This time of year is always so refreshing and vibrant.  Just feeling the change in the breeze and warmer days brings on the desires to play hooky.
 
I wrote an article for my blog, Two-Feathers, about the Spring Equinox and I mentioned that at the equinoxes there is a balancing of energies at the exact time of the equinox.  From a Feng Shui perspective this shift or change in the seasons at the time of the Equinox is when male and female energies are balance for a short time.  We can feel that change and the balance.  Change is the male energies as the wind blows faster at this time of year ushering in the warmer weather.  Balance is the female energy which is reached for a short time. 

As we move around the Medicine Wheel to the Spring Equinox we are at the north-east winds.  This is a cross wind which comes in stronger and faster moving.  We also notice that the snow melts and we have spring showers (female water element).  Depending on which version of the Medicine Wheel you use, we are either moving from a female energy in the north into a male energy of the east or moving from a male energy of mental thoughts into a female energy of birth.  No matter which culture or belief system you are comfortable with, we have the gift of feeling balance during the equinox.

The Spring Equinox is also known as the Awakening Time.  As we come out of a time of death into a time of rebirth.  In nature we begin to see the sprouting of the new grass and spring flowers, all of which were gathering energies during the time of germination.  As the gathering of energy of the North winds gives way to the energy of the East-Winds, the time of rebirth, the Awakening, we can begin to see the sprouting of new projects that began as mere thoughts that came from our intuition while we spent time in the energies of the North.

I remember as a child attending special gatherings to honor the Spirit each season.  My grandfather was a member of the Dream Drum religion.  We would make the trip with him for these gatherings.  I liked the spring gathering the best as there was a sense of openness, freedom in the drumming, singing and dance.  The adults spoke Potawatomi most often and since I didn’t speak the language fluently, I had the gift of setting aside the world of adults.  I was able to take in the feeling of the ceremonies without the encumbrance of labels.   As I reflect on these childhood memories of the Spring Equinox Drum Dance, I remember the feeling of the beat of the drum, the heart beat of mother earth, as the vibrations became more and more expansive ushering in the Spirit of the East.

Many blessing to you on this Spring Equinox.
 
All Rights Reserved. Yvette Neshi Lokotz, March 2008.

In the Medicine Wheel of the Native American tradition, Winter is the direction of North, which represents elders, wisdom, the intellect, insight, and solitude and the completion of cycles.

Sometimes we think of winter as the completion of a cycle. But is it? Athough it looks like nature slows down and stops, it doesn’t. Under the cover of leaves and snow, seeds are preparing to sprout. Buds begin to form on trees. Deep inside the earth excitement is building, excitement of the coming rebirth. That image of dying is just an illusion.

The process of dying is also a rebirth, and a glimpse into a world we, who are on this side of it, can only glimpse at. So it is with nature. Even as one cycle of nature ends, the next cycle is beginning. Magic is underway. This is why Winter is about wisdom, insights and solitude. It makes us think and contemplate. Is Winter the end of the cycle, or is it the beginning? Or are the two so irrevocably intertwined they are the same? In endings, there is also rebirth and beginnings. With each beginning, the ending is inevitable. Perhaps the lesson of Winter is really about the certainty of change. That there is no beginning or ending to life, but a constant change of form.

© Copyright  2007 Deborah Redfern. All rights reserved.

Winter Solstice

Awakening the Magician Dec 21-23

According to Ted Andrews in his book Nature Speak, the Winter Solstice is a time to slow down outer activities, deeper medications, strong angel contact, intuition, healing, new birth, emotions and dream work. Sowing of seeds for the coming year: These seeds are seeds of abundance, prosperity, love and illumination. As I consider the link between Ted Andrews’s perspective and that of the Medicine Wheel, I begin to think about how it feels to be in that place of between.  Right now we are in that energy of what the Celtic Ancients called Betwixt and Between (where magic occurs).  When contemplating the Medicine Wheel, the Winter Solstice (and the Summer Solstice) ride the cross winds of the Wheel.  These cross winds are like a switch that brings change – a pause between a change in Nature. When I think about this pause, it feels like the top or bottom of a full breath.  When at the top or bottom of the breath it is the time when we are either about to inhale or about to exhale — change. Solstices are opportune times to bring completion of what has gone before and to fix intentions for what will come as we plant the seeds that seem to be dormant but are gathering strength to push through the soil in the Spring.  The Winter Solstice is the time to go within and sort out what intentions will be brought forth.The Winter Solstice is found in the wind of the North North West (NNW) on the Medicine Wheel—Renewal Time.   The north winds encourage patience and inward growth, a renewal of the mind and body.  The north winds also assist to establish intent and purpose.  The north is the direction of the mind and things in the mind – knowledge and wisdom.The Goose is the Birth and Animal Totem for the NNW December 22 through January 19.  Those born under the Goose Totem have imaginative minds, a great Dreamer. As we prepare to exhale that full breath on December 22, Winter Solstice, we are at the place to begin to dream about the coming year and what we would like to create.  This is a good time of year to consider how the art and science of feng shui can assist you to create a home or office environment to support your intentions.  It is also a grand time of year to plan a Space Clearing to set the home “template” that will hold your intentions. May your Winter Solstice, Yule Tide, Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza be loving and joyful.  Neshi    Copyright, Neshi Lokotz, 2007. All Rights Reserved.

On my time off this week, my family and I took a day trip, traveling east toward the Wittenburg WI area.  This is an area where my mother grew up and my grandfather helped lay the pipes in the small downtown area.  My husband and I lived in Caroline, a small rural beautiful area filled with maple trees, hills and stones, lots of stones.

As we drove, I marveled at the colors of autumn against blue skies and sunshine.  It was a beautiful and glorious day to play.  We noticed a large bird flying toward us.  I couldn’t tell if the bird was a Turkey Vulture or an Eagle.  As it came closer, I could see the white head and tail of a mature Eagle.  The Eagle flew so close to us that it felt like I could reach up and touch it.

The Eagle circled around us once and then flew off toward the southwest.  As I sat quietly contemplating the Eagles appearance, thanking the bird for coming to us, I wondered what message my totem brought to me.  So, I closed my eyes to feel the energy of the Eagle and in my imagination, replayed its flight to us and around us.

Seeing an Eagle has great meaning to me as it usually brings good news.  According to my teacher, Denise Linn, Eagle symbolizes illumination, spirit, power and creation.  My mother would ask me what was I thinking about when I saw the Eagle.  Denise and my mother are two Native American women who I dearly love and they both have been role models for me and are my elders.

I was talking to my husband about my new courses coming out in the spring. I am currently working on their written curriculum. These courses are about the Medicine Wheel, feng shui, space clearing, Native American astrology/soul clearing, and sacred geometry.  I am blending all the aspects of my study over the past years and bring this unique blend to others.

I would like to believe that seeing Eagle brought the message to me that I am consciously walking my Life Journey, my path and allowing my Spirit Self to lead as I create these new and exciting courses.  I felt joy as I watched the Eagle circle us.  This feeling of joy is the same feeling I experience when I am working or talking about the new classes.

Thanks for reading.  Neshi.

All rights reserved.  Copyright, Neshi Lokotz, 2007

Today’s Autumn Equinox was beautiful in Tomah Wisconsin.  We had beautiful blue skies, with maple trees beginning to change their colors from green to brilliant reds and oranges.  I spent this equinox by myself.  I usually celebrate with friends and family, but this year, I found I wanted solitude, reflective solitude.  I took time to consider what kind of ceremony I wanted to share with nature, with Spirit– sacred space.  I took my time to select stones from my property, sage, tobacco and I brought my Spirit Drum.

I created an Earth Medicine Wheel large enough for me to comfortably sit and stand in the center.  I gave thanks for all that nature has done to support me and my family this past year.  As Ted Andrews states in his book Nature Speaks, this is the Beginning of the Hero’s Journey Time.  A time to harvest and clean out the old to begin anew. 

As I sat in the Earth Medicine Wheel, I drummed my thankfulness to Mother Earth, to Spirit, to the devas and elements of the land, and to my friends and family.  I also prayed that I been give the support for the my new seeds that I am sowing for the coming year.  As I plan the dates for my up coming courses, I look forward to continue teaching Interior Alignment™ practitioner courses; sacred geometry; Rainbow, 12 Gifts and A Song ascension courses; Drum making; and my new Medicine Wheel courses.

Autumn Equinox…a time to reflect, a time to gather the harvest and consider what new seeds to sow for the next growing season. 

Many blessings to you.  Neshi.

All rights reserved.  Copyright, Neshi Lokotz, 2007