13 Original Clan Mothers Book

ClanMothers

by Jamie Sams

This is a book that I believe that every woman should have or at least read but for those of you who can't order it, please let me share it with you by way of this site!! I will be putting on the Month in sequences starting with January and then each month I will add the new Month to the start and put the old month in order after the new month (in case I have thoroughly confused you here is what I am trying to say :-) January will be here first and then in February I will put February at the beginning of this page and leave January after Talks with Relations and I will always leave on after the months the explanation and guides of the book from the author, Jamie Sams.

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Mother of Nature talks with her kin,
Stone Person,
Wild Flower,
and Wolf are her friend.

Weaving the rhythms of the seasons,
She rides the Winds Of Change,
Opening her heart with gladness,
A shelter from hunger and pain.

Guardian of the needs of the Earth,
Making relatives great and small,
Mother, I see you in the dewdrop,
I hear you in the Eagle's call.

TALKS WITH RELATIONS is the Clan Mother of the FIRST Moon Cycle and is the Keeper of LEARNING THE TRUTH. This Cycle of Truth falls in JANUARY and is understood through kinding kinship with all life. Talks with Relations' teachers are the Allies of nature: the Four Winds of Change, The Cloud People, the Thunder-beings, the Creature-beings, the Tree People, the Plant People, the Little People (Devas/Fairies), the Stone People, the Clan Chiefs of Air, Earth, Water, and Fire, as well as all other life forms. These relatives of our Planetary Family are our teachers as well.

Through Talks with Relations, the Mother of Nature, we learn that we are all relatives in the Planetary Family. The Tree People, Creature-teachers, Stone People, Cloud People, and all other life forms are our Sisters and Brothers. Our Aunts and Uncles are the Four Clan Chiefs of Air, Earth, Water, and Fire. Our Mother is the Earth, our Father is the Sky, and our Grandparents are Grandmother Moon and Grandfather Sun.

To learn the truth we must open ourselves to the vast worlds within words that make up all of the Great Mystery's Creation. Talks with Relations is the aspect of the Earth Mother that contains a seeking mind, a willingness to learn, and an understanding of the rhythm of each life form or area of Earth being viewed. This first Clan Mother's cycle is protected by the color ORANGE. Orange carries the Medicine of kinship with all life because it is the color of the Eternal Flame of Love that the Great Mystery placed in the hearts of every part of Creation. Anytime we find a feather, a stone, a flower, or a shell with the color organge in it, the lessons that Sister or Brother can teach us are the lessons of making relatives, right relationship, respect and/or kinsdhip with all life. Through learning the truths found in every life form with the Planetary Family, we are given the opportunity to see the similaritiees between us. We may find that a flower or a borok can be one of our greatest teachers. When we accept that everything in our world is alive, we are able to access the parts of ourselves that have becomed numbed or deadenend, in order to heal and revive our own aliveness.

Kinship speaks of having right relationships with the Creative Force, with the Self, with our Orendas or Spiritual Essences, with our bodies, with family, friends, worthy opponents, and with All Our Relations in every part of the natural world. These relationships can become loving, productive situations that offer us opportunities to exchange ideas and to learn the lessons of sharing, with unity, in order to grow in truth.

Talks with Relations is the Mother of Nature who welcomes all life forms into her Clan. She sees the beauty of each and honors the talents each holds. She is the Keeper of Rhythm who teaches us how to find our own rhythm, as well as teaching us how to respect the rhythms of all other things. In learning the truth, we find that every life forms as a Sacred Space and a rhythm. To enter those Sacred Spaces, we are forced to learn the rhythm of the life form in question. If we learn that rhythm and ask permission, with respect, we can enter the world of those Sisters and Brothers without disturbing the natural order. Talks with Relations teaches us those rhythms and how wild creatures are willing to accept some humans without fear and why they run from others. The acceptances or nonaccepotance results from the human's intent, willingness to respect the rhythm and Sacred Space of the Creature-eing, and/or willingness to learn the truth from that life form.

Talks with Relations is the Guardian of Weather and the Seasons, who sees to the needs of Earth. This Clan Mother understands how to use the Clan Chiefs of Air, Earth, Water, and Fire to produce the climatic balance necessary for global survival. She teaches human beings that messing with the forces or the elements is a tricky thing because every action contains a reaction. The results may not be readily apparent but they will surely affect the balance of the Earth Mother's intricate ecology. If a human being is going to call for water as a Rain Medicine Person, that human hd best be mindful of the amount the soil can handle and how the rain will affect the life forms downstream. Talks with Relations is the Keeper of these mysteries and always urges caution so that the rhythms of all ife can be maintained.

THE MAKING OF RELATIVES

Talks with Realtions marveled at the luxurious green of the Earth Mother's verdant forests and valleys. The Great Ice Mountains had not yet traveled this far south and so parts of the only land mass, Turtle Island, were given a short reprieve. Life was teeming amid the nooks and crannies of every inch of the sunlit soil and plant growth that spread before her. She stretched and raised her arms to the light of Grandfather Sun. "Oh, what a pleasure it is to be alive," she whispered to herself.

Just then a movement, sly and barely perceptible, caught her attention. She slowed her breathing and squatted low in the sprawling bunch of wild irises and tall cattails at her feet. Not daring to make a sound, she stilled herself until her body gave off no perceivable rhythm of its own. She did not want to disturb the natural occupants of this forest glen or to keep them from their daily routines, which would eventually bring them to the brook that ran far to the left of her hinding place. She was content to wait and see if the creature that had created the rustle in the undergrowth would show itself.

It was not long until a tiny red foxpeeked around a boulder resting at the side of the bubbling brook and dashed for the water's edge, took a quick drink, and then dashed back to safety. After deciding it must be safe, despite the strange smell that wafted in and out with the changing breeze, the fox returned. As the little fellow drank from the stream, he occasionally peered around to assure himself that his senses were not fooling him into complacency. Suddenly, he was so that he became paralyzed when he found himself looking into the kindest eyes he had ever seen. The eyes seem to be attached to a Two-legged human.

"Greetings, Brother Fox, " Talks with Relations said gently. "I trust that I did not frighten you."

Fox forgot himself and replied spontaneously, "I thought I was the one who was so expert at the art of camouflage. You ought to be a fox, not a Two-legged! How did you do it? Oh, you don't have to answer that, I already know how because I do it myself."

"Well, Fox, it may surprise you to know that I have walked the Earth for many Suns and many Sleeps getting to know All My Relations," she replied. "It is important for me to learn the ways of all my children because I am the Mother of Nature and I must learn the needs of every Creature-teacher, Plant Person, and Stone Person so I may serve my family in a good way."

Fox looked at Talks with Relations and saw that she was tlling the truth. He began to wonder how this beautiful and generous Two-legged had happened to choose him to talk to, but he was afraid to ask. He was taken aback when her laughter filled the glen with the most melodic, songlike sounds he had ever heard.

Oh, Fox," she said, "You are a master of invisibility but you have forgotten to mask your thoughts. Don't you know that I have learned the truth held in the hearts and minds of every living thing? You need not be afraid to ask me anything. Grouse taught me how to enter the Sacred Spiral of rhythm in order to be in harmony with all of my children. In learning the truths about rhythms, I have been able to weave our thoughts and hearts together so there is no separation between us."

At that moment, Centipede came scampering down a log that had fallen across the brook in the last big rain. Her multitude of legs, rhythmically moving in time, suddenly seemed to trip upon one another as she tried valiantly to come to a halt in front of Talks with Relations. Her long back arched as she pulled up to stop, with her rear end curling up like a dry autumn leaf before finally coming to a halt. "My goodness," she whispered, nearly our ot breath, "I thought I heard your sweet laughter, Mother. I'd know that musical sound anywhere. What a pleasant surprise!"

Fox looked from Talks with Relations to Centipede, wondering how they knew one another. Then he decided he had better sit down on the boulder by the brook to sun himself. It appeared that this reunion would probably take a while and his feet had been getting cold while he was standing in the water, listening to Talks with Relations.

"Centipede, it has been many long moons sine we have spoken. I must thank you for teaching me how to find my body's center and stride. The long walks to the sea and to the plains took many Suns and Sleeps, but my arms and legs were working in harmony. It felt wonderful with every body part working in rhythm with the other. We can both remember when I was a mess of arms and legs, tripping over every pebble and scraping every bush, can't we?" Talks with Relations said.

Centipede giggled and replied, "Well, I was so happy to see you again, I nearly rolled down this cottonwood log. I forget my own Medicine too, when I get excited. I keep on growing extral legs in my old age and I seem to have to teach the new ones how to work in unison with the old ones over and over again."

Talks with Relations smiled and said, "I certainly understand how you feel, Many Legs. Setting up the rhythms of the seasons has been a task as well. The Earth Mother is still changing her path in the Sky Nation and the Green Moons of new sprouting grasses are growing shorter while the White Moons seem to grow longer with more snow and ice."

Fox spoke up and asked, "Is that why so many of the Creature-beings of the steppes are coming our way?"

Centipede nodded and Talks with Relations agreed. "You see, Fox, the Earth Mother has given me the task of learning about the needs of all the Earth Tribe so I may assist her in finding the correct path across the Sky Nation. Eventually, there will be Four Seasons and Four Winds of Change that will assist all of us in finding the rhythms of harmony. The three White Moons will give us a time of rest when the Ice-beings will cover the soil. Then the Green Moons will begin, for three cycles, bringing new life to the Plant People. Then the three Yellow Moons will bring a time of ripening and fullness. The three Red Moons will follow bringing the times of harvest. The Thirteenth Moon is the Blue Moon when all the Children of Earth will find their natural ability to change or transform."

Centipede signed and smiled, "It will be a good thing to see, Mother, and all of us will give thanks for the work you are doing on our behalf."

Talks with Relations was pleased that she was learning the truth of how to fullfill te needs of all the Children of Earth and how to understand their Medicines. Life was good and each new day brought new lessons to be learned, new truths to explore, and new rhythms to add to the whole. She was discovering that she made every living thing her relative when she entered the flow of each relation's rhythms and listened to inner drum of the heartbeats of each. Her mind flew to the memory of how she had first learned that lesson. As Grandfather Sun's light sent warm orange beams through her closed eyelids, she drifted so to that long ago moon and saw Swan drifting across a high mountain lake.

That Sun had been unusally warm. Talks with Relations had been speaking with Bluejay, who was teaching her the Medicines and talents of the Standing People. Bluejay was not talking for the trees, because the Standing People could talk. Talks with Relations had asked Bluejay to come with her because his Medicine was using intuition to speak the truth and in those early days, she was just learning how to use her human body to sense these things. Being a little unsure of her new skills, she had asked Bluejay to accompany her . For hours the two friends had sat with the Standing People, listening as the Wind Chief gently blew through the limbs of the trees, bringing their voices to life.

Talks with Relations had first experienced human frustration during that Sun. She was able to understand the Medicine of Aspen, who was the seer and carried observer Medicine, because her own eyes could see the eye-like forms in Aspen's trunk every place a branch had disconnected and fallen. She was able to feel the Medicine of inner peace when she sat with her back against Pine's sturdy trunk. She felt Dogwood's Medicine of balance when she saw the blossoms, which formed the Four Directions of the Sacred Hoop. But her intuition was failing her in hearing and understanding the languages of these Standing Relations.

Bluejay was very kind to Talks with Relations and called for a break in the lessons. He could see that her frustration was bringing her close to tears.

"How very human she is, and yet, how very inhuman in her willingness to treat all things with such respect," he thought to himself. I am not afraid to speak the truth to her because she wants to learn the truth more than anything else. My intuition tells me she must also learn the importance of resting when her body's rhythms are being pushed beyond their capacity to endure. It must be difficult for her, no longer being in Spirit-form, and having to limit herself to the perceptions of a human body."

Bluejay took Talks with Relations down the hill to the lake and had her sit in the sand along the shoreline, where clumps of soft green grass stood like hillocks meant for napping. While she settled her body on a grass-covered rise, Bluejay told her that he was going to bring a friend to join them and that she should relax while he was gone.

Talks with Relations was so caught up in her own frustration that she did not hear Bluejay's message, and so her mind kept on whirling with thoughts of how she could learn the language of the Standing People. She did not even notice when Bluejay returned with his friend Swan. Swan had glided effortlessly across the lake and was floating gently near the water's edge, patiently waiting. Bluejay finally started squawking a long tirade of admonitions in order to get Talks with Relations' attention.

"Well, Swan, we could push her in the lake to wash the frustration out of her head, or we could call Ostrich to dig a hole in this sand and then the three of us could bury her head," he screeched, but still there was no reaction from Talks with Relations. Bluejay saw Ostrich down the shoreline and called to her. While she was trotting over, he continued his mocking monologue.

"Well, here comes Ostrich. You wil be shown how to bury your head in the sand instead of burying it in needless frustrations," Bluejay said loud enough for Ostrich to hear.

Talks with Relations was still loss in her turbulent thoughts when Ostrich sauntered up and shrugged her shoulders, wondering what to make of this young, troubled woman. Swan waited patiently while Ostrich and Bluejay decided to get the woman's attention. After a conspiratorial giggle, Bluejay went to rest on a nearby piece of driftwood and Ostrich bent over and tweaked Talks with Relations' nose. Talks with Relations was so startled she cried out--not from pain, for Ostrich had been very gentle, but from the shock of suddenly seeing two of the largest heavy-lidded eyes she had ever encountered at close range.

Everyone was laughing uncontrollably except for Talks with Relations, who was stunned into silence. Bluejay commented that she must have been tied up by her own machinations. Swan replied that Ostrich, whose Medicine was how to interact with others through communication, could lend a helping wing now that they had Talks with Relations' attention. Each comment brought furher peels of laughter until the young woman saw the ridiculousness and joined in herself.

In between rolling waves of guffaws, Ostrich explained to Talks with Relations that when others were not communicating clearly or interacting in a way that would include everyone, Ostrich also had the tendency to bury her head. When even one person was excluded from a group, Ostrich would imitate those refusing to listen to everyone's ideas by burying her head in the sand until someone noticed. They usually noticed when they Talks with Relations had watched Gorilla while she circled with Flacon, seeing the mime from all directions. It was not long before Gorilla's strong Medicine of communicating and teaching through actions had brought understanding to Talks with Relations' heart. His movements had been funny at first until she had understood how he was teaching the others of his Tribe to accomplish a given task. It was then that she noticed that he had imitated a younger ape in order to get its attention, then made a game of it so that the youngster would imitate him.

It became clear to her that Falcon had showed her a solution to her problem. She did not need to feel that she was separated from other life forms because she had a human body, she could imitate their habits and see how it felt to be them. Through imitating the actions of her Creature-teachers, she could then surrender to the feelings she had when becoming like them. It did not matter that her teachers were plants, stones, animals, clouds, or Wind and Water Spirits. Understanding their languages would take time, but the more like them she became and the more she could understand how and why their lives were similar to her own, the easier it would become for her to know how each species chose to communicate.

Ostrich, Bluejay, and Swan were very happy that Talks with Realtions had broken through the frustration and into understanding. The foursome retreated to the soft shadows of the forest with Talks with Relations leading the way. She was determined to use her newly found understanding to communicate with her Tree Relations. Until now, she had merely observed and tried to listen as the Wind Spirits moved gently through the emerald and jade boughs of the Standing People. Now it was time to practice and develop her communication skills.

With all her friends settled around her she began to announce her intention. "I have learned how to surrender to the rhythms of the Sacred Space around me, and now, with permission, I would like to become like a Standing Person," she said.

The ancient Pine Tree Person dropped a pinecone that rolled to her feet as an offering of friendship. She accepted the Give-away with pleasure. Talks with Relations knelt and dug a hole in the soft soil and needles, burying her feet up to the ankles. Then she stood tall and proud and lifted her arms like branches to the rays of sunlight filtering through the dense green of the forest. Silence enveloped all of those gathered as she closed her eyes and became a human tree. It was then that she heard the voices of the Standing People come from their wooden hearts and speak to hers.

"Our language is heard through the heart, not the ears. We speak of all we see in a place, for we are the silent observers of the Earth. Our roots draw deeply from the well of love found in our Earth Mother's soil and our limbs reach higher every day to seek the light of Grandfather Sun. We are the living balance between Mother Earth and Father Sky, female and male, receiving and giving. Of all life forms, we are the closest in makeup to the human beings because we show them how to honor the balance of heaven and earth within themselves. We show them, through example, how to be silent observers of life, how to stand tall, and how to give and receive."

Though nothing stirred in the forest, no breeze blew through the boughs of these Tree People, Talks with Relations heard the voice of ancient Redwood. It pointed out to her that with her arms arched upward, her body created two circles. The circles formed a figure eight. The upper circle met the lower circle in her heart, with the upper one encircling the Sky Nation and the lower one connecting her to the center of the Earth Mother. It was as if she were standing on top of one circle and holding the other one above her, using her body as the cross-connection between the two.

"These are the two Medicine Wheels of life," Redwood said. "The human beings, like the Tree People, have the ability to be the balance between the earth and sky. When the Two-leggeds reach for the most they can be, the Sky Wheel brings the messages of the Spirit World to them through their human hearts. The Earth Wheel allows the plants, stones, animals, and elements of nature to be the Earth Mother's teachers and interpreters of those spiritual messages. Human beings feel and understand the messages that the Great Mystery sends by observing the actions of the teachers that these planetary counterparts represent. Meeting in the heart, both Medicine Wheels show that heaven and earth, the spiritual and the tangible, are equal and one. You see, Talks with Realtions, the only true limitation of being human comes when the heart is closed. When the heart is open, all of Creation can be accessed and understood. You have become that balance now and it will serve you well."

The memory of that time and the lessons learned filled the Mother of Nature's body with a warm feeling, gently bringing her back to the moment. The orange glow that had reflected Grandfather Sun's light on her eyelids had changed to a deeper salmon color, signaling that this Sun was nearly at its end. She could hear the trout jumping for flies in the melodious brook. She could smell the first wafts of nightblooming jasmine and she tasted the moisture that was collecting on the stones at the water's edge. Inside her mind, pictures of these changes were dancing with hundreds of other perceptions. She could hear the faint snore of Fox, who had fallen asleep, and the scratching of Centipede's many legs against the cottonwood trunk.

"Yes," she thought, " I have learned well. Truth speaks to me now, in hundreds of ways, through all the senses of body, heart, mind, and spirit. I can feel the rhythms of the animals' feet through the soil as they approach the water for their evening drink. I can feel the light of the stars even before they poke their holes in the purple blanket of the early evening sky. Life sends me flutters of feelings deep in my belly with every rhythmic change around me and I feel those changes inside of me, for I am an extension of it all."

With her eyes still closed, Talks with Relations gently and quietly reached for the Stone Person she had hanging around her neck by a thong. The rock had a natural hole in it that had been created by the constant dripping of water over hundreds of passing Suns and Sleeps. The Stone Person's name was Oneo or Song. This special Medicine Stone still sang to her and recorded all her heart felt and all she experienced, reminding her of the history she was creating by being alive. The natural hole in Oneo's body was a sign that the rock was a protection stone. Because the hole was created by water, the Stone helped Talks with Relations to stay in touch with her feelings and to be aware if danger was present. Talks with Relations' body was made of the same minerals as the rock and therefore helped her stay in tune with the heartbeat of the Earth Mother.

The Stone People, being the libraries of Earth history, had been very helpful when she had learned their language. Through her journeys she had come to understand the markings on their bodies in much the same manner she had learned the languages of the Standing People. Through the Stone People, she had come to understand that all forces in nature have cycles and that these cycles are present in the growth of all things. She had been able to review the history of all that had happened on Earth and she was shown the natural evolution of all life forms as the stones had recorded it.

The Shell Cousins from the seas had taught her to listen to the rhythms of the tides and to her own body's cycles. The Cloud People had shown her the faces and forms of all things in the natural world. When one of the various Children of Earth was in danger, the face of the one who called for help would take form in the clouds. The Clan Chiefs of Air, Earth, Water, and Fire had blended and separated in her presence to teach her the spontaneous forces of creation found in nature. With this Knowing System firmly rooted in her heart, Talks with Relations was able to command the weather, bringing life-giving rains or new lava flows to maintain the balance needed on the planet.

"Learnig the truth is a continous adventure and brings with it a constant source of fulfillment." she mused. "I have been blessed with the hunger to learn, the joy of discovery, and the desire to serve my kin. I have learned the languages of every part of the Earth Tribe. Each day, I discover the caring and compassion that allows me to learn more. Life creates more life, and so I will continue to celebrate the lessons I have learned, in order to share them with all my children forever."

Talks with Relations opened her eyes and the Starry Medicine Bowl of the night sky had produced a quarter moon and the nocturnal animals were stirring. Centipede and Fox had faithfully waited for Talks with Relations to return from Entering the Silence, not moving an inch from their former places. Grandmother Moon's blue-silver light played on the crests of the water that flowed across the rounded stones of the creek bed while the water spirits murmured their evening traveling song.

When Talks with Relations spoke to her friends, she whispered, "I am pleased that you waited for me, children. During my silence, I remembered how much I have learned about the truths present in every part of Creation and how much more I can learn as our world continues to evolve."

Centipede curled herself into a ball and rolled down the log to be closer to Talks with Relations. "Mother, maybe your gathering wisdom is similar to my growing legs." she whispered. "I may be growing extra legs because I am becomming older and wiser. I suppose that each of our Relations has some way to measure the distance they travel on this Good Red Road of life."

Talks with Relations replied, "Yes, Many Legs, we all have our unique ways to gather wisdom, but the way we share our languages and our understanding is the key to our common growth as a Planetary Family."

Fox laughed and wiggled his whiskers before he interjected, "I understand that key, Mother. Fox is the protector of the Planetary Family because no one can learn the Medicines and languages of nature if they can't see what is right in front of them. All wisdom is camouflaged, like me, unless people believe in the invisible world, which only becomes visible when they open their hearts to understanding and learning the truth."

The Clan Mother of the first moon cycle smiled. Being the Mother of Nature meant that she would follow whatever came to her naturally. At this moment, her heart was so full that it was natural to allow the love in her heart to spill over into the world, allowing all of the Children of Earth to know they were not forgotten and that their needs would always be taken care of.

Talks with Relations had learned the truth about being in a human body and now it was up to her human children to discover it for themselves. When each individual Two-legged opened his or her heart to learning the truths of the Planetary Family, she would be there to teach them. When the Human Tribe opened their hearts with respect for all living things, she would be there to nurture them into respecting themselves and each other in kind. When the cycles and seasons brought pain to the human race, she would be the healing unguent found in the natural world around them.

The intangible world of spirit, found in the tangible world, was awaiting discovery. Her human children would be the last to learn these truths. She found joy in the knowledge that human arrogance would one day melt away. That Sun would rise when the cycles and seasons brought those who were willing to give up their pain, home to their hearts.

"Yes, life is good," she whispered into the star-filled night, just loud enough for those with open hearts to hear.

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WISDOM KEEPER

Oh Keeper of ancient knowing,

Whisper your widom to me.

That I may always remember

Life's sacred mystery.

The stories of the Grandmothers,

Brave deeds, great and small,

The progress of the Faithful,

Who answer our Mother's call.

The cycles and the seasons

That mark our every change,

The rebirth of our visions,

The spirit we have reclaimed.

Here truth is the victor

Of the war that dwells within,

Bringing every human heart

To celebration in the end.

WISDOM KEEPER is the Clan Mother of the SECOND Moon Cycle and is the Historian of all Earth Records. She is the Keeper of the Stone Libraries, the Protetress of Sacred Traditions, and the Guardian of the Remembering and/or planetary memory. She teaches us how to develop the Self through honoring the truth in all things. FEBRUARY is her month and GRAY is the color that connects us to Wisdom Keeper's moon cycle and her Medicine.

Wisdom Keeper reminds us that all history is kept in the libraries of the Stone People and that to access that history, we must hear the voices of the Rock Tribe who record the Remembering for the Earth Mother. To honor the truth of all that has been, we must tap more than human, cultural traditions or stories. The history of all that has happened on our planet is forged in stone so that the body of the Earth Mother can offer tangible records to those willing to learn the Language of the Stone People who hold her memory.

Wisdom Keeper also honors the truth as it is seen from each person's Sacred Point of View because all individuals experience life's events in a different manner. In her wisdom, this Clan Mother understands that there is truth in every life form's journey. In our arrogance, human beings are the only part of the Earth Tribe to insist their particular religion, philosophy, or Tradition holds the only truth or path to wisdom and understanding. For this reason, she is also the Mother of Friendship, showing us how to be a friend and how to have friends.

Wisdom Keeper teaches us that knowledge of the expansive view of the Planetary Family is the key to Self-development. She shows us how to honor the truth in every race, creed, culture, life form, Tribe, and Tradition through seeing the similarities in all. The color gray is nonthreatening or neutral and represents friendship. Through the color gray, Wisdom Keeper teachs us how to interact with others, always honoring their Sacred Spaces and Sacred Points of View, without feeling as if we must defend our own viewpoints. As we honor our own truths, we develop our sense of Self and allow others to do the same. Every new understanding of the truths that others carry adds to our personal wisdom and knowledge, creating further development of right relationship to All Our Relations as it is experienced within the Self.

We can call on the Medicine of Wisdom Keeper to restore friendship, to help us to honor the truth in all things, to tap the history of Earth, to assist us in developing the Self, or to increase our memory potential. Some people born during the second moon cycle/month suffer from short-term memory loss because they have not tapped the gifts or talents they were given through their natural connection to Wisdom Keeper. Her Medicine can help the Children of Earth to heal that loss of memory.

By assisting us in reclaiming gifts of personal recall, Wisdom Keeper shows us how to return to a memory and be able to use any feeling, wisdom, tactile sense, spoken word, or idea in the memory of our growth. This Clan Mother teaches us that anything we have ever experienced can be pulled from our memory banks, at any time in the future, to support or assist us in our life lessons. Wisdom Keeper pays attention to detail and shows us how those remembered details can be used as guidelines to hone our awareness skills into the Medicine of being totally present in any given moment. When we are paying attention to the details of the here and now, we are not lost in worrying about the past or the future. From the talent of being fully present, we are able to learn the Art of Expansion through Self-development.

FOLLOWING THE WISDOM TRAIL

Wisdom Keeper was walking through the dazzling, sunlit mesas, watching Grandfather Sun's light dance across the snow-covered monoliths that surounded the enchanting desert that lay before her. The Earth Mother wore a patchwork blanket of red with oranges and yellows, created by the giant rock formations. The deep shadows, outlined by the canyons and arroyos, wove pale blues and lilacs into the whiteness of the Ice-beings, blending with the greens of Juniper, Cedar, and Pine. The Tree People of the high desert were content to be the standing connections between the Earth Mother's many-colored cloak and the brilliant blue canopy of Father Sky. Wisdom Keeper was feeling that same connection of serenity during her morning trek as she followed the trail that led to a series of secret caves. These openings in Mother Earth's body were nestled in the recesses of one of the desert's sacredplaces called the Canyon of Time.

When she reached the fork in the trail that would take her up the rising path to the caves, she spied a flat Stone Person sitting in the frosty purple shadows of a towering tree giant named Ponderosa Pine. Wisdom Keeper moved closer to inspect the surface of the tablelike stone that had caught her attention. She rounded the trunk of Ponderosa and patted his enormous form in greeting, carefully stepping across an icy mound of melted and refrozen snow. On the Rock Person's surface was a perfectly frozen snowflake. The intricate pattern of the snowflake seemed to float above the blue-gray of the stone's surface.

Wisdom Keeper bent closer, being careful that the warmth of her breath did not melt the frozen web suspended in the early morning frost. "Oh Snowflake," she whispered to herself, "what a genuinely rare gift of winter you are."

The snowflake surprised Wisdom Keeper by answering her whispered thoughts, causing the Clan Mother's heartbeat to quicken. "You may call me Ice Web, Mother. When Grandmother Spider wove the web of Creation, she created Snowflakes to represent the webs of dreams that would travel from the Dreamtime to Earth, becoming living, physical experiences."

Wisdom Keeper had never encountered a talking snowflake before. In her curiosity, the Keeper of Earth's Records felt impelled to ask Ice Web further questions in order to fully understand the roles that the Great Mystery gave the Ice-beings of winter. "What an extraordinary mission you have, Ice Web. Will you tell me more about how your Medicine assits our Planetary Family so that I may hold that understanding for the Two-leggeds?"

Of course I will, Wisdom Keeper. I was preserved in frost so that my passage through your life would not go unnoticed. You must record the purpose of my role in nature so that every Child of Earth will know how her or his dreams and visions aid the spiritual growth of the whole Planetary Family.

"Mother, every one of the Children of Earth has feelings and dreams according to his or her place in the scheme and balance of nature. When combined, all of those dreams and feelings make up the needs of the Children of Earth. The snowflakes are the messengers of those needs because our bodies hold the patterns of each individual dream. When Grandfather Sun's warmth melts our bodies into water, the feelings of the collected dreams are poured into the Earth Mother's soil, giving her the understanding of her children's deepest desires."

Wisdom Keeper was impressed with Ice Web's understanding and the simplicity of the Great Mystery's plan to keep the Earth Mother advised of the needs of her children, which brought up another question. "Since the streams and rivers of the Earth Mother's body are the vessels that carry her feelings in the form of water, are you saying that her feelings are made up of the combined desires and emotions of all her children?"

"Exactly! Now you understand why the Snowflake Tribe's pattern are so important. Due to life's changing experiences, all of the Children of Earth have new feelings daily. What each Child of Earth wants in his or her life is translated into an individual Snowflake Medicine Wheel that reaches the Earth Mother's heart upon melting," Ice Web replied. "During the Green and Yellow Moons, those same feelings come as Raindrops because the seasons are ripe for the growing of dreams. We are the messengers of the White Moons because those dreams must be held in crystallized form until the season of rest and reflection is over. Then, during the Warming Moons, our frozen patterns of dreams and visions may thaw, being released into the Earth.

"Each snowflake holds the web of life's lessons as it is woven by one of the Children of Earth. Every member of our Clan reflects an individual view of the Web of Life as it is dreamed by somone who lives on our planet. Each life form in Creation is a part of the whole, but individually, each one sees life from her or his Sacred Point of View. The dreams that teach each individual to live life, through making choices, comes from the Sacred Space and Point of View of that person."

Wisdom Keeper smiled because she caught a glimpse of understanding about her own choice to make the trek to the secret caves on this frosty morning. The Clan Mother felt that her encounter with Ice Web was not by chance. She decided to ask a question that could affirm her inner knowing.

"Ice Web, you hold the patterns of my dreams and my heart's greatest desire, don't you?" Ice Web answered Wisdom Keeper by complimenting the Clan Mother on her astuteness and then allowed her to continue sharing her thoughts.

"To fulfill my mission of being the Guardian of Earth History, I must travel up this pathway and visit the secret caves far above us in the Canyon of Time. Inside those caves the Earth Mother will take me on a journey that will complete my understanding. I will be challenged and will go through the final Rite of Passage of my training. I must be willing to test the talents I have worked hard to develop. If the Earth Mother feels I have successsfully completed my lessons and have the skills to be a Wisewoman, I will take my role as the Guardian of Sacred Traditions by honoring the truths I hold. After this Rite of Passage, I will hold the Medicine of the Rememering of our Planetary Family. The Medicine of Planetary Memory is the honored truths found in the Sacred Points of View of every living thing on the Earth Mother throughout all worlds of time."

Wisdom Keeper understood that Ice Web's design were mirroring the dreams, aspirations, and collected Knowing Systems that the Clan Mother had accumulated during the earlier parts of her Earth Walk. Now the time was approaching to open her vision and understanding to others, sharing her wisdom with the Children of Earth. Ice Web was set in her path to remind the Clan Mother of the circles within circles of life forms who would depend upon the wisdom she carried and how well she had developed her skills.

Ice Web held Wisdom Keeper's innermost desires in frozen patterns, so it was not surprising that the snowflake could tap the Clan Mother's thoughts. Ice Web felt Wisdom Keeper's anticipation and replied to the Clan Mother's unspoken words.

"Mother, the steps you are taking that will complete your training with this Rite of Passage are very important. My frozen patterns hold your former dreams, and will melt, returning to the Earth Mother. You might want to release those same patterns within yourself before you enter the caves above the Canyon of Time. In reviewing the steps and lessons that brought you to this point in your path, you will free yourself to face the future. The Remembering carries a Medicine of its own that will allow you to access all of the places, insights, and situations that have influenced the woman you have become. In recalling all that has gone before, you may then place yourself in the here and now, owning the reality of all that you are."

Wisdom Keeper agreed with Ice Web and decided to take the time she needed to prepare herself before entering the caves. The Remembering represented more than holding the Earth Mother's history. It was a vital part of her own Medicine that could allow her to pass into her next set of lessons without being caught in past accomplishments or old patterns. Wisdom Keeper could see the value of allowing herself to savor each former step of her pwn passage, feeling and recording the sense of well-being each had bestowed. Then she would be able to move forward, claiming her right to the wholeness she had achieved.

The Clan Mother came from her thoughts, looked to the sky, and then spoke, "Grandfather Sun's rays are touching the patterns in your body. The Earth Mother will soon gather my innermost feelings to her heart as your frozen form changes to liquid and sinks into the heart of this Stone Person and then to the soil below. Ice Web, I want to thank you for being my teacher and sharing your talents with me. I will leave you here and continue my trek, but know that my heart will always sing your praises with thanksgiving."

Wisdom Keeper began walking up the trail to the Canyon of Time, bidding Ice Web farewell. Soon she was traversing the craggy path surrounded by jutting boulders of rust and amber. Here and there, she greeted the Standing People who grew on the sheer cliffs of the Canyon of Time. It was past midday when she reached what appeared to be the end of the boxed canyon and rounded an outcropping of rocks that most people would not have noticed. There behind the rocks, a chalky cliffside framed the entrance to the secret caves. Wisdom Keeper offered a pinch of corn pollen to the soil at her feet, reverently asking the Spirit Keepers of the Sacred Caves if she could enter the area. She was given a sign that her presence was welcomed when a gentle breeze caressed her face.

She stood silently on the shelflike floor of the upper canyon looking toward the entrance to the series of seven caverns, then approached the opening. The seven caves represented the Seven Sacred Directions of East, South, West, North, Above, Below, and Within. Wisdom Keeper turned and knelt before the entrance to the caves and bent, kissing the Earth. She straightened her spine, remaining on her knees, and raised her arms to Father Sky, singing a song of thanksgiving for the opportunity she was being given to compelte her final Rite of Passage. When she had finished her song of gratitude, she sat in silence in front of the entrance to the first cave.

Wisdom Keeper began her process of remembering by recalling her first experiences of taking a human body and followed each memory to completion. The Creature-teachers who had aided her during those Suns and Sleeps floated into her mind, allowing her to review the lessons each had imparted.

Pig had taught her the Medicine of using intellect and reasoning ability. Mouse had taught her how to pay attention to detail through scrutiny and how to keep herself from becoming overwhelmed by completing only one task at a time. Chipmunk had given her the understanding of his Medicine of respecting the smallest parts of nature through interrelationship and equality. Chipmunk had taught her how to see parallels in the natural world and in people's ideas, showing her the validity in all points of view. Turtle Dove had taught her how to nurture the dreams of peace and how to find peace inside herself. Each of her totems had offered her wisdom they carried in order to teach her how to make the most of her abilities. She silently thanked each one and continued recounting the lessons she had learned.

When Wisdom Keeper had finished taking in all of the goodness of each event in her life and had released the past with joy, she called to the Earth Mother, asking permission to enter the first cave. A gentle wind carried a dry leaf from the tree above into the cave's entrance, beckoning her to enter. Wisdom Keeper grabbed a handful of soil, touched that hand to her heart, then tossed the soil over her shoulder to signal that she was leaving the outer world and her earlier earthly experiences behind her. Taking a breath to fill herself with life manna and to find her inner balance, she silently slipped into the cave.

The Earth Mother's voice immediately filled her ears. "Wisdom Keeper, you are now in the cave of the East. The seeking, male side of your nature that searches for enlightenment and clarity lives here and in your human body. Through these lessons of the East you have gained the ability to be the Protectress of Sacred Traditions. What have you learned?"

"Mother, I have sought truth and have learned that all living things create new Traditions when they honor the sacredness found in the individual as well as in the whole of Creation. I have experienced the clarity of their knowing when they desire understanding as much as they desire the breath of life. Now I know that all Sacred Traditions are created when the individual seeks and finds a way to reconnect to the Great Mystery's love. I understand that my role of protecting these Sacred Traditions comes through teaching our human children how to allow every individual to rediscover her or his connection to the Great Mystery for herself or himself. I must protect the Great Mystery's Sacred Traditions of free will by showing humankind that every individual has the right to reconnect to the Maker in her or his own way. The Orenda of each human should be the guiding light for that person. The truth of illumination is found through honoring every person's right to have personal truths, following the voice of his or her own Spiritual Essence. I have learned that the Sacred Traditions may be preserved by ignoring the rigis human rules that evolve when one human wants another to follow the leader instead of the voice of truth inside her or his own Orenda."

The passageway from the first to the second cave was illuminated, indicating that Wisdom Keeper could continue. As she stepped into the second cave, the Earth Mother's voice said, "Daughter of my spirit, this is the cave of the South. What have you learned that you could trust?"

Wisdom Keeper replied, "I have learned to trust the truth inside me, Mother. I have learned to trust the innocence of the young and young at heart. I have learned that all wisdom, teachings, and history come from the truth presented in the Sacred Points of View of all life in the natural world.

"I have discovered that in innocence and humility there is a great power that transcends self-importance, which is the mask that humans use to hide their insecurities and their pain. I have found that faith and trust are the gifts of forgiveness and that through forgiveness the Human Tribe can reclaim the wisdom of childlike wonder."

The entrance to the third cave was illuminated and Wisdom Keeper stepped forward once again. As she approached the center of the third cave, the Earth Mother's voice asked, "What have you discovered about the West Cave's lessons as they apply to being human, my child?"

Wisdom Keeper answered by saying, "I have realized that the future depends upon the feminine principle in all things because all things are born of woman. I have come to know the beauty of nurturing and compassion through giving birth to those qualities within myself. I have learned how to hold the seeds of knowing in my womb until they are ready to be shared. I have honored my female body by only sharing sexual pleasure with those who would treat my total being with utmost respect. I have learned that the place of all tomorrows, the West, is a place of darkness where there is no fear of the unknown because it is like returning to the Medicine Bowl -- womb of the Mother of all things. I have found the strength of retreat and silence that taps the feminine power of introspection and receiving answers. It has been good to understand the art of self-exploration, because through the feminine principle, I have learned the wisdom of loving myself."

The passageway to the fourth cave was illuminated and Wisdom Keeper took a deep breath as she walked through. In the Cave of the North, the Earth Mother spoke. "Tell me what wisdom you have gathered from the North, little one."

"In the place of healing and gratitude I have discovered the wisdom of those who have fully experienced human life. The lessons of their Earth Walks have served them well. I have learned to be grateful for all opportunities to grow. Some have been difficult, some joyous, but all have taught me wisdom because I have learned to seize every opportunity, adding understanding to my Knowing Systems and compassion to our world. I have learned that healing comes to those who do not blame life's experiences but rather give thanks for the growth potential being offered. I have gathered the wisdom that can be gained from personal experience. I have accepted the healing that has come from right attitude and I have learned to be deeply grateful for it all."

The passageway to the fifth cave was illuminated and Wisdom Keeper entered. There she found a petroglyph of Whale covering the far wall. The Earth Mother spoke to her and said, "This is the cave of the Above direction, daughter. What have you discovered about the wisdom held above?"

Wisdom Keeper did not pause, but replied instantly, "Mother, I have discovered that out spirits come to Earth from the Sky Nation, traveling from the Spirit World like shooting stars. The fire in our hearts is the Eternal Flame of Love and that fiery essene will one day return to the Starry Medicine Bowl of the night sky. I have come to understand the idea of destiny. Every human being has the opportunity to thank the Great Mystery for the beautiful creation that he or she individually represents by being his or her personal best. If we honor the talents and abilities we have been given, developing those gifts to the fullest, that is fulfilling destiny. The song of Whale is the Medicine Song from the Dog Star in the night sky that teaches human beings how to remember their talents, using them to rediscover the destiny of wholeness that their spirit holds."

In the silence, the passageway to the sixth cave was lighted and Wisdom Keeper entered. The Earth Mother's voice softly echoes, "This is the cave of the Below direction, daughter. What wisdom have you gathered from this direction?"

Wisdom Keeper noticed the ivory tusk of a great woolly mammoth filling the right side of the cave and smiled inwardly as she answered. "The wisdom of the Below direction is applying all that has been learned to one's Earth Walk. Like Mammoth, the art of remembering is strong Medicine. Nothing is ever lost if human beings consider the information they gather and the life lessons that they experience sacred enough to commit to memory. Repeating that wisdom to the generations that follow ensures that the Teachings will live forever. I have learned that Knowing Systems are founded in experience, not beliefs. Two-leggeds must bring the remembering and the wisdom of spirit to the Below direction and walk it for themselves."

The final passageway was illuminated and Wisdom Keeper stepped inside the seventh cave. The spirit of her Totem filled the cave and she sensed the presence of Lynx as the Earth Mother's voice spoke once again. "This is the final cave of the Within direction. What have you learned about the life that lives inside you, my child?"

Wisdom Keeper spoke, "Mother, I have learned that every living thing has a heart filled with love, desires, dreams, plans, and great Medicine. For myself, I have learned that the unspoken wisdom of my heart is like a rare jewel that allows me to glory in being alive. I have learned only to share that wisdom when it is asked for. I have learned that there are no secrets in the universe because all answers dwell within. Those seeking wisdom can access those secrets at any time, if they go inside and seek the light of the Eternal Flame of Love. Like Lynx, Knower of Secrets, who guards the silence of inner knowing, the twinkle reflected in the eys of any Child of Earth mirrors the hidden fire of wisdom that dwells within. The mysteries of all worlds can be accessed through the heart when the seeker is willing to open and receive."

The Earth Mother spoke once again, "You have learned many things, my daughter. I am pleased that you have developed these ways to honor the truth. You have followed the Wisdom Trail and you have found that the voice of your Orenda is your constant guide. You have discovered that the Wisdom Trail always leads to the Within direction -- your heart. The completion of the Seven Sacred Directions of Wisdom is your final Rite of Passage in understanding human life. Have you also discovered why these caves exist above the Canyon of Time?"

'Yes, Mother, I realized that all human beings must accumulate wisdom over time to mark the cycles and seasons of growth and change in the tangible world. The experiences of the Earth Walk allow every Two-legged to stand on all of the spokes of the Wheel of Life. In time, when they are ready to hear the voice of their Orendas, they feel the tug of their own spirits urging them to grow. Without experiences, which need time to digest and be fully understood, the lessons of each direction or spoke would become murky. The Great Mystery has given us the gift of time so that our passages and our growth can be fully experienced. The wisdom gained, like this cave, is above the Canyon of Time for it is eternal wisdom that will forever be recorded in the person's Orenda."

The Earth Mother blessed the part of herself represented in this Clan Mother of the Second Moon Cycle by surrounding Wisdom Keeper with love. The feeling of completion and wholeness entered Wisdom Keeper's heart, filling her with visions of the Whirling Rainbow. A sense of inner peace flowed through Wisdom Keeper's veins and she was ready to move from the caves and step into Grandfather Sun's light, continuing her journey among the Two-leggeds who she came to serve.

As Wisdom Keeper stepped from the cave, she realized that one Sleep had passed and that dawn had broken. Grandfather Sun was filling the world with the colors of a newborn morning. She raised her arms to the rays of Grandfather's fiery light and sang her song of greeting and thanksgiving. Then she knelt and kissed the soil of the Earth Mother's body. The road had been long, the trails many, but now she understood why the Great Mystery never tested human beings on their strengths but only on their weaknesses. The Wisdom Road could only be traveled through experience -- trial and error. She had earned the right to be the Protectress of the Wisdom Road because she had walked it by honoring the truth in herself.

If you are interested in going to a Clan Mothers Circle, just email me and I can tell you where one is at. Take care and ENJOY!!

THE MEDICINE WHEEL OF THE THIRTEEN CLAN MOTHERS

The Gifts, Talents, and Abilities of the Feminine Principle

1 - January's Moon - Color: Orange - First Moon Cycle - TALKS WITH RELATIONS

2 - February's Moon - Color: Gray - Second Moon Cycle - WISDOM KEEPER< br>

3 - March's Moon - Color: Brown - Third Moon Cycle - WEIGHS THE TRUTH

4 - April's Moon - Color: All Pastels - Fourth Moon Cycle - LOOKS FAR WOMAN

5 - May's Moon - Color: Black - Fifth Moon Cycle - LISTENING WOMAN

6 - June's Moon - Color: Red - Sixth Moon Cycle - STORYTELLER

7 - July's Moon - Color: Yellow - Seventh Moon Cycle - LOVES ALL THINGS

8 - August's Moon - Color: Blue - Eighth Moon Cycle - SHE WHO HEALS

9 - September's Moon - Color: Green - Ninth Moon Cycle - SETTING SUN WOMAN

10 - October's Moon - Color: Pink - Tenth Moon Cycle - WEAVES THE WEB

11 - November's Moon - Color: White - Eleventh Moon Cycle - WALKS TALL WOMAN

12 - December's Moon - Color: Purple - Twelfth Moon Cycle - GIVES PRAISE

13 - Blue Moon of Transformation - Color: Crystal - Thirteenth Moon Cycle - BECOMES HER VISION

TALKS WITH RELATIONS: The Mother of Nature - Keeper of Rhythm,Weather,and the Seasons
Guardian of the Languages of the Trees,Stones,and Creatures
The Maker of Relatives/ Keeper of Earth's Needs/Mother of the Planetary Family

SHE TEACHES US: How to understand unspoken the Languages of Nature
Kinship with all life forms and how to enter the Sacred Spaces of others with respect
How to honor cycles, rhythms,and changes of the seasons and weather
How to held with the life force and rhythms in all dimensions, learning the truths of each
How to LEARN THE TRUTH

WISDOM KEEPER: The Protectress of Sacred Traditions

The Keeper of the Stone Libraries and Earth History

The Guardian of "the Remembering" and the Art of Memory

The Mother of Friendship, Planetary Unity, and Mutual Understanding.
SHE TEACHES US: The Arts of Self-development and Expansion
How to access Planetary Memory,personal recall, and ancient wisdom and knowledge
How to understand the wisdom that every life form holds and its missions
How to be a friend and to restore friendship by honoring the viewpoints of all life forms
How to HONOR THE TRUTH

WEIGHS THE TRUTH: The Keeper of Equality and the Guardian of Justice
The Fair Judge of Divine Law & the Destroyer of Deception
The Mother of Truth & Protectress of the Underdog
The Mother of Self-determination and Responsibility
SHE TEACHES US: How to find the ability to respond & how to be self-determined
How to feed the positive, not the negative, by using Divine Law
How to use equality with justice, being accountable for our actions and words
How to use personal integrity,ethics,and values to find healing solutions
How to ACCEPT THE TRUTH

LOOKS FAR WOMAN: The Seer/Oracle/Dreamer/Prophet
Keeper of the Golden Door and the Crack in the Universe
The Mother of Visions, Dreams, and Psychic impressions
The Guardian of the Deamtime and the Keeper of Inner Potential
SHE TEACHES US: How to understand our visions, feelings, and impressions
How to enter the Dreamtime,go into other realms,& through the Crack in the Universe
How to properly use our psychic abilities & gifts of prophecy for humanity
How to use spiritual boundaries, psychic self-defense, & respect those boundaries in others
How to use our inner potential to become healed healers
How to SEE THE TRUTH

LISTENING WOMAN: The Mother of Tiyoweh,the Stillness, & Inner Knowing
The Keeper of Discernment and Guardian of Introspection
The Interpreter of Messages from the Spirit World
The Counselor and Advisor/the Keeper of Hearing
SHE TEACHES US: How to enter the Stillness & hear our heart's small still voice within
How to find and understand the Inner Knowing we carry in our Spiritual Essences
How to listen to the viewpoints & opinions of others & the voices of the Ancestors
How to understand body language and unspoken thoughts/hearing with the heart
How to HEAR THE TRUTH

STORYTELLER: The Guardian of the Medicine Stories
The Keeper of Heyokah Medicine & Humor
The Teacher who Teaches Without Pointing a Finger
The Preserver of Speaking from Personal Experience and Truth
SHE TEACHES US: How to teach through telling stories that contain lessons
How to balance the sacredness with irreverence/using humor creatively
How to speak from our experience without judging others or being self-righteous
How to be a student in Life as well as the teacher, preserving the wisdom gained
How to SPEAK THE TRUTH

LOVES ALL THINGS: The Mother of Unconditional Love and All Acts of Pleasure
The Keeper of Sexual Wisdom and Self-respect
The Sensual Lover/the Mother-Nurturer/the Warmth of the Feminine
The Guardian of the Needs of the Family
SHE TEACHES US: How to use respect,trust,& intimacy in all realtionships
How to love all aspects of our lives, lessons, sexuality,& physical beings
How to be a loving woman, nurturing mother, sensual lover, and trusted friend
How to forgive ourselves & others,developing acceptance & shunning criticalness
How to LOVE THE TRUTH

SHE WHO HEALS: The Intuitive Healer/Herbalist/Keepr of the Healing Arts.
The Singer of the Death Song and Keeper of the Life and Death Mysteries.
The Guardian of the Medicine Roots and Healing Herbs and the Servant of Humankind
The Mother of Intuition/All Rites of Passage/Cycles of Birth, Death,and Rebirth
SHE TEACHES US: How to serve others with a happy heart, using our healing abilities
How to serve others with a happy heart, using our helaing abilities
How to understand and honor the life cycles of birth, death, and rebirth
How to believe in the miracles of life through our connections to our Spiritual Essences
How to understand the Plant Kingdom and the healing uses of all parts of plants
How to SERVE THE TRUTH

SETTING SUN WOMAN: The Keeper of Tomorrow's Dreams and Goals
The Guardian of the Needs of the Next Seven Generations
The Mother of the Proper Use of Will/Will to live/ Will to survive/Will power
The Keeper of Mother Earth's Resources and the Guardian of Preservation
SHE TEACHES US: How to preserve and use our resources without wasting anything
How to prepare for tomorrow by planning today/ Making and meeting goals
How to show concern, dependability, and compassion through the ways we live
How to properly use our wills, using our intents to provide for future generations
How to LIVE THE TRUTH

WEAVES THE WEB: The Mother of Creativity/the Muse/the Artist/the Creatress
The Manifester of Dreams, Who Brings Visions into Reality.
The Guardian of Life Force, Who Teaches Women to Give Birth to Their Dreams
The Keeper of Survival Instinct and the Mother of the Creative/Destructive
SHE TEACHES US: How to preserve and use our resources without wasting anything
How to prepare for tomorrow by planning today/Making and meeting goals
How to show concern, dependability, and compassion through the ways we live
How to properly use our wills, using our intents to provide for future generations
How to LIVE THE TRUTH

WALKS TALL WOMAN: The Guardian of Leadership and the Keeper of New Paths
The Mother of Beauty and Grace and the Keeper of Innovation and Persistence
The Role Model of Health, Physical Fitness,Stamina, and Letting the Heart's Desire Take the Lead
The Keeper of Personal Impeccability and the Guardian of All Forms of Inner Strength
SHE TEACHES US: How to be our personal best and still be vulnerable and human
How to keep our bodies and minds flexible and in good health through advancing and retreating
How to seek and find new paths to growing and learning, leading through example
How to develop inner strength/ How to attract and release
How to WALK THE TRUTH

GIVES PRAISE: The Mother of All Acts of Thanksgiving and Keeper of Abundance
The Guardian of Ceremony and Ritual/ the Keeper of Magic
The Mother of Encouragement and the Guardian of Celebration
The Wisdom Keeper of the Art of Giving and Receiving
SHE TEACHES US: How to return thanks for the abundance we need before it arrives, making spac to receive it
How to celebrate every victory in life with joy -- ours as well as the accomplishments of others
How to use right attitudes to create magical changes in the Self
How to create abundance through praise, giving and receiving
How to be GRATEFUL FOR THE TRUTH

BECOMES HER VISION: The Guardian of Transformation and Transmutation
The Keeper of the Emergence of Spirit into Physical Form
The Mother of Alchemical Changes and Rites of Passage into Wholeness
The Guardian of Personal History, Becoming, and Myth
SHE TEACHES US: How to become our visions and own our wholeness
How to release the old Self and step into the realized dream
How to honor the process that brought us through the changes and transformation
How to mark the Rite of Passage into Wholeness and celebrate the Vision we have become
How to BE THE TRUTH

INTRODUCTION

(by Jamie Sams)

The story of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers was passed to me through the two Kiowa Grandmothers who were my teachers in the early 1970's. Cisi Laughing Crow and Berta Broken Bow gave me a legacy, upon which I was to build my life. As near as we could figure, Cisi was 120 and Berta was 127 years old when I was a young woman of 22. Both of these Grandmothers were born shortly after the Trail of Tears in the mid-to late 1840s when their families, along with many others who refused to be enrolled and to live on reservations, traveled south to the freedom afforded in the mountains of Mexico. In the past twenty years or so, the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the United States government has tried unsuccessfully to reclaim these families by offering to enroll them and bring them back to reservations in the United States.

The traditions that were allowed to live because of the refusal of these people to give up their connection to the Earth Mother are the basis of these stories. I am truly grateful for the wisdom of this Woman's Medicine and for the strength it took those Native American families to carve out new lives in a strange land. Because of their persistence, these Ancient Teachings are still alive today.

I am very grateful that my first teacher in Mexico, Joaquin Muriel Espinosa, took me to Cisi and Berta, realizing that I needed to learn Woman's Medicine instead of insisting that I follow the male Warrior way. His insight has opened my life and paths in ways I did not understand at the time. I honor the greatness of his humility and his desire for my best interests every time I see women following a male Medicine way, becoming confused and sometimes taken advantage of because they have not been trained to respect the feminine principle in themselves.

*I would like to add a personal note here - this is from my heart, not from the author of this book. I feel it is important that I also mention how strongly I feel about women who have gone to teachers who are supposed to be Spiritual, full of wisdom, etc. only to be taken advantage or treated inappropriately! It is very hard when you are wanting to learn the truth, learn how to help your people, find the ultimate peace and connection with Creator, etc. and you seek out those who have the wisdom to help you on your path only to find out that they do not do things properly or even Spiritually. It doesn't mean that the "Teachers" didn't have the wisdom or that they were not Spiritual - it means that they are human and for whatever reason, they have fallen short in helping women at times. There is no excuse and I am not condoning what happens. I am also NOT blaming the women - What I am saying is that we have been so misguided that we need to really step back and look at this with our common sense that we all have - we must acknowledge that everyone - Teachers, Spiritual Leaders, Medicine people, etc. are also HUMAN BEINGS!! This means that they do and have made mistakes. We have been warned for many years in many ways that Woman need to learn from other Women and Men need to learn from Men. This is not sexism! It is the way it needs to be because there are things in each world that needs to be taught and the things that women need to learn and follow as nurturers is something that needs to be taught to us by other women!! Men have things that they need to learn and that too, must come from other Men. So, I ask each of you who seek out your teachers and spiritual guides, that you really look at what you are seeking and who is going to be the best one to help you!! You will really need to be honest with yourself. Learning the Spiritual ways is a very hard road and it must be traveled with humility, respect and truth. It is a hard road which one will experience alot of difficulties and tests to help you learn the lessons that you need to learn to help you reach the path that you are seeking - the true Spiritual path - and it will not always be the path that you think it is supposed to be and you may not feel that there are any more lessons you need to learn. You may find that you will have to travel your path alone until you have learned the lessons you need to learn - and that you are truly healed from any past pains. If there are to be any "teachers" along the way - remember that it must be with respect and that you are never "beneath" anyone or should you ever be requested to be a part of anything that would not be done in the presence of your family and friends. That means that you truly look at your "teachers" as that - teachers - who give you guidance! My personal belief is that a "True Teacher" is someone who guides you, gives you suggestions, but NEVER tells you what to do for that would take away the true lesson!! Also, a Spiritual Leader, Teacher, Medicine Person - is another human being - and they should never have to say who they are for their work or path should say it all - they do not need to tell you who or what they are - if they are real - their actions show you everything!! Also in searching for a good teacher, remember that you need only one teacher at a time - and the teacher needs to be strong enough that you cannot "mold" to fit your ideas and at the same time you do not need to "mold" to any teacher. I know personally that if I were to change teachers everytime I didn't like what they were asking or saying than I would really be going through alot of teachers!! But if I really believe in them as a teacher than I need to hear what they are guiding me through. And teachers are not to be pitted against one another! The ultimate thing that your teacher teachs you is that you are responsible and you make the ultimate decision with your life with the true guidance from you teacher and most importantly from your Creator!!******

Now, back to Jamie's forward: Many other female Elders have spoken to me of the Clan Mother stories of Woman’s Medicine but were saddened that much of the history has been lost during the preceding generations. I have found great joy in being able to revive the history, which would otherwise be lost, and to share our Woman’s Legacy with the world. As it was then, and shall be until we change ourselves from within, the Legacy of Woman and the Earth Mother is at risk. Our female and male roles in humankind stem from the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers who emerged as aspects of the Earth Mother and Grandmother Moon, because all things are born of the feminine.

To become a fully grown woman, which in Native American Tradition happens around the age of fifty-two, I was instructed to work on my personal journey by developing my personal talents and gifts, using the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers as role models. I was taught how to understand the Medicine of each of these ancient Grandmothers and how to relate to each as my teacher. Although I have many years to go before attaining my majority, I have come to love these Clan Mothers who have been my Spirit Teachers and I trust how they speak to my heart. The Clan Mothers were the Spirit Teachers of the female Elders who were my physical teachers in Mexico and have taught many spiritual lessons to the Medicine Lodges of Women for centuries. The Thirteen Original Clan Mothers represent the aspects of what I have come to find most beautiful in woman and in the feminine principle.

These Clan Mothers have taught me to see the beauty in my sisters and brothers of all races and creeds. They have comforted me when I was weary or in pain and have taught me how to heal myself. Grandmothers Cisi and Berta passed the gift of knowing the Original Thirteen to me, and now it is time for me to pass this gift to the Sisterhood of Humankind. This is not to say that the men of our Earth will not benefit from these Grandmothers, for the men are also the children who were born of woman and have a female side. Now, however, it is necessary for all women to know the legacy they have been given in order to heal themselves before they reclaim their roles of healing and nurturing others. In this manner, the wounded feminine aspect in women will no longer need to be hostile, angry, separatist-oriented, or manipulative in order to cover old pain. From this vantage point, women can then present the healed role models they represent, leading others through example, instead of through male conquest or competition, allowing our world to reclaim a new point of balance between male and female.

It was many years after receiving these stories of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers that I realized that these Teachings were common to many Tribes and that bits and pieces of this legacy had been passed from the Black Lodges or Women’s Medicine Circles for hundreds of years. The Beloved Women of the Cherokee, the Clan Mothers of the Iroquois, the Grandmothers or Wisdom Keepers of the Kiowa, Choctaw, and many others have heard parts of this legacy. I began to more fully understand how the Dreaming Circles of Women kept this legacy alive through the sharing of their visions and dreams.

Although this legacy is not from one particular Tribe or Nation but rather came to me from my two Kiowa Grandmother teachers, it belongs to all of the Children of Earth. I was first told these stories in Spanish since I did not speak Kiowa. I was told by Cisi and Berta that as I learned the lessons of the thirteen steps of the Women Wheel, more understanding would come to me. In truth, the spirits of the Thirteen Clan Mothers have guided and shaped my personal progress as a woman for the last eighteen years and continue to teach me as I grow.

I have added some references to one or two of the stories that have been told to me by other Tribal Grandmothers over the years, having discovered that all the histories of the Earth have been very similar. The overall view of the story of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers has been shared in the Black Lodges of Women all across Native America, but the Indian language words that I have used in this text are of the Seneca language because it is most familiar to me.

I asked the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers how I could best present their Medicine Stories. I was told that the Seneca Medicine Wheel with the Pathways to Peace and the Twelve Cycles of Truth could give me a blueprint or structure that would allow people to see the whole picture. I discovered that truth is found in every Tradition, and sometimes, the blending of those truths further clarity. So I have taken the liberty of placing the stories of each of the Original Thirteen Clan Mothers on the Seneca Wheel to show the importance of truth and peace in Woman’s Medicine among every Tribe and Medicine Lodge.

The Twelve Cycles of Truth in our Seneca Teachings have been assigned to months for simplicity’s sake. I have added a thirteenth Cycle of Truth - Be the Truth - in order to complete the Medicine Wheel of the Thirteen Clan Mothers. Because of the difference between moon cycles and the calendar months used in our modern world, I have referred to a moon cycle falling in a certain month. As we all recognize, moon cycles fall in more than one month, but I have chosen to adapt the simplest way of conveying each Clan Mother’s essence to our present way of thinking. I prefer that those who follow the lunar calendar look to those cycles and dates for the correct moon cycle that each Clan Mother holds.

The shell of Turtle shows us that the Earth Mother gave us the first lunar calendar. The circle framed in the center of the shell has thirteen parts and is representative of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers and their guardianship of the thirteen lunar cycles. The Sacred Turtle is the embodiment of the Earth Mother and as Turtle’s shell protects her body, the Thirteen Clan Mothers and their lunar cycles, depicted on her shell, protect the Mother Planet and all living things. It is through connecting to these rhythms and cycles that this story cannot be considered a traditional legend particular to one Tribe, but I can assure you that it is Woman’s Medicine gathered from all of the places the Remembering was held by Grandmother Wisdom Keepers. The basic story has been unchanged. The only additions on my part are the descriptive passages and some names of the Totems of each Clan Mother. Cisi and Berta described some animals with physical characteristics but did not use the modern names we know them by. The animals’ modern names came to me via the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers Spirits speaking to my heart and showing me their Medicines.

I have supposed that when an animal became extinct in one area of the world and was only physically recorded in petroglyphs, like the camels and mammoths depicted in North and South America, the oral legends of those creatures continued, but the actual animal became a mythical beast to those who had never seen one. I believe that this is one reason that Cisi and Berta would call the camel “the humpbacked four-legged of the desert who needs no water.” Another example of this is found in the Paiute Tribe, which holds the Big-horned Sheep as sacred, even though most of these creatures were killed, like the buffalo, with the coming of European settlers. Petroglyphs of Buffalo and Big-horned Sheep still speak to our Tribes by carrying the sacredness of our Ancestors’ Medicines.

The Thirteen Crystal Skulls are part of the original story and Tradition and were also spoken of by four other Grandmothers of different Tribes. To my knowledge, nothing has been written about the history of these Crystal Skulls based on Indian oral Tradition or history. I have put the information on the Crystal Skulls that I received from Cisi, Berta, and Joaquin’s teachings in the part of this book’s Conclusion, called “Entering the Council House of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers.”

For eighteen years my connection to the Medicine of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers has grown inside me. Each new lesson presented by the Thirteen Clan Mothers has added to my understanding and has forged the trails to my personal growth. I have chosen to open these teachings and my personal vision in order to share the map of healing I have received. These Medicine Stories and Traditions are my Give-away to human beings everywhere, so that we may continue to dream the dream, and to dance the Dance of Creation, bringing inner peace and, therefore, world peace.

MY HEALING QUEST VISION OF THE THIRTEEN CLAN MOTHERS’ SHIELDS

The Medicine Shields of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers are part of the ancient legend that surrounds the life lessons and the gifts each Clan Mother gives to humankind. In the Americas, the lodges, palaces, and temples that carry emblems of Turtle are reminders to our modern world that the legacy of the Sisterhood is still alive. Whether carved in stone like the Turtle Temples of the Mayans in the Yucatan, or painted on frescoes in the Toltec and Inca places of worship, or carved in petroglyphs across North America, these emblems of Turtle represent our connections to the Earth Mother and her thirteen different aspects, the Original Clan Mothers.

Oral history tells us that each Clan Mother made a Medicine Shield that represented her talents, strengths, and abilities. These traits could be called on by anyone who chose to develop those same gifts within the Orenda of the Self. Orenda, in the Seneca language, is the Spiritual Essence that contains the Eternal Flame of Love where the Great Mystery lives inside all things. The Orenda houses the guiding light and the inner voice that teaches us our potential and our greatest capacity to love and to be loving.

In ancient times, to all on the spirit of one of the Thirteen Wisdom Keepers, a person needed to focus on the identity and abilities of that particular Clan Mother. To connect to the spiritual identity of a Clan Mothers’ Medicine, we need to Enter Tiyoweh. This discipline is the Indian way of calming the mind and sitting in the Stillness, to listen or receive. The ceremony of Entering Tiyoweh is always done alone, away from the bustle of daily activity. Then, the person uses focus to invite a particular Clan Mother into the fertile silence of her or his Sacred Space, allowing the purity of her or his heart to send the unspoken invitation. Since the Clan Mothers were never physically described, their Medicine Shields were often used as the focal point, held gently in the mind’s eye. The person seeking the wisdom held by a Clan Mother was then able to allow the receptive side of her or his nature to be visited. This visitation was not from the Spirit World as with an Ancestor’s Spirit but rather was an inward journey that rekindled the flame of the thirteen aspects of feminine transformation from within the female side of human nature.

Grandmothers Cisi and Berta were fine teachers and always told me that the Thirteen Clan Mothers never appear in the same manner or form to anyone seeking their counsel. By using the ability to appear as all of the faces of womankind, the Clan Mothers can touch and teach each individual in a unique way. This flexibility of form is important since equality is one of the foundations of their teachings. If they appeared in the same form to everyone, it would be too easy for us, as human beings with human limitations, to brag that some of the Clan Mothers’ talents belonged only to a particular race or genetic line.

The Thirteen Original Clan Mothers came to walk the Earth in adult human bodies that did not age. I was never told why the Earth Mother chose to have her spiritual aspects embody the forms of fully grown women, but I suppose that the fragility and mortality rate of children during the Ice Age could have had some bearing on the decision. The ability of the Clan Mothers to possess bodies that did not become ill or age could be legend or could be fact -- it is not for me to say. I was taught that when the Clan Mothers’ missions were completed and they disappeared from the face of the Mother Planet, the Thirteen Crystal Skulls were left in their places. I have sought to understand their Medicines in my heart, not with my mind. I have been in the presence of a few of the Crystal Skulls and I know in the deepest part of my being that they hold the mind-set of the Earth Mother and the feminine principle on our planet.

In my personal eighteen-year process of living with the Clan Mothers’ Medicines, I focused on developing my own abilities as I related to each one individually. For me, the culmination of this learning process has been in sharing these teachings through this book and in using my own intuition and creativity to make the Medicine Shields of the Thirteen Clan Mothers.

These Medicine Shields are actually tiny drums that represent the heartbeat of the Earth Mother. Coming out of each drum/shield is the mask each Clan Mother wears for me to see. Each Medicine Shield has three feathers at the bottom, representing the way I see the Spirit World and the Red Road of the Natural World come together in the heart of each living thing. Three feathers also represents the balance of our male and female sides with the center feather holding the Great Mystery’s love.

In September of 1991 on the Autumn Equinox, I went on my seventeenth Vision Quest with the purpose of completing some personal healing. Since 17 is my personal sacred number, I knew that my intent to reclaim the love would be honored. I had worked hard, prepared well, and earned the right to move forward. The rust that had gathered on my spirit from too much work and overextending myself had left me depleted and the magic of life had faded a bit. I had committed my love, time, and energy to helping everyone else and letting myself always be last. Consequently, I contracted cholera in April of 1991 and then double pneumonia in May. My body screamed, “No more!” I knew then that it was time to start reclaiming the love by committing to taking my Moontimes and days of silence that had been forgotten in my flurry of activity.

The messages I received from the Thirteen Clan Mothers during my rest and preparation time made it clear that I would be given the vision of each of the Clan Mothers’ Shields and that I was to share my entire process of reclaiming the love with others. In order for me to do that, I must explain the way I have been taught Woman’s Medicine before I discuss the making of the Medicine Shields of the Thirteen Clan Mothers.

Traditionally, in ancient times, women did not go on Vision Quests. However, the women of the Black Lodges did go on Healing Quests that were a part of the function of the Medicine Lodges of Woman. This type of quest is different, however, from the Warrior Way of doing a Vision Quest because women hold their visions inside of themselves in the womb space. On the other hand, men, having demonstrative natures, must seek their visions through stopping all activity, food and water, or anything else that would keep their intellects in the way. To go beyond any limitations, the active male principle must be forced to be still. Through reaching the female side of his nature, the man is then ready to receive his vision.

My Elders taught me that woman suffer enough during Moontime cycles, pregnancy, labor and birth. There is no reason for a woman to suffer further, to prove her ability to compete with men, or to place the living treasure she represents in peril. Women would not place their children or the Earth Mother at risk, nor would they insist that a child should suffer to prove that he or she is worthy of love. The Great Mystery does not ask further suffering or pain of any woman. Womankind is already doing her part by giving birth to children, as well as giving birth to the dreams of humankind, holding the vision of abundance for the next seven generations.

For women in our White Buffalo Tradition, a Healing Quest supports and protects the role of women as Mothers of the Creative Force and takes a year of preparation. For the year prior to going on her Healing Quest, a woman takes a minimum of three days of silence a month, every month without fail. These three days of silence and retreat are during her Moontime but are not necessarily the full Moontime, her flow may last longer. If she is past her time of bleeding or has had a hysterectomy, she can choose to take this retreat time during full or new moon, depending on which moon cycle is most appropriate for her rhythms of feelings.

During the monthly retreats, the woman visualizes opening her womb to receive the fertilization of the Great Mystery’s love, giving life force to the seeds of her dreams. She opens herself to receive the Earth Mother’s strength and nurturing to replenish her body. She opens her heart and mind to receive visions and creativity. Everyone’s experience is different, but these times of retreat are often as powerful as any Vision Quest. The only activities are of one’s own making during the Moontime retreat. No reading, no television, no recorded music with words, and no artifical input should intrude. It is fine to sing, drum, dance, return thanks, create poetry, art, and such, but to fill oneself up with anything by self-expression, thanksgiving, and/or receiving can be counterproductive.

Food and water are very important during this time of cleansing and retreat. Eating lightly and naturally so that the body has no attention on nourishment is of utmost importance. Hunger and thirst can really block a woman’s ability to cleanse the womb and stay focused so that her mind is also cleansed of unneeded chatter. The Moontime is a time to be filled, fed, replenished, and nurtured. It is not a time to create any kind of stress for the body, mind, heart, or spirit. We go into retreat to receive, and anything that keeps us from receiving is a waste of energy and time.

After a year of taking this special time for the Self, it is clear to a woman that she can trust herself, commit to herself, open her receptive side, and be comfortable being alone. The rewards of this preparation are in finding the joy of connection to her Orenda (Spiritual Essence), her body’s rhythms, the Great Mystery, her Totems, the Spirit World, Grandmother Moon, and the Earth Mother.

The way I was taught to conduct a Vision Quest or Healing Quest for a woman, since women are naturally receptive, is to never disconnect a woman from the female elements of water and earth. Woman’s role is to nurture, receive, and give birth. Therefore, on a Healing Quest, we must nurture all parts of the Self, receive the visions, and give birth to those dreams. A hut, lean-to, or single-person wigwam is made to sit on the outer edge of the woman’s circle of stones that will represent her Sacred Space for three days. In the center of her circle is a smaller circle of stones that she will use for her campfire. This smaller circle for fire represents the Eternal Flame of Love the Great Mystery placed inside her Orenda. She will stay up every night and feed that fire, feeding the fire of Creation inside herself, and then sleep and dream during that day inside her hut.

A woman on a Healing Quest is give distilled or fresh natural spring water to keep the tides of her feelings high. The high tides of feelings bring forth the conductive nature of her intuition and a watery womb to receive her visions, giving them life. Just like a woman’s fertility cycle, when the womb has gathered tissue and water in order to make the right environment for impregnation, the whole body is supported by the water she drinks. Lack of water in a woman’s body can keep her disconnected from the natural female elements. Dehydration can also create hallucinations that do not serve the internal seeds of her visions, causing them to be dry-birthed. All seeds need water and earth to sprout, just as the seed dreams of humankind need these elements inside a woman’s body in order to come to fullness.

Cisi and Berta also insisted on corn flakes being eaten during the three-day period. Two flat corn flakes, three to four inches around, were eater per day because the corn kept the body heat stored during the night, and represented the element of earth in the body. If corn cakes are not available, corn bread, corn nuts, or small, fat, homemade corn tortillas will do. The water and corn do not distract a woman from her intent of the Healing Quest but rather support her system so that all four of the Clan Chiefs of Air, Earth, Water and Fire are inside her Sacred Space. In her circle of stones, to assist her in her quest, the woman breathes the air, feeds the fire, blesses her body with the water, sits on the earth and eats the corn to feed her fertility -- the kernels or seeds of the future.

After three days and three nights of giving thanks, singing, dreaming, and receiving her vision, the questing woman completes her journey by opening the East stone of her circle, saying final prayers of thanksgiving, and returning to camp. It is an honor for those in camp who have prayed for her success to return to their friend’s sacred circle and retrieve her bedroll, drum, and other items from her hut. The Medicine Person who held the energy for the woman who was on the hill now welcomes her by smudging or smoking her body with sage and cedar, while the others are traveling back to receive her things. The rest of the completion process of the Healing Quest is individual, depending upon the attending Medicine Person’s preference, training, and Tradition. ***PERSONAL NOTE BY PATRICIA - in selecting or requesting a “Medicine Person” to assist you on this healing quest, I suggest that you be sure and have an older woman to be the one and only after you are sure that you can trust her and her guidance that she gives you during this time. This may take some time to find someone like that so I would start looking for her during the year of preparing for her Healing Quest. This is very important to have a good “Medicine Person and friends to assist you at the end of this journey so take the time and really search for the guidance for the “Medicine Person.” You might question what is a “Medicine Person” and how do you find one - I think that you can find a woman who has a lot of knowledge on traditions that you agree with, one who follows the traditional path all the time and not just for a ceremony. That she be one who is usually older, patient, humble, honest and has your respect. I do not believe that everyone has to agree as to who the “Medicine Person” is for you on this Healing Quest, for it is only you who really knows who can truly help you with the Creator’s assistance you should be able to find a good woman to help you. This decision is yours alone (with Creator’s help of course) and you do not have to justify it to others. That is my belief anyway. It is also appropriate to have some gifts for these friends and “Medicine Person” and I am not necessarily talking about money - but gifts from your heart to show your appreciation for their assistance and support. Money is not a bad thing but I don’t believe it should be the only gift that can be given to a “medicine person” so be clear on the woman you select as a “medicine person” as to whether or not they are expecting money and if that is the case and you are ok with it than fine. Its is up to you.

The entire process of taking a monthly Moontime in silence for a year and completing a Healing Quest is a major commitment to the Self that enables any woman to receive from the Earth Mother the same quality of healing and nurturance she gives to others. Needless to say, this type of Woman’s Medicine teaches women to honor and love themselves and their roles in life, and how to reclaim the magic of the feminine. After one Warrior Way Vision Quest, followed by sixteen Healing Quests, I can attest to the validity of the nurturing Woman’s Way and the changes it has made in my life. I feel it is time for women to stop suffering needlessly and to reconnect with the Earth Mother, who is the source of all acts of pleasure. ***PERSONAL NOTE BY PATRICIA - I so agree with what Jamie says here!! We are not men, and we need to honor who we are and the ways we are to follow!! Men do not necessarily know that way and have forgotten that we have a responsibility to ourselves and all women to honor us in the proper way!! Let them take care of themselves, and respect our taking care of ourselves in the way that we are meant to!!

Due to the nurturing way I was treating myself during my preparation time, to receive the joyous visions of the Medicine Shields of the Thirteen Clan Mothers was effortless. I was reclaiming the love of living, of being human, of being a woman, and I was rediscovering the magic and the joy that life had never stopped offering me. The shift in my perceptions brought me back to the ways of the Grandmothers, allowing me to feel them again.

“We come from the bones of our Ancestors,” Grandmother Cisi’s voice said inside my memory. Then I remembered Grandmother Berta telling me that any animal’s bones gives us the structure of the Ancestors who come to me in visions. In ancient times, the toys of Indian children were horses and buffalos made from bones left over from dinner. That was the reason I decided to revive this traditional art form. I realized that I could take my own artistic endeavor further by making bone dolls of the Thirteen Clan Mothers. It was comforting to think that I would have the Clan Mother dolls near me during my healing process. The Thirteen Clan Mothers came to me one by one, while I gave them a form by making a doll. As I walked the mountains and valleys in northern New Mexico, I found many of the bones I needed, and I traded for some of the others I would use. Each vertebra bone gave me the forms I needed for the masks or the Clan Mothers so that no labels could be placed on their identities. After six or seven dolls had been made, the spirits of the Clan Mothers instructed me to make bone masks and to affix each individual mask to the shields. Each shield represents the Medicine of a particular Clan Mother as she showed me the face or the mask holding the mystery of her Medicine. These Medicine Shields have become my personal map for reconnecting with the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers and the focal point I use to hear them with my heart. Every time Grandmother Nisa (Moon) came full, I was gifted with another piece of beauty of Womankind that guided my personal journey in healing.

When we learn about the beauty inside us and complete the lessons of the feminine, we will have owned those Thirteen Shields of the Sisterhood as our personal protection and strengths. At that point, we will have become our visions. After completing these thirteen cycles of transformation, our next step will be to create new life maps for humanity, teaching how to use our creativity from the joy within us, but we will also be exercising our right to create effortlessly. When the human struggle, suffering, and pain are transmuted into the wholeness of planetary healing, the unified intentions and missions of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers will be a reality.

THE BEGINNING OF THE LEGACY OF WOMAN

After the destruction by fire that ended the First World of Love, the Thirteen Clan Mothers were created as the healing aspects of Grandmother Moon and Mother Earth, representing all that is beautiful in Woman. As parts of the Original Dream, the Thirteen Clan Mothers came to walk the Earth, forming the Sisterhood that bound all women together as dreaming counterparts in order to manifest the Original Dream of Wholeness of the physical plane. These seeds of inner peace were planted in the hearts of every human’s female side. Today, this Original Dream of Wholeness is being nurtured in the hearts of women worldwide and is being birthed through their shared visions as they open their dreams to the light of love and build those dreams in tangible form.

During the making of this Legacy of Woman Dream, the feelings that would need to be shared among women in order for the Human Tribe to heal were sealed in the Earth Mother’s tears. These tears were the Medicine that would transform the pain created when the First World of Love was destroyed by greed. The hearts of the Human Tribe had been wounded, and from these deep and jagged wounds, fear and separation were born. The Two-legged Children of Earth no longer trusted one another and feared that they had been abandoned by the Great Mystery and the Earth Mother. It was for this reason that the love and compassion of woman was born.

It was then necessary for the Earth Mother’s feminine aspects to be taken from the Dreamtime and allowed to walk the physical plane in order for human women to take their places as nurturers and Mothers of the Creative Source. The wholeness of woman that had its roots in the Spirit World and was connected to Earth through the Dreaming Circles of women, was birthed into the physical world in order to fulfill the promise of healing. This healing of the Earth Tribe’s wounds will continue until the Original Dream of the Earth Mother is restored in the tangible world. Perfect peace and harmony, respect for all living things, love without conditions, truth as the ultimate guideline, and equality for all are but a few of the parts of the Original Dream of Wholeness.

Healing begins to take place on our Mother Planet through this Original Council of Women, creating the Legacy of Woman, and allowing all women to find their roles in the Children of Earth’s healing process. It was through these Thirteen Clan Mothers that the truth of healing was discovered: When we heal ourselves, others are healed. When we nurture our dreams, we give birth to the dreams of humankind. When we walk as loving aspects of the Earth Mother, we become the fertile, life-giving Mothers of the Creative Force. When we honor our bodies, our health, and our emotional needs, we make space for our dreams to come into being. When we speak the truth from our healed hearts, we allow life abundant to continue on our Mother Planet.

Thirteen Moons pass every time the Earth Mother completes one rotation around Grandfather Sun. Thirteen is the number for transformation (although it has been maligned by many fear-ridden philosophies). As every year is completed, a cycle of transformation in the growth and healing process of the Earth Mother’s children takes place. These cycles of healing and enlightenment bring forth the powerful aspects of the female principle every time Grandmother Moon comes full.

From the beginning, as life forms came to inhabit Earth, there was but one great land mass. This land mass was originally called Turtle Island because Turtle was, and is, the most fertile creature on Earth. The Two-leggeds were given the mission of preserving the fertility of the Earth Mother, who would provide for all of their needs if they honored the Sacred Space of all living things in the physical world. When this mission was neglected, with greed causing the humans of the First World to rape women and to pillage gold from the Earth Mother’s body, the feminine was defiled. The Thirteen Original Clan Mothers had not yet manifested but were the Spirit World Guardians of preserving the fertility of the Earth Mother.

It was during that time of great pain that the Clan Mothers passed the legacy honoring woman and preserving the Earth Mother to humankind. As these Clan Mothers came to walk the physical plane, they built a Council House in the shape of Turtle to be a reminder to all women that in order for the Children of Earth to survive, the women must honor themselves and their true Mother, the Earth. These Spirit Ancestors of womankind came to walk the Earth in order to understand their Medicines, developing the strengths they needed to meet and overcome the challenges of being human.

The Thirteen Original Clan Mothers decided to forge the bonds of Sisterhood that would unite all women as one. This Sisterhood was based on a bond of blood tht marked by cycles of fertility in women. These cycles of fertility are based on moon cycles of twenty-eight days between bleeding. To this day, women who live, dream, or pray together will have their Moontimes or menstrual cycles at the same time so that their wombs are open simultaneously, allowing the dreams of humankind to be planted inside and then nurtured as a group.

Every woman as the potential to birth the dreams of the Sisterhood whether she can birth babies or not. The womb space is the balance point of gravity in the human form and the power place of the physical realm found inside the body. Women who have had their wombs removed can give birth to their dreams and projects without having the physical organs. The Sisterhood welcomes every woman who accepts the roles that will honor all women equally and who will contribute her talents to the whole. Little girls become women, and a part of this Sisterhood, with the flow of their first Moontime. These young women mark their Rites of Passage into the Sisterhood by becoming Mothers of the Creative Source. In other words, as young women are educated as to their roles in womankind, they also contribute to the birthing cycle of the dreams that will shape the future of our planet. The Sisterhood is responsible for teaching Woman’s Medicine to young women before they mate and give birth to children of their own.

Through Rites of Passage and the education of young women, the Legacy of Woman is then firmly established in the hearts and minds of the future generations. Then, the old patterns of family and planetary dysfunction can be healed. These were the original aims of the Sisterhood brought to womankind during the Ice Age that followed the First World’s destruction by fire. From that first Turtle Council House, all circles, wheels, societies, and clans of women were given birth. The Medicine Lodges, Dreaming Circles, Totem Clans, Sisterhoods, and all aspects of honoring the Mother Earth came from these Thirteen Original Clan Mothers. These Clan Mothers were not of any particular race, nor did they possess any particular belief systems that could limit womankind. They were the Mothers of all races and the healing aspects of womankind who then birthed the healing potential now present on our planet. The Knowing Systems that they represent are the Foundations of Truth that allow all women to be the Guardians of humankind’s dream of achieving wholeness.

When these truths were passed to me in my twenty-second year of life by my two Kiowa Grandmother teachers, I asked Grandmother Cisi why the red race had been given the history of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers. She told me that the red race was given the Guardianship of Earth Medicine and the mysteries of the Earth Mother. Grandmother Berta explained that many pieces to the puzzle of the Sisterhood were held by wise women of all races, but how those truths came into being had almost been forgotten as Traditions changed and eons passed. The blueprint of the first Medicine Wheel of the Sisterhood was passed orally through the Black Lodges, Moon Lodges, and Medicine Societies of Women in Native America in order for the Legacy of Woman to survive. The original wheel of the Clan Mothers was based on the thirteen moons of the year and had twelve positions around the wheel, with the thirteenth in the center.

The Medicine Wheel of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers is based on the creed of “Life, Unity, and Equality for Eternity.” Life is in the East of the Medicine Wheel where the day is born with the rising of Grandfather Sun. Life in the East teaches us that each new Sun announces a new beginning when life abundant is available, asking us to participate by using all our abilities. Unity is in the South where faith, trust, innocence, and humility begin the Earth Walk of physical life and where we all see as children. In the South, Unity teaches us that unless everyone wins, nobody wins. Equality is in the West of the Wheel where all our dreams are born and all our promises of tomorrow live. Equality in the West teaches us that our dreams will only manifest in the future is we honor the equality of every life form. Eternity sits in the North of the Medicine Wheel, the place of wisdom, and teaches us that all cycles of change and all lessons in truth will continue throughout time. Every lesson of growth brings us closer to wholeness, teaching that our spirits are forever a part of the Great Mystery throughout eternity.

Each one of the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers hold a part of the foundation of truth within the Legacy of Woman. These talents and abilities are woven from the hidden mysteries of Grandmother Moon and are reflected through Mother Earth in the physical embodiment of woman. Each aspect of the Thirteen Clan Mothers carries a part of the truth and corresponds to the thirteen moons of the year. The first moon birthed the ability of learning the truth and applied that talent to all Relations, all worlds, and all mysteries. The second moon brought the gift of honoring the truth and applied that talent to self-development. The third moon birthed the ability of accepting the truth and tempered these lessons with taking on the additional responsibility of justice, self-determination, and balance. The fourth moon created the ability of seeing the truth in all realms through dreams, impressions, and prophecy. The fifth moon gave birth to the talent of hearing the truth is the physical and spiritual realms, understanding harmony through listening. The sixth moon brought the talent of speaking the truth and with it came the lessons of faith and speaking with humility. The seventh moon birthed the ability of loving the truth in all things, therefore, loving all things for the truth held inside. The eighth moon spun the talent of serving the truth by being of service to others in all of the healing arts. The ninth moon brought the gift of living the truth into being, teaching dependability through living the truth today in order to preserve tomorrow for the unborn generations. The tenth moon gave birth to the talent of working with the truth, using all aspects of creativity in order to bring the truth into physical manifestation in a creative way. The eleventh moon wove the ability of walking the truth, showing how to lead through example, how to stand tall and “Walk Your Talk.” The twelfth moon birthed the talent of giving thanks for the truth, being based in returning thanks for all that is received. Expressing our gratitude created all ceremonies connected to giving or receiving the abundant lessons and bounty of life. The thirteenth moon came forward to give the gift of becoming the truth, that is the cycle of transformation, the regenerative nature of completion that then moves to a new beginning place, in order to enter the next cycle of growth. From these cycles of truth the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers forged the Sisterhood and the Legacy of Woman.

Every Clan Mother came to walk the Earth in order to honor the Legacy of Woman and to make the Sisterhood strong. As each one of these ancient Grandmothers took her place in the Sisterhood’s Council, she was given a mission. Each was to develop all aspects of her gifts and abilities in order to discover her own Medicine. This Medicine would then be opened to all of womankind through the making of that Grandmother’s Medicine Shield. Every woman who sought the truth of these Medicines could understand because each Medicine Shield spoke to her seeking heart through color, form, and concept. The mystery of each Clan Mother’s Medicine Shield would have to be felt deep inside each female Two-legged before the Medicine could be called upon for strength during each woman’s personal journey of self-discovery.

Like the Ancient Grandmothers who had walked those paths of discovering the Self before them, the ensuing generations of women were never given the answers but merely given a map, a guideline, allowing them to express their own uniqueness and to learn their own lessons in their own ways. The original Medicine Shields of these Grandmothers have long since vanished, but the Medicine still stands in unity. As the guiding light of the Sisterhood, the spirits of these ancient Grandmothers still sit in Council inside the inner Earth with the light of their Whirling Rainbow Dream coming forth as the Aurora Borealis.

The gifts that each moon and each Clan Mother represent contain the abilities of each, as well as how she learned the lessons of physical life, using her gifts in order to be in balance while meeting the challenges she faced. The lesson that still stands before the women of today is one that was understood in the hearts of every Ancient Grandmother. That lesson is exemplified through “Life, Unity, and Equality for Eternity.” The Sisterhood was formed in order for womankind to be able to see all aspects of the Self as equal, all talents, male and female, as contributing to the whole. We are being asked to honor the gifts of womankind and to call on the strength of our sisters in order to discover ourselves. The circle will come full when every human can see the beauty within the Self, as well as in all others. The transmutation of competition, control, separateness, hierarchy, jealousy, envy, manipulation, control, selfishness, greed, dependency, old wounds, and self-righteousness must be accomplished before we will come to wholeness. These attitudes are the enemies of humankind and are found within the Shadow-self, rather than outside ourselves.

As more women take their roles in the modern world of corporations and business, they often find themselves losing touch with the feminine. This is almost expected since the corporate work force is dominated by men. The role models of the ancient Clan Mothers can assist these modern women in maintaining their sense of Self and enable them to become leaders through example rather than through competition, backstabbing, or conquest, but the challenge to accomplish these goals depends upon the strength of the Sisterhood. Women must support other women in a way that allows those who chose different paths to learn to call upon their sisters, maintaining the understanding of who they are and what they can become. In this manner we can also support the development of the female aspect in our male counterparts, and then pass the legacy of wholeness to all of our children.

The timelessness of the Medicine that each Original Clan Mother holds will apply to our world no matter how many generations pass, because these truths are eternal. We are the Mothers of the Creative Source. The fertile aspect of our nature comes through being able to nurture the truth found in our dreams and to feed our dreams, giving them life, and then to build dreams in the physical world. After those dreams are birthed, we then are able to share the skills necessary for others to do the same. This is a part of the timeless wisdom that our wisewoman Grandmothers of the Turtle Council House offer us.

In each aspect of the Original Thirteen, we find a part of the Legacy of Woman that will fuel the fire of our personal and unified creations. To share that wisdom with our peers and our daughters is to honor the ceremony called the Giveaway. The Giveaway teaches us to share the wisdom that was shared with us, passing it on so that for eternity, the Teachings, Traditions, and Medicine will live.

The Legacy of Woman and the bonds of the Sisterhood will never be broken even though some human beings insist on standing outside of that circle of love and compassion. Those who stand outside are not to be hated or shunned. They are the Children of Sorrow who have never known their true Mother. They are the product of families torn apart, riddled with dysfunction, unable to break the chains that bind them to their pain. Their hearts, which seem hardened, have never known the safety of Tran formative tears or loving arms and gentle healing. These children of pain and sorrow come from such profound woundedness that the only life they know is one in which they must defend their viewpoints because they fear that they are unworthy of love.

The Earth Mother loves the wounded, even as they rape her body and claim material possessions in order to assert their right to be. She offers them love and rest. Then, she offers to heal their eyes that cannot see, their ears that cannot hear, and their hearts that cannot understand. The Earth Mother’s waters offer to wash away the memories of anguish and personal grief held in human hearts. We hear the voice of our Earth Mother through our female side. Women are being offered an opportunity to become living extensions of her love, by healing themselves. As healed humans, we may become pockets of safety where others, still wounded, can seek the tools to use in finding their own paths to healing themselves.

As women, we are continually writing the history of the Legacy of Woman. We cannot point a finger at men or each other without owning the pain of past generations who forgot how to give or teach human compassion. Our own family trees are filled with teaching situations and with tragic examples that may have blinded our own Ancestors to the value of truth as it is found in love. Now, the destiny of wholeness of the human race falls to the Sisterhood because all things are born of woman.

The Thirteen Original Clan Mothers are here to teach us how to become our visions and how to heal each other as well as our world. The women who have completed all the lessons of this Medicine Wheel of life have been called wisewomen, holy women, saints, or goddesses and have been given a thousand different names. These fully realized females have appeared in a million or more roles throughout time, and yet, every living woman is a potential role model for humanity. The women who have been recognized as role models were all born of the Earth Mother and learned the lessons of her thirteen aspects, the Thirteen Original Clan Mothers. They are all ancient Grandmothers who spun the webs of our present world to deliver their children from the dark night of the soul. They are eternal and they offer their strength to each of us, female and male, in the spirit of truth and in the name of love.

All of us, as Two-legged humans of Earth, are being asked to return to the Ancient Turtle Lodge that exists inside the shell of the Self in order to discover and rediscover the talents we hold. The fertility of our Earth Mother and All Our Relations depends upon how we heal ourselves. After we are healed, it is our task to create new maps of how to use the energy we used to waste on worry, hurry, pain, grief, and conflict in order to create a unified world of peace. We discover the essence of our true Mother’s desire for peace when the h is moved from the end of the word Earth to the front, spelling Heart.

******AT THIS POINT, I WILL ADD THE MONTH STORY THAT COINCIDES WITH EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR AND I WILL START WITH JANUARY *********** I think that you will really enjoy and learn some interesting things! Pleasant reading!!

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