PROPHECY OF THE CONDOR & EAGLE

In Saskatchewan, Canada, two Aztec Goddesses have shown up by surprize. Their stories help to activate the Earth Medicine Wheel of White BUffalo Calf Woman's prophecy that describes Turtle Island (North American continent) having a spine that connects the north with the south. The head of the turtle is in northern Saskatchewan. The turtle's tail is situated in the land of the Aztec and Maya in Mexico & Central America.

Patuanak is an isolated, remote Chipewayan Dene' village located in northern Saskatchewan. When I first visited here in the mid~70's we needed to fly in by small aircraft. The bush road was built later to accomodate the Uranium mines and the corporations that came in to log out the forests. To arrive at Patuanak, one drives for 2 hours on a rough gravel road where the only sign of life might be a moose, a bear or an eagle. Always there are many ravens. The village of 200 indigenous people is situated along the vast Churchill River and is the home of my daughter's Chipewayan Dene' tribe. We traveled there to celebrate the birthday of her great aunty.

Bebe has always lived in the northern 'bush' country where her ancestors sustained themselves from the land by hunting, fishing and trapping. She was born on June 13th, 1913. We arrive at her neat little house & sit drinking tea together. Bebe brings out her latest beadwork that's done on moosehide moccasins. She tans the moose hide herself in the traditional way by hand~scraping and smoke to waterproof the leather. When asked how she wanted to celebrate her birthday, Bebe asks if we could drive over to the 'mall'? She doesn't mean the mall in the nearest town which is 3 hours drive to the south. She means the local 'mall'. Otherwise known as the landfill, and formerly called 'the dump'.

Often, interesting imported re~cycle~ables can be found in these sites that extend the 'hunting & gathering' territory beyond the one and only Hudson's Bay Trading Company store in the village. Unfortunately, by the time we arrive, the firefighter brigade has already filled in a trench & buried the latest goods. (The firefighters are kept busy with other tasks around the village when no fires are burning.) So, we're out of luck at the mall. Back in the Pathfinder, we're bouncing back to Bebe's house along the bumpy rutted road when my eye catches something bright on the forest floor. I stop to check out the discovery. Then, everyone jumpsout to look. We've discovered a gift from the Earth Mother and it is truly exquisite !

In all of her 93 years living in the bush, Bebe has never noticed these voluptuous pink wildflowers. This fact totally amazes me. For most of her summers, Bebe lived in a tent in the bush with her extended family. And. . . . in all those days of exploring around in the forest, the beautiful pink wildflowers had never appeared to her. I feel extremely honoured to 'present the Ladyslippers' to Bebe for her birthday! After walking along the shore of the icy lake, we are ready for tea back at the house. I immediately print out these photos of the pink Ladyslippers as an auspicious birthday gift for Bebe. Then, I bring out a poster that announces an approaching event. Is Bebe interested in traveling with us to the Rocky Mountains to meet Luz Clara, a woman healer from Chile, coming to teach shamanic wisdom during a women's weekend? I add that the group hosting Luz Clara would love to have indigenous elders at the workshop. Bebe is definitly interested. Then, she tells me about a pilgrimage she made last year. Some people from the north had endured a 2 1/2 day bus ride to Colorado. Their destination was a shrine that held healing properties, located near Denver.

Share an experiential weekend of healing
Reclaim your feminine soul
Experience ceremony which springs from the heart
Honour the feminine ways of being and knowing
Create a ritual healing circle based on the Machitun, the sacred way of the Mapuche Shamans of Chile
Chant to the sacred sound of durms & rattles.

Luz Clara was initialized in a dream by a Mapuche Shaman Woman. One year later, she met Machi Antonia & was recognized as a Medicine Woman, & so began her training as a Machi. The Machi are the shamans of the Mapuche people of southern Chile. Luz Clara is a grandmother, ritual dancer, & ceremonial leader who has been working for the last 13 years in awakening the sacred feminine energies using the ancient methods of ritual & magic.

On the wall right above Bebe's kitchen table is another 'poster'. I'm familiar with this religious image that's everywhere in places like Mexico to the south. In the north, the Last Supper is very popular religious art. However, this is the first Virgin of Guadalupe. I can't imagine how she got this far north? Maybe Bebe acquired her on the trip to Colorado? I ask, "Auntie, where did you get this great picture of the Virgin?" Bebe smiles mirthfully, "I found it in the mall! But not the mall here. She was in the mall over at Pinehouse."

Bebe proceeded to tell me the legend behind the image . . . An Indian man in Mexico was passing by his peoples' sacred site. Suddenly, he heard a voice speaking to him. It was the voice of an Indian holy woman. The woman instructed that the Catholic priests, who had been converting his people, needed to build a church here to honour her. The Indian man went to the priest and told him about this spirit who spoke to him. The priest scoffed. Then the curious Indian man returned to the site. The voice spoke to him again! This time, she instructed him to walk to the top of the hill. He was amazed. There were beautiful roses in bloom and it was the middle of winter! The man gathered roses into his cape. This time, when he went to the priest, he opened his cape and the roses fell onto the floor. As if by magic, there on the material was this image of the Virgin! After this miracle, the church was constructed on that site.

I told Bebe that I know a few more details of the story. That she's called 'the Virgin of Guadalupe'. That she was originally an Aztec Indian Goddess by the name of Tonantzin. She was a mother Goddess. One of her sons believed himself to be omnipotent (all powerful). Tonantzin challenged him to produce mother's milk--to prove he could be as generous as he was fierce. He could not, and Tonantzin became known as a protective Goddess--one who answered the prayers of the poorest and who especially watched over birthing mothers. The Aztecs honouredTonantzin in a Winter Solstice festival. On the shortest day of the year, 4 days before Christmas, a chosen womandressed entirely in white with white shells & eagle feathers. She then danced through the crowds of people weeping and singing. An Aztec priest accompanied her and when her dance was complete, he took the Goddess's mask and ritually sacrificed her. Next day, Aztec men struck the women of the community with little bags full of green paper to symbolically renew the life force. The Aztecs were celebrating the return of Sun with longer days to nourish their life. The place where the Aztec Indian man saw the vision was her traditional shrine, Tepayac Hill. The miracle happened in 1531, only 10 years after the Catholic missionaries arrived with the conquistadores to take the culture & the land from the Aztecs. The day when Tonantzin showed the roses to Juan Diego was Decembre 12th. No roses are ever blooming there in winter.