A. THE SHAMANIC JOURNEY

B. RITUAL AND CEREMONY

C. THE TAROT

D. SACRED ART AND OBJECTS

OVERVIEW

The Urban Shaman returns to her indigenous roots while also connecting to community in her immediate environment. She decides upon a path which is often a blending of the traditional with the contemporary.

Years ago, I began my spiritual quest into Native American spirituality with my teacher/therapist Maria, from the Plains Indian tradition. Eventually, I was led back to my own European indigenous roots which culminated in veneration of a feminine image of the divine: the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, Poland.

In 2012, I visited Her shrine in Poland during a self-guided tour of the Black Madonnas of Poland and Ireland. Previously, in 2008, I had completed a similar journey in France, Spain, and Italy. Ultimately, I discovered that the Christian mystics, like Hildegarde of Bingen and St. John of the Cross, represented a rich tradition of little known western mysticism that evolved from old European traditions like the Siberian, Celtic, Slavic, and the original teachings of Jesus Christ.

Tarot decks such as the Motherpeace deck facilitated my exploration and appreciation of shamanic traditions worldwide.

Through sacred art and surrounding our living spaces with sacred objects, we can feel the presence of shamanic mysticism on a daily basis. In this manner, we are empowered to join or form a spiritual community and serve in it.

A. THE SHAMANIC JOURNEY

The Shamanic call can be experienced in a variety of ways such as through a traumatic, life changing experience such as a life-threatening illness or death of a loved one. The initiate is thrown into separation from her current existence as she re-evaluates and relearns all that she had previously thought to be true and meaningful.

Shamanic journeying is an ongoing experience that involves entering into realms of reality beyond our senses: the lower, middle, and upper world. A power animal accompanies the initiate for protection. It is a sacred journey and not to be misused to gain ego power or prestige. The initiate enters into a meditative state to the beat of a drum or rattle and visualizes an opening into the earth. As one descends into the unknown, the power animal is there as a guide.

My power animal is the owl and my teacher, Maria, helped me to construct a Native American power shield with the feathers of an owl. The owl had flown into my car one evening before I experienced a medical crisis that changed my life.

B. RITUAL AND CEREMONY

For centuries, Native Americans have engaged in ceremonies like the Sun Dance in what is now Grand Teton National Park and Medicine Wheels for healing and celebration purposes. I have never participated in a ceremonial dance, but I have participated in several Medicine Wheels.

As a Medicine Woman in the Chicano and Plains Indian tradition, Maria led medicine wheels with a group of women who followed this path. One memorable wheel took place in Maria’s home overlooking a view of Los Angeles during the burning of the city following the Rodney King beatings. I remember looking out the window and seeing the flames in the distance as we drummed and rattled for peace. Similarly, I visited the Big Horn Medicine Wheel in South Dakota in a culminating experience last summer. I left offerings for a peaceful resolution to the political polarization of our country and pondered that we seem to have plummeted into more chaos, this time on a national level.

On a more positive note, one enjoyable Medicine Wheel with Maria, involved each woman making a mold of our faces to create a ceremonial mask.

My creation was a depiction of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa. I painted a slash on the cheek to depict the marring from a Cossack sword that savaged the original portriat in an invasion from Russian Cossacks in medieval Poland. I’m no artist, but it felt powerful to wear my mask and drum and rattle with the Medicine Wheel. We placed our sacred objects in the four directions and center of the wheel. We journeyed, danced, honored the four directions, and ended with an exchange of simple gifts of sacred significance and pot luck feast. Medicine Wheels continue to be a major element of mysticsm and healing in my life, whether constructed communally or as a sole practitioner.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of ritual and ceremony in our present urban communities. I still attend Mass at a local Catholic Church because the ritual of Communion empowers me. I am comforted by the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes at the rear of the church, symbolizing the healing waters of our Lady’s apparition in Lourdes, France. In 2008, I visited Lourdes with my daughter. I still have containers of sacred water from the spring that I treasure and use sparingly. It is the element of water and a tool for healing rituals.

C. TAROT AND THE GODDESS

A major tool that I use in sacred ritual is the Tarot. I am particularly drawn to decks that depict international goddess symbols.

I began my study of the Tarot with the Ryder-Waite deck. In 1981, I purchased this deck before moving from Pittsburgh to Arizona after graduation from graduate school. I remember drawing the Fool card before that journey and I was indeed stepping off into an unknown precipice. Years later, after my power animal flew into my car, I drew the Priestess of Swords from the Motherpeace deck. It is an image of a priestess with a snowy white owl.

The 22 Major Arcana, along with the People Cards and Minor Arcana are mirrored by the 52 playing card deck that evolved in Europe prior to the Renaissance. It is thought that mystical knowledge that predated Christianity was symbolized in the Tarot that the Church discouraged and subsequently banned. While I don’t subscribe to the actions of the Church hierarchy, I caution against “throwing the baby out with the bath water” as the mysticism of the Tarot is consistent with the Christian Mystics and the teachings of Jesus. While popularly used to predict the future, tarot cards are meant to be used to honor sacred trends and direct us away from ego fixation.

D. SACRED ART AND OBJECTS

I can think of no better depiction of sacred art than an exhibit that I visited this spring when I visited the Japanese Gardens in San Diego. The following works of art are from an exhibit of Covid-19 creations and spiritual contributions by “urban shamans”. Whatever your path, may we all accept our flaws and walk in the Beauty Way. HO!