Tonight I need no candle; just staring up at the moon gives me my light to gaze into. Soft grey, pink and lavender wisps of clouds are moving slowly across the full moon. The sky seems as if it has a back light and the entire sky glows. Now and then a stars light shines through. The desert sand reflects the light from the moon and clouds to allow us to see where to walk. The air is cooling off quickly since the sun fell below the horizon. The path we walk is a dry wash where during a rain, it fills with water and becomes a fast flowing river. But there is no rain tonight, not even in the distant mountains, allowing us an easy, safe path between the mesquite bushes and palo verde trees that line the wash. Both are in blossom and the moonlight is so bright you can see the yellow flowers. The occasional smoke bush looks like a cloud of dust, the leaves are so light and feathery. On one side of our path is a large hill, some might call it a small mountain, covered with the black lava rocks left here thousands of years ago never moved by man or weather. There are a few cacti, grasses and shrubbery that have taken hold among the black rocks. Up near the top are a few saguaro tall cacti that look like men with raised arms reaching to the sky, some appear to have little hats as they are beginning to blossom. On the other side of the wash is a rolling hill area that seems to build rapidly toward the wall of the granite topped mountain whose top glows in the moon light. In the hills are octillion cacti with its fire orange flower stalks gracefully reaching upwards to emphasize how tall the mountain actually is. All along the wash are shadows that seem to move as we do from the bright moonlight. We rub against some of these and they break off easily as they are so dry from lack of rain. Tumble weeds are blown into the scrubs along the washes edge. The rabbits are scattering as we walk along, so we watch carefully look to see if there might be a predator who might be hunting for food here. Washes make good travel paths for all of the animal world as well as humans. We could run into many kinds of creatures along this moonlit path of soft sand with its scattered, well worn, boulders. We walk along quietly, trying to make very little noise. This is the dry season, so to build a fire we must be very careful. There is no wind tonight down in this valley, but ahead we know there is a small reservoir of left over rainwater from the winter rain, so we walk up as close to it as we can get. We gather some of the boulders, careful not to disturb any plants or sleeping lizards or snakes which may have yet to get out of the colder night air, and make a circle large enough for all to gather in. In the center we make a smaller circle just large enough to make a small campfire from materials we brought with us.
As everyone takes there place within the circle, and gather their gifts to send up to the Creator and ancestors, the circle and each participant are smudged with sage smoke. A bundle of sage is lit, then once burning the fire is blown out to only leave just the embers to create smoke. The smoke is fanned with a feather to cleanse the area and negative energies from each of us. As this is done, the sage is then set next to the fire to continue its work. I light a braid of sweetgrass asking the ancestors to gather with us and help guide our paths and prayers. This night, I wish to remind all to be grateful for the things we have, not whine about things we do not have. Focus on what we want not just for ourselves but what we want for others, our communities, our continents, our waters, air and our planet. What is good not just for us today but for the next seven generations that follow us. There is no place for greed or ego within the circle. But there is lots of love and joy. Appropriate jokes and oral histories can be told, poems and songs help us to remember them to teach others. Some may make offerings of things they have made, of herbs and flowers, healing plants and gifts for the others as well as offerings to those who have come before and prayers for others. As I pass the talking stick, I am grateful for the many things I have been given, including all my friends who have gathered here. May each find peace, joy, honor, and love within this circle of friends. The circle has no beginning, it has no end, no person is more important than another.
May all who enter our circle feel the love, the connections between us all and may your spirit travel with us as we become ONE in thought. Each prayer read is said anew each time. Another voice is added to its power. All energies we place here will grow. Balance and grounding is needed by us all as well as reconnecting with the natural world. The entire planet has Mother Earth and Grandmother Moon in common, just as we all see the sun and the other stars. We have no color, religion, or labels man imposed as far as the Earth, Moon and Sun are concerned. May we all find our interconnectedness.
When you are ready to speak take the talking stick and say what you wish to say, then listen to all the others who wish to speak and share their gifts. May all find healing of some sort within the circle. Please feel free to share your visions while in the circle.
