Sacred Earth Prayer Circle Sunday Mar.25, 2012

Sacred Earth Prayer Circle Sunday 3-25-12 Facebook
Tonight as I light my candle and the scent of sandalwood fills the air, I am drawn deep into the flame. I can also smell the cedar and juniper trees that cover this land.

We walk from a dirt road down what once was a path, now over grown with brush. Was the path made by humans, cattle, elk and deer? It’s hard to tell, but it is a path so we follow it through the sometimes thick brush and other times scrub cedar and juniper bushes and then tall splendid pines. We can see the sun setting against a distant snowcapped mountain. The ground is soft in places from recently melted snow. The grasses are still brown from last years growth, with some new growth just beginning to grow. 

The path seems to be taking us back around in the direction we came, are we walking in a circle, or labyrinth? We continue on, gathering pieces of dead wood of fallen trees as we go for out fire. Be careful here, don’t slide, the mud is slippery past this rock. I hung onto the rock as I went around, and noticed on the far side was a petroglyph of a birdlike character, and point it out for all to see. We begin to go up a small hill and the grasses thin out, this hill is well worn, and not much grows here. Then we see them. Rocks, carefully stacked to make a circle, perhaps it once was a kiva, or room of some sort, the rocks have in places fallen down and others look as though they were moved aside and stacked in piles. Most of the circle was intact enough to see in once had been a taller wall. The center is deeper than the surrounding earth, and in the center there is a second circle, it has some old charred wood in it. Still we debate if we should use this for our circle tonight. It could have been a sacred place, we are not sure. But since there has been a fire in it fairly recently we decide it is the best place to place our small fire as we don’t want to start a fire in the forest. 

Once the small fire gets burning the sun has left only an orange and purple glow on the horizon. The stars and planets begin to make themselves visible, the darker it gets the brighter they become. A large bird swoops above and disappears into the trees, everyone guesses what it was because it moved so swiftly we did not see for sure. The sounds of night begin to sing, crickets and night birds; rustles in the grass, of unseen inhabitants. We each take a spot on a section of wall or on the ground within the circle, as it feels protective.
This area once was inhabited by ancient peoples, perhaps this was one of their buildings, or maybe just an old pen for sheep or cattle, it doesn’t matter. It feels as sacred space to us. Tonight I brought cornmeal to use to create our sacred space and I scatter it around but somehow it seems unnecessary. Sage grows everywhere surrounding our hilltop. I can’t see who it is through the fire, but someone begins to softly play their flute and another sing an old blessing song in a language most do not know, but somehow our voices follow along, it comes from deep within the ancient memory of place and time. 

When the song was finished I take from my pack a braid of sweetgrass, and as I set it to smoke next to the fire, I ask “May all the ancestors bless this circle and help us to know what it is we need to know”. I feel the chill of the night air and gather my blanket around me. “Creator, bless this circle and accept these gifts and prayers in the spirit in which they are given, from our hearts.”

I can hear the heartbeat of Mother Earth, I can feel it beneath my feet. There are other visitors of the fourlegged ones who are watching us but keeping their distance. An owl makes his voice known.

We are all connected. Science calls it string theory and it goes throughout our Universe and possibly beyond. May we cherish that interconnectivity/energy as it is our connection to Creation. Let us be grateful each day for what we have been given and protect the Creators creations, as we would our own, because we are connected to that Source Energy, always. 

I pass the talking stick to you, it is your turn. You May add your voice here, or on Facebook. Add a prayer, a gift (like an herb, flower, song, poem, or story). Each prayer/entry that is read and shared goes on to add voices to the Earth Energies, increasing the power of each prayer.