The medicine wheel is a symbol for the wheel of life which is forever evolving and bringing new lessons and truths to the walking of the path. The Earthwalk is based on the understanding that each one of us must stand on every spoke, on the great wheel of life many times, and that every direction is to be honored. Until you have walked in others' moccasins, or stood on their spokes of the wheel, you will never truly know their hearts.

The medicine wheel teaches us that all lessons are equal, as are all talents and abilities. Every living creature will one day see and experience each spoke of the wheel, and know those truths. It is a pathway to truth, peace and harmony. The circle is never ending, life without end.

In experiencing the Good Red Road, one learns the lessons of physical life, or of being human. This road runs South to North in the circle of the medicine wheel. After the graduation experience of death, one enters the Blue or Black Road, that is the world of the grandfathers and grandmothers. In spirit, one will continue to learn by counseling those remaining on the Good Red Road. The Blue Road of the spirit runs East to West. The medicine wheel is life, afterlife, rebirth and the honoring of each step along the way.

The medicine wheel is sacred, the native people believe, because the Great Spirit caused everything in nature to be round. The Sun, Sky, Earth and Moon are round. Thus, man should look upon the Medicine Wheel (circle of life) as sacred. It is the symbol of the circle that marks the edge of the world and therefore, the Four Winds that travel there. It is also the symbol of the year. The Sky, the Night, and the Moon go in a circle above the Sky, therefore, the Circle is a symbol of these divisions of time. It is the symbol of all times throughout creation.

The medicine shield is an expression of the unique gifts that it's maker wishes to impart about his or her current life journey. This can be a new level of personal growth, or illustrate the next mountain a person wishes to climb.

Every shield carries medicine through it's art and self-expression. Each shield is the essence of a time and space that carries certain aspects of knowledge. All persons carry shields of the lessons they learned from the four directions on the medicine wheel.

They are the healing tools we give ourselves to sooth the spirit and empower the will. The truth needs no explanation, just reflection. This allows intuition to guide the heart so that humankind may celebrate more than it mourns.

Sun who looks to four winds on
Mother Earth: North, South, East,West.
Enriching one's health,
Bring good luck, fortune,
Healing the sick.
Buffalo horns for strength, protection
Eagle feathers for wisdom, honesty, happiness.

The elements and majestic forces in nature, Lightning, Wind,
Water, Fire, and Frost, were regarded with awe as spiritual
powers, but always secondary and intermediate in character.
We believed that the spirit pervades all creation and that
every creature possesses a soul in some degree, though not
necessarily a soul conscious of itself. The tree, the waterfall,
the grizzly bear, each is an embodied Force, and as such an
object of reverence.

The Indian loved to come into sympathy and spiritual
communion with his brothers of the animal kingdom, whose
inarticulate souls had for him something of the sinless
purity that we attribute to the innocent and irresponsible
child. He had faith in their instincts, as in a mysterious
wisdom given from above; and while he humbly accepted the
supposedly voluntary sacrifice of their bodies to preserve
his own, he paid homage to their spirits in prescribed
prayers and offerings.

The attitude of the Indian toward death, the test and
background of life, is entirely consistent with his
character and philosophy. Death has no terrors for him;
he meets it with simplicity and perfect calm, seeking
only an honorable end as his last gift to his family
and descendants. Therefore, he courts death in battle;
on the other hand, he would regard it as disgraceful to
be killed in a private quarrel. If one be dying at home,
it is customary to carry his bed out of doors as the end
approaches, that his spirit may pass under the open sky.

Even the worst enemies of the Indian, those who accuse
him of treachery, blood-thirstiness, cruelty, and lust,
have not denied his courage but in their minds it is a
courage is ignorant, brutal, and fantastic. His own
conception of bravery makes of it a high moral virtue,
for to him it consists not so much in aggressive self-
-assertion as in absolute self-control. Thhe truly brave
man, we contend, yields neither to fear nor anger, desire
nor agony; he is at all times master of himself; his courage
rises to the heights of chivalry, patriotism, and real heroism.

It's not surprising that the Indian saw the wolf as a significant animal. Both were hunters of which the survival of their families depended. The Indian was very aware of the many ways in which his own life resembled those of the wolf. The wolf hunted for himself and for his family. The wolf defended his pack against enemy attack, as the Indian defended his tribe. He had to be strong as an individual and for the good of the pack. It was a sufficient system of survival; and in the eyes of the Indian, no animal did this as well as the wolf. The Indian worked to be as well intigrated in his environment, as he could see the wolf was in the universe.

The hunter did not see the wolf as an enemy or competitor, or as something less than himself. His perception of the wolf was a realistic assessment of the wolf's ability to survive and thrive, to be in balance with the world they shared. He respected the wolf's patience and perseverance, which were his most effective hunting weapons. To say he hunted like a wolf was the highest compliment, just as to say a warrior fought like the wolf was high praise.

The wolf fulfilled two roles for the Indian: he was a powerful and mysterious animal, and so perceived by most tribes, and he was a medicine animal, identified with a particular individual, tribe or clan.

At a tribal level, the attraction to the wolf was strong, because the wolf lived in a way that made the tribe strong. He provided food for all, including the old and sick members of the pack. He saw to the education of his children. He defended his territory against other wolves.

At a personal level, those for whom the wolf was a medicine animal or personal totem understood the qualities that made the wolf stand out as an individual. For example, his stamina, ability to track well and go without food for long periods.

The definition and defense of home range was as important to the Indian as it was to the wolf. The boundries of most Indian territories, like those of wolves, changed with the movement of game herds, the size of the tribe and the time of year.

The tribe, like the pack broke up at certain times of the year, and joined together later to hunt more efficiently. Both the wolf and the Indian hunted the same type of game and moved their families to follow specific game herds.

Deer sought security from Indian hunters by moving into the border area between warring tribes, where hunters were least likely to show up, just as they did between wolf territories, where wolves spent the least time hunting.

The Indian believed that dying was not a tragic event. It was important to the Indian that he die well, with dignity, to consciously choose to die even if it is inevitable. This kind of self control in the face of death earns a warrior the greatest glory. This way of thinking is similar to the moment of eye contact when a wolf meets it's prey. This "conversation of death" determines whether the prey lives or dies. The prey must be willing to die. There is a nobility in this mutual agreement.

Among the Cherokee, was a belief that to kill a wolf was to invite retribution from other wolves. This way of thinking parallels the laws of the tribe, where to kill an Indian meant to expect revenge from his family members.

Wolves ate grass, as Indians ate wild plants, both for medicinal reasons. Both were family oriented and highly social in structure. Both the Indian and the wolf used a sign language.

A healthy woman is much like a wolf, strong life force, life-giving, territorily aware, intuitive and loyal. Yet seperation from her wildish nature causes a woman to become meager, anxious, and fearful.

The wild nature carries the medicine for all things. She carries stories, dreams, words and songs. She carries everything a woman needs to be and know. She is the essence of the female soul...

With the wild nature as ally and teacher, we see not through two eyes only, but through the many eyes of intuition. With intuition we are like the starry night, we gaze at the world through a thousand eyes.

It does not mean to lose one's primary socializations. It means quite the opposite. The wild nature has a vast integrity to it. It means to establish territory, to find one's pack, to be in one's body with certainty and pride, to speak and act in one's behalf, to be aware, to draw on the innate feminine powers of intuition, to find what one belongs to, to rise with dignity, to proceed as a powerful being who is friendly but never tame.

The Wild Woman is the one who thunders in the face of injustice. She is the one we leave home to look for and the one we come home to. She is the one who keeps a woman going when she thinks she's done for. She is intuition, far-seer, deep listener, and she is loyal heart. She thrives on fresh site and self-integrity.

She must strut the old pathways, assert her instinctual knowledge, proudly bear the battle scars of her time, write her secrets on walls, refused to be ashamed, lead the way through and out, be cunning and use her feminine wits.

Where can you find her? She walks in the deserts, cities, woods, oceans, and in the mountain of solitude. She lives in women everywhere; in castles with queens, in the boardrooms, in the penthouse, and on the night bus to Brownsville.

She lives in a faraway place that breaks through to our world. She lives in the past and is summoned by us. She is in the present. She is in the future and walks backward in time to find us now.

Wild woman whispers the words and the ways to us, and we follow. She has been running and stopping and waiting to see if we are catching up. She has many things to show us.

Whether you are possessed of a simple heart or the ambitious, whether you are trying to make it to the top or just make it through tomorrow, the wild nature belongs to you.

Don't be a fool. Go back and stand under that one red flower and walk straight ahead for that last hard mile. Go up and knock on the old weathered door. Climb up to the cave. Crawl through the window of a dream. Sift the desert and see what you find. It is the only work we have to do.

Without us, Wild Woman dies. Without Wild Woman, we die. Para Vida, for true life, both must live.

The Mothering instinct in each one of us is Wolf Medicine. For the Wolf is a Motherer, and a Fatherer. Simplified, that means Wolf holds the parenting energy in its vibration. That is real Wolf Medicine. The Wolf Medicine that a Woman walks with, what we call intuition, is her Friendly Wolf. In the old way, the Friendly Wolf was known to come into the village to protect the children.

This Friendly Wolf energy comes from the psychic. It is the psychic part of the Woman that knows how to shift her love, her intention, and her nurturing abilities into the form of the Wolf. Thus she comes to the village, in the form of the She Wolf, to protect the children and the old ones in need.

She Wolf is the Mothering energy of Great Spirit GrandMother Wolf. GrandMother Wolf often comes to us in this time in the form of the She Wolf. She is the Friendly Playful Wolf, gently guiding them back, pointing them in the right direction along the path of harmony, the Good Red Road of Great Spirit.

There is also a grand teacher who is seen through the form of the Great White Wolf, telling you that you are straying from the path. It is telling you to return. She calls you to return to the Good Red Road.

The Cherokee Woman at the time of the discovery of the Americas had more rights and privileges than the married woman of today. Women not only owned the property, participated in both the fighting of Wars and the Councils of War, but also sat with the Civil Councils of Peace.

Lineage was traced through her Clan. Upon marriage, the new husband was expected to live with the Clan of his wife. To get a divorce, the wife simply put the husband’s personal belongings outside the door of the lodge. There were no legal entanglements over the division of property or the custody of children, for all the property of any value already belonged to her, and the children belonged to her Clan.

Women of today have come a long way toward their rightful place in the sun, but have not yet reached the position of the Cherokee Woman at The Time of Discovery.

It has been said that the position of woman is the test of civilization, and that of our women was secure. In them was vested our standard of morals and the purity of our blood. The wife did not take the name of her husband nor enter his clan, and the children belonged to the clan of the mother. All of the family property was held by her, descent was traced in the maternal line, and the honor of the house was in her hands. Modesty was her chief adornment; hence the younger women were usually silent and retiring: but a woman who had attained to ripeness of years and wisdom, or who had displayed notable courage in some emergency, was sometimes invited to a seat in the council.

Thus she ruled undisputed within her own domain, and was to us a tower of moral and spiritual strength, until the coming of the border white man, the soldier and trader, who with strong drink overthrew the honor of the man, and through his power over a worthless husband purchased the virtue of his wife or his daughter. When she fell, the whole race fell with her.

Before this calamity came upon us, you could not find anywhere a happier home than that created by the Indian woman. There was nothing of the artificial about her person, and very little disingenuousness in her character. Her early and consistent training, the definiteness of her vocation, and, above all, her profoundly religious attitude gave her a strength and poise that could not be overcome by any ordinary misfortune.

May the warm winds of heaven
Blow softly upon your house.
May the Great Spirit
Bless all who enter there.
May your mocassins
Make happy tracks
In many snows,
And may the rainbow
Always touch your shoulder

Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect.
Remain close to the Great Spirit.
Show great respect for your fellow beings.
Work together for the benefit of all Mankind.
Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.
Do what you know to be right.
Look after the well being of mind and body.
Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.
Be truthful and honest at all times.
Take full responsibility for your actions.

The Cougar

February 19 - March 20

Cougar people, very mystical in nature, are often artists,
writers, and healers, who rely on their intuition to
help them avoid trouble. Perhaps a bit too sensitive,
those born under this sign are easily hurt by rejection
and disapproval.

A totem animal is different than a birth totem.
A birth totem is just that, a totem animal
that follows the sign of your birth. A totem
animal is your "power animal", one which comes
to you in different situations such as:
A dream
A vision
A quest
But it must come to you more than once,
and never display anger. Its purpose is to
guide you on your path. The next time you
dream of your power animal, or see it in a vision,
talk to it and allow it to guide you.

WOLF - Earth wisdom, protection

BEAR - Healing, Inner knowing

FOX - Elusiveness, ogility, cleverness

HAWK - Perception, Focus, protection

MOUSE - Innocence, faith, trust

EAGLE - High ideals, spiritual philosophy

DOLPHIN - Psychic abilities, initiators

HERON - Intuition, organization

HORSE - Stability, courage

RABBIT - faith, nurturance

JAGUAR - shamanic wisdom, focused power

DEER - physical pacing, body awareness

RAVEN - Inner journeys, dreams

OWL - symbolic wisdom, shadow work

MOUNTAIN LION - Strength, elusiveness

"Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and
lean to hear my feeble voice. You lived first, and you are older
than all need, older than all prayer. All things
belong to you -- the two-legged, the four-legged, the wings of
the air, and all green things that live.

"You have set the powers of the four quarters of the earth to
cross each other. You have made me cross the good road
and road of difficulties, and where they cross, the
place is holy. Day in, day out, forevermore, you are the life of things."

Hey! Lean to hear my feeble voice.
At the center of the sacred hoop
You have said that I should make the tree to bloom.
With tears running, O Great Spirit, my Grandfather,
With running eyes I must say
The tree has never bloomed
Here I stand, and the tree is withered.
Again, I recall the great vision you gave me.
It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives.
Nourish it then
That it may leaf
And bloom
And fill with singing birds!

Hear me, that the people may once again
Find the good road
And the shielding tree.

When the world was new, the Creator made all the birds. He
colored their feathers like a bouquet of flowers. The Creator
then gave each a distinct song to sing. The Creator
instructed the birds to greet each new day with a
chorus of their songs. Of all the birds, our Creator chose
the Eagle to be the leader. The Eagle flies the
highest and sees the furthest of all creatures. The Eagle is a
messenger to the Creator. During the Four Sacred Rituals
we will wear an Eagle Feather in our hair. To wear
or to hold the Eagle Feather causes our Creator to take
immediate notice. With the Eagle Feather the Creator is
honored in the highest.

When one recieves an Eagle Feather that person is being
acknowledged with gratitude, with love, and with ultimate
respect. That feather must have sacred tobacco burnt for it. In
this way the Eagle and the Creator are notified of the
name of the new Eagle Feather Holder. The holder of the
Eagle Feather must ensure that anything that changes the
natural state of ones mind (Alcohol and Drugs) must
never come in contact with the sacred Eagle Feather. The keeper
of the feather will make a little home where the
feather will be kept. The Eagle feather must be fed. You feed
the Eagle Feather by holding or wearing the feather at
sacred ceremonies. By doing this the Eagle Feather is
recharged with sacred energy. Never abuse, never disrespect, and
never contaminate your Eagle Feather. The Mohawk man
will have three Eagle Feathers standing straight up on his
Kahstowa (feather hat).

No tribe has the right to sell, even to
each other, much less to strangers....
Sell a country! Why not sell the air,
the great sea, as well as the earth!
Didn't the Great Spirit make them all
for the use of his children!

The path to glory is rough, and many
gloomy hours obscure it. May the Great
Spirit shed light on your path, so that
you may never experience the humility that
the power of the American government has
reduced me to. This is the wish of a man
who, in his native forests, was once as proud
and bold as yourself.

The red man has ever fled the approach of the white man, as the morning mist flees before the morning sun... It matters little where we pass the remnants of our days. They will not be many. But why should I mourn the untimely fate of my people? Your time of decay may be distant, but it will surely come, for even the white man, who’s God walked and talked with him as friend with friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers, after all. We will see...

Grandfather, do you know me?
I am your blood.
The son of your son.
I come to ask you a question Grandfather.

Grandfather, don't you know me?

Can I stop being Indian now?
There are others that want to be Indian,
And if they can start from nothing,
I should be able to stop from something?

Grandfather, don't you know me?

Grandfather, I don't look like you.
I don't know what you know.
It would be easy for me to hide behind my paler skin.
No one would know the pain I feel,
Or see the tears I cry for your Great Grandchildren.

Grandfather, don't you know me?

Grandfather, look what I have done to our world.
Mother Earth is on her knees.
The Snake and Owl rule the day.
I don't understand the language you speak Grandfather.

Grandfather, don't you know me?

Grandfather, I want my Pepsi, Levi's and Porsche too.
I want to go where the others go,
And see the things they see too.
I don't have time to dance in the old way Grandfather.

Grandfather?

Grandfather, why are you crying?
Grandfather, why are you crying?
Grandfather, please stop crying.
Grandfather, don't you know me?

High on bleak, stony rag,
Unmoving, he sits astride
His ragged coated pony.
Only telltale frozen breaths,
Separate them from
The still, winter black boles
Of ancient leafless trees.
The pony, blown and lame,
Stands with lowered head,
Ears flattened to the sound
Of a distant wolf pack.
The man on his back,
All weapons lost,
Ignores the trickling blood
From savage wounds,
Mingling his war paint.
Eyes burning fiercely
He strains to find
The sign he seeks:
Behind, the sound of enemy
Draws ever closer.
At last, faith rewarded,
He sees far below
In the deep valley,
Arriving at the edge
Of the fast flowing river,
The great she bear
With two gamboling cubs:
To fish the racing salmon,
Drawn relentlessly toward
Their age-old spawning ground.
Silently, the wounded brave
Offers his final prayer
To the eternal clan bear;
Totem and guardian
Of his battle slain tribe.
The enemy, exultant,
Are almost upon him,
Yet he looks not behind:
He sees only the Great Spirit,
Surrounding him kindly
In loving, firm embrace.
While the enemy closes in,
He straightens himself;
His voice rings loud and clear,
Echoing across the land
To the distant cloudless sky.
One last defiant war cry
As he spurs on his pony,
And leaps...
Into the world of his ancestors.

In the beginning of all things,
wisdom and knowledge were with
the animals, for the Great One above,
did not speak directly to man.
He sent certain animals to tell man
that he showed himself through the beasts,
and that from them, and from the stars,
and the sun, and the moon, should man learn...
All things tell of the Great Spirit.