MEETING OUR EARTH

A Workshop given by Hyemeyohsts (Wolf) and Swan Storm at Gaunt's House, Dorset -

27 - 31 October 1995 Reviewed By Mike Parry

A group of a hundred people gathered for this workshop at Gaunt's House, Dorset in the late autumn sunshine. I was pleased to see a reasonable number of men attending. All too often the work of caring for the Earth seems to left to women.

The venue was welcoming and well organised to cope with such a large group and keep us well fed and supplied with plenty of teas and coffees. The weather was really good for the end of October - not quite good enough to tempt anyone into the outdoor swimming pool but great for walking in the countryside. The estate is still used as a farm and the sites, sounds and smells of cattle around the house it was good to see and hear and smell them.

The more formal teachings on the workshop were based on the science of medicine wheels as given in Hyemeyohsts' recent book Lightningbolt. As we worked our way through the twenty count, Swan would read often read sections from the book and then expand on the teaching.

Much of this was familiar to people who had previously worked with Native American concepts but I was interested to hear it from a different perspective. In particular the theme of equal balancing of male and female was emphasised. Something new to me was an explanation of the dual male and female aspects of the Sun and Earth. The inner core of the Sun where the nuclear fusion occurs is seen as womblike and female, only the outer, visible fires being male and the molten, inner core of the Earth is male with the outer layer of rock and soil that gives birth to all life on Earth being female.

An issue of particular interest to me is the relationship between each of us and the Earth and the beings that live on her. At one point we were asked to imagine the mountain of beings that have died so that we can live. Not only the animals we eat but the vegetables, the plants and minerals we use for our food, our clothes, our furniture and in building our homes. This brought home to me the extent to which every aspect of our lives depends on the give away of Grandmother / Grandfather Earth.

The group was divided into four clans, one for each of the cardinal directions. Although most participants were free to choose their clan, it was made clear that equal numbers were needed. The role of the clans was to pray for the healing of the parts of the Earth associated with their direction.

East - The wise use of energy and fires, including the nuclear fires.

West - Healing of the land itself - Mountains - Mining - The soil.

South - The waters - Cleaning of the oceans and the rivers - Plant life.

North - The air - Air pollution - The animals - respecting their gifts and their give aways.

We worked mainly by praying and dancing slowly in a circle while Wolf and Swan drummed and sang. A major participant in the work was one of the beautiful large trees on the lawn in front of the main house. The dancing was sometimes indoors in our clan circles and sometimes outdoors in one large circle, though still grouped by clan, around the tree. Everyone was encouraged to touch the tree and pray with him/her before and after each group session.

The culmination if the workshop was the building of a medicine wheel on the lawn. The stones had come from a beach in South West Anglesey. Each clan danced and prayed with its two stones before they were taken out to form the wheel. Considerable care was taken with the use of a tape measure to ensure that the wheel was as accurate as possible.

One the circle was in place, everyone had the chance to stand close to it and take away an image of it for future use. The stones were offered to those who knew of places on the Earth that needed healing.

Wolf told some of the stories of his childhood from Lightningbolt and also some new ones of his education at college. These were very entertaining and also revealed the depth of knowledge he has.

The first evening included a show of slides of art produced by the group known as the International School of Metis Art. This group exists because some people wanted to study with Wolf and needed to find a way to raise money to live while they studied. Their work now includes paintings such as the beautiful shields used in Lightningbolt and also sculpture and jewelery.

A highlight of the workshop was an evening spent round a magical fire of scores of candles while Wolf told the story of Sleeping Beauty in German with translation by Swan. Wolf explained the fairy tale in terms of the political changes that occured with the rise of the feudal system in Europe.

There were a number of opportunities to ask questions about the teachings. Although these always got an answer of some sort, they tended to result in Wolf embarking on a story that would circle the issue several times before sneaking up on it from an unexpected direction.

Wolf's linguistic and scientific knowledge often came to the fore with unexpected connections appearing and being explored. The breadth of his wisdom really impressed me.

Not as dramatic in terms of ceremony as working with some Medicine people but very safe and gentle. The teachings were not entirely new but the challenge lies in taking the teachings and living them on the Earth at the end of the twentieth century. The stories were beautiful and entertaining. All in all an enjoyable experience.