As a part of my apprenticeship in the Medicine Ways of the Annishinabe, I received an O’Pwagan, a sacred pipe. In order to bond with it and to establish a relationship with it, I was instructed to smoke it every night. This is I did (and still do) faithfully for many years. At the time I smoked my ‘Pwagan in a prayer lodge that I had built in the woods behind the house that I was living in at the time. The construction of this hut was similar to a sweat lodge, but much smaller and it had no pit.
Every evening I went to this hut regardless of the season or the weather. In the heat of the summer, the blizzards of winter tunneling through four feet of drifting snow, rain, and clear starry nights, I made my way into my hut so that I could learn and understand.
As I listened and struggled, a form gradually developed. I could not play at performing this ceremony and I could not lean on others’ experience. My Elder encouraged and supported me, but I was completely on my own in understanding all how’s and why’s of what I was doing, particularly the question of why I was making this enormous investment of my time to do this each night, night after night.
The form, or ceremony, that took shape was more akin to a conversation rather than a set of ritualized actions whose content would be only what I imagined was the right thing to do.
This conversation first consisted of acknowledging that I was not the only life-bearing entity present.
Initially, these acknowledgements were limited to just what I could see in the hut, the saplings that formed the skeleton of my hut, and the earth that I was sitting on. In focusing on these two simple things, I could read their story. I could see the history of those saplings, not only from their inception as little seeds in the ground, but also as the small flowers of the mother tree that the seed had come from and then the history of that mother tree, and its mother, and so on. And I began to see the earth not as a patch of dirt, but as something full of life with microbes, fungi, worms, ants and spiders that were constantly moving through it, even as I sat on that earth with my ‘Pwagan.
This awareness naturally moved beyond the confines of the wall of the hut in all directions into the woods that surrounded me, the nearby houses, the streams, the stars and clouds above, and even to the molten core of this planet.
I saw how Native teachings organize this expanded awareness into the Seven Directions, based on the natural movement of the planet and the environment that we find ourselves in. East is the direction that we are traveling as we ride this great twirling globe. The South is one end of the axis of that spinning. The West is where we are traveling from, and the North is the other end of that great axis. Above us, in the Sky, are the infinite reaches of what we call Space and all that is contained there. Below us is the fully alive and dynamic Earth, with all that it contains. And lastly, the Seventh Direction, is all that is within and without us, All That Is, visible and invisible, expressed in the Annishinabee language as Ki’chee Manitou, or the Great Spirit, all of Creation.
As each region on our Planet has its own unique attributes, or Medicine, then it naturally follows that each natural grouping of these entities will also have its own collective Medicine which can be discerned with careful and open observation.
When we face the East, we are physically moving forward at close to one thousand miles per hour, towards whatever is next, the Sun, the Moon, or the revealed Universe and its stunning display of stars and planets. Something new is constantly coming up over the eastern horizon. Therefore it is easy to see that the collective attribute, or Medicine of this direction is about Beginnings, and moving forward, because when we look this way we are seeing what is to come.
For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the South is where we find warmth. As we physically travel in that direction, the climate becomes warmer, and the vegetation is larger and more lush. We are warmest at mid-day when the Sun is in the southern part of the sky. So we begin to understand that the Medicine of the South involves fertility, and the joy and warmth of life.
Because the rotation of the Earth perpetually moves us East-ward, we find ourselves always leaving the West behind.
When the Sun is in the western part of the sky, that is our sign that the day is ending, and that the light will soon be gone, and darkness will follow. But we also know that although where we are the day is ending, that for the relatives to the west of us, the day is just beginning. So we are reminded that death always leads to new life, giving us the certain knowledge that the darkness that we are about to experience is temporary, and that the light will return to us at the proper time.
So we see that the Medicine of the West is not only about Death and Endings, but it is also about Hope and the certainty of renewal. And the brilliant sunsets that we are often privileged to see remind us of the beauty of the day just passed, and give us an opportunity to feel and express our gratitude for all the blessings that we enjoyed that day.
North of us (again in the Northern Hemisphere) lay the lands that are perpetually frozen. It takes a great deal of wisdom and skill to survive that climate. But it is not impossible. That wisdom entails deep knowledge, sensitivity and foresight to ensure survival. And so we can see that the Medicine of the North contains deep inner and outer knowledge, and develops the flexibility needed to adapt to and thrive in the harshest of environments.
As our conversation with Creation unfolds we look to the next direction, the Sky above us. At night, as our eyes move from star to planet to Moon, our vision passes over places where there are no stars. And even when we use the most powerful technology to extend our vision to see those things beyond our natural human vision, there will always be spaces between, in front of and behind all the stars we could possibly comprehend that could exist.
This is our window to the Infinite. We can physically see that which is beyond our ability to understand. It takes no special knowledge, no special training or technique. This simple truth of existence is there for absolutely everyone to see. We live in an Infinite Universe and all things are ordered around that one simple indisputable truth. We call the Sky our Father because the seeds of our existence came from the stars and the Sun in the form of the matter that eventually coalesced into our bodies and our lives. And we, as children, look up to the Sky to receive answers that we can’t ever fully understand.
As we acknowledge the Father, we naturally turn to the Mother, the Earth. The Mother is that which supports our every step, holds us close to Her as we rest, and provides us every single thing that we require and desire for nourishment and protection. She challenges us to grow and prosper, to be as strong and clever as She is. She delights us with astonishing beauty and soothes us with the rhythms of her body. And in every moment of our existence in our bodies walking on Her bosom, she takes care of our every need, and through the gifts of her Body we are provided Air for our moment by moment sustenance, Water to wash away all impurities that will harm us, Earth in which all our food and materials for survival grow, and Fire to warm us and give us light. Her Wisdom is what keeps us alive so that we can appreciate, enjoy and delight in all that is provided for us.
And finally, we acknowledge the Seventh Direction, All That Is, the only thing that really exists, the one incomprehensible thing without which everything would fall into chaos and disappear in an instant. That is the thing we call Love. Love is the constant throughout every particle of the seen and the unseen. Without this thing that we crudely describe as Love, there would be no order, no constantsy.
All would be in constant flux. Gravity would come and go. Stars and planets would collide, and so on. We would not be able to count on anything. The forces of the universe that we so unconsciously depend on such as gravity or centrifugal force would be so variable as to be non-existent and all would collapse within nanoseconds. Paradoxically, Love is also the most humble force. If it is not unconditional it cannot be. But like the smoke of a sacred fire, Love permeates all with its delicious, unknowable perfume.
Finally coming to this most ultimately indisputable truth of Truths, we now have the ability to know without understanding. It is now that we can jettison petty beliefs and hopes for a reality that is beyond words and thoughts. At last we can accept ourselves as we are now without any thoughts of shame or judgment. We can see how each and very one of us, animal, vegetable, mineral, atom and particle resides at the very center of the Infinite at the same time, and by allowing our minds to lightly touch the fully unconditional nature of Love, that we can at last comprehend what and who we truly are.
We always were and will always continue to be at the center of the Medicine Wheel for as long as we are making our way through this lifetime. Where-ever we are, no matter what we are doing, no matter what spiritual condition we might be in, there will always be an East, South, West, North, Sky above, Earth below and Life all around us and within us. It is so simple that it can seem inane to even mention it. But when we are ready, our willingness to see beyond the inane is all that is necessary for that unconditional Love to reveal Itself to us.
The amount of effort needed is only directly proportional to the stubbornness of our self-induced blindness. Where some need a solid whack from a two-by-four, others might only need the kiss of a feather to “allow the seeds of their wholeness to take root and grow.”
I, for one, needed a couple of good whacks. But those ‘whacks’ which for some would have been life ending tragedies, were the kindest gifts that I could have ever received.
And now the fruit is ready for you.
