The very first Earth Lodge was amazing!

The shedding of self.

A threshold was crossed, a moment in time was finally experienced and I had been waiting for this to happen for such a long time, but you can’t rush a shedding.  That is what I know, so far, of what the lodge is for. My sneaking suspicion is that there is indeed so much that is possible in an Earth Lodge.

This Earth Lodge had myself and a student of mine in attendance. We did what we could with what we had to create the pitch black darkness that is a Grandmother Lodge. We mostly nailed it. We prepared a fire, readied the copper for the earth. My student had dug part of the hole out herself, which I feel is an important part of the process, to make room for yourself. Each person to enter the lodge will need to dig a bit of that earth as a way of introduction.

The next morning, with just a little water in the system we began a gentle descent and just kept going. So many singular moments of gentle holding and being held. Opening and dissolving. Descending. Allowing ourselves to feel that which is our containment, our bonds, and let them go. There was an exquisite moment of understanding of being a water bearer, by virtue of my blood medicine and that the water is an intrinsic part of earth. To build that soft place of bringing the sacredness to water, to the drinking of water, to the being of water, these too are part of the Earth Lodge.

As this was the very first, we had no idea how long we would be there, what would be happening, we just gently stepped off the edge of our conscious minds and allowed ourselves to be still. To be held by the warm earth.

We learned so much that day. Earth in an old copper heats quickly! and Earth can be VERY hot. We would probably need some more old coppers as we grow in number. The Shedding takes as long as it takes, and then it is DONE. We both popped out of it at about the same time, feeling really done.

After lodge that day we moved straight into creative expression, writing for me, and clay for my student. It was perfect to give the self that kind of pathway, of going there, deep within and then returning unto the expression tools we have for sharing where we have experienced.

I have met a part of my path that is intrinsic in creating the community that will create the Womb Temple. This ritual, this ceremony will be cornerstone to building of so much in our world here. Softly, gently, with Her.

Let me know when you are ready to enter the lodge.

When it is time…

My scratching of a lodge structure, the one we made with Kerryanne Ansuri.

I have been waiting for a long time for this… to wake and know today is the day. Our dark moon circle women and our children it seems too, are gathering today to build the earth lodge.  Tis an earth lodge, not a sweat lodge in that we will be enclosing it in earth over time. Wattle and daub the walls once we are truly happy with the placing, the movement of the rite. My feeling is that we are only ready now, after all these eclipses and movement in our heavens. As we ready ourselves to build such a vessel, the contents arrive. I have been holding open the space, the idea of the ritual, the notion of a Black Earth Lodge, in that I understand what its purpose is, where it would take me and any one else that would journey with me into these the dark inner sanctum of the earth. For as I was recognizing we had the means to move forward, the very first draft of a ritual that is sitting in such a lodge arrived too.

Holding open the space, to trust that there is something here, like the fable of the south american shamans sitting on the waters edge, with no idea what is making that shape in the water, for there was no reality that was a tall ship in their world, but staying with what is, even if we don’t know what it is, to be with what is in front of us… trusting that if we don’t have the language, we will will make it up… like these new deformities in Iraq that children are being born with, we will find the names to call these new and real places. My intent is to stay with what is, in earth, in the decay and death and fecundity that is black earth. To be with so deeply, so gently, so honestly so as to hear Her.

The first draft of the process looks like this: Unlike the Sweat Lodge, there is only one long deep round. We are ready, comfortable, with our feet in the center hole flat as we are able, spine straight… bum on something that is soft? maybe… I would like us to be able to descend profoundly, so we do need to be comfortable, at ease.  Once we are ready the fire keeper will bring in the warm earth and fill the hole that our feet are in. Then we close the door to the light outside and let go.

This is the beginning, we surrender ourselves. Firstly the self, the noise that is in the head, the words that are keeping us out here an not in… maybe rather than give any of it our full attention we can all just keep making the noise, what ever noise is there, in the head, in the body, keep expelling it till it’s all gone. A silence will instill itself. We will be able to reach beyond our self to the collective…

From the collective and the voice we give that, we can descend even deeper to the animal, the part of us that is a part of the earth fully, instinctively, aware of its death. All life knows it will die, thus the strong and powerful quest for life. The sapling that breaks through the concrete shows us just how determined life is to live. BUT we have been moved away from this power-filled state of truly choosing to live our lives, with that fierce determination, and I consider the fear of death to be at the core of it. (Terror Management Theory perhaps the writing on the wall of the core..)  Here in the Earth Lodge, deep within the belly of earth, I trust that there is a place to be found that will help us shed the fear of death… therein find the power to truly live, as ecstatically as we can!

The beauty of this process is the trust… that to hold open the space… we will find true purpose to live in balance with Her. If ever there was a time to find the balance to live with, tis now beloveds. Are you holding open the space? Can you hear the call to Earth? Please… Share…