Gold Lion

I just got back from THE GATHERING last night. Every year, when I'm around, my family and I head over to Maniwaki for Grandfather William Commanda's 'Circle of all Nation' Gathering. Because my Dad works with Grandfather and we know his daugther Evelyn, we always get to camp between their houses - a special spot. It is on a lake that is sacred to the Algonquins. There are Spiritual Elders, Medicine men and women, and just general hippies and searchers and bikers and truckers and kids and parents from all over the place, all over the world really. As my Dad would say - "The regular crowd shuffles in". We started going in '96. I went in '97 for the first time. It has changed tremedously since - not as many Elders, not as many earth moving circles and epiphanies - but still enough to draw me back and give me that much needed weekend of prayer, healing and contemplation. Where we usually camp - myself and the other kids that join - there are usually about 6 tents.

This year - there was only 1.
I notice the change and yet still take advantage of the weekend to do what I need to do. This year I shared a tent with my new friend Jeska, who shares the same September 13th birthday as me.
We had our sage, tobacco, eagle and hawk feathers hanging from the roof of the tent. At night we would light candles in the tent which warmed it up made it smell like vanilla and we would read, with our bodies against the earth mother. I did a womens sweat. In the lodge, led by a woman who was trained by her Grandmothers, we are told to pray in our own way when the songs are being sung - we can cry out, chant, whisper, laugh - whatever we need to do to pray or heal. The flap was opened to put the 'grandfathers' (hot rocks, that have been heated for an hour in a burning fire) into the center of the lodge, 7 in total, and then the flap was closed and Louise, the sweat keeper splashed water with a Eucalyptus plant onto the fire. She spoke of the importance of sticking together as women, as sisters, as mothers, as daughters. I wailed like a new born baby for Sandra, Katie and Susan. I cried like I would not have been able to cry anywhere else in the world unless I was a baby in my mothers arms. Then I had a vision and a feeling of the Lion. I remembered at a Gathering years previous when a clairvoyant man told me of a Lion that walked with me. I felt the Lion beside me, around me, within me - giving me strength. I flashed on the rafting experience and prayed for the insight to know when to "easy forward", "hard forward", "Get down" or "rest" in life. I started to count all of the things I was thankful for, and I envisioned myself and the women in my family as together, whole and complete. I had a few awesome one on ones with people. I was welcomed so warmly by the Grandmothers that it made me cry. We did a circle with some of the Grandmothers and they spoke of the terror of residential school and the healing brought about by their guides and helpers in the spirit world. One woman thanked my father in the circle for sending to her Buffalo that surrounded her with the support she needed to heal and move forward. I cried. I would need to start an entire blog dedicated to THE GATHERING (hmm...) if I were to go over all of the epiphanies, teachings, healings and revelations here and now. Each year brings something new. I can't stop before I tell you of the Haitian/Jamaicam family we camped across from last year. This year, I held Melissa and Shadrock's new baby Messiah just before he was babtised by Grandmothers, Water and Eagle feathers. Anaiis, his cousin of 5 years, walked around telling people "She (me) speaks French, English, Spanish and she's learning Patois" I have to learn Patois now! How cute is that?