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snake tribe

After a wonderful chat with my beloved friend-sister-wife-Wind, I decided to have a ritual to help all of us process our emotions around the snake bite incident.  The boys and I each gathered a gift offering for the snake tribe and chose a special spot on the property for an alter.  We then made a circle of cornmeal and invited the spirit medicine of the snake to join us (making sure to clarify that only the spirit was welcome and all physical snakes MUST stay off the property and away from the family and community).  We lit a candle and Bodhi began.  He held a small delicate purple flower in his sweaty palms and a dirty quartz stone.  He crouched, quietly voicing his fears, feelings and emotions to the spirit of the snakes.  When he was finished, he carefully placed his offering, we smudged him with sage and he held the bundle for the rest of our time in the circle.
Bodhi was very thoughtful as we each took turns talking about our feelings, voicing how frightening it was for each of us when he was bitten by the snake and the days that followed as his body recovered.
 When each of us had laid down our offerings and Bodhi had smudged us, we thanked the snake spirits for their strong medicine and made it perfectly clear that we DID NOT WANT IT TO SHOW UP IN OUR LIVES IN THAT WAY EVER AGAIN.  We defined our property and said that like any relationship, we needed them to respect our boundaries as we will respect theirs.  When all was said and done, Bodhi sat a little distance off for sometime with Maya, in quiet contemplation before bounding up eager to play.   We will keep the alter and add to it if we need to, or just come outside and voice our fears or listen to the song of the wind reminding us that we are all related.

Comments

wind said…
What a gift you have been to me, a rattlesnake appeared right next to my foot as I brought the wheelbarrow out of our barn. After a few minutes of initial excitement, I came back to the truth you helped bring into my life. I felt so much love and clarity about how I wanted to receive the teachings of this fellow brotherspirit. After a few minutes it disappeared. I felt so blessed to behold the truth of all of us being woven from the same fabric. Thank you for your love of the lover that is life.
May 13, 2012 at 11:36 PM
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