native american

The Rainbow Warriors

click to view on Etsy

My newest painting in honor of The Rainbow Warriors 

Painted on 3 – 16 x 20 canvas panels – acrylic painting on gallery wrapped stretched canvases

What is a Rainbow Warrior?

When the earth is ravaged and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come unto the earth from many colors, classes, creeds, and who by their actions and deeds shall make the earth green again. They will be known as the Warriors of the Rainbow — Old Native American Prophecy

Raven activates the energy of magic and links it to our will and intention. With this totem, we can make great changes in our life; the ability to take the unformed thought and make it reality.

The raven shows us how to go into the dark of our inner self and bring out the light of our true self; resolving inner conflicts which have long been buried. This is the deepest power of healing we can possess.

Click on the painting above to view it in my Etsy shop.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Powwow Photos

Today was The Native American Festival and Powwow in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee and so of course I was there taking photos, enjoying the drumming, the dancing and just taking in all the sights and sounds a powwow has to offer.

Have a look at some of the photos I was able to capture.

Click the link below to view the photobucket slideshow
http://s1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj536/hollylstokes/Mt%20Juliet%20Powwow%202012/?albumview=slideshow

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

Alignment Ceremony

Funny how just a comment can set a whole series of events in motion. I must tell the whole story because … well I am RavenTALKER of course and so staying true to my name I’m going to tell it all! hahahahahahaha

It all started when I saw a friend post the statement “Negativity Be Gone!” .. I responded that she needed to smudge. She then replied back wanting to know what smudge was and how to use it. I private messaged her all the details and since the conversation came up .. I grabbed a bit of smudge from my desk and smudged myself … a little smudging never hurt anyone  .

I went on about my evening chores and as it was nearly time for bed, I went downstairs to take my night time shower… Instead of the regular shower I took a more ceremonial shower that I call a “cleansing bath”. I’ll explain these things at the end of my post.

Out of the shower I was all ready for bed… I was urged to drink a considerable amount of water by Spirit and so I grabbed a 16 oz bottle of water and chugged nearly the whole thing down and got into bed. Spirit still had more for me to do… so I got up once again and picked up a small bottle of lavender essential oil that sits on my bedside table…  I dabbed a bit of the oil on my forehead, on the top of my head and then on each wrist, the arch of each foot and then in the palm of each hand. Why did I do all of this? I have no idea other than I was guided to do so.

Ok so am I ready for bed now? NOPE! I have on my bedside table several crystals. I first picked up 2 crystal necklaces I have laying there, one amethyst and one rose quartz… I wrapped them around my wrists like bracelets but thought.. that will drive me nuts… so I took them off and slid them inside my pillow. I then arranged some of the crystals on my table in a way that I was guided to arrange them. I have no real idea why the position of each just kept moving them around until I felt satisfied that they were where they needed to be.

OKAY… now am I ready for bed??? YES! Whew..

Right away as I lay my head onto the pillow, visions began rolling in.

I am in a ceremony of some sort and I will now describe to you what happened:

There is a large circle with many people sitting around it’s edge. Inside the circle is a fire and a man dancing in a very spastic like inside. There are 2 guys with long poles also inside the circle with the dancing medicine man. Each man stands at the center point of the fire on each side as the medicine man dances between them. He seems to be in a rhythmic trance as we dances very wildly between the two guys with the long poles…. Now as he dances near one guy .. the man will slam the pole to the ground making a very loud thunderous noise and the medicine man will dance to the other and the same thing happens as the medicine man nears the guy with the pole.. he slams it down creating a loud thunderous noise. It is as if the pole symbolize lightning and as the medicine man draws near each guy they slam the pole to the ground to symbolize the lightning strike…. this goes on for quite some time until finally the medicine mans rhythms seem to be less wild and more balanced in the center of the two holding the poles… which make him centered in front of me. I am sitting at the 11 o’clock position of the north point of the circle. I am dressed in a natural linen fabric and have white dots painted down the center of my body from my head .. past my belly button.  The medicine man now starts dancing toward me and back toward the fire.. back and fourth.. back and fourth … again for some time. The medicine man now turns to face the fire and swished his arms from behind him up and toward the fire and into the air. He does this for a while and at the end of the dance he walks over to me and places his hand on the top of my head… the odd thing was that his hand seemed to glow as if he carried fire in his hand… but there was no physical fire there. The ceremony was now complete but everyone continued sitting in the circle in meditation for sometime through the night.

I was told that this was an alignment ceremony getting me ready for the next phase of alignment.

I love how spirit works and how you just never know when wonderful gifts like this will come along.

Many think I am weird and even more so because I speak freely about the visions that I see. I am not worried about what others think of me and my experiences. I feel these experiences.. these visions are a gift and gifts are for sharing. I may be a bit odd and weird but I enjoy every minute of it!

Many Blessings,
ravensig

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*Smudging: smudging is a way of cleansing yourself, your space or area and your possessions or tools with herbal smoke. Most commonly used is sage but you can add to the mix many herbs depending on what you are cleansing.. the reason for cleansing or just preferences. Sweetgrass, lavender, tobacco are also common additions used in making smudge.

*Ceremonial/Ritual  Bath:  Depending on reason/purpose for the bath, herbal water may be used and meditation also takes place .. this is another way of cleansing before ritual or ceremony.

Journey to the Summit

A vision I had one afternoon on my way home from work …  

Today the Grandmothers came for a visit …

Straight away one of them came over and grabbed me by the ear and said “come on, we must go”.

“Go where?”, I asked … “nevermind that, just come on”.

They said we had to get to the top of that mountain … as one of the grandmothers  pointed to this remote, very steep mountain top that looked to be somewhere in Asia.

IMG_8184The mountain was a very tall, thin, pointy looking mountain.  I thought to myself … OH DEAR! How on earth am I getting up there?

I started grabbing a few things as they pulled me to the base of the mountain. Things I thought I might need to help me along the way.

Off we went up the mountain. The sun beating down on my back felt like a brick house pushing me down. The grandmothers seem to have no trouble at all climbing this mountain. How could I be out-done by a couple of old ladies?!

I kept climbing …

As I climbed I began letting loose of some of those things I thought I needed. I had to shed some weight to make it to the top of this darned mountain. I had to lighten the load!

I’m not sure how long it took. It seemed like a long time … but it was still daylight when we reached the top.

I reached the top and there was a bench just overlooking the edge. I made my way over to the bench and sat down.

Exhausted, I sat there for a while trying to catch my breath and gather my senses.

The grandmothers behind me say, “What do you see? What do you feel? what do you hear? and what do you know?”

“I know I’m beat!”, I thought to myself… 

I sat there for a few moments looking out over the amazing view … wondering to myself… “ok what is it they WANT me to see, hear, feel, and know?” hmmmmmmmmmm

“Forget about us for a moment and just speak your mind”, they said.

I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. I could smell the flowers. Each scent individual and then a lingering of how they mingled together. I felt the cool breeze as it washed over my face and brushed through my hair. I felt the once hot sun, now warming me as it dried my dripping wet clothes and it felt like a golden hug from heaven. I could hear the wind as it blew through each blade of grass and how it seemed to whisp around the whole mountain, encircling us all. I opened my eyes and I could see clear across the valley below without my glasses on. The colors on the leaves as the sun played among the branches of every tree were so vivid. 

“Now, what do you know?” they asked.

I know that somehow I feel lighter … even though I am in body the same as when I started up the mountain …. and beside the fact of my material load being gone, I feel lighter inside myself.  I don’t quite understand how, but I feel so light that it is as if I could glide down this mountain like a leaf in the wind.

I feel weightless… inside and out.

“Think about this for a while”, they said … “stay here and allow your mind to become crystal clear”.

Suddenly I replayed the memory of myself climbing this mountain and I watched as I started to lighten my load. Each time I let go of something it became something else… like thoughts or behaviors. My concentration was solely on getting up this mountain and all those things I thought I needed weren’t helping at all. Without thinking about it I began to let these things go as I made my way upward.  Then suddenly there I was… at the top.

I smirked .. smart old women ….

We need nothing but what is inside us to make it to where we want to go.. with a strong will and a bit of direction, we will get there as long as we don’t give up and keep our eyes forward.

Thank you Grandmothers for this journey …  there are always lessons to be learned.

Many Blessings,
ravensig

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Dream Catcher How-To

Dream Catchers are traditionally hung over or near the bed … good dreams filter through the web and trickle down over the sleeper and the bad dreams are caught in the web and burned away as the sun comes up in the morning.

Dream Catchers are said to not only capture the bad dreams but also the bad thoughts and ideas.

There are many stories told as to where the origin of the dream Catcher came from but all end up with the same use and meaning.

Here is a how-to I created to teach you how to weave a dream catcher.

I use a metal hoop in the video but many materials can be used.. traditionally willow was used.

Below the video are a  few examples of dream catchers I’ve created.

Many Blessings,
ravensig

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Stripping it all away

This is a vision I had a couple of years ago and thought now to be a good time to re-share with you my experience…

The Milk Ceremony ~ 

I was laid out in circle completely naked as the clan mothers cleansed me with milk. They carefully poured milk all over my body taking care not to miss any part of me. Once this was done pieces of leather were laid over my more private areas and a medicine man then came into the circle. He carried with him a large shell of smoke to once again cleanse and bless me and the area before he began his medicine.

What happened next was something I would have never imagined.  It was as if I had many layers of myself on me…. Like layers of clothing it was as if I had layers of flesh that had built up over the years. The medicine man stood at my feet and with gestures he pulled off each layer one by one. With each layer he pulled off and threw behind him, I became brighter and more clean looking.  It was just like when one lightens their teeth and with each application they become a tad bit whiter. Behind him as he threw off each layer, there were helpers that would quickly pour special water mixed with milk and herbs onto the ground where his gestures seemed to have thrown the layers. Also there was a bundle of herbs smoking just on the far side of the area that yet another helper would continuously fan so that the smoke filled the entire area behind the medicine man.

These layers of me were… well….. they were ideas, behaviors, thoughts, actions and habits that I had formed over years of living. Things that had attached to me through all my days in this life. I was being stripped away of everything. Stripped down to the bone but the medicine man went far beyond flesh and bone …  he went all the way down to the core of me.

feather It took quite a long while to strip away all my layers .. seems as though I must have collected quite a lot in this  life thus far.  When he was finally done stripping away my layers, I saw something amazing and unexpected. I was made up entirely of light. Laying there still, glowing oh so brightly.. and to my amazement I could see certain parts of me a bit brighter than the rest. We read about and are taught that our bodies have these Chakra points… the points in your body that hold the most energy…. Seeing myself in this way….. confirmed that to be true.

It was as if I had the whole of the universe inside me… made up of every constellation imaginable. Some say were are born of the stars .. after seeing this I would certainly believe that to be a truth. Once I was stripped down to this level the medicine man and his helpers along with the clan mothers, sat down and formed a circle around me…. They sat there for a very long time chanting in a meditative prayer. They did this until the sun came back up.

I was then shaded by some structure that they built and left there in a meditative state until the sun had gone back down. As I began to grow back a new layer of flesh and bone… I was given a token or gift from each person in the circle… they placed these gifts inside me. It will be up to me to find these gifts and use them when the time is right. The medicine man’s gift was a large crystal.. it was square in shape .. not pointed and not entirely clear.. it was a milky color and a bit off white.

This ceremony leaves me in quite a state of reflection. I can certainly see the point of it and feel quite blessed to have been part of such a sacred and healing act. In fact beyond the words describing the ceremony I feel quite speechless.. not knowing exactly what to say… yeah I bet you never imagined that either!! hahahaha.

On that note I will leave you with this one last thought… maybe we should all take a bit of time to look at ourselves and the many layers we have collected over our lifetimes… and do ourselves  the favor of shedding those layers that bring us negativity, pain or those thoughts and behaviors that simply hold us back in life.

Many Blessings,
Waya

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Message from Spirit

ok take two… lol…

Spirit gently whispers in my ear … PURPOSE

Let go of the idea that you have to find your purpose as if you are not already living it.

We each have our own purpose and you may be surprised to find out that the purpose of life is the same for all of us.

It’s in living … living life well and becoming and being the best that we can.

We were born with love and in becoming who we are we struggle and sometimes think we have lost that love … we haven’t … it’s there… it’s waking up to realize that it never left us.. not for one second .. it was just waiting for us to notice.

It’s often hardest to see what’s right there in front of our faces.

just sayin….

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

The February Full Moon

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The February full moon … also known as the Storm Moon, the Death or Quickening Moon

This is a time to release all things that you have been holding on to from the past …

Release that baggage .. don’t hold on to it .. Spring is just around the corner and you’ll need to be traveling light … don’t carry that old baggage with you into the time of awakening.

We tend to hold things in while going through a time of hardship or turmoil.. to keep us from falling apart in the middle of it all… now is a good time to release it.

Step out in the moonlight tonight and just let it go…. cry, scream, laugh, sing if you need to … whatever it is you need to do to let it go… go for it .. let it go!

Burn a bit of smudge and breathe in the goodness.. releasing all that is holding you down or holding you back.

Spirit whispers in my ear … there are great things coming to you this Spring .. there will be much to do .. so let go of whatever burdens you now … the time will come when you will need to be able to move quickly … and think fast … holding o to past baggage and burdens will hold you back from moving forward… it’s ok to let it go… you can do this…. the world won’t fall apart … just release it and watch as miracles happen right before you.

Many Blessings,
Raventalker

What its Like to Soar

IMG_3733What its Like to Soar

I was given a precious gift by way of dream/vision one night not long ago …. settle into your seat and I’ll tell you about my journey into the night.

As I lay down my head for the night I was instantly transported into a dream/vision state of mind.

I saw myself painted white from head to toe with dark markings below my eyes and upon my lips … to me this was right away a sign that this was to be about new visions, a way of seeing things in a new perspective and with the markings on my lips .. this was to signify that I should speak about what it was I am seeing. So here I go…

I lay there upon a table painted and marked and from my body another image is being born… I see that I am giving birth to myself once again .. ever growing.. ever changing and transforming … I emerge from the shell that was me as the raven and then straight away I transform into the eagle.

This said to me that yes I am the raven .. but inside me I also carry the strength of the eagle… the experience that came after was nothing less than amazing…

As I transformed from one bird to another I felt the strength of the eagle.. the power was overwhelming and amazing … straight up I flew .. quickly into the sky above ….

Soaring higher than ever before… from this height I was able to look down and see the world … my world and the world around me from a new perspective. The shear power behind each flap of my wings was unimaginable.. I felt strength throughout my entire being like never before.. I felt so very strong and it was with great force that I flew. I drifted on the winds above and the view was amazing!

Normally in my life I feel very weak and vulnerable.. most often in a fragile state, easily hurt (emotionally), rarely noticed and very small in the world, insignificant in the world as a whole. In this vision I was given a whole other feeling… opposite of what I experience in my day to day living.

What I was able to take from this gift of vision:

Even tho I may feel small and fragile, I have inside me the strength to soar to higher ground.

I shall not forget the strength I felt as the eagle and how it was to soar so far above what I had ever imagined possible.. I shall keep with me the knowledge that I do have what it takes to make it there .. it just takes a bit of faith and flying full force into the direction of our dreams. A knowing that within me lies all the tools I need to be me at my greatest.

My message to everyone else….

We all hold the tools needed … we just have to know that they are there and then use them to get us where we are meant to be.

It doesn’t matter what or how we think others see us .. it is all about how we see ourselves that matters.

 

Many Blessings,
Waya

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Finding your animal totems
click to enlarge

click to enlarge

Ok in the past few days I have had several conversations about how do you find your totem animal or animals .. and how do you know which animal is yours…. soooooooooooooo I thought I might speak a few words about this.

The first thing that I want to say is … the below are my own thoughts and ways … I’m not saying this is the one and only way and I’m not saying I’m right and everyone else is wrong… all I can do is give you my perspective and speak from my own experiences… so please don’t take it personally if my view differs from yours or from what you may have been told by someone else..

ok whew .. now that the disclaimer is said and done.. we can get down to business.

Note #1 – First of all there were comments by one of my friends that she is connected to one particular animal more than any other and then she said that someone told her that her totem was something else .. her next statement was that she has never connected with that animal.

Well, I’m not saying that whoever told her what her totem was – was wrong. That totem may be around her but not yet showing itself to her – but also I want to say that … YOU are the one connecting with YOUR totem .. YOU are the one effected … YOU are the one being guided – Don’t worry so much about what others tell you – instead … if you feel strongly linked to one particular animal or 2 or 3 or whatever – then that/those are YOUR totems.

Note #2 – You may have many totems throughout your lifetime.. some stay with you for long periods of time and sometimes forever and some come and go as they are needed. Sooooooo … you meet someone and they tell you ___________ is your totem … or at least that’s what THEY see as YOUR totem … that may be true for that moment in time… but as your life progresses and you change .. your situation changes and all things around you change .. your totem may or may not also change. So don’t get yourself stuck on … “so and so said this is my totem, so that’s it .. forever”.

Note #3 – You will find your totem when you stop trying so hard to find it ..

It is not something to be forced or made to be.. when you relax and let things just be .. you will see.

You must allow your totem to come to you .. welcome it into your life and soon you will discover it has been there all along… you will see the signs and have that DUH! Moment.

When you push and push and try to force things to be … the vision becomes blurred and unclear. We all have our totems so don’t worry you are not without one just because you are unsure of what it is. You just have to relax and allow it to show itself to you.

Note #4 – Stan Hughes has a wonderful book called Medicine Seeker.. in the back of his book he has a 100+ question survey to help you find out what totems you may have. It’s a very in depth survey that may bring light to what you already know but may be suppressing.

Here’s a link to Stan’s book on Amazon
Medicine Seeker

Anyway .. I hope this has helped .. good luck

Many Blessings,
ravensig

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