A SHAMAN
IN CAMBRIDGE
recent visit of a
Siberian Shaman
TANTRIC TIBET
NGAK’CHANG
RINPOCHE
on the many
strange beings of
Buddhist Ritual
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SACRED LIVING
RAINBOW
TRIBE
ED McGAA
EAGLE MAN
on why we are
all one tribe.
W
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K II N
N G
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G O
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HUNGARIAN SHAMANISM with PETER AZIZ
Also
MEETING THE GREENWOOD ~ WORKING WITH TREE SPIRITS
MAKE A MEDICINE BAG
H
CELTIC SWEAT LODGE
GET IN TOUCH - UK EVENTS DIARY
Special Readers Offers
PAGE 4 SACRED HOOP ISSUE 18 1997
Gig-Na-Gig
Tribal dance music by Global, the new album by Nigel Shaw, Carolyn Hillyer and friends (see the review this issue).
CD £11.50 inc P&P
MC £7.50 inc P&P
Other albums
by Nigel and Carolyn
Shaman-Ka
CD £11.50 including P&P MC £ 7.50 including P&P
Songs of the Forgotten People
CD £11.50 including P&P
O
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prriic
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CD
D’’ss
£
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The beautiful new book of paintings and poems by this gifted Dartmoor artist and musician.
(see a review in this issue).
Only £10.50 inc P&P
Normal Price £13.00
NORTH
AFRICAN
DARABUKA
A superb brass
10 inch diameter
Arab - made
Darabuka
£59.95
inc P&P
A fantastic drum, strong, light, easy to carry and play. Loud, with a bright rim sound and a deep bass centre note. Easily tuneable, ideal for Britain’s changeable climate.
I wish to order the following:
A Circle of Thirteen Book .... @ £10.50 ...
Gig-Na-Gig CD .... @ £11.50 ...
MC .... @ £7.50 ...
Shaman-Ka CD .... @ £11.50 ...
MC .... @ £7.50 ...
Forgotten People CD .... @ £11.50 ...
MC .... @ £7.50 ...
3 recording sets CD .... @ £32.00 ...
MC .... @ £21.00 ...
FFRRE
EE
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CO
OM
MPPE
ETTIITTIIO
ON
N
10 White Eagle Medicine
Wheel Card Sets to be won
To enter this competition, simply answer the question below and send your answer together with your name and address on a post card to the Sacred Hoop Office to reach us no later than first post November 1st.What are the Lakota words for
‘Mother Earth’ ?
A Circle of Thirteen
By Carolyn Hillyer
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Special Features
THE RAINBOW AND THE BLUE MAN. . . 10-14
The Blue man of Black Elk’s Vision is the distroyer of balanced living. The Rainbow people are the new tribe who fight him.
By Ed McGaa Eagle Man.
TALKING TO THE DRAGONS. . . 15-17
Tethatu, is a traditional Hugarian shamanic healing technique. Here we look at the ways it is worked, and the special relationship of tree spirits within its tradition.
By Peter Aziz.
MEETING THE GREENWOOD. . . 18-19
A walk in a wild wood, or even in the park among the trees can be a wonder filled event. Here we look at some simple things you can do by yourself or with others.
By Jan Wood.
WEARING THE BODY OF VISIONS. . . 20-24
Peacful, joyful and wrathful Yidams. The spiritual life of Tibet is full of the strangest beings. Here we look at what all these images mean, and how they help us reach an enlightened state.
By Ngak’chang Rinpoche
BLESSING OF THE REINDEER CAMPS. . . 24-25
An personal account of a blessing ceremony performed in Cambridge by a visiting Siberian shaman.
By Karen Kelly
THE STAFF AND THE SONG. . . 24-26
Part two of a feature in which one of the leading authorities on the Shamanic journey tells us about her experience of wise women singing circles in the tradition
of the ancient Norse sagas.
By Annette Høst
C R A F T A P E R S O N A L M E D I C I N E B A G . . . 3 0 - 3 1
Making and beadwork decorating a small personal medicine bag.
By Nicholas Wood
TÉACH AN ALAIS. . . 28-29
The sweat lodge is not a stranger to these shores. Here we look at the Celtic sweat house traditions and how echoes of them remain today.
By Adrian Reid-Wolfe.
Regular Features
READERS OFFERS PAGE. . . 4
EDITORIAL . . . 7
NEWS PAGE . . . 8
EARTH TALK : FTF NEWS. . . 9
REVIEWS. . . 32
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 18 1997 PAGE 5
The wisdom of living with respect for all our relations
Pages 10 -14
The strange beings of Tibetan spirituality
Pages 20 - 24
The Celtic Sweatlodge Pages 28 - 29
DON'T MISS - THE ‘PEOPLE ON THE PATH’
starts page 36 - unique 'shamanic events' guide to what's happening in the UK
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A full length collection of Native American social songs, medicine
"
Saturday December 20th 1997 10am - 5pmHoop Solstice Party
Benefit day for Sacred Hoop Magazine
A Concert
withFrank Perry
‘MASTER OF THE TIBETAN BOWLS’
Shamanic Dance
with ‘N’Goma Kundi Drummers’
A Story or Two
Shamanic Journeys
with Howard G. Charing
The Medicine Wheel
with Leo Rutherford
AND OTHER PRESENTATIONS STILL TO BE ARRANGED
special appearances by
CHIEF JON BONKIN-BULL.
(Chief of the International tribe of Wannabees) and
BIGGER CHIEF BIG WIND
(of the Flatus Afflatus) who will introduce the mysterious egonic world of the CHARLATANS
PLUS GRAND DRAWS, AMAZING GIFTS, FANTASTIC WINNABLES !
At
Westminster Cathedral Hall, Ambrosdan Ave London WC1 £30/ Concs £20
Tickets from Eagles Wing Shamanic Workshops UK(on the door)
58 Westbere Rd, London NW2 3RU 0171 435 8174
To the many people who write in to say how much they love Sacred Hoop, and how important it is in their lives thank you. This is the eighteenth issue of the magazine, and we have come to a crucial time.
The last editorial I wrote it seemed touched a lot of people, including the producers of Radio Four’s Afternoon shift who asked me to go on the show. In the editorial I spoke about the need to recognise and honour the teachings and the people sharing the teachings within the UK. One stage beyond this, I am pleased to ask you to
read the item about the setting up of the White Horse Circle, a circle in lieu of eldership. You will find this on the Flowering Tree page.
Hoop has for the whole of its history tried to share good medicine and the ethics of right relationship. We have tried to do what we do with a sense of honour and respect for the sacred teachings of the world and those who have and who still are practising them. We hope that those of you who have been with us for sometime, some of you even from issue one, have got something heartfelt out of reading it.
Currently Hoop is in great need of funding and investment. We are facing several paths, Hoop can either grow in strength, it can trim its sails (sales) and become a smaller magazine, or it can cease altogether. The latter option is my least favourite, the first option my favourite. Therefore I am taking this time to ask you if you are able to to support us financially.
We need to generate more income, Hoop costs £7,500 each issue to produce before any wages are drawn whatsoever. Help with this can come in various ways.
First of all I would ask you if you are reading someone else’s Hoop, please subscribe, your subscription fee is the life blood of our income.
Secondly, if you are able to, please consider sponsoring a page or half page. The sponsorship of a page is a way you can make a direct involvement to us. We are asking for £50 a half and £100 a full page. Sponsors get their names put into a special sponsors box appearing on this page in future issue.
Thirdly, if you are able to give a gift, however small or big to the work of Hoop we would be very grateful. Together we can strengthen the traditions and practice of Shamanism in the UK, please add your voice to the circle, to the Sacred Hoop. Opposite is a sub form and a help form for your convenience.
And if you can - come to our solstice party in London ~ details opposite I look forward to the next issue and the next eighteen!.
For all my relations Nicholas Wood
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 18 1997 PAGE 7
MAGAZINE
ISSN 1364 - 2219 EDITOR Nicholas Wood PRODUCTION Nicholas Wood ADMINISTRATION Rebecca Sargent PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Jan Wood Celia Wearing David Stemp Stephen Fountain PUBLISHING POLICYSACRED HOOP networks those interested in the teachings of indigenous shamanic peoples as a living path of knowledge. Our contents cover the integration
of old and new knowledge, and insights that contribute to a balanced and sustainable
lifestyle in today's world. We honour all paths and peoples
and do not include material from, or give support to, any individual or group which seeks
to oppress or discriminate on grounds of race, lineage,
age, sex, class or belief. Nor do we knowingly publish any material that is inaccurate.
The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor.
For All Our Relations Printed on paper from a sustainable source by Perfect Image. Tel (01386) 40435
FRONT COVER DETAILS Dragon gate: by Nicholas Wood
DISCLAIMER
Whilst making every effort to be accurate, the Editorial Team will not be deemed responsible for any
errors, omissions or inaccuracies appearing in Sacred Hoop.
SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE 28 COWL STREET, EVESHAM, WORCS. WR11 4PL, ENGLAND. PHONE & FAX (01386) 49680
©1997 Sacred Hoop Magazine and/or individual contributors. No p a r t o f t h i s m a g a z i n e , e i t h e r written text or visual art may be r e p r o d u c e d i n a n y w a y whatsoever without the w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e e d i t o r s .
Editorial
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Jan Wood who was the original founder and editor of Sacred Hoop and has worked on all of each issue since its beginning is taking a well-earned sabbatical to pursue her other interests. Jan who originally trained as a painter wishes to concentrate on her own art work and her shamanic work with groups and individuals. All at Sacred Hoop wish her well in her new ventures.
In the last issue of Sacred Hoop we ran a competition to win an elk skin medicine drum. Congratulations to our winner R. Allen of Bath.
M e m b e r s o f t h e A r a n d a t r i b e o f central Australia are claiming their ancestral lands back with the aid of Dreamtime Stories. The Tribal lands are in possession of the Crown, and the people who lay claim to them are telling the traditional stories to the courts in an attempt to gain possession once more.
T h i s h o w e v e r i s c a u s i n g c e r t a i n problems. In tribal tradition, only initiated people have the right to have dreamtime knowledge shared with them. This is especially true of sacred objects, which are important in these traditions. Only male elders who are initiated may see them, and a problem has arisen because the officials of the court looking at the case are not initiated.
Attempts to get around this problem are being discussed. These involve the Aranda elders disclosing the sacred objects to the judge of the court when he is alone, after the court has been cleared. This would be an unprecedented occurrence
a n d i t i s f a r f r o m c e r t a i n i f t h e Australian legal authorities will alow it to take place.
PAGE 8 SACRED HOOP ISSUE 18 1997
DREAMTIME STORIES ON TRIAL
Born in 1916, the traditional Cherokee medicine man John ‘ R o l l i n g T h u n d e r ’ P o p e d i e d e a r l i e r this year. As a teenager, tribal e l d e r s r e c o g n i s e d h i s s p e c i a l a b i l i t i e s a n d g a v e h i m p r i v a t e instruction and training so he could become a medicine man in later life. At the age of 15 he built a cabin in t h e w o o d s a n d l i v e d c o m p l e t e l y a l o n e t h e r e f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s continuing his studies and learning to listen and communicate with the plants and animals that surrounded him.
Throughout his long life he battled h i s o w n a l c o h o l i s m a n d n e a r starvation in the Great Depression, and eventually went on to become a m a s t e r h e r b a l i s t a n d e v e n a celebrity, giving spiritual advice to the likes of Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. Dylan later named a world tour after him as a mark of respect -the Rolling Thunder Review.
Throughout his life he always gave one clear message - return to the old ways, abolish war and pollution and respect Mother Earth, who is the life source of all beings. He w a s a l s o a l i f e l o n g a c t i v i s t f o r Native American rights, participating in the 1973 stand off between the US government and rights activists at Wounded Knee South Dakota. His work can be read about in a book by Doug Boyd simply entitled Rolling Thunder. ( A v a i l a b l e t h r o u g h t h e S a c r e d T r u s t T e l (01225) 852615). RESPECTED CHEROKEE ELDER PASSES ON
BEAUTIFUL PAINTED
ARROW RETIRES FROM
RUNNING DRUM DANCES
I m p r i s o n e d since 1976 on c h a r g e s considered to have been fabricated by the FBI, and sentenced to twice his natural life in prison Lakota political activist Leonard Peltier is seriously ill in prison in America. His case has caused long running conflict in the USA, despite frequent calls for a re trial. In 1995 The European Parliment passed a resolution calling for clemency, but despite even this involvement in the case Peltier remains in prison.
Currently he is now very ill, remaining without remedy following unsuccessful surgery on his jaw. Initially, Leonard
suffered from a problem preventing him from fully opening his mouth. Surgery was performed to correct this, but now his jaw will not close all the way, making it impossible for him to eat solid foods. Swelling remains along one side of his jaw and he gets frequent headaches. After over six months of fighting, Leonard's people were finally able to secure copies of his medical records, which are being currently reviewed by a series of doctors.
Readers are urged to write asking for a Presidential Pardon to : President Bill Clinton, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500 USA.
Further details from :
The Leonard Peltier Defence Committee, P.o. Box 583, Lawrence, KS 66044 USA.
Phone (001) (913) 842 5774. Fax (001) (913) 842 5796.
LEONARD PELTIER SERIOUSLY ILL
Photo : Carmen Pope.
Photo : Leonard Peltier Defence Committee
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The Native American visionary Beautiful Painted Arrow announced his retirement from running ceremonial dances, in New Mexico in July of this year.
He said that the Spirits who inspired him to run the dances had given him permission to pass them on, and that his retirement was partly due to his knowing the time and date of his own death. He has been visiting the UK annually to run the Drum Dance, and passed the responsibility for them in Britain to Lindsay Sutton, & Carlos Philip Glover.
For further information. contact: Carlos Philip Glover, Tel: 01803 867689 12 Broom Park, Dartington, Devon TQ9 6IR
FROM THE POSTBAG . . . Dear FTF, I have recently discovered shamanism and done two workshops which were wonderful and really opened my eyes to a new reality. It has been life-changing.
Unfortunately my family don’t want to know and treat me as if I’ve done something wrong. They have even suggested that I have become unbalanced in some way. This is a completely new experience for me, as I’ve never done anything like this before. Can you help?
D.H. (Devon) FTF REPLIES . . .
One of the perennial problems of spiritual and personal growth is the stress put on everyday relationships, and how you bring new perspectives and learning into everyday life. Learning has a knock on effect - all things are connected! And this is true for those who are in your family, friends and work network too.
So let’s look at ‘re-entry’. We all go through ‘evangelical’ stages when we go home so excited about our new discoveries that we bore the pants off unwitting family and friends. Result - the ‘workshop come-down.’
Think of yourself as fitting into your home picture like a piece in its jigsaw; even if the fit was bad, at least everyone knew what the misfit felt like. Then you suddenly change shape, drop a lug or curve, or perhaps everyone experienced you as a corner piece and you return a confirmed middle bit; there’s bound to be pressure on you to return to your original, familiar shape.
Now while the one who has grown has experienced positive change, this has happened in a setting which is not their everyday life. Meanwhile, those at home are probably wondering if the person who left Friday will
be the same one who returns Sunday. And if the return has been bumpy once, there will be tension around on subsequent occasions. I sometimes wish that all workshops ended with a health warning to return home gently rather than - as I have experienced at the beginning of my own path - dropping back into it, glowing with heightened awareness like an incendiary device.
Of course, this is slightly exaggerating, but I know how often I put my foot in it before developing strategies that were much better for all concerned. the last thing you need is emotional angst at what can be a vulnerable time.
Personally I find that stopping off somewhere on the way home for a strong coffee and some food helps to re-align. There’s nothing like caffeine and a motorway services cafe to snap me back into the everyday!
Ask for blessings as you journey home, for a gentle re-entry, whatever situation you are returning to. Remember that if you seek change, the chances are you will get it, and a large part of the learning is in how you bring it into your everyday life.
To help integrate what you have learned, the healing received, the new perspectives, make a quiet ritual when you have reconnected with your ‘normal world’, something that will help you keep hold of and honour the reality of the changes you have undergone.
This might be writing a journal or intuitive story, making a picture or craft item in celebration of gifts received, planting something appropriate in your garden, the choice is wide.
Remember that there is no reason why those around you should approve or take part in your new discoveries.
You may find support in one of
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 17 1997 PAGE 9
FLOWERING TREE FEDERATION NEWS:
E
ARTH
T
ALK
is a growing network of those practising and learning about earth-based spirituality and shamanism.
It has a book loan service and supports the creation and maintainance of circles of healing and celebration at a local level.
Its members follow a simple Code of Ethics based on respect for all life
Further details of membership and Code of Ethics send SAE
(first class stamp) to:
TT H
H E
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WH
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ORRS
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C II RR C
C LL E
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‘Blend with the Earth and celebrate life’
‘The members of this circle have walked with the sweet traditions of medicine teachings in these lands for some years.
We gather regularly to honour and cherish the teachings we hold, to grow together as a peer group in lieu of other forms of eldership, and give what service we are called upon to give, for the highest good of all. For all our relations.’
For all our relations Fiona Fredenburgh, Anna Gahlin Diana Griffiths, Jennifer
Lynn-Cline, Annie Spencer, Adrian Reid-Wolfe, Leo Rutherford, Duncan Wordley, David Wendl-Berry, Jan Wood, Nicholas
Wood, Carol Youngson In preparation at the moment are guidelines for the safe conduct of Sweatlodges. Details in the next Hoop.
FF LL O
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Renowned for his plain speaking,
Lakota teacher and writer
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tells us about the need to live a
life with a heart connection to
M
a ny of you reading this have sought a teacher to learn more about the ‘Natural Way’.I think it is wise to let nature be the foremost teacher. When choosing a two-legged teacher, I watch for someone who has courage and is willing to admit that they can be wrong or in error. One of the most profound abilities to be found in a fruitful teacher is their ability to admit that they do not know the answer to most of life’s mysteries. You must decide if the knowledge they carry will be beneficial to your path. Above all, allow your teachers to be human and grant them the freedom to make their share of human mistakes.
Once I identify a possible teacher, I must determine whether the teacher is authentic. It is important for you to test the teacher. Ask yourself a few questions, Do they want to control you or things in general? Are they loaded up with superstitions or strange rules that restrict sincere prayer and ceremony. Are they purposefully making the teaching difficult so that you will have to keep coming back to them? Are they warning you to avoid other people’s ceremonies or other knowledge? If their rules or procedures can be used in a practical way to restore harmony, then by all means respect them. I know a teacher who is fairly strict, but underneath he emanates a deep harmony along with some very worthwhile wisdom.
The teachers I respect include some of my fellow Native Americans who have come forth to offer knowledge and their experiences. Over a half century ago, Black Elk met with a white man to tell of his deep and powerful vision. Later, he sat with another non-Indian to expand upon the seven sacred ceremonies. These men were writers1. Black Elk intended that the
knowledge of the Natural Way be preserved and passed on for the benefit of all two-leggeds, tribal and non tribal.
Frank Fools Crow and Bill Eagle Feather, two venerable Sioux holy men who rebirthed the Sun Dance, followed Black Elk’s example. Their ceremonies did not exclude anyone because of gender, colour or bloodline. Both holy men spoke out for unity and
cooperation among the races of the four colours. These men were known for holding ceremony for the healing of Indians and non-Indians who sought their wisdom and counsel.
I would also honour my spirit guide
from the world beyond whom I have come to know as Charging Shield. I regard his force or mystery as having allowed me numerous adventures and experiences in the Natural Way. Charging Shield's spirit has also been a driving force behind my writing.
I also remember Plato's thought, “each of us has many teachers who alter the course of our lives. Some of these people may cross our lives for a moment and leave an indelible mark in our memories”.
I want to make it clear that I do not regard myself as a medicine man, it’s tough enough just being a writer, just having the courage to call a few spades, spades! I want to avoid living
in a glass house and having people examine everything I do and I wouldn’t care to put up with the jealousy that is always dropped on a medicine man, especially the successful ones.
I am just a two-legged who has made my share of mistakes in life, and I don’t think that will change, I’ll make more yet. I don’t believe you have to be a holy man to acknowledge Great Spirit.
Many people these days place the patriarchal belief systems of the dominant culture into their interpre-tation of Mother Earth Spirituality. It is important to get back to basics and ask yourself daily, how can we keep a strong connection to the Earth and the sacred Four directions?
Setting your intention to getting back to nature is the key to living in harmony on the Mother Earth. The earliest Americans considered every day a spiritual association with nature, every step a connection to Great Spirit. The culmination of this association was ceremony. Ceremony is a beseechment, thanks-giving, or acknowledgment to a higher power, a higher force. If you are a traditional Sioux Indian, ceremony is directed toward Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, the Great Mystery, the Great Unending Circle, through the Six Powers of the universe, the six powers that Black Elk’s powerful vision describes. The function of vision, ritual and perceiving intellect is to allow us to experience our spirituality here and now.
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 18 1997 PAGE 11
We are a manifestation of the Six Powers physically, and they are clearly visible today and every day. They are a direct manifestation of the Great Mystery and are contained in all life. Most Native Americans do not attempt to describe the Great Spirit. We believe it is rather foolish to attempt description of the Creator of time and space-things our two-legged mind cannot comprehend.
I practise the Mother Earth ceremonies as a natural part of my daily living. We use the pipe
2 in the seven sacred
ceremonies 3
. Some of these ceremonies, including the Sun Dance and the Keeping of the Soul Ceremony, were banned by the U.S. government.
Unlike the ceremonies of the dominant culture in the America’s, Sioux ceremonies are very balanced. When a woman is present, it is she who will be the first to enter the Lodge. A great deal of power and harmony manifest when a woman is allowed to take her equal place in ceremony. Probably more important, a great deal of wisdom is lost when a woman is not allowed her rightful voice in spiritual leadership. We are seeing a significant rise in numbers of those who choose to participate in the international Sun Dance. This seems peculiar to me since the prayers we make are very old and require a deep commitment to the old ways.
I find it difficult to fault the respectful and well meaning use of objects for ceremonial purposes by a person who has a healthy respect for those objects and sincerely uses them to connect to the Great Spirit and who is of course concerned about the health of o u r M o t h e r E a r t h . I h o p e h o w e v e r t h a t y o u w i l l b e respectful in the use of your ceremonial tools. My teachers insist that to properly conduct c e r e m o n y , a b s o l u t e l y n o a l c o h o l o r o t h e r c h e m i c a l s were to be consumed, and this included the cactus bud called p e y o t e . B i l l E a g l e F e a t h e r
once told me, "We get our visions from our own juices." Both holy men I mentioned were total abstainers, and it is my strong recommendation that if y o u a r e c o n s i d e r i n g t a k i n g a leadership role in ceremony, you abstain from all alcohol, drugs, or mind-altering substances.
For the novice wanting to bring the power of ceremony into your life, practise smudging yourself and making a simple beseechment to the four directions (or
what some refer to as the Medicine Wheel).
Indian names, or natural names, are being sought after by many non-Indians. People are seeking a natural identity to become more aligned and related to the natural forces that flow in harmony. It is comforting to have a natural name. It is also a good feeling to have a stone, a stone that conveys a special meaning to you and has come to you in a special way. Open your heart to the rising sun while holding your Wotai stone and recognising that new knowledge can result from each new day is a form of ceremony. Your Wotai may be your teacher, protector and friend, a piece of our Mother Earth.
Y o u m a y s o m e d a y participate in a Sweat Lodge for purification, and in time a Vision Quest for one's lone beseechment. It is my belief that spiritually balanced people with good intentions should be w e l c o m e d t o c o n d u c t c e r e m o n y , a n d t h a t t h e y should not be fearful. I think it is better for this ailing world t h a t n o n - I n d i a n s h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o e x p e r i e n c e these ways since it will make them a better people. That is h o w p o w e r f u l t h e s e ceremonies are and we do not have much environmental time to be arguing over who may participate in ceremony.
You must remember by living the Natural Way, the Native Americans lived in environmental tranquillity and in an intrinsic relationship with nature as dependent servants - not polluting, self-destructing masters.
Unchecked industrial growth has caused perilous pollution, massive over-population and has changed all of that for the inhabitants of Mother Earth. The red people had no need to consider changing their nature-based system. Their land was kept pure and clean. It was productive and had a balanced population. History shows that my people were kind and generous peoples. We kept the Pilgrims alive and sheltered the runaway black slaves. We even
“A great deal of
wisdom is lost
when a woman
is not allowed
her rightful voice
in spiritual
leadership”
taught the Pilgrims Thanksgiving and how to plant and fertilise the right way. These people did not place price tags on spiritual gifts and their expressions of gratitude could not be bought by the dominant culture.
The ‘blue man’ of Black Elk's 4
vision is seen as a symbol of those who have harmed Mother Earth and all her creatures. The blue man, the great violator, symbolises greed, corruption, dishonesty and selfishness. Mother Earth, represented by the four directions, has fought back against the one who has made the grass and animals sick and the streams and air unclean.
I see the Blue Man as an u n t r u t h f u l , g r e e d y a n d destructive being. Lying is a p a r t o f t h e i r c u s t o m s . W e don't have to look very far in the modern world to see the c o n s e q u e n c e s o f a m o r a l leadership.
Although a person may be able to get away with his schemes and untruths, in the spirit world truth won’t be bought or sold and memory will be for an eternity. Natural justice will wreak its balance. It is said that in the very early days, lying was a capital offense among us. Believing that the deliberate liar is capable of committing any crime behind the scene of cowardly untruth and double dealing, the destroyer of mutual confidence was put to death.
We don't have to look far to see the blue man in the tobacco industry, or the self-serving politicians who protected their secrets. I will expose many of these people and institutions in a future book about the Blue Man.
But we must not lose sight of those people who have integrity. Amongst those I have come to know are the rainbow people described in my book Rainbow Tribe 5.
The rainbow is a symbol of the Great Spirit and the many colours, ways, and races unifying. Black Elk said the Rainbow people
(Lakota:Wigmunke oyate) would become the spreading flames for a unifying force of good. The rainbow symbolises fresh spirit life, and from the rainbow little flames of knowledge fall. Where they land, flowers grow.
The rainbows are searching to bring forth that ancient tribal gene link that cultivates an innate spiritual consciousness, a natural flowing guidance that led native peoples to personal and collective enjoyment for
thousands of years. These enlightened ones are the Rainbow Tribe, a person who allows nature to touch into his or her own inner source of wisdom - one’s own heart.
Their passion has led to an international resurgence of the Sun Dance 6.
T h e r e i s a s t r o n g r e l a t i o n s h i p between the 'matriarchal' Rainbow Tribe and the Celtic people. Some historians and archae-ologists believe the Bering land bridge existed 200,000 y e a r s a g o a n d s u g g e s t a nature-deity connection may h a v e e x i s t e d b e t w e e n t h e British Isles and the Western shores of the Atlantic. I have observed a deep respect for t h e M o t h e r , ( L a k o t a : I n a Maka), by the Rainbow people.
They are opening new freedoms for the female and are ahead of many of their modern Native American counterparts, who I suspect have been unconsciously influenced by the patriarchy of the missionaries. Could the matriarchal respect being shown by the Rainbows be a reaching back to the best facets of the Druidic spirituality that obviously held a powerful connection to the Creator endowed extension of the natural entities?
My personal lineage continues to draw me back to the British Isles. A few years ago, I had dinner with Phillip Carr-Gomm, chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids 7. I
discovered there were many startling similarities between native American and Druid teachings and practice. The Spirit of the Circle, the Spirit of the Stones, and related stone circle (medicine wheel) ceremonies suggest a possible common past.
L i k e t h e N a t i v e Americans, both the Celts a n d t h e D r u i d s p r a c t i s e teaching in the oral traditions. Bards keep the identity and history alive for their people, c r e a t i n g a c o m m u n a l i m a g i n a t i o n t h a t w e a v e s
“the rainbow
people practise
Mother Earth
spirituality or
simply follow
the Natural Way,
whatever it
is called”
together threads of the past, present and future. Had the Celtic tribes endured the political tides, even if c o n t i n u e d o n s o m e k i n d o f r e s e r v a t i o n s y s t e m a s w e r e t h e native North Americans, then a vast r e s e r v o i r o f n a t u r a l , c o n n e c t i n g knowledge would have been available in our time.
Unfortunately, the modern two-leggeds of European lineage, the Romans and the English Kings, the ‘ a n t i - M o t h e r s ’ , d e s t r o y e d t h e truthful records of the Celtic Earth Knowledge. I am among the many who walk amongst the stone circles looking for clues of a people and way of life which is pure.
In part, my own interest in the Celtic traditions draws from my bloodline. I am part Scotch-Irish, almost as much as I am Native American. It certainly is a nature based combination. I am not a full-blood, nor do I claim a famous chief as an ancestor. There are many non-Indians with no traceable Native American lineage who declare all sorts of relationships with past tribes. Do not be untruthful to yourself. You are what you are and I am what I am. People are people, and almost everyone in the world is a mixture. I understand it makes for healthier genes.
There are many Rainbows who believe they once lived as Native Americans. I cannot discredit their reincarnation theory, but neither can I substantiate it. This subject is definitely a mystery, but I have found little supportive evidence to verify such things. The most important gift we have in life is ‘this day’ and the opportunity to be with those we love one more day. Relationship is at the heart of all
‘Mother Earth’ ceremonies and beseechment.
After these pages, I hope you will keep your present vision and simply go your own path strengthened in a deeper respect and understanding for our Mother Earth. It is certain that Great Spirit is at work in all of this and I’m sure it’s all much larger than any of us are able to imagine.
This article was presented to answer the questions I am most asked when teaching. I dedicate it to all my relations… Mitakuye Oyasin!
Ed Mc Gaa, Eagle Man, is an Ogala Sioux lawyer, writer, and lecturer who has introduced thousands to Native American spirituality, ceremonies and rituals. His two best known books are : Mother Earth Spirituality, Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and Our World, Harper San Francisco, 1990.
Rainbow Tribe, Ordinary People Journeying on the Red Road, Harper San Francisco, 1992. Ed Mc Gaa, Eagle Man will be returning to Britain in October where he will be teaching two workshops together with his friend Jennifer Lynn Cline. For more information, please contact :
Xenon Centre, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland Tel: 01592 644060 (October 10, 11, 12) Teddington, London. Tel: 01923 219199 (October 17,18,19)
Sacred Hoop wishes to thank Jennifer Lynn-Cline for her great help in obtaining this article. We also wish to thank Ed McGaa’s publisher for their contributions.
PHOTOS
Photo of Ed McGaa thanks to Four Directions Publishing.
All other photos © Nicholas Wood 1997. NOTES
1: Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt (Publishing details unavailable at the time of this article). The Sacred Pipe by Joseph Epes Brown. University of Oklahoma Press ISBN 0-8061-2124-6. 2: See features on the Sacred Pipe in Sacred Hoop issue 4.
3: The seven sacred ceremonies of the Sioux are
the Sweat Lodge, the Vision Quest, the Sundance, the making of relatives, the keeping of the Soul, the womanhood ceremony, and the throwing of the ball. These ceremonies are described in detail in the Sacred Pipe by Joseph Epes Brown, and also are covered in Mother Earth Spirituality By Ed McGaa.
4: The ‘blue man’ was part of of Black Elk's vision and can be found in Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt.
5: Rainbow Tribe, Ordinary People Journeying on the Red Road, Harper San Francisco, 1992. 6: See the feature on the Sundance in Sacred Hoop issue 17.
7: See the article by Phillip Carr-Gomm, chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids in Sacred Hoop issue 12.
“It is certain that
Great Spirit is at
work in all of this
and I’m sure it’s all
much larger than any
of us are able to
imagine.”
T
ethatu is the name of thehighest initiation one can reach in the healing traditions practiced by the Magyar people, and roughly translates as ‘one who talks with the Dragons’. Dragons are our strongest helpers, and the last ones we meet on this spiritual path.These traditions have three parts or bridges, and each part has it’s own specific helper spirits.
The first helpers we work with are the tree spirits. These give us the first bridge, the bridge of death. This is so called because at this stage the shaman must experience his or her own death in order to release all of their resistance to the inner worlds. Our normal doorway into the next world is through physical death and it is our fear of death that keeps us bound to this world. Once we have faced death, we have easy access to the next world, the unconscious or underworld.
The healing work done at this level is similar to the shamanic or underworld journey. This healing is done to retrieve lost fragments of the soul1, release
entities, solve conflicts in the unconscious mind and break down the elemental energy of past traumas, suppressed emotions, negative patterns and habits.
The reason why tree spirits act as our allies here is that it is considered they have their main existence in the astral plane. Having no physical movement, the physical tree is just a centre for the spirit which has an active life on other planes. Tree spirits have a far greater mastery of the underworld than we can ever achieve, and this makes them powerful allies in our journeying work.
When a tree spirit wishes to work with a person, it will subdivide, in a kind of fission form, like an amoeba, so that a separate spirit can live in a single branch. This spirit is not like a child, but has all the wisdom and experience of the original tree spirit. It then calls the shaman to cut that branch from the tree and use it. The size of the branch can vary. To produce a wooden bead wearable around the neck, or to make a full sized staff both require different amounts of wood. Tree spirits are not limited to space, a large spirit can be within a very small branch.
A shaman usually has a number of tree spirits carried on their person, and communicates with them continually while working. They help to guide the
Talking
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shaman when he visits other worlds on a shamanic journey, also each species of tree has particular specialities in the kind of healing they give.
These traditions work with thirteen different trees : Birch, Rowan, Ash, Alder, Willow, Whitethorn, Oak, Holly, Hazel, Apple, Blackthorn, Elder, and Yew. These thirteen trees represent our growth from conception, to birth, infancy, adolescence, adulthood, and finally death.
The second bridge we cross is the bridge of chaos. This is so called because we have to go beyond logic and reason and stop trying to make sense of the universe. There is a great deal in the universe that is not logical or rational, and if we demand things make sense, we cannot enter the next realm; the imaginal realm.
This realm does not fit anywhere in our picture of the three shamanic worlds; the lower, middle and upper world; rather it is a place of ‘wild unharnessed creativity’. Here imagination imagines itself. When you enter this realm, you will find your vision is clearer than ever before, with everything in brilliant technicolour. This is because it is not you who is imagining, but imagination it’s self communicating with you.
When we give healing from this level, we are no longer concerned with the past, but with the future, because we can see that the cause lies in the future. In the normal creation process, we first decide the effect, and then go back in time to add the cause. We tend to forget that we created the cause, because of the consensus belief that cause is in the past. Once we are outside of time, we can see through the illusion of this belief. Intent is the most powerful creative force here. It is intent that makes us hold on to the causes. We are what we are now, not because of the past, but because of the future we are becoming. This perception is agreed with by quantum physics, which sees every experience as a double quantum wave between here and the future .
If something did not have a future we could not experience it. Healing consists of weeding and cultivating futures. We can see many possible futures effecting a person, all competing for attention. All forms compete for food so they can grow, futures exist as astral forms that feed on the mental energy of the
attention you give them. Whatever forms get your attention, feed of your mental energy.The ones that win grow stronger until they manifest physically, while other futures die and never manifest. The healers work here is to destroy negative futures, redirecting the energy to the positive futures, and helping them grow. The effect of this is felt immediately as it effects who you are now.
Our allies at this level are herb and flower spirits. These spirits live outside of linear time and therefore move in touch with future causality. Like tree
spirits, the healer allows the herbs and flowers to call to them, so that when he takes them they still contain the spirit. The healer then dries the plant and wraps it in small pieces of cloth with a mark drawn on it to remind him of which plant it is. He can then carry the herbal charm bags, ready to use in his healing work.
The third bridge is call the bridge of belief. This is because nothing here can ever be proven, and only the strength of our belief can carry us on. All the helpers here are entirely non-physical and unprovable. Traditionally they would be Elves, Fairies, and Dragons. Many people who learn this system without the limitation of it’s original tradition find other non-physical helpers such as Angles, Devas and the gods of various religions,
Dragons rule the primeval forces of creation and destruction, and protect the divine plan of evolution. Fairies provide joy, pleasure and sensitivity and give our lives more depth. The two
balance each other, providing a well balanced happy life, with emotional as well as spiritual well being.
These beings influence our lives without us knowing it and becoming aware of it enables us to enhance our experience of life.
The realm this bridge leads us to is called the Ginnungagap, or magically charged void. It is hard to describe but contains all potential and all form.
From this plane we see all beings as simply patterns of energy, and by working with the Fairies and Dragons, we can destroy negative patterns and rebuild the light matrix of a persons soul, re-weaving patterns that seem to be faulty or distorted.
When working in this way, the healer often does not see the physical body of his patient, as he is in a trance seeing only the changing energy patterns. Observes who are present however sometimes comment on impressive physical changes in the patient, such as large lumps of calcification quickly dissolving or hernias drawing back in place and healing.
This work also produces subtle changes in the patients personality, but its real value is more mystical: it puts people in touch with their true will and purpose.
Peter Aziz is a hereditary healer from a Hungarian bloodline, but was born in England. The tradition was passed to him by his maternal Grandmother. He has also studied North American Pueblo Indian and Kahuna Shamanism, as well as homeopathy, accupunture, kinesinology and Iridology. He also has a degree in physics. He lives in Devon, where he practices as a healer, and runs courses in shamanism.
Notes
1 See Coming Home - the shamans work with soul-loss by Jonathan Horwitz (Sacred Hoop Issue 13) for more information on the Shamanic concept of the loss of the soul and it’s recovery.
PAGE 16 SACRED HOOP ISSUE 18 1997
‘We are what
we are now,
not because
of the past,
but because
of the future
we are
becoming’
SACRED HOOP ISSUE 18 1997 PAGE 17 1 1 2 2 6 6 7 7 88 9 9 1 1 00 1 1 22 1 1 33 1
1 :: BB ii rr cc hh Represents conception, and provides new ideas and creativity. When a soul experiences difficulties with
conception, it tends to have difficulties conceiving anything new. Birch can help
provide this quality if it is lacking. 2
2 :: RR oo ww aa nn Is the tree of quickening and provides the drive to follow
any idea through. 3
3 :: AA ss hh Is linked to parenting, and provides intuition and the courage to
follow that intuition. 4
4 :: AA ll dd ee rr Represents birth, and provides discrimination and trust in nature to support you. 5
5:: WWiillllooww Gives the child the ability to dream. 6
6:: WWhhiitteetthhoorrnn Protects the innocent against any harm. 7
7 :: OO aa kk Gives self confidence while controlling ego, enabling one to
interact efficiently with the outside world. 8
8 :: HH oo ll ll yy Gives a true sense of sacrifice, going beyond a picture
of one’s selfish needs, to encompass a larger more complex picture; a picture
which meets other needs as well as one’s own. 9
9 :: HH aa zz ee ll Provides the flexibility and endurance to meet the challenge
of the extra needs. 1
100:: AAppppllee Provides the ability to give and receive. 1
111:: BBllaacckktthhoorrnn Puts one in touch with one’s power (not illustrated).
1
122:: EEllddeerr Provides wisdom to use that power well. 1
1 33 :: YY ee ww Helps us let go of the physical illusion of life to encompass a greater reality.
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bout 5,000 years ago the wild wood that covered this land began to change irrevocably under the effect of increasing human farming activity. By the time of the Domesday Book only a sixth of the wildwood remained. Further losses ensued as timber became a prime source of fuel, for industry and for ship building. By 1980 only about 7% of Britain remained wooded.
It is very easy to see the logical sense of re-forestation, with the mind: but to feel with the woodland is a different matter. In shamanic spirituality worldwide, this sense of heart-felt connection is passed on through an attitude, a daily sense of kinship and inter-dependence. In such communities tree names often refer to the people’s relationship with the tree: ‘the one that soothes,’ ‘winter fuel-giver,’ and so on. In searching back to find out where my own deep love of trees came from, I was surprised to find it was my father who passed this on to me in a very simple way. He was not a countryman himself, although he loved and respected all things in creation.
We climbed trees. I remember walks with him in a patch of woodland as yet untouched by developers at the edge of our raw new post-war housing estate. He taught me how to plan routes that would take me up - and more to the point - back down the tree. How to look for trees where the way they branched would make an easy climb; how to assess the weight-bearing capabilities of branches. And once in the tree, I would sit quiet, gently rocked in the arms of the living being, listening to sounds around, feeling the texture of the tree’s bark and leaves, enjoying the sense of camouflage if other people passed by. I encountered the many creatures for whom the tree was home ground, their webs and holes. I imagined that I was a bird, a brigand, a branch.
The trees themselves taught me by physical contact, without my realising,
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GREENWOOD
M
JJ AA NN WW OO OO DD eabout the greenwood, its diversity, its community. Nine-year-old me - I was just having a good time.
I suggest below some starting points, some ideas to help deepen contact with the tree people. They are not aimed at increasing factual knowledge, although you may be curious to find out more about the new beings and situations you meet. They are aimed at pleasuring the child within, who knows its rightful place in the greenwood, for we are of this land.
I hope you enjoy them, expand and improvise, and meet with wonder and fun that will be unforgettable even in the most un-green situations.
STILL HUNT
Find a place in natural surroundings where you feel welcome, comfortable. Sit there as motionless and silent as possible - not even turning your head. Become part of the place. This can last for a few minutes or an hour or two.
It creates a real stillness and serenity; even the most restless can enjoy it, as one’s attention should be engaged all the time to note the sounds, colours, smells going on around us. A group may choose to still hunt in an area at the same time and then share their experiences afterwards.
SILENT WALKING Walk (single file if others are with you) through woodland and see how little noise you can make. Start as slowly as you need, you will get quicker as you get into your own rhythm. It is easier if you put the weight on the outside of each foot as it first comes into contact with the ground - a stalker's trick. You will have to observe carefully where your feet are planted and plan a route that avoids branches that may rustle.
Ask the animals that stalk prey to show you their skills, or pretend to be one and see how your perception changes.
CARETAKING
This is done on a regular basis. Select a tree or small area of land that you can visit regularly, at least once a week. ‘Adopt’ it and if you wish you can make a formal pledge to the spirit of the place. At least ask that spirit’s permission first and explain that you wish to protect it and give it care.
Bring it gifts of water, compost, song, dance, prayer. Take a bag with you to carry away any litter. Who knows what gifts these may turn out to be for you -remember the Wombles? I heard of someone who, retrieving a screwed-up piece of paper from her ‘patch’ found it to be a fiver!
You can caretake any piece of land, a road or car park verge or a tree in the park. After a short while a real sense of connection and dialogue develops with your special place, and over a year you will see all the minute changes that weather and season bring.
BOWER BUILDING
Take a walk with the express purpose of celebration and collect decorative items -feathers, stones, sheep's wool, fallen bark, bones or weathered wood. This is ‘in-shore sandcastle making’! Call to a place which wants your bower, in celebration of life, the day, Mother Earth, a friend’s birthday - the reason may come to you as you walk. Create simple patterns and shapes on the ground; introduce hand-formed clay shapes; hand-spin or twist wool or plant fibres; use different colours from local chalk or ochre, leaves or berries. Honour and respect the homes of those who live in the place and keep the bower small and
discrete, so that it blends with the environment. Explain to younger builders that the forest dwellers will also make their mark on the bower when you have gone. It is often very interesting to revisit at intervals and see just what gets carried away.
GARLANDS
A variation on daisy chains which has a very ancient flavour. Take a walk and gather a few lengths of pliable foliage, such as ivy or honeysuckle. Twist them together so that ends are staggered and form a circle about the size of a large dinner plate that will fit on your head.
Once the base ‘crown’ is firm you can easily decorate it with feathers, blossoms ferns and berries. Wear it as you continue your walk or still-hunt. Hang it in a tree as a beauty offering to the place as you leave, or wear it home and keep as a remembrance of the place.
MEETING A TREE
This is done in pairs, in a place where there are quite a few trees. One person is blindfolded and led a short, but roundabout way to a tree. The leading partner then encourages the one blindfolded to make a minute exploration of the tree by asking such questions as ‘Is this tree alive?’ ‘What does it smell and feel like?’ ‘What shapes do the roots make as they enter the ground?’ ‘What patterns and textures can you feel on the bark?’ ‘How tall do you think the tree is?’ ‘Is there a warm side where the sun is falling?’ ‘What sounds can you hear?’ and so on. They are then led back to the starting place, (maybe by another route), the blindfold is removed and they are asked to find ‘their’ tree. Once they are re-united it is time for the partner to be blindfolded and meet their own tree.
Jan Wood is a painter and shamanic counsellor. She leads groups exploring creative connection with shamanic reality and works with individuals one-to-one and by correspondence. She is founder and co-ordinator of the Flowering Tree Federation, a network for connecting individuals and circles for celebration and personal development. She can be contacted on (01386) 446552. Photos © Nicholas Wood 1997.
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e are all symbols of ourselves; we are not the real thing. That is to say: we do not experience ourselves to be the enlightened beings we actually are. Rather, we experience confusion and a variety of problems. So how can we relate to our innate enlightenment - our non-dual state?Let begin with ‘the banal’. In everyday life, people dress in certain ways in order to accomplish certain ends. If they lack confidence in the business world they ‘power dress’ - if they lack sexual confidence, they might present themselves provoca-tively. Banal as these dress codes may be, there is a link with the Tantric method of yidam1or awareness being.
A yidam is a visual description of our own enlightened state, as well as a method of reaching, under-standing and experience that state. A yidam arises as a method to reach enlightenment, in the ‘heart-mind’ of an enlightened yogi or yogini. Because they have realised their own enlightened nature, and reached this level of awareness, they can manifest at the level of vision, compassionate methods, through which others can also arrive at the enlightened state.
This is, perhaps, similar to a shamanic vision, in which the whole tribe ceremonially acts out the shaman’s vision. However, there is a distinction I should make. In Tibetan Buddhist tradition these methods arise in the visionary practices of enlightened masters for the purpose of entering the non-dual state. There are very few such masters. With regard to shamanism, it is my impression that the shaman may, or may not be, enlightened in the Buddhist sense; and that the visions he or she receives may not be directed toward the realisation of non-duality.
USING YIDAMS WITHIN TANTRA
There are many different methods of working with yidams within Tantra. It might be helpful, as an inadequate analogy, to make a parallel with developmental psychology.
To an infant, Mother is God. She is everything. ‘I and mother are one’, or, ‘I am one with God’. After this stage there comes a time where I am separate from God, ‘I have lost God.’ As the child grows older, so the parents diminish in their godlike form, until hopefully at some point parent and child are equal, and the child becomes a parent.
One level of practice, kryra tantra is where the yidam is seen as an external god, a deity, from whom we receive wisdom. One prays to the god, one makes offerings, one performs ritual activities which might actually be quite familiar to people in the West. At this level, when one approaches the yidam, one has to be in a pure state. This is because krya tantra views the practitioner as defiled: the dualistic state is somehow regarded as ‘filthy’. So in order to make contact with the yidam, one needs to be pure. Because of this, in this form of tantra there is great emphasis on cleanliness and reverence.
For Western people the whole concept of external deities can be problematic. One either believes in them, or disbelieves. Both beliefs have problems.
The level at which Khandro Dèchen and I teach Tantra is called Anu yoga. At this level one identifies oneself with the yidam. One spontaneously self arises as the Yidam, this is known as
‘wearing the Body of Visions’.
THE NATURE OF A YIDAM A yidam is not an archetype. There have been a number of Western people who have who started describing yidams in this way, but it is neither accurate nor helpful. An archetype arises out of the human psyche, whereas a yidam arises from the primordial emptiness of mind. Yidams do not arise from concept consciousness - no matter how extraordinary that consciousness may be.
However some yidams were living enlightened beings who took form in the world, but who have since moved into other dimensions. Padmasambhava and his spiritual wife Yeshè Tsogyel are examples
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WEARING
THE BODY OF
of this form of yidam. Yidam, in this sense, refers to the many facets of compas-sionate activity which the person displayed.
In a small way, we are all used to having many facets of personality within our lives. One is a mother or father, a son or daughter or policeman, contract killer, cook, cowboy, artist, rock star, etc. But a rock star is not just a rock star, he or she is everything else too - maybe not a contract killer, but possibly a daughter, a wife, a mother, a cow-girl etc.
Take John Lennon for example. There is the ‘long-haired bearded’ yidam form, and the ‘short-haired-boiler-suited’ yidam form. You could look at his styles throughout his whole career, and see that they were different versions of the same thing. But theses images can come to have a life of their own in terms of how we relate to them. I
could decide to buy a white suit, grow my hair long and wear round glasses - I could try to be ‘that’ John Lennon, but I would not be the whole person, I would just be myself manifesting what Lennon reflected at that moment in his life.
The difference between such hero or heroine worship and Tantra is that John Lennon is not necessarily a visionary reflection of one enlightened nature. With yidams like Padmasambhava, there are many manifestations, each reflecting one of his many facets, but each one also reflecting his entire being in terms of the non-dual state. Each manifestation reflects a method according to the enlightenment which he has displayed of different people at different times.
As I have said, Padmasambhava was an historical person, and so some of the methods were those he displayed during his human life; whereas others were displayed after he left the world. These others visionary forms would have arisen as ‘compassionate appearances’ to an enlightened master, who would have
realised them as manifestations of Padmasambhava.
Not all yidams have had incarnation as people, but some people are considered manifest-ations of Yidams. Such a person is the Dalai Lama who is considered to be a manifestation of Chenrèzig. To say that someone is a manifestation of Chenrèzig, simply means that they manifest the quality of unquenchable compassion of everyone and everything every-where. These are the qualities of the yidam called Chenrèzig.
This is obviously a very different idea to that of the ‘God King’
-embodiment of a deity on earth.
THE THREE FORMS OF YIDAMS In the middle of the so called ‘Tibetan Wheel of Life’, more accurately known as the ‘Wheel of Cyclic Experience’, we see a circle within which is a rooster, a pig, and snake. The rooster signifies attraction, the snake signifies aversion, and the pig represents indifference. These three states generates the energy which power dualism.
Dualism is the habit of attempting to divide ‘that which is indivisible’, and then relating to a part of the whole as if it were the whole.
The twin aspects of reality could be called by many names: emptiness and form, chaos and pattern, intuition and logic, intangible and tangible, lateral and linear. Dualism is the illusion that it is possible to relate to form rather than the non-dual play of emptiness and form. Or to put it another way, ‘this’ substantiates my perception of being ‘solid, permanent, separate, continues and defined’, ‘that’ threatens my perception of being ‘solid, permanent, separate, continues and defined’, and the ‘other’ is neither here nor there.
T h e p e a c e f u l , j o y o u s , a n d wrathful awareness beings equate with these three states. Peaceful y i d a m s t r a n s f o r m i n d i f f e r e n c e , joyous yidams transform attraction, a n d w r a t h f u l y i d a m s t r a n s f o r m aversion.
PEACEFUL AND JOYOUS YIDAMS Peaceful yidams can be male or female; they sit calmly and smile serenely. Examples of these are the Buddha, Tara, Chenrèzig and Dzambala.
Joyous yidams can be seen in several forms. There is the dancing dakini form, such as Vajra yogini, who is always solitary and female. There is also the yab-yum or ‘father-mother’ form, where the male and female
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