inside this issue A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SACRED LIVING

ISSUE 17 SUMMER 1997 2.95

VISION QUEST
STEVEN FOSTER
on his night of fear
in the Mojave Desert

SUN DANCE
powerful healing
ceremony of the Plains
by RICHARD ERDOES

W A L K I N G THE R E D R O A D
GRANDFATHER LAKOTA SIOUX SHAMANIC TRADITIONS
WALLACE Also
CIRCLE OF SOUND : SONG IN NORSE SHAMANISM
BLACK ELK
An account of his H Make a Star Blanket H Ceremonial
recent visit
 FLOWERING TREE FEDERATION NEWS:

EARTHTALK
What occurs around you and
one of us always get it

N right, always treat others

well ... .We each dance
within the web of life as best we
within you reflects your own
mind and shows you the dream
you are weaving.....
TURNING THE TIDE
Right now, the holding of circles,
the re-building of heart-ful
can and our thoughts and community - even the hope of it
actions ripple out to effect all Action to benefit
- goes into the dreaming. It
that is. the land and the people counts.
There is a simple but unto seven generations shapes I often hear from FTF
profound traditional teaching the consciousness of the members, that they feel isolated,
that, just as we are at the Planetary Caretaker . . . a lone voice in a deaf culture
present moment the sum of the when trying to practice a lifestyle
ever mindful of lifes
dreaming of all our ancestors, of that honours the earth, creation
their hopes, fears, mistakes, unfolding
and beauty. Just holding in
successes - so we stand as awareness the importance these
ancestors to the future and new-old ways is very hard work;
dream future generations into It is also deeply empowering. it is dreaming a turning of the
being. tide away from blind progress.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE Dhyani Ywahoo, the Tsalagi
SEVEN GENERATIONS Each one of has no choice but to make (Cherokee) teacher and author of the
Traditional peoples such as the Tsalagi a difference, to leave our mark, our beautiful book Voices of Our Ancestors
(Cherokee) are raised with a deep sense threads of being in the web. We are life. shares her peoples practice and
of responsibility towards the next seven We inevitably shape the future by who suggests that each morning we pray,
generations. They are asked to consider we are, what we do and the manner in sing a song, dance a dance of gratitude
every thought and action in this context. which we do it. to All That Is.
To reflect not only on what effect a Regard for seven generations means There is no special language or style
negative act may have, but also one that that not only do we have caution about - use those that have personal meaning.
is seemingly positive. For hindsight the consequences of the new, we have This re-affirms connection of mind,
teaches that the original intent can often care for what we regard as obsolete, - heart, body and spirit with the vitality of
be reversed over time. which of the gifts inherited from our the web. It is no quaint ethnic ritual, but
This perspective means a slower ancestors we choose to discard - and a deeply practical way to strengthen and
pace of change; often sacrificing a more the future effect of losing skills or bring personal energy and balance for
attractive path or short-term benefit for knowledge. the day ahead - as vital as food and
longer-term stability. It is not an instant Elders generally play a large part in drink, to give sustainance for dreaming
bucks mentality and the changes and holding a space for this kind of the future with heart.
contributions that we individually make in reflecting. After all, they have by May we all dream wisely Ho.
that stream of being is a profound experienced witnessed long-term effects Jan Wood FTF Co-ordinator
responsibility. of their own and others actions.
It is daunting.

- back by popular demand -

Flight of the Kestrel
TRIBAL VILLAGE SUMMER CAMP FLOWERING TREE FEDERATION
is a growing network of those
Sat 9th August to Sun 17th August practising and learning about earth-
relax and experience life as part of a tribal community based spirituality and shamanism.
It has a book loan service and
Workshops H Ceremony H Sweat Lodge H Drumming H W supports the creation and
Crafts H Storytelling H Survival Skills - and much more. maintainance of circles of healing and
held for a second year on the same beautiful site in the Malvern Hills celebration at a local level
Its members follow a simple Code of
for further information write with an SAE to: Ethics based on respect for all life
Flight of the Kestrel, c/o 61 Millbrook St, Gloucester, GL14BP, Further details of membership and
phone (01453) 763459 / fax 01452 549512 / mobile 0973 760891 Code of Ethics send SAE (first class
,

all profits go to Flight of the Kestrel Sustainable Community Project (an FTF member group) stamp) to Carolyn Finlay, 226 London
Rd, Cheltenham, Glos. GL52 6HW

PAGE 4 SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997

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SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997 PAGE 5

 Editorial
I
remember a time a few years ago when I was lucky enough to have dinner with
MAGAZINE Wallace Black Elk and a few friends in London. Wallace, a twinkle in his eye told
us, What you people need in England is ceremony, Ill come back, well get a
ISSN 1364 - 2219 room, just like this one and well make it all dark, and youll hear the spirits, youll
EDITOR feel the wind!
Nicholas Wood Well, the day came when Grandfather Wallace did come back and run that
ASSISTANT EDITOR ceremony; and just a few days ago I was informed about plans for a full traditional
Jan Wood sundance to be held in Wales next year. It seems like maybe we do need ceremony,
PRODUCTION TEAM and maybe we are getting it.
Nicholas Wood
Jan Wood
Rebecca Sargent And yet! I have a friend who has a sage bush in his garden, not your common or
Celia Wearing garden sage this one, it is sage brush (Artemisia - not a sage at all) from a
Lillian Kemp Sundance site in Dakota. Sage is the medicine herb, a very sacred gift of
Arthur Kemp
Grandmother Earth. It grows well in the arid conditions of the Great Plains, and
DISTRIBUTION
David Stemp, Jan Wood grew well in the soil of England.
But this medicine grew differently, it grew a different shape; different shaped
PUBLISHING POLICY
SACRED HOOP networks those leaves, and if I remember right even had a different smell. If the Sundance happens,
interested in the teachings of or if we have more Yuwipi ceremonies held here, how will they be different?
indigenous shamanic peoples Most of us reading this issue of Hoop are not Native Americans, Britain does not
as a living path of knowledge. have Buffalo, or any connection to them, nor do we do not have cotton-wood trees,
Our contents cover the integration
of old and new knowledge, or gophers. We do not have a living sacred tradition either (the editor now settles
and insights that contribute back to await the rush of hate mail that will no doubt flood into the office), but we do
to a balanced and sustainable have a need for such a tradition.
lifestyle in today's world.
We honour all paths and peoples Many people have said to me over the
and do not include material years, I want to work with some real
from, or give support to, any Native Americans. Well thats fine,
individual or group which seeks some Native teachers are far ahead of
to oppress or discriminate
on grounds of race, lineage, anyone in this country, others will take
age, sex, class or belief. you for a ride (every train has its
SACRED HOOP passengers as a Bulgarian brother once
does not knowingly publish told me). But do not forget there is a
any material that is growing body of people in the UK who
inaccurate or libellous.
know their stuff (and unfortunately
The views expressed are some who dont, but tell you they do!).
not necessarily those of
the Editorial Team. They were not brought up as children
For All Our Relations
with a tribal tradition of these sort of
ceremonies, but they have learned and
Printed on paper they are building a tradition here. They
from a sustainable source run Vision Quests, they run Sweat
by Perfect Image, Worcestershire.
Tel (01386) 40435 lodges, many are Sacred Pipe carriers
Old Sundancer. Photo of Black Ree Cheyenne council Chief Ca 1908

and run traditional pipe ceremonies with

FRONT COVER DETAILS dignity and respect.
The Star road: by Nicholas Wood
It seems to me, that unless we
DISCLAIMER honour the people in our own land, and
Whilst making every effort to be
accurate, the Editorial Team will stop looking so hard to America, we will
not be deemed responsible for any never get a tradition, and we wont
errors, omissions or inaccuracies
appearing in Sacred Hoop. respect what is happening here, it will
PUBLISHER
only ever be second best.
SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE How will our sage grow and become
28 COWL STREET, the shape it needs to be here, how will
EVESHAM, WORCS. we tend to its growing?
WR11 4PL, ENGLAND.
TELEPHONE & FAX (01386) 49680
For all my relations
1997 Sacred Hoop Magazine
and/or individual contributors. No Nicholas Wood.
part of this magazine, either
written text or visual art may be
reproduced in any way
whatsoever without the w r i t t e n
permission of the editors.

PAGE 6 SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997

 INSIDE THIS ISSUE
CONTENTS
FEATURES
O N T H E HILL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 - 1 3
A night of fear while fasting on a Vision Quest
high in the mountains of the Mojave Desert under
the direction of an old Shoshone healer
By Steven Foster

THE STAFF AND THE SONG. . . . . . . . . . 1 4 - 1 6

In the Norse sagas, the wise women sing songs and
spells of power. Here one of the leading authorities
on the Shamanic journey tells us about her
experience of using this powerful tradition.
By Annette Hst

MEETING IN A SACRED MANNER. . . . . . . 1 7 - 1 9 With a Staff and a Song, Norse

A personal account of working with Grandfather wise women were the seers and
Wallace Black Elk on his recent visit to Wales, and healers of their culture
a chance to ask some questions about ceremony. Pages 14 -16
By Martin Shaw

A SOUND OF EAGLE BONE WHISTLES. . . .2 0 - 2 3

Outlawed for many years, the ancient Sundance
ceremony for the healing and renewal of the people
is once again central to Native American life.
By Richard Erdoes

SUNDANCE IN BRITAIN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
What is on offer that is similar to this powerful
ceremony, and news of the plans to run a traditional
Sundance in Wales in the summer of 1998.

THUNDERBIRDS AND ROCK DREAMERS. . . 2 5 - 2 7

The Yuwipi ceremony of the Lakota Sioux is perhaps
the most challenging one for western minds.
Sundance, for
We introduce the ceremony, and tell about some
the renewal of all life
of the strange things that can happen during one.
Pages 20 - 23
By Nicholas Wood

STAR BLANKET. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8 - 3 0
The morning Star is a powerful symbol. Find out how
native tradition adopted the technique of European
patchwork and how you can use this to
create your own wall hanging.
By Jan Wood

REGULAR

E A R T H TALK: FTF N E W S.................. ..4

The beautiful Star Quilt.
EDITORIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Learn the traditional
R E V I E W S................................ 3 1 patch work technique

DON'T MISS - the PEOPLE ON THE PATH pages 34- 36

Unique 'shamanic events' guide to what's happening in the UK
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997 PAGE 7
FASTING ON A VISION QUEST
T
he wind came around midnight.
Up to then, Id been doing pretty
HIGH IN THE MOUNTAINS well. I hadnt nodded off. I hadnt
OF THE MOJAVE DESERT, been consumed with self-pity. I hadnt
breathed with my mouth open. There
GUIDED BY JOHN hadnt been much to see, but Id paid
BULLET HAWK - AN OLD attention. I did see the rat that stole my
piece of gum. It scuttled across my field
SHOSHONE HEALER of vision, a silver-black shadow with
WILDERNESS EXPERT white spats.
Time had passed more quickly than
AND WORLD RENOWNED the night before. The nausea had
subsided, but hadnt altogether
VISION QUEST LEADER disappeared. It seemed the emptier I
became, the less concerned with the
STEVEN FOSTER passage of time or the condition of my
stomach. The moonlit world around me
FACED A NIGHT OF FEAR poised silently and still, an inverted
reflection of the inner chaos of
questioning.
Why had I been put on this earth?
Were there answers to be salvaged from
the past? Were there hints in the sunday
school boy who testified to the bums on
skid row that Jesus saved? Were there
clues in the young man who walked alone
in the desert and masturbated in the den
of rattlesnakes? Were there signs in the
basketball player who wanted to be a pro?
Against the dark screen of the past,
fragmented, unresolved answers took
the form of faces, presences, spirits, of
others in my life. It was as though the
time had come to die. It was their last
chance, and mine, to say whatever
needed to be said. Thus I would resolve
the puzzle of my life, bringin everythin
clear by making it good with everyone,
as my old teacher had put it.
Id spent the greater part of six hours
entertaining the memory of those who
came to be counted: my mother and
father, whod done the best they could
with me, and I wasnt complaining; my
brothers and sisters, who loved me
without judgment; my children and step
children; my old high school buddies;
Janine, my first love; James, with whom
Id first dropped acid; Roseann, my first
wife; John, the old man praying for me
at the bottom of the hill.
In everyone, in every memory, lay the
hidden inkling, the buried attribute, the
sunken treasure which, when
uncovered, revealed me, the man. I
turned every remembrance over in my
hands, polishing, appreciating, setting
aside, letting go. Like songs on a tape,
every memory receded into forgetfulness,
into the nothingness of the past. Yet each
image left a residue. Perhaps that final
day Id remember Id said goodbye, and
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
the going on would be easier. When the
remembering got too painful, I felt the
sickness rise in me, as it had in the
sweatlodge.
When the wind came up I realised the
object was to stay alive through the
passage. The creosote bushes began to
stir and moan and writhe their snaky arms
around like a drowning swimmer. From
the west, invisible hands began to push
and shove. At first, the wind gusted, rising
and falling, booming faintly in the canyons,
blowing softly on the great organ whistle
of the mountains. But it would not be
satisfied with occasional displays of power.
It was determined to manifest itself in all
its glory.
Saucer-shaped clouds,
brightened by the moonlight,
swept across the cold,
transparent stars. There came a
thundering roar, a flowing,
tumbling, shrieking in the air, a
painful lament, as of a million
victims being flayed with the
Devils tail. And with the sound
came the feeling, the violence,
the fingers tipped with icicles,
digging, jabbing, scraping away
the layers to get to the
unshielded core. No use in
trying to duck and hide, no
escape, unless Wind said so.
Nothing else to do but curl up
into as small a target as
possible, to pray and kiss the
arse of the Wind.
The wind lifted the dirt and
hurled it into my eyes, tore at
the screeching creosote, tossed
me and my sleeping bag around
like the last leaf on a twig. Fear
flashed in the darkness, a
gleaming blade I couldnt dodge.
This was no game. Shit was
coming down and I, by choice,
was in the middle of it. I jammed
my daypack under the creosote
and got into the bag. The upper
air was roaring like a great
engine. Clouds thronged across
the rainbow corona of the moon,
mottling the landscape with
sinister tones. The sparse foliage crawled
and bowed in a macabre dance. The
great valley was filled with fog-like
blowing dust, a witchs brew.
Everything that was alive, or dead,
was coming apart, pulling free of its
moorings.
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
I cringed in the bag, turned my aching
back against the wind, pulled my cap
down over my ears, and held on to the
edge of the void. After a while, I left my
wide-open, gritty eyes, and went
somewhere. There was no wind there, no
night, no day, no colour, no sound, no
passion, no doubt, no joy, no time. There
was only the place where I was. Still, my
eyes saw, my nose breathed, my body
was pummelled by wind fists. I watched
the skies darken, tasted the misery, the
hope, of waiting.
A couple hours before sunrise, in the
continuing fury of the wind, I heard a
voice whispering against the ear at the
nape of my neck. It was the voice of a
woman. I couldnt identify her, but was
willing to talk. She might have been
someone from the past, for her words
felt familiar, as if Id already sensed them
deep inside.
What are you doing here?
Looking for my place on the earth.
In that case, youve found it.
You mean, here, where Im sitting?
Yes. Where you sit inside the circle
of your bones. Where you sit inside the
circle of the universe.
At the moment Im not terribly happy
being here.
Youre doing better than the last
time. Youre still in one piece. That
circle of yours - you take great pains to
insure that pains and troubles get in
there.
The wind howled like a mountain torn
apart, boulders flying through the air.
What shall I do? I prayed to her.
Protect your water. Conserve what
you have. When you surrender to the
wind you control the wind.
I wanted to keep talking but
my eyes couldnt resist being
shut against the stinging dust.
My body wanted to let go of the
edge and be sucked down into
the black hole. I struggled
against the current, trying to
cling to her voice. But I couldnt.
I awoke to the greyness of
false dawn. The wind was
gone. The sky, horizon to
horizon, was choked with
silver-grey clouds. Everything
was unnaturally still, my
cramped body riddled with pins
and needles. The very marrow
of my bones seemed frozen.
Yet the air was warm, almost
balmy, with a scent of moisture
on the breeze. A sour,
congealed taste in my mouth
reminded me. The morning of
the third day of my quest. My
teacher John Bullet Hawk
would be here soon.
Easing out of my bag, I
waited for the feeling to return
to my limbs, then stood
awkwardly, trying to balance. It
felt good to stand. I decided to
do a few stretching exercises -
nothing heavy - knee bends,
hip swings, thigh stretches,
back arches. The sensations
were exquisite. How could this
be? I actually had energy to
move around. The nausea was gone.
Why not walk around the circle a few
times, while waiting for John? I must
have done a score of circuits before I
saw the old guy coming up the ridge with
his cowboy hat and cane.
Hello, John, I greeted him, sitting
PAGE 9
down again as he came up. Whats
up? He wheezed, leaned on his cane,
and gazed into my eyes with a crooked
grin, looking like some cartoon
character. Youre walkin around the
circle in the wrong direction, Bud.
Which direction am I supposed to
go? I didnt feel chastened. John
seemed happy to see me.
Clockwise - sunwise, like going into
the sweat lodge. Still breathing heavily,
he lowered himself with his stick, pulled
out his pouch, extracted a pinch and
sprinkled it on the ground at my feet.
Then he rolled up a smoke, offered it to
me.
I dont think I can take it. I said.
Yes you can. Go ahead, he replied.
We smoke together for a blessing. He
made me take it.
We lit up together. The powerful
smoke jolted my head with vertigo. Still,
the taste of it cut through the revolting
crud in my mouth. John tilted his face to
the sky. Looks like a change in the
weather.
Like what?
Mebbe rain, mebbe snow in the
higher mountains. Mebbe nothin.
Maybe cooler, eh? That was all I
could take of the cigarette. I snuffed it,
feeling giddy, disoriented.
Mebbe. John laughed.
What can I do if it rains?
I guess you can get wet.
Is it OK to stick my tongue out and
drink the rain.
You can do anythin you want.
You can take your clothes off and
dance around like a Red Indian,
hollerin your head off. You can roll
around in the mud like a bug. He
changed the subject. You been
prayin to Grandmother Earth like I told
you?
Ive been trying.
Good. He stubbed out
his smoke and
reached into the pocket of my daypack
for a sage incense bundle.
You use the rattle?
No,
You know how to use a rattle? He surrounding area, the ridge on which I
fished in his pocket for a match to light
the sage bundle.
Ive never used a rattle. What do I
do? Shake it up and down?
You talk to the spirit that comes.
That spirits a hell of a lot more powerful
than you can ever know. It brings you
good medicine.
I marvelled at his simple faith in the
spirits. To him, the world thronged with
entities living and dead who were eager
to help or harm. You do this, the spirit
comes. No ifs, or buts.
The old man glanced at the sky, lit
the bundle with a wooden match. A fitful
brightness on the eastern horizon
promised the appearance of the sun.
Well, I got to go. Ill keep sendin my
helper up here. He shook the flame out.
The smoke billowed in the silent air.
You aint doin so bad, Professor.
Youre half way there. Keep prayin to
your Grandmother. Pray to the four
directions too. Pray for your people.
He unzipped the front of his new blue
jacket and then, holding his fountain of
smoke, limped clockwise around the
circle, ending with me. Without so much
as a word of farewell, he started down
the hill, trailing behind him a rooster-
plume of bitter-sweet scent dissolving
ever so quietly in the morning air.
Loneliness aching in my throat, I
watched him go. On my own again,
grovelling like a worm in the dirt, another
day without water. At least it would be
cooler. To console myself I bit off
another piece of mugwort
and chewed it,
swallowing
the acrid juice as the sun rose palely
behind its curtain of clouds. Minus the
unbearable glare, the colours of the
desert glowed with subdued vigour. The
sat, the slope and poise of mountains,
the velvet clefts of canyons, the miracles
of greenery, the bits and pieces torn by
the nights wind from dead or dying
things, tugged at me with a fresh
attraction.
I began to inspect every square
inch of the circle into which Bullet
Hawk had put me, the stiffly
spreading burroweed, the clustered
hopsage, the silver-purple desert
holly, the grey-green luxuriance of
rubber rabbitbrush, and the creature
under whom Id been sleeping for two
days - the dark skinned, twisted
creosote.
Closer to the ground, wild flowers
bloomed. In among the dried leaves and
spider holes at the base of the creosote
grew white, five-pointed blossoms, no
bigger than the tip of a mouses nose. Id
already crushed several of them with my
sleeping bag.
On closer inspection, the entire area
beneath the creosote was a world unto
itself, an ordered kind of chaos,
composed of dead leaf mulch, dried
seeds, a tiny spider tunnel, ants
carrying what looked like shreds of fly
wing, a length of dead root, crooked
and curved like a snake, the black,
shiny casings of several stink beetles,
the casing of a small, iridescent green
beetle, just large enough to be a jewel
set on a golden ring, scores of rabbit
turds in varying stages and colours of
decomposition, a tattered feather
no longer than half a
little finger,
one tiny
leg bone, possibly a mouses, bleached
white as the driven snow, and many
other bits of flotsam and jetsam
spawned by desert time and tide.
Time passed unaware. Absorbed in
my discoveries, I didnt stop to think
about the change that had come over
me, my newly acquired attention to the
world in which I fasted. Nor did I cast a
glance over my shoulder to see if the
sky was blackening. Happily, I picked
through the detritus on the floor of the
ancient desert sea, the compost from
which things grew. I explored the
mansions of the minute, I smelled the
musty, earthen odour of things
castaway, dead, sucked of their juice so
the living could have another hour, year,
century. Thirst was forgotten. I was an
archaeologist, a gold miner sifting the
mud in the bottom of the pan.
Looking down, I didnt see the lurid
flash of light in the southwest. But the
thunder shook the ground, wrenching
me away from the universe of dirt.
Lightning! I looked up at the sky. No
more shades of grey and white. It was all
the same colour - black. The
Inconsolable Range had been swallowed
up by the glowering monsters advancing
on me.
My stomach knotted into a fear more
intense than the wind-fear of the night
before. A storm was coming and it was
going to tear away whatever puny
defenses I had, exposing me for what I
was - pink, naked worm flesh. I didnt
nobly offer thanks to Grandmother for
shading the dangerous, desiccating sun,
or for calming the sucking wind. I didnt
bravely rejoice in the glory and power of
the oncoming spectacle. I prayed. I
prayed, Oh shit! I prayed. Please
bring the sun back! Oh Grandmother,
please bring the sun back!
Helplessly, I watched the
thunderbirds swoop down on extended
wings. What else could I do? The prey
couldnt dodge and run. I was in an
advanced state of weakness brought on
by lack of water and food, cringing
shamelessly and trying to escape from
the uninvited guest at my empty banquet
table. There was no place to hide.
Whatever Grandmother Earth chose to
give, I would receive.
Again, I sank into the quicksand of
fear. The desert became sinister, ugly,
and infinitely indifferent. The mansions
of the dirt, in which Id been so
absorbed, fled in a wisp of dust. Now
there would be flashes of death light,
cataclysms of thunder, devouring clouds.
My only cover was the creosote, the
jacket, the sleeping bag, the wool cap.
Id be open to whatever came down.
Panic, the harlequin, came riding in
on the forked snake tongues of
lightning. I couldnt quiet my fear.
Youre a lightning rod! Youre the
biggest target on this hill! At least youll
go quick and clean and you wont know
what hit you. Think of all the evil
things youve done to earn it. Dont
move. It likes a moving target. Dont
sit still. Itll get you for sure!
I couldnt erase that parched spot at
the back of my throat by swallowing. I
cast about for something to divert my
attention from the delicate tongues
licking the Inconsolable Mountains,
advancing my way with footfalls of
thunder. No diversion, no escape from
what was surely coming.
My rational mind advised the panicky
little boy that he was perfectly safe, that
the storm might look scary but that it
would pass quickly, that rain might fall,
but what was a little rain; that
statistically, my chances of being struck
by lightning were almost nil. All I had to
do was curl up under the creosote bush,
cover myself with my sleeping bag, and
wait it out.
The wind picked up. It smelled fresh
and cold; it crackled like static in my dry
nostrils. Maybe I ought to welcome the
rain, dance naked like a savage, like the
old man suggested. Hadnt he been
praying for water? Well, here it was,
coming to save his bacon. Let it come!
Advancing eastward, the vortex of
the storm was halfway across the valley,
growling, grinding, flashing its jagged
teeth, a purple-grey rain curtain hanging
from its ears. I forgot my resolve to
dance naked in the rain. Adrenaline
thumping my gut strings, I dug into the
dirt and covered myself with the sleeping
bag, trying to blot out the places where
the air became unseamed and the light
of death shone through. Even in the
shielded dark the lightning hunter
speared my brain, the hounds of thunder
at his heels. The quarry cowered and
waited for the end.
Only once before had I felt so keenly
the lack of companionship, the need to
share my terror, to be comforted by
being known and accepted. No one
within miles. How like my loners life, my
maverick existence, spent in doubt of
others because I doubted myself,
because I couldnt trust the love of
others for someone as depraved as me!
Ka-Blam! The thunder droned from
the echoing mountains behind
me. Ka-

Blam!
Ka Blam! Lightning was striking
every few seconds. The sky above
was black as night. An eerie light was
crawling over the rocks and bushes and
ridges to the west, a rosy
phosphorescence animating things. I
curled deeper into the creosote, tucking
the bag around me like a sacred shield.
Ka-Blam! A ton of dynamite exploded on
the adjoining ridge. I couldnt help but
look. I didnt want to look. I could feel
the hair rising on the nape of my neck,
smell the rank odour of ozone.
Grandmother, help me! I
screamed. Help me! Save me! I would
have been perfect in a melodramatic
comedy, yelling fervent prayers,
smothering myself with a blue sleeping
bag. I know Im not worth it, but
please, Grandmother, Im all Ive got! I
know I havent learned how to love, but
if you save me I promise Ill learn how
to love! I promise!
Ka-Blam! The concussion rattled my
teeth. It was true. Over the years I
hadnt retained more than a couple
friends. Did I really think I could get
along without people or their acceptance
of me? Flash! Ka-Blam! The light and
the sound were almost simultaneous. I
howled in fear. Please save me,
Grandmother! I curled into a tight ball
and squeezed my penis, a trapped animal
casting about wildly for some avenue of
escape.
Hold your mind still! shrilled a voice
above the thundering din. Who was
that? The old man? Ka-Blam! Ka-
Blam! Hold my mind still? The face of
my old teacher hung against my inner
eye. His nose had turned into a hooked
beak. His frail arms had sprouted
PAGE 12
banded
feathers. Ka-Blam! The
rattlesnakes were copulating. I
was standing in front of my modern
poetry class; a student named Ray was
telling the class that Baudelaire was the
greatest modern poet. I was with a girl
named Cheryl, sunbathing nude among
the boulders along the Clarks Fork river.
Ka-Blam! Paul was making love to my
girlfriend. Ka-Blam! Ka-Blam! Hold my
mind still? KA-BLAM! I was rocked by
the concussion of a near-miss on my
creosote bush.
Help me Grandmother! Help me
Grandmother! Help me Grandmother! I
dont want to die ! I was just a worm, a
tick, a pimple on the skin of the earth.
Couldnt I just be overlooked? KA-BLAM
! My body was a mass of copper wiring
with a thick antenna shooting up above
the creosote. I was a gonner. Ka-Blam!
Ka-Blam! My brother and I were sitting
in a pew at the North Hollywood Baptist
Church. The collection plate, overflowing
with dollar bills, had just been passed to
me. I was thinking, what if .... Ka-Blam!
KA-BLAM! Shit! Its right on top of me!
Hold your mind still! the voice hollered
again.
I couldnt hold still. I was crawling
every which way at once, trying not to
be where death was. The only way I
could stay in one place was to cry over
and over again, Help me Grandmother,
please help me ! as the lightning
danced and rolled, tapping its random
rhythm of cannon fire. Scattered drops
of rain thumped against the sleeping
bag. Help me Grandmother, please
help me! An image of my grandmother,
Ethel Twycross, came to mind, a wrinkled
crone, a sparrow hawk perched on her
shoulder.
I prayed to her.
Please Grandmother,
help me ! Ill do anything for you.
Anything. Just save me!
Ka-Blam! The old woman peered at me
with slitted eyes, her face
expressionless. Help me Grand-
mother! I prayed, the plea changing to a
chant, a litany, a mindless mouthing that
kept me, somehow, from falling into
complete idiocy. Help me Grand-
mother! Help me Grandmother! Ka-
Blam!
In time, the storm passed. I was,
perhaps, in no real danger, though the
panic was real enough. Having lapsed
into a coma of prayer, I was hardly
aware of the moment when the lightning
was no longer a threat.
Grandmother Twycross appeared
again. She was quoting the same line
from King Lear over and over again:
Allow not nature more than nature
needs, - mans life is as cheap as a
beasts. She was the one who finally
quieted my mind, fastening it to a
mountain of truth. Mans life is as
cheap as a beasts. The sound of
thunder dwindled to a soft roar. When I
finally removed the shielding of the
sleeping bag, I looked up at the heavens
and saw, here and there, patches of
blue sky, realising, almost with regret,
that there had been but a token rain.
Not a drop had fallen down my thirsty
throat. The wind still gusted; the air was
decidedly cooler, but the storm was
gone.
Methodically, I extracted my cramped
bones from under the creosote and
listened to the sounds of retreating
thunder. Jesus, Id been in a state!
Sheepishly, I remembered my frightened
praying, thankful that nobody had been
there to see me fall apart. Nevertheless,
I was certain my praying had made a
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
difference,
and my gratitude
to Grandmother knew
no bounds. With dry lips
and swollen tongue, I
thanked her for not allowing
me to be quick-fried. Then I
collapsed in the sleeping bag and
immediately fell asleep.
When I awoke, the sun was sinking.
The sky had cleared, the wind had died,
and I was chilled. Long shadows
stretched toward an eastern horizon
dominated by the Derelict Mountains,
gnarled and twisted with sunset gold.
Groggily, I watched from the warmth of
my sleeping bag as the night shadows
crept upward to envelop the unnamed
peaks that topped the range. How
would I make it through the night?
Sensations of thirst had become
pronounced. The acidic taste in my
mouth, associated with saliva, had
faded, replaced by a cottony
tastelessness. No longer could I roll spit
around in my mouth. From experience I
knew that the hard-to-swallow feeling
would only become more intense. There
was really nothing I would be able to do
to alleviate my discomfort - except the
forbidden act of hiking down to the car
to get a drink from one of those bottles
of spring water Id stashed in the back.
A spluttering in the air next to my right
ear startled me fully awake. I couldnt
see it but I knew the old mans sparrow
hawk was there, standing still in the
emptiness like a poised bullet. It had
been with me through the storm.
Perhaps it had protected me from a
direct hit. Id been so damned hysterical
about somehow escaping the storm that
I hadnt acknowledged its presence.
Thank you, Bullet Hawk, I said
thick-mouthed. Thank you for gettin
me through the storm.
You can thank me by gettin out of
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
the
sack and bein alive,
the old mans voice came
through, loud and clear. Stand
up and stretch. Stay awake through the
night. Use your rattle. Talk to the spirits.
Bring me a song. Its gonna be a good
night. You can see how the lightnin and
thunder and wind cleaned out the air.
Its a damn good night to talk to the
spirits.
I jammed my cap down over my ears,
pulled on sweater and jacket, unzipped
the bag, crouched down on all fours, then
on three, weakly pushing myself up to
balance on two - standing finally on my
own two feet.
Steven Foster is co author of The Book of the
Vision Quest. Prentice Hall Press: New York:
1980: ISBN: 0 13 080110 0). He has trained
with numerous respected Native American
teachers, and was a close friend of Sun Bear for
many years. He is currently writing a book on the
psychopathology of the medicine shield teachings
taught by Hyemeyohsts Storm. He runs Vision
Quests in America, and can be contacted at:
The School of Lost Borders,
Box 55, Big Pine, CA 93413 USA.
For details of Vision Quests held in this country,
contact David Wendl-Berry. David has extensively
trained with Steven Foster.
Vision Quest.
Souchez,
London Road, Stroud,
Glos GL5 3BA.
(01453) 886842.
Sacred Hoop wishes to thank Phebe Gladstone for
her help in arranging this article.
Illustrations Jan Wood 1997.
PAGE 13
 aybe you, like I, have felt a

e the staff and the song

M
longing to let your shamanic
practice take root in your
own land and its traditions.

e
For many years I have been enchanted
by old stories about the Nordic form of

t he Staff
shamanism called Seidr (pronounced
syid).

e This tradition was practiced mostly

by women called volvas, who used
ecstatic song as means for their soul to

e and t he Song journey. As I have explored the Seidr,

and included it in my own shamanic
practice and teaching, I have found that
it has very much to reveal that is useful.

e Part one of a two part look at the use of the

old Nordic Seidr in modern shamanism
by Annette Hst
Here I will look at Seidr from the
perspective of a shamanic practitioner,
and focus on what the tradition has to

e offer and teach us here and now. The

greatest gift of which is the treasure of
ecstatic song and magic chanting that the

e
tradition contains.

SEIDR - THE WRITTEN SOURCES

The old written sources about Seidr are

e found in the Edda and the sagas, and

often it is not at all clear if they describe
myth or this reality or both. Some key

e points in Seidr practice are never

mentioned, and the descriptions are
often heavily biased. Here I will briefly
introduce the bare bones of Seidr, to

e give a basic understanding.1

In its heyday, a thousand years and
more ago, the Northern shamanic

e tradition of Seidr were practiced mostly

by women, called Volvas, Seidr-wives,
Sp-wives, or Wise women. A Volva was
often described as being past her fertile
e years.
The Seidr had its roots in the fertility
cult surrounding the goddess Freya,

e and the ceremonial form of a Seidr

seance is quite unique. The Volva does
her shamanic work sitting with her staff

e
on a high seat, or platform, a Seidrhiallr.
The staff is important, but it is never
stated exactly why. The volva is
surrounded by a circle of people, who

e sing the spirit-calling Seidr songs.

These were magic chants, but
unfortunately none were written down.

e It is this ecstatic song which

changes the Volvas state of
consciousness, carrying her into a
trance and on a shamanic journey.

e the staff and the song When the song ends, the Volva is still
suspended between the worlds,
PAGE 14 SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
receiving spirit realm. Thus she is in a
state to prophesy, divine, and to
answer questions about the future and
fate.
Seidr was used mainly for divination,
but in some accounts the Volva's close
link to Freya and the powers of fertility
shine clearly through. In the story of
Thorbirg Lillvolva, the Volva is called
because of the famine and the
barrenness of the land. In
Landnmabk another Volva gets
named Filler of the Sound because
she made the herring return to a fjord
they had disappeared from.
The Seidr is thus used to bring
plenty, to restore balance between
people and nature. In still other cases it
is used to gather and send power. 2
BUILDING ON
THE OLD FOUNDATION
We can learn only so much from books.
Stories, side remarks, and hints form
only a sketchy picture of Seidr
tradition, a puzzle with many pieces still
missing. But, I have been determined
to pick up my heritage and learn from
the Volva, and so have tried to reach
over the vast gap of time, and of stories
twisted and knowledge forgotten,
hidden and lost.
It is possible. With a basis in our
own shamanic experience, we can pick
up the ancient track and see
where the path takes us. We
can try out parts of the Volva's
traditions which transcend the
difference in time and life
conditions.
Most important, we can go
to the same sources that guided
and empowered our ancestors:
the spirit teachers, and the
power and knowledge stored in
the land.
I have worked with and
taught the craft of Seidr in an
experiential way over quite a
few years now. Broken pieces
of the puzzle have been fitted
together: the missing pieces in
the Seidr slowly being found
and emerging from my own and
others experiences.3
Here I want to focus on the
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
magical use of song. Seidr first and
foremost taught me that song has an
ability to open doors and carry power
that is beyond my wildest expectations.
THE SONG.
"The cold The Seidr song as portrayed in the
offered me ancient literature is unmistakably
shamanic and it has taught me a lot
lays out there. about magic singing in general. Song
and chanting has always been an
The rain sent important part of shamanic practice
me often songs, everywhere, and song shows up all by
itself for anyone who starts on a path of
other ballads the shamanism.
It is said that the Seidr song was
wind brought me. ecstatic song. To me ecstasy means a
The waves carried state where you have let go so much of
ego, control, and convention that the
them to the shore, power of the universe flushes through
you unhindered. That is the first trait of
birds shaped. shamanic singing: singing from a
Words into tones, source that is bigger than yourself, and
letting power flow through you as song.
talking, sounded In other words, the song is sung in a
trance or altered state of awareness.
from the crowns When we sing like that, we can
of trees." experience a marvellous shift in our
voice, our breathing, endurance, and
power: the song sings us.
From The Kalevala
There is a second trait of ecstatic
song that makes it shamanic: the song
has a definite purpose. We sing open
the doors to the otherworld. We sing to
our spirit helpers, so they may
know we are calling them. We
sing to a tree to honour its
beautiful power. We sing the
invisible threads between us
and our spirit helpers stronger.
We sing a mound open, so we
can talk with our ancestors. We
sing pains and spirits of illness
away. We sing thanks to the
plants we harvest.
This gets us to the third
trait. Shamanic songs or
chants are not composed or
constructed. They are found,
heard, gotten, when we are in-
spired. They arrive, arise,
unfold. And then they burst
from us when we are full, and
cannot contain them any
longer.
The songs visit us.
Sometimes they stay with us for
a long time, sometimes they leave
again fast. Sometimes they have
words, sometimes just sounds.4
One of the first verses in Finlands
great magic song cycle The Kalevala
expresses beautifully where the magic
songs live, where the source of power
is.
THE ART OF GALDR
The song is central to Seidr, but
magical song also had its own
independent tradition called Galdr. In
some sources the Seidr song is even
called Gelda. A Galdr is a sung spell or
incantation, used in highly skillful and
differentiated ways. A Galdr is directed
at something or somebody, and can
have all the purposes and traits that
shamanic songs in general have.
Sometimes a new song is born out
of the need and the moment, or
sometimes it has been passed on for
centuries.
In the prose Edda it is told how the
god Thor once got hit by a whetstone,
which embedded itself firmly in his
forehead. Thor went to the giant Volva
Groa for help, and she sung her spells
(gol sine galdre) over him. When Thor
felt the whetstone loosening, he
wanted to reward her for the healing,
and told her that her husband, long
lost, would soon come home again.
This made Groa so happy, that she
couldn't Galdre any more, and the
whetstone didnt come further loose.
This is a fine account of Galdr being
used as a healing song but the story
also illustrates how it is only possible to
galdre effectively in a certain state of
awareness.
In Oddruns Lament Galdr is used in
midwifing. Not until Oddrun sang
powerful, sharp, biting Galdrs at
Borgny's bed was the child delivered.
You can still hear the galdr sung.
PAGE 16
Listen to the wild haunting wails of a
Gale, and to the enchanting trills of a
NightinGale. Then you know the power
of the Galdr, and you know where to
find the true teachers of the art.
WHEN WE SING NOW
No Seidr songs or Galdr tunes 5 are
handed down to us from back then, but
enough is recorded in the ancient
literature for us to know what to listen
for. New Seidr songs work in basically the
same way as the old ones; the volva sits
as in a dome of song, which carries her to
other worlds.
I have found however, the purpose
and effect of a good Seidr song is not
just to transport the Volva, it is also to
transform the singers. For many of us,
I have heard the
most heavenly music,
piercing bird calls,
the cackling of old hags,
the growling
of fierce four-leggeds,
all coming from the
throats of people
who can't sing. song tradition degenerated.
who as children were told that we could
not sing, and wouldn't we please shut
up; magic singing offers healing and
new voice. The secret here is to strip
away and un-do all that we were taught
about the right way to sing, and then
let the power flow through us. I have
heard the most heavenly music, piercing
bird calls, the cackling of old hags, the
growling of fierce four-leggeds, all
coming from the throats of people who
can't sing.
Some people who are sensitive to
power sometimes fear being swept
totally off their feet when magic song
starts to grow. But even the powerful
trance inducing chanting is only
dangerous if it is done without a clear
intent. As soon as an attitude of intent
and focus in the work is added, any
disorientation evaporates, and the song
empowers and grounds. I soar on the
song, but it is the scent of earth, that
pours from my mouth.
NOTES
1. See also Brian Bates' more detailed
description of a saga Seidr seance in Sacred
Hoop, Issue 15.
2. Scholarly literature on seidr and its background:
H.R. Ellis Davidsson: Myths and Symbols in
Pagan Europe and Gods and Myths of Northern
Europe, and M. Eliade: Shamanism, - Archaic
Techniques of Ecstasy. The source book on
Seidr: Sejd by Dag Strmbck, from 1935 is in
Swedish and Norse.
3. I know of two other groups who have worked
with Seidr for years, from a slightly different angle
than mine: People in the shamanic network
Yggdrasil in Sweden, to whom I owe my first
introduction to seidr and the group Hrafnar with
Diana L. Paxson in California. Both have
published articles about their work.
4: See also Sacred Plant Song by Stephen H.
Buhner in Sacred Hoop Issue 15.
5: However quite a few texts of Galdrs and spells
are written down, attesting to the very popular
use of the power of the word, which has survived
in North European magic tradition long after the
Annette Hst has practiced and studied
shamanism for more than ten years with a special
focus on Nordic shamanic tradition and the power
of Natures cycles. She and her partner Jonathan
Horwitz run Scandinavian Centre for Shamanic
Studies in Copenhagen. They teach workshops in
shamanism and frequently visit UK. On October
3-5th 1997 Annette will teach a course in
London on shamanic singing. For details of this
and other workshops contact Taraneh Yamini, 1
A Marchwood Crescent, Ealing, London W5
2DZ. Tel: 0181 998 2952.
The illustrations are by the work of unknown
Norwegian artists.
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
A r r iving at Newport at 9.00am on a
cold and rainy Monday morning
wasnt the ideal way
to start the week,
but Grandfather
Wallace Black Elk
was here, and so was I.
Having never attended
a workshop before,
but having read
the book
Black Elk:
The Sacred Ways of a Lakota,
this seemed too good
an opportunity to miss.
I
arrived in plenty of time and was met by one
of the organisers who steered me in the
direction of a much needed cup of coffee.
About thirty of us had gathered and there was
a general air of expectancy. After about half an hour
Grandfather Wallace entered the room, sat down
and began to speak. A big man in stature and
presence, he spoke for several hours on a variety of
subjects, from his initiation into the spirit world,
reverence for our elders, to the current state of the
earth. Softly spoken and often humourous he gently
relaxed the audience with his stories while always
returning to his central theme of reverence of the
creator, the planet and all living things. He seemed
very relaxed, smiling and sipping a soft drink, but it
would have been foolish to underestimate the
importance of his message.
After a shared lunch, the afternoon consisted of
making prayer ties for the Stone Peoples Lodge
(Sweat lodge) 2. It was interesting to see this ritual
in process and realise the importance of ceremony
in Lakota custom. Indeed, the lodge itself had been
constructed in a specific manner, in the custom of
his people.
Leading up to the stone people lodge there was
to be a Chanunpa (pipe) ceremony, and we
gathered round to observe. The bowl of the pipe
represents the world and the stem represents the
tree of life. The bowl also represents the feminine
and the stem the masculine, and it is only when
these are joined together that you have the
Chanunpa 3.
The threat of a downpour subsided and by
the time Wallace had filled the chanunpa we had
clear skies. He raised the pipe to the four
directions and started to pray in Lakota.
Although a good speaker and storyteller, seeing
Wallace work in ceremony took the day to
another level and the change in energy was
tangible.
After the ceremony I was lucky enough to spend
some time talking personally to him.
Grandfather how can we use your teachings in
regards to our relationship with the land.?
You should use the fire, the rock, the water, the
green, in a good way because it was given to us
free of charge, it was a gift to us. We were warned
by the Creator Tunkashila, I give you this, but
dont take the fire in your own hands or else you
might get burned. So man took up the fire and they
make the Atomic bomb. That isnt why we were
given the fire. So right from the start we abuse the
fire, the rock, the green.
These are the base of all knowledge. Wisdom
encompasses the knowledge and knowledge is a
woman. Knowledge is a temple of God, She gave
birth to all living things. Christian people
say God created Heaven and Earth, but I
think they werent interpreted right. They
are the same people who say the fire, the
rock, the water, the green were all placed
here for mans disposal. Everything
becomes disposable and that is not right.
Back in 1945 I was given the honour
of giving water to the stone people. My
grandfather was still alive at that time.
When it was dark something knocked on
the door of the Stone People Lodge, so
my grandfather said Youve got some
visitors! They want to know how well you
are trained to handle the power.
Tunkashila, with his holy eye can see
things we cant see. You see something
thats not going to do us any good. We
use the earth and its helpers that we may
understand.
So now the song begins. A big water-fall, like an
ocean, hit the lodge and went right through. We felt
it go through us, we were inside and the fire was
sitting there red hot. Something came in, cold and
slippy and hit my forehead, my chest, my leg, my
back. There was this slapping sound, and Grandpa
said something came through here, what was it ?
I said l forgot to ask. I could here gurgling,
warbling; water rushing through, and a voice said We
are fish people, we came from the bottom of the
ocean to see you and to tell you that the two-leggeds
are secretly dumping their nuclear waste in the rivers
and oceans. Its going to effect us fish people and our
food source and the radioactive waste will surface and
contaminate the Earth. It is going to effect the winged
people, the four legged, the creeper crawlers, the fish
people and you two legged people.
At that time nobody believed or understood what
I was talking about. Years later when the public
found out about nuclear waste dumping in the
ocean we could see the effect, trees were dying,
animals and humans had deformities. It gets in the
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
blood, and causes cancer, leukemia, heart disease,
diabetes, all kinds of sickness right down to Aids.
These are incurable; the scientists dont know what
the cause is and they dont know how to cure it. But
we know it was prophesied here 19 generations
ago. This monster was created by men; pollution
began in the mind, and it goes round in the universe
of minds and as it does, is casts a shadow, a fear.
I wanted to know more about some other
traditional Lakota ceremonies, and so asked
Grandfather Wallace about some of them.
Can you tell me about the traditional Lakota
yuwipi ceremony?
The Yuwipi Ceremony began with my
forefathers. In this ceremony power is gonna come.
They tie a man, fill the chanunpa, build a scaffold
and put the man on top. Then a lightning bolt hits
the scaffold and unties him.
The vision quest is something we are beginning
to hear more about in Britain, could you tell me
something of its origins?
The chanunpa carries several rituals, the vision
quest is one of them. Everything begins from here.
You pray to the west, the north, the east and the
south; you pray to the four directions. The winged,
four-legged, creepers and crawlers, and fish people
are all assigned to the four directions.
The ceremony should last four days and nights
straight. You go there without water or food. The
medicine people are there, all the creatures are
there and they have the power to resurrect a man
from death. They have the power to reform, to
recreate a human mind body and spirit. That is
where the ceremonies begin. That is where you get
instructed to carry a chanunpa. If you carry your
gourds and an Eagle bone whistle, then the two
legged spirit will always be alert and aware of
everything that is around him.
After talking with Wallace it was time for the
stone people lodge. The rocks were white hot and
everything was ready to begin. As we lined up
outside, there was apprehension, as many of us,
including myself, had never entered a lodge before.
The question that kept raising its head was how
hot does it get in there?
We entered the lodge on our hands and knees,
in a sacred manner. Once inside it was cramped
and extremely hot. Scrunched up side by side in the
dark, the lodge felt like a womb.
As the door flap was closed and water given to
the stone people, heat sliced through the
darkness cleansing everyone gathered. To begin
with, Wallace sang and prayed, while Joseph, his
grandson accompanied him singing and playing a
drum. Wallace had said This is as close to
Grandfather and Grandmother as you are ever
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
going to get, and he certainly had a point. More
hot rocks were added and the prayers continued
till all intellectual understanding of the lodge
ceased, leaving the heat, the dark, and the
presence of our Creator. It grounded us to the
Earth but opened us to Spirit.
After a time, the lodge drew to a close. We
thanked the stone people and Grandfather, crawled
out of the entrance and were greeted by a cool
spring evening and a full moon.
What had come across time and time again
during the day, is that Wallaces message is a
universal one not confined to one nation or colour.
The whole experience brought home the fact that
we are not just observing nature, we are a vital part
of it. Our actions effect everything around us.
Experiencing so deeply a connection to the land
isnt something that should be reserved for
workshops or a spare weekend. Although raised
and trained in Lakota traditions, Grandfather
Wallaces teachings are truly global and there for
anyone who will listen. He teaches that we have to
work with the fire, the rock, the water, the green, if
were truly to be Earth people. All the teachings in
the world mean nothing if we cant understand
creation on that level.
Saying All my relations acknowledges our
connection to the four-legged, creeper-crawlers,
fish-people, two-legged, and winged-people, all
beings should be close to us. We have to wake up
to these sacred teachings and act accordingly,
bringing them into practice in our own lives. Only by
living with this at our centre can we start to
remember, and bring spirit back to the land.
Wallace Black Elk, has been trained since the age of five in the
traditional and sacred knowledge of the Lakota Sioux. One of
the first spiritual advisors to the American Indian Movement, he
was present at the occupation of Wounded Knee1 and was vitally
involved in the passage of the American Indian Religious
Freedom Act. It is hoped that he will be able to return to the UK
next in the near future.Sacred Hoop will keep you informed of
future plans.
Martin Shaw is a musician and writer, currently living near
Stroud, Gloucestershire.
Photo of Wallace Black Elk : Martin Shaw.
Photo of Welsh rocks, sweat lodge and all computer graphics:
Nicholas Wood.
NOTES
1 : In December 1890, U.S. troops took a band of captive
Sioux to a camp along Wounded Knee Creek in Dakota. There
the troops opened fire, and within a short time had killed about
200 Sioux men, women, and children. The event is deeply
ingrained in Sioux tribal history, and the site was occupied in
1973 for 71 days by a group of armed Native American
activists, who again were surrounded and fired on by federal
troops.
2 : For further information on the making of prayer ties see
Sacred Hoop Issue 15.
3 : For further information on the traditions of the sacred pipe,
see Sacred Hoop Issue 4.
In the next issue of Sacred Hoop, we will explore the traditional
Celtic sweat lodge tradition : The Teach An Alais.
I blew on my eaglebone whistle in rhythm to my
dancing. The sound drowned out my pain.
It made me see things with my mind.
I saw an eagle circling over me.
At first I thought it was a dream,
but then I opened my eyes
and saw it was real.
The eagle had
heard my whistle.
I became part
of that eagle.
Merle Left Hand Bull,
1971 at Rosebud
Grass Mountain
Sun Dance.

he Sun Dance is the most who thought that it was an initiation was at the centre of a tribes

T solemn and important ritual of

the Plains Indians, the Grand-
daddy of them all, as Pete
Catches puts it. The dance is common
to many Plains tribes such as the
Lakota, Arapaho, Cheyennes,
Assiniboins, Crows, Kiowas, Poncas,
Shoshonis, and Utes.
Closely related to it is the Mandans
Okipa ritual, painted by Bodmer and
Catlin in the 1830s. For some of the
tribes, the Mandans and Sioux for
instance, the dance involves piercing,
a form of self-torture. This aspect has
been often misunderstood by whites,
PAGE 20
into the tribe, or a way to prove ones
courage. As Lakota Holy man Lame
Deer explained: During a vision quest
(Lakota: han blecheya ), a man sits
alone by himself on a hilltop, having his
private communion with Wakan Tanka.
The Sun Dance is all the people
communicating with all the spirit
powers. It is the han blecheya of the
whole Sioux Nation. It is not a macho
dance to show how much you can
endure. It is a prayer and a sacrifice.
One takes part in it in obedience to a
vow.
It has been said that the Sun Dance
existence, the opportunity for the
expression of emotion in rhythm. Mari
Sandoz, who grew up close to the
Sioux, had her own, poetic
interpretation for the custom of
piercing:
To the old buffalo hunters
uninfluenced by Christian symbolism. .
. the ceremonial was based on the idea
that all things come forth in travail. It
was so with the buffalo cow producing
the yellow calf, the earth breaking as
the grass bursts forth, the clouds
splitting for the rain. Even the tree bled
as the bow was cut and the stone as
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
the arrowhead was shaped from its heart.
A person would make a vow to dance in order
to take away sickness from a friend or relative, or
to bring a warrior back alive from a battle. A man
might want to suffer so that the tribe would live.
Viewed by government agents and missionaries,
the Sun Dance was a savage, bloodthirsty rite
which had to be suppressed. And so, in the face
of the Constitutions guarantee of religious freedom
for all, the Sun Dance and all other Native American
rituals were outlawed in 1881. Even taking a sweat
bath became a punishable offense. In his 1882
report, McGillicudy, the agent at Pine Ridge wrote:
The heathenish annual ceremony termed the Sun
Dance will, I trust, soon be a thing of the past. He
was wrong.
The Sun Dance simply went underground. It
was finally permitted again during the
administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, without
self-torture, at the insistence of the missionaries.
Mari Sandoz, in her little gem of a book, These
Were the Sioux, recalled a touching, evocative
scene:

Several of us interested in the Sioux were

there to watch the head dancer, seventy-eight
(years old), lean and gaunt as any of the buffalo-
hunting followers of Crazy Horse out on the
Powder River. Dusty in his paint and flapping
breechcloth, the old dancer made his slow little
jumping, slipping steps, always turned to face the
broiling sun as the drummers pounded the green
calfskin, the voices of the singers rising and
gone, to rise again .... On the final afternoon he
was beginning to move in a curious trance-like
flow, almost without steps. Suddenly he stopped,
cried out in a thin high falsetto, gesturing to his
bare breast, crying to the sky and the Sun Dance
Pole and all around. He wants the thongs, a
uniformed Indian policeman told us, as voices
from the headmen replied to the dancer, patient
at first, then angrily and with a denying tone, firm.
It could not be allowed. Not allowed! An old
woman near us exclaimed, the words plainly
unfamiliar upon her tongue but their meaning
sudden and dark.
For a moment the lean old dancer hung as
from a string that did not exist. Then he crumpled
into the dust. A murmur of horror swept the
crowd, the eagle-wing fans still. After a while,
word spread that the old dancer was alive,
sleeping, his four-day ordeal cut short, finished.
But there would be bronco busting at the rodeo
corrals, beginning immediately. The riding was
good, and it seemed that almost no one
remembered, or even knew, that at the Sun
Dance Pole an old mans moment of hope and
belief had come and gone.1
When I witnessed my first Sun Dance, in
1967, men were piercing again, but somewhat
timidly, through a piece of skin over the left
breast. Pete Catches was dancing, a dozen eagle
feathers imbedded in his flesh which, he said,
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
hurt more than the actual
piercing. Today, men are
again hanging from the
Sun Dance Pole as
shown in the old
Bodmer and Catlin
paintings. Dancers
are again dragging up to
twelve buffalo skulls
fastened to
skewers in their
backs.
One time Leonard Crow
Dog was pierced in four
places, front and back, the
rawhide ropes attached to
four horses which were driven
off toward the four directions of
the universe.
In 1977 I watched a young
man, obviously one whom the
Sioux call a winkte
(homosexual), pierced in four
places, the thongs attached to
four poles enclosing him. This was the
hardest way, because he could not
tear himself loose with a sudden pull or
backwards leap.
With languid movements and a
dreamlike expression on his face, the
young man, swaying gently back and
forth, took a long time working himself
free. One curious aspect of the
modern Sun Dance is that Native
Americans come to participate from
many tribes which had never practiced
this ritual in previous centuries. I have
watched Ojibways, Iroquois,
Menominees, a lone Apache, even a
Mexican Huichol being pierced. In
some cases these were big-city
Indians from tribes whose languages
and ceremonies had become virtually
extinct. It was as if, by Sun-dancing
with the Sioux, they were trying to
reclaim something they had lost.
O n e
thing that is
no longer
seen is the
old-time
dance lodge,
60 to 100
hundred feet in
d i a m e t e r ,
resembling a wooden
tipi made of upright
and slanting poles.
Instead, there is now the
open Sun Dance shade
where the spectators can
sit, protected from the sun
by a circle of pine boughs. As
with all Lakota rituals, the Sun
Dance has its own symbols: the
camp circle represents the
universe, the altar the essence
of life, the buffalo skull the
peoples close relationship to this
holy animal. The small figures of a man
and a bison, made of buffalo hide and
hanging from the pole, and formerly
endowed with exaggerated male parts,
stand for fertility, the increase of both
humans and animals. The crotch of the
cottonwood tree is the symbolic nest of
the Thunderbirds, while the pole itself
is the Tree of Life. Reaching into the
clouds, the pole connects Earth with
Sky, and the people with the
Grandfather Spirit above.
The ceremony is always held in
mid-summer when, as Henry Crow
Dog said, the grass is high, the land
green, the choke cherries ripe, the
minds of young men and women turn
to love, when both humans and the
four-legged are happy.
The Wiwanyank wachipi , literally
looking at the Sun Dance, is directed
by the dance chief, Itanchan, and the
intercessor, Kuwa kiyapi. Four young
men, known for their integrity, are sent
out as scouts to find the perfect Chan
Wakan (Sacred Tree), the cottonwood
tree to be used as the centre pole.
The young men went out on
horseback, says Lame Deer, armed
and dressed as for war, because the
tree was an enemy to be captured.
When the scouts had found the right
one they raced back to camp and
reported it to the dance leaders. The
next morning all the people rode out,
men and women in their best beaded
and quilled outfits, some warriors with
black face paint singing brave heart
songs, because, as I said, the tree was
an enemy to be conquered. The young
men counted coup upon it as in war.
Four specially chosen women cut
the tree down. They were maidens
who had never been with a man. If one
of them had lied about this, then the
boy who had slept with her would have
made this known at once, to her
shame. But this never happened. As
the tree falls, it is caught by the
bearers who will carry it to the dance
circle. It is not allowed to touch the
ground. In the centre of the dancing
place, a hole is dug and buffalo fat is
put in it. The tree is planted in this hole
while the pole-raising song is intoned.
Speaking in the name of the pole, the
people sing:
I am standing at the Earths centre.
In a sacred manner I see the tribe
gathered around me. Behold me.
Offerings of tobacco bundles and
coloured cloth are tied to the pole. The
drummers use their sticks. They begin
to sing: Wakan Tanka, Tunkashila,
onshimalaye Great Spirit,
Grandfather, pity me.
The dance begins. The dancers
wear long kilts, mostly red, though Pipes. 1: Mari Sandoz, These were the Sioux p.103-
some are blue or white. They are 115. New York : Hastings House 1961.
naked from the waist up, barefooted, Attached to the tree, the men PHOTOS:
their long hair hanging loose. Not a dance forwards and backwards, at Page 20: Main picture Sundance Lodge. Photo
of Richard Erdoes by Erich Erdoes.
few have their faces painted. All wear times so far back that the skin
medicine bundles on their chests, and on their breasts is Page 21 :Blackfoot Sun Dancer
Chief Elk blowing an
wreaths of sage on their heads and stretched to the
eaglebone whistle while
around their wrists. Clenched between breaking point. holding an eagle feather
their teeth are plumed and quilled Friends and fan.
eaglebone whistles. Dancing, looking r e l a t i v e s This page : Left: Rawhide
at the Sun, the men blow rhythmically encourage the male figure,
on their whistles, making the sound of a dancers. If one such figures are tied to
hundred birds. They dance from sunup of them drags the Sundance tree.
to sunset. At certain intervals they sit buffalo skulls Right: Eagle bone
whistle.
down and rest for a short while, but are around the Below: Blackfoot
not allowed to eat or drink. If, however, circle, his Sundance ground.
one of the dancers should grow faint friends walk Next page: Buffalo skull altar..
with thirst, a relative is allowed to dip a beside him
Extracted from Crying for a Dream,
bundle of sage into water and use it to and, if the by Richard Erdoes. Published by Bear & Co.
moisten his lips. skulls do not ISBN 0 939680 57 2. We thank Bear & Co for
break through, permission to reprint this item.
The dance lasts four days. On the they grab him
afternoon of the last day, the piercing under the arms
takes place. I have watched Lame and hurry him
Deer, Eagle Feathers, Crow Dog, along. They
Fools Crow, and Catches doing the may even
piercing. These days, most dances are have little
pierced in two places on their chests. children ride
Women are also now being on the skulls to
pierced, mostly on their wrists, and make them
sometimes at their collar bones. heavier, so that
Lame Deer always used an ordinary they are sure to
pocket knife so deftly and quickly come loose. Likewise, if a
that many dances preferred to be man hangs for too long from
pierced by him. Others commented the tree, and his weight will not do
with a wry smile that Eagle Feathers the job, his friends may seize his legs
took his time sawing back and forth: and pull him off. The high point
If you ever have a mind to be of the dance is reached when
pierced, pick anybody but Bill.A all the Sun Dancers tear
sharpened wooden skewer, or more themselves free. All the
seldom an eagle claw, is passed women make the high,
through the wound and attached to trembling, triumphant, brave,
the rawhide thongs dangling from the heart cry that reverberates
pole. The dancer later gives these from the hills.
skewers to his friends for tamping
down the tobacco in their Sacred NOTES:
 THE SUNDANCE I N BRITAIN
he Sundance is a very important traditional
T Native American ceremony, and one which the
elders of the tribes have been reluctant to allow
outside of north America. There have been a few
very unofficial dances held in Europe in the last few
years, but these have not been sanctioned by the
holders of the tradition, and at times perhaps not run
in a very proper way. There are however a few
Sundance type ceremonies which are part of the
activities of organised teaching lodges are which are
run with high standard.
THE SWEET MEDICINE DREAMERS SUNDANCE
This Sundance is organised by the Deer Tribe, a
lodge of medicine teachings held by Harley
SwiftDeer. This lodge has an active role within the
UK and Europe, and its teachings are easily
available. In 1997 the American lodge are dancing
their fifteenth dance, and the European lodge are
dancing their fifth.
The lodge dances in the traditional Dreamers
way within a ceremonially created dance arbor.
Each year, they dance for the healing of
Grandmother Earths children, for the use of
appropriate energy, for the end to all things that
keep us out of balance and harmony, for the
balance of female and male energy, for the bringing
together of all spiritual paths and ways, for
individual, autonomous freedom, for Sacred
Knowledge to be available to all, for the re-
establishment of Rites of Passage and for our own
personal and sacred dreams.
They do not run piercing dances, they are
stalking a way of gaining enlightenment by learning
through pleasure and knowledge rather than
through pain. For those of us in our society who
have not lived in a tribal way during this lifetime,
three days dancing without food and, if you choose,
water, presents a major challenge in itself, without
the added challenge of being pierced.
Each dancers personal space on the
circumference of the dane arbor represents their
box of limitations. During the dance the dancers
find their relationship to this box when the
resistance to getting up to dance surfaces. The
potential is for us to transform our box into a
Dreaming Space where we can realise our Sacred
Dream.
THE
SWE The power of a hundred or more dancers taking
E T their hearts (and all other parts) to the Tree of Life
for three days is remarkable; for each individual and
as a beam of light into the collective for Healing All
Our Relations.
For more information contact Carol (White Owl) Youngson:
an eighth year Sundancer; on (0114) 2747522.
PLANS FOR A TRADITIONAL
SUNDANCE TO BE HELD IN WALES IN 1998
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
By a series of dreams and meetings, a possible full
traditional Sundance is being planned for the
summer of next year. This is being organised in the
UK by Richard and Diana Rhodes.
At the end of October last year, The Rev Geraint
ap Iorwert flew from Manchester to Oklahoma as he
had been invited to deliver a presentation on Celtic
Spirituality there. A few days prior to his departure, a
friend, rang him from her home in Birmingham to
share an unusual dream she had had. In a dream
she was visited by a native elder who told her to tell
Geraint that he was going to meet a Native
American while in the States, and that the meeting
would be important.
Two days into the conference Geraint felt so at
home he shared his friends dream. One of those he
shared with was Robert Johns, a part blood
Cherokee with Welsh grandparents. Robert at that
time was being instructed into traditional ways by
Charles Chipps, a respected Lakota ceremonialist.
Charles taught Robert sweatlodge, and also asked
him to attend a Sundance on the Summer Solstice
in South Dakota. When Geraint lead a Celtic
meditation Robert received a vision of the Celtic
cross on the Sundance grounds, and the reuniting
of the Native American and Celtic peoples. Godfrey
Chipps, a highly respected descendent of Horn
Chipps, the spiritual advisor to Crazy Horse, and
another teacher of Robert also saw a Sundance in
Wales, and gave the vision his blessing.
Upon his return to Wales, Geraint shared the
story of the dream, and his subsequent meeting
with a Welsh Cherokee, with his wife and close
friends. The vision had by now become a big part of
his life. A Foundation to help finance and organise
the Sundance has been set up, and any person or
groups wishing to help may contact the address
given below.
This is a very large scale event, it is hoped to
bring over around fifty Native Americans including
drummers and singers and the whole team needed
to run a traditional pierced Lakota Sundance. The
dance will be run on very strict lines and is not to be
entered into lightly. As in sundances in the USA,
piercing will be for those who vow to be pierced, it
will not be compulsory for all dancers.
Sacred Hoop Magazine will keep you informed
about the progress of the dance in future issues.
Those wishing to help should contact Richard and Diana
Rhodes, The Garth, Machynlleth, Powys, Wales. Tel & fax
(01654) 702l94.
PAGE 24

T HUNDERBIRD
& ROCK DREAMERS S even the tiniest bit of light can enter
THE LAKOTA YUWIPI TRADITION
erhaps unlike any other Native
American tradition, the Yuwipi has
fired the imagination of writers for
many years. On his recent visit here,
Wallace Black Elk performed a version
of it; this was as far as we know, the
first time ever it has been performed
on this land. Yuwipi is a Lakota
ceremony which uses the power of the
sacred rocks, the power of lightning,
the buffalo, and the eagle.
It is an old tradition. No one really
knows the history of it, but it is
believed to be amongst the oldest one
the Lakota people hold.
The rock medicine connection to
the ceremony is very important. The
rock (Lakota : Tunka) is considered
the foundation of the Earth, the rock
will never die. The word is part of
Tunkashila (Grandfather - Great
Spirit).
It is said that through the power of
rocks, the Yuwipi man can heal, or find
a missing person. Powerful medicine
people are said to be able to send a
rock to look for buffalo. The rock
would return and tell the people where
to find game.
Yuwipi is used for healing, or to find
a missing person or object, or to find
the reason for some problem such as
the cause of a sickness.
A Yuwipi ceremony takes place
when somebody asks for one. They
must ask in the right way, with the
pipe. The Yuwipi man, ( Yuwipi
Wichasha ), does not accept any
payment for his help, but the one who
asks has to provide the food for all who
want to participate.
Like other ceremonies, this one
begins with a sweat lodge. While this is
happening, women prepare food for a
sacred meal. Inside the Yuwipi mans
house a room is made ready. All the
furniture is taken out, and the windows
are covered with blankets so that not
from the outside. This is because the
ceremony is performed in total
darkness. Everything that could reflect
light is taken down from the walls or
covered up - mirrors, pictures, photos,
anything made of glass or having a
shiny surface. Participants even take
off their watches. The empty room is
PAGE 25
then made sacred. Blankets are folded
up and put along the walls for the
people to sit on, and the floor is
covered with sage.
Many items are used in the Yuwipi
ceremony. These include tobacco ties,
eagle feathers, eagle wings, an eagle
bone whistle, deer tails, drums, gourd
rattles, and most of all, the sacred
pipe.
To begin with, a square is laid out
inside the room. This is made of
tobacco ties ( chanli wapahta ). Four
hundred and five of these ties are tied
onto a long string. These stand for all
the different kinds of animals, for all
the kinds of plants in the universe, and
also represent the spirits that might
come in to the room to help. During the
ceremony the Yuwipi man will be on
the inside of this square. The sponsor,
the drummers, the singers, and all
others who want to be cured or have
their problems solved sit on the outside
of the space.
In many ceremonies, large tin cans
are placed at the four corners of sacred
square. These are filled with earth and
into each is stuck a peeled willow stick.
At the top of which are tied strips of
coloured cloth offerings representing
the sacred four directions
Between the west flag and the
north flag, is placed the centre staff. Its
upper half is painted red, its lower half
is black, and in between these is a
narrow yellow stripe. The red
represents the day, the black stands
for the night. The thin yellow stripe is
the dawn or the sunset.
At the top of the staff is tied a
single eagle feather. Halfway down the
staff is fastened the tail of a black-
tailed deer. The deer is considered to
be a fast and powerful spirit. If there is
any person present who is sick and
wants to be doctored, the deer spirit will
come in.
In front of the centre staff is an
earth altar. This is most sacred when
made from earth taken from a gopher
hole. Gophers have great power. The
altar is round. It is made smooth with
an eagle feather or a sprig of sage.
The medicine man traces a design on
it; maybe a spider ( Iktomi ), a
PAGE 26
thunderbird ( Wakinyan ), or a human
face (Wicite). It is up to the Yuwipi man
to pick his own design. This altar
represents Grandmother Earth (Lakota
: Unci).
On each side of the altar is placed a
wagmuha, or gourd rattle. The gourds
are made of tanned deer or buffalo
hide, and filled with little ant rocks.
These little stones have ant medicine.
They are tiny crystals and agates
picked up from the ant heaps Four
hundred and five stones are used,
some no bigger than a pinhead.
Traditionally at the
fourth song the spirits
come in to the room.
They speak to the
Yuwipi man wrapped u
in the star quilt, and he
understands what they are
saying. The sponsor and the
other people in the room
can only understand if they
still have the sprig of sage
behind their ear.
Sometimes feathers are attached to
them.
Often during a Yuwipi ceremony
these gourds fly through the air all by
themselves and may hit someone to
cure them of an illness. Sometimes
people see tiny flashes of lightning at
the point where the gourd makes a hit.
The gourds travel around the room so
fast that they can never be caught.
Some people put a sprig of sage
behind their ear, to help them
understand what the spirits moving the
gourds are saying. The spirits talk in
their own language called hanbloglaka,
only the Yuwipi man can understand
them, and acts as the interpreter.
Before the ceremony continues the
room is smudged with sweet grass,
then the Yuwipi man takes off his
shoes and shirt and stands ready to be
tied up with a rawhide rope.
There are two helpers standing with
the Yuwipi man, and first they tie his
hands and fingers together behind his
back. Next the helpers completely cover
the Yuwipi man with a star blanket.
They wrap him up like a mummy, tying
him with more rawhide thong, starting
with his neck, and then down all around
his body, using seven knots; a sacred
number, to tie it tight. They strictly
follow tradition, a mistake could
endanger the Yuwipi mans life.
The reason for the tying is explained
by Leonard Crow Dog.
They make the string tight to unite
the man with Tunkashila, the
Everywhere Spirit. The one who is
bundled up senses what the people
feel. The tying is for concentration.
People have one or two minds, but in
this ceremony everybody is going into
one mind. It pulls together the medicine
man, the spirits, and all who have come
to the ceremony.
Next the helpers lay the Yuwipi man
face down upon the sage-covered
floor. As they do so the Yuwipi man
prays to the four winds of the earth.
Once the Yuwipi man is safely on the
floor, the helpers step outside the
square of tobacco ties, leaving him
alone in the centre.
He lies there so that the spirits can
come in and use him. While all this has
been going on, the Yuwipi man prays
to the sacred four directions. The lights
in the room are now turned out, and
with no chinks in the coverings of the
windows, or doors, it is total blackness.
Next the drummers begin to drum and
the singing starts. There maybe only
one singer or several.
Traditionally at the fourth song the
spirits come in to the room. They speak
to the Yuwipi man wrapped up in the
star quilt, and he understands what
they are saying. The sponsor and the
other people in the room can only
understand if they still have the sprig of
sage behind their ear.
Some Yuwipi men report that they
spirit journey while they are tied up,
travelling to all kinds of spirit places.
One of the signs that the spirits
have come in to the room are the tiny
sparks of light which flicker in the
darkness. These fly all over the ceiling,
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
and sometimes make a sound like two home, the dog will stay around until the I send a voice
pebbles clicking together. It is said that last bit of food is gone. A dog will stay here and there,
these are the spirits of the thunderbirds. by the side of his dead master and
Sometimes the spirit of an eagle comes starve rather than leave. Every once in I send a voice
into the ceremony, it cant be seen, but a while the dog will bark toward the here and there,
its cry can be heard and people feel the east and the west. When somebody To whom shall
wind from his wings. dies hell be calling to the family,
I send a voice?
Near the end of the ceremony, barking. The dog sees the spirits, the
when all the rest of the prescribed dead souls. The dog knows when Tunkashila,
songs have been sung, the singers someone is about to die, but you dont what do you
sing the wanagi kiglapi olowan, the know it. They choke the dog toward say?
spirits-going-home song. Then the the west. We let a man pull the rope on
lights are turned on once again, and the dog only for the Yuwipi, heyokah,
I send a voice
the Yuwipi man is found sitting up in and memorial ceremony. The dog does here and there
the centre of the square area, untied not suffer. The rope kills him instantly. who will help
and unwrapped. My father always painted a red stripe me?
He then tells those in the room from the dogs nose and down the
what the spirits have told him, where to spine before choking him, because the
Tunkashila,
find a missing person or how to cure dog is sacred. what do you
someone. Then he may do some Once the meal is over, the people say?
doctoring, leading a sick person to the pack up and go home to sleep.
altar, and smudging them with cedar or
sweet grass or brushing them with an They are
References and further reading.
eagle wing. Then the sacred pipe goes, standing
clockwise, to everybody and they Crow Dog:
Leonard Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes. Harper at home around
smoke it.
When the last person has smoked
Collins Books. ISBN 0 06 016861 7.
(both short extracts are taken from this book)
the clouds.
the pipe, the phrase mitakuye oyasin Gift of power: They are
(for all my relations) is said and the Archie Fire Lame Deer and Richard Erdoes. Bear standing
ceremony is finished. and Co Books. ISBN 0 939680 87 4..
Mother Earth Spirituality:
at home around
It is then that a sacred meal is
eaten. Traditionally this will be a kettle
Ed McGaa Eagle Man. the clouds.
Harper Collins Books. ISBN 0 06 250596 3.
of dog meat soup. The Yuwipi is
Yuwipi: Vision & Experience in Oglala Ritual
Those
considered a dog feast. William K. Powers Thunder People
The dog is sacred. If you leave your Bison Books. ISBN 0 8032 8710 0.
are standing
at home.
They are
standing
at home around
the clouds.
Those
Thunder People
are standing
at home.

They come
dancing.
Behold! They
come
dancing.
Behold!
They come
dancing.
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997 PAGE 27
 I would... perform many ceremonies
wrapped in that quilt.
I am an old man now ... but I still have
that star blanket my grandmother
made for me. I treasure it;
some day I shall be buried in it
John Fire Lame Deer, Lakota

My sun! The owl

My morning star! hooted
Help this child and told of
to become a man. the morning star.
I name him He hooted
Rain-dew again
falling! and told of
I name him the dawn.
Star Mountain! (Hopi)

The Tewa grandmothers readily adopted by tribal

XXXXXXXXXXX song above is part of a
naming ritual performed by
when white culture met the mother and grand-
mother who stand on the
Native American one housetop before dawn.
of the crafts they shared When the baby is named a
live coal and a corn cob are
was that of the thrown, signifying life and
health.
people.
New materials, such as
glass beads and woven
fabrics meant new scope for
craftwork design.
The tradition of re-using
materials has always been
integral to tribal life, indeed

STAR For peoples across the

world, the morning star
symbolises renewal, new life
and hope, for it is the sky
to sustainable lifestyle
anywhere.
Patchwork of all kinds
was practiced extensively by

BLANKET herald of the life-giving sun

each day. The morning star
and the star nation are
woven into the myths and
ceremonies of many tribes.
XXXXXXXXXXXX For the Navajo (Din),
Morning Star is the son of
the Sun and Moon; for the
Lakota, the protective star
blanket is used during the
vision quest and powerful
Yuwipi healing ceremony
(see features this issue);
many believe a person
becomes a star at death
Despite the suffering that
took place when white
settlers came into contact
with the tribes, some aspects
of non-native handwork were
the white settlers with their
limited resources; the lone
star design in particular was
adopted by the plains tribes.
The lone star design echoes
these ancient star traditions
of the morning star, and is
open to endless variations of
design. Native made star
quilts are now sought after
by collectors worldwide.
Quilt tops (the upper
pieced part without the
backing), and sometimes
completed quilts, are now a
prized item at traditional tribal
give-aways and celebrations.

We are the stars which sing

we sing with our light
We are the birds of fire
We fly across the heaven
(Passamaquoddy,)

PAGE 28 SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997

STAR
TECHNIQUE
JAN WOOD
uses traditional methods to create a wall
hanging project that can grow . . .
TEMPLATE
T here are countless
beautiful variations that
can be made on the
simple star pattern shown
here.
COLOUR : By combining
colour and tone in different
ways effects from the
dramatic to the ethereal can
be achieved. Plain colours
work best on a project of this
size. If you cannot find colours
that blend in colour, all the
fabric to be used can be put
through a light dye before
starting to achieve an overall
colour link.
The choice of back-ground
colour will be central in the
effect you are seeking. Black
or deep coloured
backgrounds give the most
dramatic and vibrant effects,
while pastels and pale colours
are gentler.
FABRIC : for beginners it is
best to choose fabric with a
fine, firm weave, such as shirt
weight cotton, and a slightly
heavier weight for the
background square.
New fabrics are easier to
handle as they contain
dressing that will keep pieces
in shape while working.
If you are using older fabric,
you could give it a light starch or
sugar water rinse before cutting
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
out patches to help it hold to
shape.
SIZE : it is best to start on a
small-scale design first, to get
the feel of how shapes and
colours work together and to
achieve accurate stitching.
This project (approx 48cm
x 48cm when completed) is
suitable for a wall hanging, or
for use as a small shrine cloth;
or you could applique the star
motif onto a special bag,
cushion or throw.
Once you are familiar with
working this pattern, it can be
enlarged by adding more rows
to the points before
assembling the star.
A large quilt project takes
quite a while to make, and the
larger the size of the motif,
the greater the need for
accuracy.
A sampler quilt can be
made by repeating the size of
design shown here using
different colourways and
fabrics and seaming the
background squares together
(see opposite). You can also
try quilting them (not
described here.)
DESIGN : always make a
point plan before starting (as
in Fig 4) to map out your
patch arrangement. From this
plan you can calculate how
many patches you need of
each colour for your design
and so calculate how much
fabric will be needed.
( NOTE: If you decide to
Make template for patches by
tracing the template shape
shown here and transferring it
to stiff card or plastic. Cut out
purchase a ready-made accurately and check that it
template for future use from a exactly matches the one
supplier, make sure you get shown here.
the narrow diamond - the Place fabric A right side
other diamond shape sold is down, and lay the template on
for 6-pointed stars.) it so that one side of the
template lays exactly along
MATERIALS the line of the fabric threads
Fabric in 6 colours: (Fig 1). Draw round the
A: approx 20 x 20cm template slowly and gently
B: approx 45 x 45cm with fabric pencil taking care
C: approx 60 x 60cm not to drag the fabric and
D: approx 100 x 100cm marking as close to template
background: 50 x 50cm as possible. This is the seam
lining: 55 x 50cm line to guide your stitching.
border: 4 pieces 50 x 5cm Lift off template and mark
fine dressmaking pins a second line 0.5cm outside
fine needle the first - the cutting line. Cut
thread to match fabrics out. Repeat until the required
small piece stiff card/plastic number of patches have been
8 clear plastic bags cut in each colour: A - 8; B -
iron 24; C - 40; D - 56.
fabric pencil (light on dark Now sort the patches into
fabrics) 8 sets, one for each section
scissors. or point of the star. Each set
has 1xA, 3xB, 5xC and 7xD
CONSTRUCTION colour patches. Put a set in
cutting line
Fig 1
sewing line
straight of fabric 0.5cm
PAGE 29
MAKING A POINT each plastic bag to keep them flat and clean.
Now take a set and begin to assemble a point.
Fig 2: row 4
Select the colours for row 1 (Fig 2). The stitch used is a
colour plan small running stitch. Ensure thread is fastened securely
D D D D at the start and finish of each seam. The stitches must
C C C D row 3 follow along just inside the seam line. Place a pin
B B C
vertically through each seam end of a patch to line up
D row 2
the seam. Pin and sew, passing needle through the
A B C D row 1 hole made by the positioning pins at the start and finish Fig 6: placement of star
of each seam (Fig 3). Remove pins as you go. Keep on background
checking on the underneath that the stitches are
accurate. This sounds complicated, but becomes easier
Fig 3: joining patches after a few patches and a little extra time with accuracy
at this stage avoids an out-of-shape motif later. Press
seams open, lifting and placing the iron rather than
sliding over the fabric. This helps keep the work in
shape (block pressing).
Patches are joined in rows, pressing seams open on
each row as it is completed. Fig 7: trimming fabric
allowances at edge of
To ensure patches are added on in the correct
background
direction, place Row 1 face up and lay Row 2 patches
alongside before pinning (Fig 4A.) Then join each row
to make one point. Make sure that you pin the rows
accurately as shown, so that the seams that cross line
Fig 4A: joining patches to lie in the
right direction up (Fig 4B). Block press.

When all the individual points have been completed

Fig 4B: using pins to line up rows
Fig 5: sequence of joining points
they are joined in pairs, then pair to pair, then half to
half (Fig 5.)
Block press well, turning under 0.5cm seam
allowance all round the outer edge.
Fig 8: Trimming lining
FINISHING
The star is now ready to applique onto the background
fabric.
Take the background fabric and tack (mark with long
running stitches in contrasting thread) connecting the
mid-points of each side and the corners. Lay star face
up on the background fabric using the tacked grid
markings to align it centrally, and pin and tack star
carefully in place (Fig 6).
Now hem as invisibly as possible round edge of star
in small, but not tight, stitches. If the star is baggy or
does not lay flat it can be further fixed with small
running stitches along the main seam lines between the Fig 9: making mitres
points. Again, dont make the stitches too tight. on corners at
Block press. front of work
Mark line round edge of background fabric to pass
2cm outside the tips of the points and cut to line as
shown (Fig 7).
Lay work on lining fabric wrong sides together. Make sure it is all flat and
square. Pin and tack through all thicknesses a little way in from edge. Trim lining to
leave 3cm extra all round edge of background fabric. (Fig 8). On each edge of lining
press to front 1cm and fold again and press 2cm turning as shown.
Fold mitres (Fig 9) at corners, pin and tack. Tack all turnings in place so that
lining forms a border that just touches each point of the star.
Sew on four hanging loops from seam binding or from toning fabric on back of
top edge of finished work. Thread onto dowel or hardwood strip batten.

Jan Wood teaches sacred craftwork and shrine building. With her partner, Nick Wood she leads
Earthwise introductory workshops on Medicine Wheel teachings. Jan also works with individuals as a
shamanic advisor and counsellor.

SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997

 AUDIO & VIDEO REVIEWS
PODER A
SANTA
MARIA
Sinfonye
Almaviva records
DSI 0105
(Distributed by
Harmonia Mundi)
Length 67.32 mins.
CD: (Full price)
Reviewer:
Nicholas Wood
Do you own a Djembe or darabuka? Do
you think you can play it? I recently
watched a film of Hendrix playing
guitar; he had a union between himself
and the instrument.
The connection here? Well, the
percussionist in Sinfonye is the most
inspiring player I have ever heard, he
plays drum like Hendrix played guitar -
his playing is almost liquid.
This is a recording of Cantigas de
Santa Mara (13thC Spanish story
songs about the miracles of the Virgin
Mary). We reviewed cantigas by
another group a few issues ago, but
there is no duplication of the songs
between the two recordings.
Sinfonye are a well established early
music group who often perform
medieval womens music, such as
songs by women troubadours. With the
exception of Jim Denley the
percussionist, they are all women, and
the four members are joined on this
recording by a Spanish woman folk
singer Equidad Bars.
This is music which makes your
spine tingle. The singing is gutsy and
passionate, the instruments (hurdy-
gurdy, medieval fiddle and Arabic lute)
all add to this and then you have Jim
Denleys percussion playing. He plays
European frame drums including the
pandeiro, a double skinned square
drum. Put together with the rest of the
groups this all makes for a stunning
recording.
I have known about Sinfonye for
many years, and seen them perform on
numerous occasions; they are well
worth hearing. Even more exciting,
they are doing a day workshop and
concert near Bristol on September 13th,
three workshops in fact, all on the
same day. The price for the workshops
are just 3.00 each, the concert is
6.00. So if you want to have the
chance to learn percussion techniques
from Jim Denley, sing with Vivien Ellis
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
(a superb singer and great fun to work
with), or you play a medieval instrument
and want to join in with Stevie Wishart
the director of the group, dont miss the
chance: the last workshop was three
years ago; the next one - who knows.
Further details of the workshops: (01454)
632306 evenings - (0117) 936 8056 daytimes.
Available from High Street record shops
DRUMMING FOR THE
SHAMANIC JOURNEY
Lea Rutherford and Howard Charing
MC: 9 (inc P&P)
Reviewer:
Jan Wood
There are now a
considerable - and
growing - number
of people who have
trained in shamanic
journeying (the
practising of an altered state to enter
the spirit realms of non-ordinary
reality.)
This journey is usually made to a
steady drumbeat, which facilitates
trance. This also provides impetus for
the journey and, by using a change of
rhythm, calls back the journeyer to
ordinary reality at the end.
Many of those who practise this
drum journey find it difficult to do so
alone. Firstly, if one plays the drum
oneself, entering the altered state
means that conscious drumming usually
ceases. The journeyer may then find,
as there has been no rhythmic drum
call back that they experience some
difficulty fully returning to normal
attention at the end of the journey and
may be left feeling spaced out or
disorientated.
Secondly, even if you are fortunate
enough to have a friend to drum for
you, you may not have a house which is
soundproof, or neighbours who are
tolerant of periods of continuous
drumming.
Hence the need for this tape to use
either on speakers or with headphones.
When I first learned the shamanic
journey it was with live drumming. I
could not imagine, in my purist phase
how a tape could possibly provide the
same experience. Furthermore it was
not authentic.
Subsequent experience has shown
me that tapes can be invaluable and
enable me to practice the journey at
times and in places in which live
drumming would have proved
impossible - especially when I am
working alone.
This tape provides two journeys of
20 minutes each (solo drum), and one
longer journey of 40 minutes (two
drums.) Each journey has call back
rhythms at the end and the rhythm is
steady and well-controlled.
This tape has excellent sound quality
is a much-needed resource for those
already skilled in journeying technique.
However, it is a difficult resource to
present and package. Some
explanation of the contents must be
made, but there is a difficult line to
draw in offering journeying instruction to
a beginner.
The inlay card has a clear
explanation of journeying and of the the
Middle, Lower and Upper worlds
commonly experienced during the
journey. It offers guidance on how to
journey to the Lower World, the place
where earthly help and guidance is
usually sought.
Having gone thus far I wish the
function of the call back had been
explained and a suggestion included
that the journeyer should wind to the
end of the tape and play the rhythm of
the call back a few times to familiarise
themselves with it.
For those of you who wish to learn
journeying, there are many excellent
teachers around giving basic instruction
and also drumming groups. (Shamanic
counselling, incidentally, usually
means one-to-one journeying
instruction.)
To all of you already journeying,
who are struggling with home-made
tapes (drums are notoriously difficult to
record accurately), or relying on the
help of friends, I have no hesitation in
recommending this tape.
To purchase the tape and have further details of
Leo Rutherford and Howard Charings
workshops,
call 0171 435 8174 or 0181 567 4061.
PAGE 31

THE
PRINCIPLES
OF
SHAMANISM
Leo Rutherford
Thorson Books
PB 162 pages
ISBN 0 7225 3321 7
5.99
Reviewer:
Jane Williams
How often have we heard there are
many paths to the truth? Here is one of
them, clearly written and delightfully
presented in a form easily understood,
perhaps the best first guide to
Shamanism around.
I found the beginning of this book
easy to relate to. Anyone on the
spiritual path would find this so. The
authors hint of rebellion against dogma
and suppression created by society and
Christian structures highlights the need
for books such as this, at this present
time of changes.
Change is what must happen for the
future survival of the planet and
ourselves. We all have as individuals the
power to change, this book describes
how we can do this. By becoming a
Shamanic warrior, creating our own
sacred space, increasing
consciousness, becoming aware of
universal energy and using it to benefit
others. The methods clearly outlined in
the book have been used since time
began, this is a welcome revival of
traditions forgotten in recent times.
The Shamanic understanding of
healing links into all the ancient
philosophies of medicine, where
practices such as Acupuncture,
Homoeopathy and related therapies all
acknowledge the body as having a vital
force and energy centres through which
many a chronic disease manifests.
Again the author clearly explains this
throughout the book, the old medicine
ways are being resurrected as a
necessary part of our future healing in
the evolution and survival of species.
All things are cyclic - universal laws
of nature from which we cannot deviate
for long without great cost to ourselves
and planet earth, shamanism is about
getting back to where we should be on
our true path in life and working with the
way it is instead of against it. At this
present time, many are realising this; I
felt very much at home with the author
PAGE 32
BOOK REVIEWS
in this repect.
I particularly enjoyed the poem at the
end of the book, a creatively written and
humourous story of Yin and Yang and
the formulation of creation. Altogether
an interesting journey through the
principles of Shamanism - indeed, the
only introduction youll ever need. I
recommend it to anyone unfamiliar with
the subject
Available from good new age book and High
Street bookshops.
PSYCHIC WARRIOR
David Morehouse
Michael Joseph Books
HB 258 pages
ISBN 0 7181 4178 4
16.99
Reviewer:
Julie Pembridge
At first sight this
book may seem a
little at odds with
the purposes of the
magazine.
Major David Morehouse was a career
soldier in the US army. His life changed
dramatically one Spring day in 1987:
whilst on a training exercise in Jordan, a
stray bullet hit him in the head and from
then on he began to experience strange
visions and nightmares. Eventually he
became recruited into one of the most
top secret US Government programmes
ever to be devised - Operation
Sunstreak. Sunstreak, also known by
other names: Grillflame, Centrelane there had been a bit more detail on the
and Stargate, was a programme
designed to match the Soviet Republic's
experiments into the paranormal.
Much US Government money was
poured into research centres such as
Stanford in California, evaluating
metaphysical disciplines such as
telepathy, remote viewing, channelling
and clairvoyancy to see if they would
provide any advantage in intelligence
gathering on 'the enemy', whoever the
'enemy' happened to be at that time.
The real winner in this research was
remote viewing - the art of removing the
non-physical body into the ether in order
to 'view' or experience a set target or
person and bring back the information
needed. Of course, native peoples have
been able to do this for millennia, and it
tends to get called shamanism by
people the military tend to look upon as
'crackpots'. Even though the US were,
doing it under a different name and with
a more scientific slant, it was an old skill
with a new name.
In fact, one of the other viewers was
very aware of Native American beliefs
and was quite immersed in their culture.
It was this man's knowledge that in the
end brought David Morehouse out of the
abyss he later plunged into.
Many of these books can be suspect
as to their truth, but I feel there's
nothing too far off the mark in this story
- there is a lot that rings true to me in
the words that are written and also in
the words that are not. Many questions
should be raised concerning things that
he saw, especially one concerning the
detection of biological weapon canisters
beside the burning oil wells of Kuwait -
something that the US Government
wanted kept quiet. The words that
David Morehouse has written on this will
confirm the suspicions of many sick Gulf
War veterans.
Of course, in the end, the author
realised that the gift of remote viewing
could be used for more humanitarian
purposes and became disquieted with its
current military use as an intelligence
weapon. He felt that it was a gift not to
be kept secret but shared. Predictably,
the government didn't agree and soon
he was fighting for his career, family and
even his life. The dirty tricks brigade
were out in all their glory. Happily he
survived and wrote this book. It is an
easy style to read, without too much
technical or military jargon but I wish
training techniques of remote viewing.
Nevertheless once started I couldn't put
it down, and Mr Morehouse, if by any
chance you read this, please try and get
over to the UK so that some of us here
can meet you.
Available from high street book shops.
ON FINDING TREASURE
Kathy Jones
Ariadne Publications
PB 243 pages
ISBN 1 872983 03 0
9.99
Reviewer:
Julie Pembridge
Finding Treasure is indeed how I would
describe this wonderful little book of
sacred dramas. Kathy Jones is a woman
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997

of many parts:
writer, performer,
director, healer,
healer speaker,
workshop leader and
ceremonialist to
name but a few.
Hardly surprising
then that from her
fertile mind come
these five plays (here presented as
scripts) that speak on many levels and
can be heard in different ways. Anyone
living in and around Glastonbury may well
remember seeing them, for they have
been performed regularly in the
Glastonbury Assembly rooms for the past
14 years.
The author takes Ariadne, the Snake
Goddess of ancient Crete as her
inspiration in her writing, but the plays
revolve around other ancient myths too:
Amazons, Green Tara, Rhiannon,
Blodeuwedd are all there, as are many
others (some quite surprising).
The way the stories are told / retold is
both quite contemporary and at times
humourous - no stuffy language here. It
all flows, captures and enraptures the
reader - each part coming alive, often
carrying a message for those who wish to
hear; although as I said earlier, what is
said can be heard and understood on
many different levels. After all, these
aren't just plays - they have their own life
force, and within that the ability to reach
out, transform and heal The photos of
some of the performances are inspiring,
but I must admit I would have liked to
have seen a few more, maybe in colour
too, because you get the feeling that
colour plays a big part in these
productions.
I don't often find playscripts very easy
to read: usually I get bored and switch to
either a novel or the TV instead. But
Kathy Jones book kept me hooked and I
just hope that one day I can get along to
see one of her plays performed live. It
would be an honour to be there.
Available from Ariadne Publications, 56 Whiting Rd,
Glastonbury. Somerset, BA6 8HR. Please add 1.50
for P&P.
FENG SHUI
The Complete Illustrated Guide
Lillian Too
Element Books
HB 224 pages
ISBN 1 85230 882 6
16.99
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
BOOK REVIEWS
Reviewer:
Jan Wood
This book was my first real
introduction to this ancient Chinese body
of knowledge. Its
visual format and
step-by step layout
made it very
approachable.
But I must also
confess a personal
motive. The Hoop
Office - or more
precisely - the need
for a more comfortable and energised
work space. Feng Shui, the management
of energy through the harmonious
placement and colouring of an
environment, is practised throughout
China. The feng shui practitioner is vital to
success in business, and is consulted
extensively in the design of new buildings.
The art actually goes far beyond this
mundane level, and the book first explains
the history and basic principles behind the
skills involved.
I was pleased to find that it did not
purport to 'train', but to give some very
basic suggestions that would demonstrate
its efficacy to the reader.
So, book in hand, we 're-organised'
the office. Perhaps I should set the scene
a little more. Our office, like most of its
kind, defies the normal laws of physics.
What is contained in hidden (and not-so-
hidden) files, boxes and the ubiquitous
carrier bags, should not scientifically be
able to be crammed into such a small
space.
Feng shui emphasises uncluttered
and spacious design..... It felt a bit like an
unsolvable equation. But, armed with
desperation, such equations can be
tackled. Did it work? I can only say that
the office now contains all it did before,
but regular visitors are now asking how
does it seem bigger?
I also do not cringe when I walk in in
the morning, but feel as if something
greets me in a most relaxing way. What is
even more welcome, it didn't cost a
fortune; the adjustments can be very
minimal, the inclusion of small wind
chimes at a strategic point, the removal of
a mirror and so on. And if you don't feel
it's working, adjust again. It's an excellent
way of sharpening up your sensitivity to
your environment.
My conclusion: if you want to improve
your space - get this book! Of course,
the office was just the start. The book
now sits waiting in the kitchen, a fresh
slip of paper inside with a growing
shopping list.... fruit and veg? Freezer
food? Not likely. First things first.... 1
Small blue dish....1 picture of a fish....
trailing pot plant (rounded leaves)......
Available from High Street Bookshops.
PSYCHIC PROTECTION
William Bloom
Piatkus Books
PB 168 pages
ISBN 0 7499 1603 6
8.99
Reviewer:
Pheoby Gladstone
I was happy to
review this book as it
was a subject I
wanted to know
more about. If many
of the suggested
ideas were used in
schools, hospitals,
bus stations etc. the
modem world would
be a safer, and
more pleasant place to live. Psychic
Protection is easy to understand
because the information is presented
simply and written from the premise that
we know nothing. There are so many
ways of keeping ourselves and our
homes psychically clean and healthy, that
people familiar with the subject would
also find.
The few illustrations are diagrammatic
and the book doesnt take long to read. I
appreciated the way the author wrote
about energy maintenance, and personal
health, as well as protecting ourselves
from external energies. This is not a book
that encourages paranoia. Instead it
manages to be both sensible and playful.
Housework has taken on a new
relevance. Anything that inspires me to
keep my home clean cant be bad. I
would recommend this book.
Available from High Street bookshops.
PAGE 33
 People on the Path
DIARY DATES June 21 - Sept 21
JUNE 20 -22. experience of drumming or dancing. With
THE RICHNESS OF SILENT SPACE. For further information Chris Southall. Contact 01494 782720.
NEAR BIRMINGHAM. on events listed , JULY 13.
A weekend retreat on Tantric Tibetan contact the phone WALK FOR THE
Buddhist practice with Ngakpa Chgyam INDIANS OF PERU.
numbers provided.
Rinpoche and Khandro Dechen. Contact A sponsored walk for Survivals work for the
01902 608966. There are often support of tribal people. In your area.
JUNE 23. information booklets Contact 0171 2421441.
SUMMER SOLSTICE - available and organisers JULY 13.
SING YOUR HEART OUT. are usually pleased to IMPROVISING ON THE DRUM.
LONDON. answer your queries NEAR LONDON.
An evening of song and chanting. With Suitable for people with any level of
Chris James. Contact 0171 2876711. experience of drumming or dancing. With
JULY 4 - 6. EARTH DRAGON INITIATION. Chris Southall. Contact 01494 782720.
TAROT WEEKEND. GLASTONBURY. JULY 10 - 14.
GLASTONBURY. Initiation using the power of image work. ENLIGHTENMENT INTENSIVE.
Talks and demonstrations as well as With Annie Wildwood. Contact 01458 MID WALES.
personal Tarot readings. With Cath Milne 833933. A camp with the Spirit Horse Nomadic
and Kathy Jones. Contact 01458 833933. JULY 11 - 19. Circle crew. Contact 0181 3463660.
JULY 4 - 6. UNICORN CAMP - JULY 16.
DRUM DANCE SWEATLODGE. ASTROLOGY EXPERIENCE. WE HAVE NO WORD FOR SEX.
SWINDON. CORNWALL. LONDON.
There is no quicker way to learn the An evening talk on sexuality. With Malidoma
With Chris Southall. Contact 01793
profound mysteries of astrology than by and Sobonfu Some. Contact 0171
771080.
personal experience. Contact 01256 2876711.
JULY 5. 893369. JULY 17 - 18.
EXPLORING YOUR ECOLOGY. JULY 11 - 20. ANDREW COHEN WORKSHOP.
NORFOLK.
SELF DISCOVERY LONDON.
A day to explore your inner and outer
landscapes through shamanic journeying AND TRANSFORMATION. Two days with this visiting teacher. Contact
and sacred sonic sound. With Sean Wright. EXMOOR. 0171 4833732
Contact 01553 840806. A 10 day journey of discovery in the inner JULY 18 - 20.
JULY 5 - 6. heart-love dynamic. With Bethlehem Tayor. RITUAL HEALING & COMMUNITY.
DRUMBEAT CAMP. Contact 01884 881467. STROUD.
SUFFOLK. JULY 12. A residential weekend for men and women
Tipi dwelling creative camp. With Chris Tero MAKE A DRUM. with African shaman Malidoma Some.
and Gary Newland. Contact 01787 NEAR LONDON. Contact 0181 34148
269819. Make an African drum and learn to play. JULY 19.
JULY 6 -11. Suitable for people with any level of ONE DAY RETREAT.
RETURN TO SPIRIT. LONDON.
A chance to undertake a one day retreat
DEVON.
with Andrew Cohen. Contact 0171
A workshop on the traditions of shamanism.
With Jonathon Horwitz. Contact 0181
PLEASE NOTE: 4833732
JULY 19.
9982952.
JULY 10 - 13.
Whilst it is hoped that NIGEL SHAW & CAROLYN
CELEBRATING NATURE. organisers and leaders of HILLYER.
events shown in People on TRURO.
DORSET. An open air concert. Contact 01872
A training workshop for teachers, youth and the Path practise according 261522.
community workers etc, to develop to the ethics of respect and JULY 19 - 20.
environmental skills. With Gordon
MacLellan. Contact 01297 569342. right relationship with all WORLD EARTH HEALING DAY.
aspects of creation, A global link-up day. Further details contact
JULY 10 - 14. 0181 8063828
SACRED MAN ~ SACRED WOMAN. inclusion in the listing does JULY 23 - 27.
MID WALES. not imply endorsement THE BIG GREEN GATHERING.
A camp looking on sacred relationship.
With the Spirit Horse Nomadic Circle crew.
by SACRED HOOP WARMINSTER.
or its editors. Camp with many activities. Contact 01747
Contact 0181 3463660.
870667
JULY 11.
JULY 25 - AUG 14.

We can include your event in People on the Path

if you are a current subscriber or advertiser. Send relevant details to:
Celia Wearing, 47 Pamington Fields, Fitzhamon Park,
Ashchurch, Tewkesbury, Glos. Tel: (01684) 299982

PAGE 34 SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997

 People on the Path
DIARY DATES June 21 - Sept 21
TIBETAN BUDDHISM CAMP. Earth. With Rik Mayes. Contact 01654 End of the summer Rainbow Warriors
MID WALES. 702655 or 01558 685038. celebration camp. With Bethlehem Tayor.
A chance to work with Ngakpa Chgyam AUG 11. Contact 01884 881467.
Rinpoche and Khandro Dechen. Also with WED TO THE BONES OF THE SEPT 13.
the Spirit Horse Nomadic Circle crew. EARTH. PERCUSSION, VOICE
Contact 0181 3463660. GLASTONBURY. AND MEDEVAL MUSIC.
JULY 25 - AUG 3 Evening concert with Carolyn Hillyer. Contact NEAR BRISTOL.
UNICORN CAMP - LAMMAS FAMILY. 01822 880301. A rare chance to work with members of the
CORNWALL. AUG 15 - 18. leading early music group Synfonye. (see
Celebrate the rich fullness of summer. THE SHIATSU PRACTICE CAMP. review this issue). With Jim Denley, Vivien
Contact 01256 893369. EXMOOR. Ellis and Stevie Wishart. Contact 01454
AUG 1. The 4 day camp to enhance and develop 632306 or 0117 936805.
THE TRADITION OF HUNA your Shiatsu skills. With Bethlehem Tayor. SEPT 19.
LONDON. Contact 01884 881467. SACRED CIRCLE.
An evening talk by a visiting leading Huna AUG 20 - 30. HERTFORDSHIRE.
teacher. Contact 0181 5561596. UNICORN CAMP - An evening of songs, ceremony, prayer and
AUG 1 - 4. DANCES OF UNIVERSAL PEACE. journeying to self exploration and healing.
CLAIMING OUR POWER. CORNWALL. With Sean Wright. Contact 01553 840806.
NORTH DEVON. An abundance of love, harmony and beauty. SEPT 19 - 21.
Womens lammas camp, a gentle mix of Contact 01256 893369. THE HERON HOUSE.
psychology and ceremonial work drawing on AUG 21 - SEPT 2. DARTMOOR.
Native American and Celtic traditions. With SONG - DRUM - STORY - DANCE. A weekend journey for women, to meet our
Annie Spencer. Contact 01271 863319. MID WALES. ancient foremothers, of this land who
AUG 2. A camp of celebration, with the Spirit Horse travelled close into its rhythms and secrets.
EARTH, HEALTH & MYSTIC FAYRE. Nomadic Circle crew. Contact 0181 With Carolyn Hillyer. Contact 01822
PENZANCE. 3463660. 880301.
Experience taster workshops and talks on a AUG 22 - 14. SEPT 20 -21.
varity of subjects. Contact 01736 332610. WAY OF THE GREAT PEACE. JOURNEY TO PERU.
AUG 2 - 3. EXMOOR. LONDON.
THE WAY OF THE SHAMAN. Leading to Way of the Great Bliss 10 day A weekend inspired by Andean teachings to
An introduction to shamanic journeying. With adventure in Realisation. With Bethlehem explore our shamanic creative potential
Leslie Kenton. Contact 01225 852615. Tayor. Contact 01884 881467. through myth, ritual and sound. With Peter
AUG 2 - 3. Cloudsley. Contact 0181 8064916.
AUG 23.
RUNES WEEKEND. TALKING TO YOUR ANCESTORS. SEPT 27 - 28.
GLASTONBURY. NORFOLK. WOMENS MYSTERIES.
An introduction to the use of runes. With A day of inner shamanic journeying and other EXETER.
Kestrel. Contact 01458 833933. techniques to communicate with your An experiential weekend working in the
AUG 3 - 11. ancestors. With Sean Wright. Contact sacred circle. With Pamela Woods, Annie
01553 840806. Aris, and Eleonor Lind. Contact 0181
SHAMANIC CONTEMPLATION.
MID WALES. 8064916.
AUG 23 - 24.
A camp mixing tantric Tibetan Buddhism and DRUMBEAT CAMP. SEPT 27 - OCT 4.
shamanic practice, with the Spirit Horse SUFFOLK. FIRE EARTH AND SPIRIT.
Nomadic Circle crew. Contact 0181 Tipi dwelling creative camp. With Chris Tero ITALY.
3463660. and Gary Newland. Contact 01787 269819. A week long retreat for men in a wonderful
AUG 7 - 10. loaction. With Chris Southall.
AUG 23 - 25.
Contact 01638 741280.
WALKING THE SACRED WHEEL. TOTNES BODY, MIND, SPIRIT
SALISBURY. FESTIVAL 1997.
A 4 day intensive with USA teachers Mattie DEVON.
Davis-Wolfe and David Thompson. Contact A chance to attend talks and buy from stalls
01626 778811. covering a variety of subjects. Contact
AUG 7 - 12. 01984 640005.
THE GODDESS CONFERENCE. SEPT 5 - 7.
GLASTONBURY. THE RICHNESS OF RELATIONSHIP.
Celebration of the Goddess in the sacred NEAR BIRMINGHAM.
landscape of Avalon at lammas. Contact A weekend retreat on Tantric Tibetan
01458 833933. Buddhist practice with Ngakpa Chgyam
AUG 7 - 12. Rinpoche and Khandro Dechen. Contact
THE HERON HOUSE. 01902 608966.
GLASTONBURY. SEPT 12 - 14.
An ancient womens round, an exhibition of a THE WAY OF THE SHAMAN.
new circle of paintings by Carolyn Hillyer. LONDON.
Contact 01822 880301. A workshop on the traditions of shamanism.
AUG 8 - 17. With Jonathon Horwitz. Contact 0181
DANCE AND SPIRIT CAMP. 9982952
GLOUCESTERSHIRE. SEPT 12 - 14.
To rediscover and celebrate our own native MOON OF THE FALLING LEAVES.
spiritual traditions and concern for the good EXMOOR.
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997 PAGE 35
 REGULAR GROUPS & CIRCLES
The following can give information on activities with local groups
TO BE LISTED HERE - SEND DETAILS TO CELIA WEARING (PAGE 34)

AVON DURHAM NORFOLK

Jo Protero - % (01225) 723622.
Alex - % (01272) 557220.
Simbana Please - % (01225) 859860.
Drum Doctors -% (01373) 831171.
Annie Wildwood -% (0117) 941 1557.
BEDFORDSHIRE
Val Randle - % (01234) 309636.
Anne Sears - % (01223) 242577.
BERKSHIRE
Sue Nennemann - % (01734) 791818
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Eileen Haines - % (01733) 204102.
Sean Wright - % (01553) 840806
CORNWALL
Roger Croxson - % (01822) 832653.
Lynn Lane - % (01736) 793285.
Marjorianne Rowland - % (01209) 843194
DERBYSHIRE
Cora Greenhill - % (01433) 630759.
DEVON
Sue Jamieson - % (01803) 868057.
Tribal Mind - % (01288) 356676.
Eleonore Lind - % (01884) 881229.
Bethlehem Taylor - % (01884) 881467.
Roland - % (01803) 762255.
DORSET
Eliana Harvey - % (01963) 23468 .
Michael - % (01297) 60342.
Willy Lone Bear - % (01202) 481333.
Liz - % (0191) 373 5109.
ESSEX
Gary Davidge - % (0279) 863 160
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Linda - % (01242) 674937.
Ama - % (01453) 751858.
Nick Twilley -% (01453) 763713.
Ade Borrelli - % (01452) 383759.
Carolyn Finlay - % (01242) 528363.
HAMPSHIRE
Steve & Carrie Hounsome - % (01962)
864022.
HEREFORDSHIRE
Keith Brocklehurst - % (01531) 670477.
Peter Terry - % (01885) 400352
HERTFORDSHIRE
Chritine Owen - % (01923) 261464.
Sheena Barnes - % (01923) 220426
KENT
Alawn Tickhill - % (01304) 381614.
LONDON
Heather Campbell - % (0181) 399 8156.
Michael Berman - % (0171) 328 7827.
Leo Rutherford - % (0171) 435 8174.
Trisha Mulholland - % (0171) 609 4956.
Howard Charing - % (0181) 567 4061
Kathryn Player - % (0171) 236 6268.
MIDDLESEX7
Earthsong Drumming - % (0181) 977 4282
Circle of Sound- % (0181) 898 2877
Michle Brown - % (01328) 711168.
Sean & Trisha Wright - % (01553) 840806
SCOTLAND
Laura Davison - % (01224) 593305.
Suzy -% (01764) 679525.
SOMERSET
Dee Robertson - % (01460) 52924.
SURREY
Terry Wilkes - % (0181) 773 0827.
SUSSEX
Paddy Mooney - % (01424) 433035.
WEST MIDLANDS
Eve Lung - % (0121) 449 0877.
YORKSHIRE
Carol Youngson - % (0114) 274 7522
Ron Pyatt - % (01274) 499910.
WARWICKSHIRE
Frances Ommanney - % (01926) 881772
WALES
Ashera - % (01766) 762462.
Andy and Sue - % (01341) 280255.
Beth - % (01352) 840398.
Sharon Forrest - % (01686) 412328
Mary - % (01639) 730052.
WORCESTERSHIRE
Nick and Jan Wood - % (01386) 49680.

COMING SOON IN SACRED HOOP

This Sacred Land
The sacred Land project, an organisation
dedicated to renewing the sacred sites of
Britain. We talk to its founder Martin
Palmer.

Maori Bone Carving

The people of New Zealand have a
wonderful tradition of sacred carving.

Ngakchang
Rinpoche
E xplains the reasons for
all the fearsome beasties
found in Tibetan Buddhist
art and practices.

DONT MISS OUT - SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND ENJOY HOOP DELIVERED TO YOUR
DOOR,
PAGE 36 SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997
 In the absence of the sacred ~
nothing is sacred ~ everything is for sale
Oren Lyons, Onondaga Tribal Chief
An Hawaiian Elder once remarked that The water feeds the island and the island feeds
the people. This is an example of what is known by tribal peoples as a sacred trust;
seeing their relationship with the Earth and the sea as a sacred trust, seeing themselves
as stewards of the land and the sea and in return the land and sea both care for them.
The Sacred Trust was founded with that vision in mind, to undertake the protection,
preservation and study of shamanism and indigenous sacred traditions. It is
currently seeking charitable status which, once achieved, will allow us to further
step towards fulfiling this vision. Central to our work is an on-going curriculum of
workshops, training and teaching events with with some of the most remarkable
teachers, elders and carriers of shamanic wisdom, from the four quarters of the Earth:
Hyemeyohsts Storm is a legendary Earth Teacher and Remember, who was the first writer to introduce the Way of the
Sacred Medicine Wheels to the modern world within the pages of his classic work Seven Arrows. Grandfather Storm was
raised on the Indian reservations of Montana and as a young man became a student of the Zero Chiefs; scholars, teachers
and healers from the ancient Americas who continue to protect and preserve the Medicine Wheel teachings to this day.
Grandfather Storm has taught in the UK for the last two years and we are honoured to welcome him back here this
September when he will be teaching The Circle of Law, together with his partner in Life and in Medicine, Swan Storm.

Victor Sanchez and Ken Eagle Feather are both Toltec Warriors. According to tradition, Toltec
means man or woman of knowledge. They were the ancient sorcerer-seers of Mexico, concerned with
unravelling mysteries and fixating the awareness of others with the intent of freedom. Victor Sanchez
trained directly with the living descendants of the Toltecs - the Wirrarika peoples, who live hidden in the
mountains of north-west Mexico. He is the author of two books, the most recent of which - Toltecs of
the New Millennium - is the first written record of the traditions and practices of the Wirrarika. Ken
Eagle Feather underwent a ten year apprentice with the legendary Toltec teacher of Carlos Castaneda;
don Juan Matus, during which time he was initiated and trained in the methods of the ancient Toltecs.
Both of these teachers will be teaching in Britain this Autumn.

Brooke Medicine Eagle is a Native American Earthkeeper, healer, ceremonial leader and the author
of Buffalo Woman Comes Singing. She undertook training with many great teachers of Native American
wisdom, including the the Northern Cheyenne Medicine Woman, Stands Near The Fire, who was the
Keeper of the Sacred Buffalo Hat. Her dedication is to bring forward the ancient truths concerning how to
live a fully human life in harmony with All Our Relations and furthermore,to the nurturing and renewing of
the circle of life through the growth and healing of the two-legged family upon the Earth. Brooke will be
teaching during June and July and this represents the first opportunity to work with her in Britain.

Sandra Ingerman and Leslie Kenton are both faculty members of The
Foundation For Shamanic Studies (FSS), the organisation founded by the world
authority on shamanism, Dr Michael Harner. The Sacred Trust is pleased to organise
the work of the FSS in the UK and in that capacity offers both introductory and
advanced trainings on subjects that include Soul Retrieval, Shamanic Extraction
Training and Keltic Shamanism. Sandra Ingerman is the author of the seminal work
Soul Retrieval - Mending The Fragmented Self and Leslie Kenton is a noted author
and teacher on health and well-being.

Arwyn Dreamwalker is a practising shaman and a remarkable seer of Native American and Keltic-lrish lineage who has
studied with traditional native elders and is a lineage carrier of the vision of Grandfather Tom Wilson Largewhiskers the Navajo
Medicine Man and Holy Man. Her aim is to bring together the shamanic teachings of the native American and Keltic Traditions,
awakening the sacred symbols of the Rainbow Dream in all those who work with her. This will be the tenth year that Dreamwalker
has taught in Britain and she will be offering a number of ceremonial workshops throughout June, July and August.
The Sacred Trust also produces what is perhaps the finest and most comprehensive mail-
order book and audio catalogue which focuses entirely on Shamanism and the Medicine
Ways. To receive information concerning the future of our work full details of forthcoming
teaching events as well as a copy of our mailorder catalogue contact us today:

PO Box 603 Bath BA1 2ZU

Tel: 01225 852615 Fax: 01225 858961 Sacred Trust@CompuServe. com
THE SACRED TRUST X TRUST THE SACRED X THE SACRED TRUST X TRUST THE
SACRED