Ceremonies of Reparation: Ceremony #13 Tsartlip Territory

 

Ceremonies of Reparation

 

For those interested in the background of these ceremonies, please refer to the September 8, 2021 blog entry.

 

Ceremony #13, August 27^th, 2022

 

BACKGROUND

 

There was such significance for this particular ceremony.  It was the culmination of 13 lunar cycles – a full year of ceremony – and the 13^th staryk (dark moon) happened to fall directly on my 54^th birthday.  I chose to honour Tsartlip territory for this final ceremony because, in a way, the end was also the beginning (transition of year 1 to year 2), and the beginning was becoming the end (Tsartlip territory was where I was adopted by Ma Honeysuckle and really began to listen to the land).

 

I knew that part of what I wanted to declare was my commitment to the land, and my continued apprenticeship with Ma.  Nine years had passed since I had walked these lands and visited Ma here.

When I had moved from Victoria to the Highlands in 2009, I had come to the more rural location seeking—well, sanity...  As mentioned in Ceremony #12 blog, I’m simply not healthy in the city.  It was absolutely stunning to live next to and within so much green space and old-growth trees. 

 

Fast forward a year and a bit: one day, while walking in the forest, I had two concurrent streams of thought & feeling twining around themselves.  First, I really missed my teacher, and though I could contact her for phone sessions, I was yearning to have someone close-by whom I could study and grow with face-to-face.  Second, I was wondering how the grandmothers of old (ancient) had learned about plant medicines.  At some point, in the midst of these swirling thoughts and feelings, something called my attention.  I looked up, and at heart level, I met a gnarled old vine that was spiraling around a tree.  My heart jumped without understanding why.  The energy of this vine simply struck me, and I was stopped in my tracks.  And in that moment, I knew this was my new teacher.

 

Now, it may seem odd to have a plant as a teacher.  However, it’s actually not that unusual.  There are many peoples across Mati Zemlya (Mother Earth) who work with “Plant Teachers”.  I spent whatever time I could with the Mother Vine.  So, revisiting my original teachers in the hills of Gowland Todd park and nearby areas brought some conscious and unconscious expectations.

 

I made a special Motanka for the culmination of Year 1 and to honour my connection to Ma.  The particular Motanka is made as a gift for maidens who are about to marry.  She does not have arms, which allows for a long neck.  Many different kerchiefs are tied around the neck as symbols of abundance.  Her head was stuffed with a bundle of my hair I had gathered over the year each time I cleaned my hairbrush.  To me, she symbolized the rich and complex relationship I have with the land and with Ma, the level of commitment I share, and a piece of me gifted back.

 

Four Pysanky were crafted.  Each Pysanka had symbols relating to the Great Mother (vulvas), cosmos (stars and galaxies), and a winding snake relating to the Mother Vine (and cosmic snake of transformation).  The snake also related to a series of dreams I had during my early apprenticeship in which I was visited by an enormous snake who would also appear as half-crocodile when in water.

 

CEREMONY: Aug 27^h, 2022

I had decided to work with 2 main locations for the ceremony: the forest path I would often take where I would visit Forest Ma as well as the Counsel of Trees; and the Scared Grove where I would visit Guardians, Storyteller, Root Ma, and others.

 

The drive to the park is 45 minutes from where I was living.  I was still recovering from Covid, having been dealing with symptoms for 3 weeks. I was hopeful that the day would not be difficult given my fatigue combined with the summer heat. 

 

When I arrived at the forest path, I was surprised.  I felt a little like Alice in Wonderland – the size of everything felt distorted.  What I remembered – the images in my memories – seemed so much bigger, wider, more spacious and substantial than what I was directly encountering now.  I gave greetings and offerings to the forest path guardians, then walked to Forest Ma.  Just as my eyes found her, I had a heart opening, warming joy flow through me. I smiled and greeted my friend, touch her vine, gave offerings, and asked permission to gift a Pysanka and prayer bundle.

 

After formalities, I asked her for guidance about life and ceremonies.  She simply affirmed my path is my own and I am aligned with what is needed.  Her only suggestion was to spend more time outdoors and in ceremony.

 

We parted, and I walked the path to the Counsel of Trees, tempted to go off-path to look for bones and for Pan (another Honeysuckle friend).  However, I also wanted to stay on-track with time.  The path, again, seemed shorter than what I remembered.  Upon arriving at the cross-roads leading to the Counsel, I noticed the large fallen tree that used to live across the path was not there.  I also noticed that all of the trees (including the Ancient Ones) were smaller and younger than what had lived in my memories. 

 

I found the Counsel and I-See-You Tree…  This was comforting.  It was also comforting to find One Root Many Paths, thriving and well.  Many Roots One Path had died.  I pondered why this may have happened.  The ground seemed much dryer than when I had lived there, and surmised that, like many of the forests surrounding us, the trees and their companions are struggling with the changing climate and droughts.

 

The ground in the centre of the Counsel was more uneven than I had recalled – either a reality of fallen branches and accumulation of forest debris over 9 years, or another memory distortion (or both!).  I approached I-See-You Tree and asked if I may make an offering – a prayer tie and another Pysanka.  We spent a bit of time together, and then I visited with One Root Many Paths.   Reconnecting with each of these old friends was also me reconnecting with myself. When we were complete, I walked the remaining length of path and circled back to my car to drive to the next location.

 

This being the last Saturday of August, there were so many people out.  While I would normally entre the Sacred Grove from the trail on the roadside, a “new” (to me) sign was posted on what had previously been a neighbourhood trail (a private trail that was open for neighbours to walk): “Private Property, No Trespassing.” So, I decided to enter the Grove from the back end, along a small path that leads up a hillside.  It was noisy-crunchy-dry and hard for me to obscure my presence.  It took a bit of time to reorient myself.  Once I found the Sacred Grove I was astounded at how everyone had grown and the Grove had expanded in size.  The canopy had changed and become much more open overhead, making for greater dryness on the ground.

 

I felt paranoid about being seen or heard and found, so I located Root Ma and a nearby companion tree and decided to gift the Motanka and two remaining Pysanky there.  The Ma’s were quiet – not much to say – probably in response to my own discomfort.  When all was complete, I turned to leave and crunched my way back to the car.  By the time I arrived, I desperately needed a washroom.  I drove down the winding, mostly single-lane road to Goldstream Park, found a parking spot near’ish to the washroom, and quickly – too quickly – walked toward my destination, stubbing my little toe so hard on a cement parking barrier that the tip was mashed and the bone was hairline-fractured.  Uggghhh…  Little did I know this was a foreshadowing of the year of ceremonies to come.