of the Maya day count in books and online followed by writing
this report. The rest of the day will
likely be uneventful.
More to come…
Blessed Be,
Don Frew (and his “stand-behind” Greg Stafford)
CoG National Interfaith Representative
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