Greetings to all Full Circle friends and members,
In this March edition of our newsletter we have:
It is about the birds and the bees, after all
Not so long ago, my March mornings would be spent going out by truck well before daylight. The pink dawn would see me perched on a flatbed truck wending its way down grassy aisles of blueberry bushes with a reeking smoker full of burning burlap in my hand. Fog and birdsong were the morning mix as I hopped down at each pallet of beehives to pry open lids and look for signs of a happy, breeding queen bee.
This year, however, some folks react to birdsong as if it’s a rerun of the Hitchcock movie full of savage crows and gulls: bird flu alarums have folks looking at their fried chicken as suspiciously as “Mad Cow” had others eyeballing burgers. Is there reason to panic or is it all hype?
I feel more panicked about bees and beekeepers (and therefore American produce production) at risk from a combination of threats. So, I am selfishly focusing this edition upon these oddly twinned passions in my spring life: the beauty and blessing of bees and the need to prepare for the possibility of an epidemic.
Labrys
Pagan shopping
Let the Buyer Beware: It looks like a bargain. A practically new car with very few miles on it for thousands less than its original sticker price; don’t let the spring temptation for flashy wheels make you forget that Katrina-blasted used cars are being hauled to used car lots. Did your New Year’s resolution include a pledge to eat healthier foods, and can you do it without breaking the family food budget?
Furry, finny, and feathered, folk
Ravens and Eagles and Owls, Oh My: Before bird-flu or West Nile fears make us all ornithophobic, lets consider the place of birds in pagan legend and practice. The big bird of many American Indian legends is the eagle, so any aid to the wounded symbol of America has double impact at a special aviary for the big raptor. The trickster-like raven plays large upon mythological and literary stages in several cultures, the intelligent corvids seeming the most human of the feathered folk. And a bit of rude humor from the usually severe night raptors is prescribed to counter all the seriousness rampant in the world.
Battle for the Bees: Why talk about insects in the garden segment? Do you like that morning grapefruit? What about the almonds in the lunch salad, and that blueberry cobbler? Without the humble and embattled honey bee, you would really do without most of them, including your morning coffee! Roughly 80% of the fruits and vegetables we enjoy need cross-pollination, whether on farms or in home gardens. Beekeeper numbers are in decline. Bee populations suffer from environmental poisons and mitacide resistant parasites. The European honey bee, the workhorse of the American apiaries, is a beloved piece of history and folklore in its homeland. Argument also ensues over the ethics of some modern beekeeping methods. I treasure my hives, never intentionally kill my bees, and suffer when I lose them to mites and other disasters. So be gentle to a bee this spring. ? Not every buzzing yellow and black thing is a threat of venomous death. Easy distinguisher? Love the fuzzy ones, swat the shiny striped buzzies. You may even find a musical New Orleans-like “buzz” to adore!
Honey the Hearth: The golden produce of the hive handles both hunger and health. It was of old a primary wound dressing and is becoming so again, as modern medicine realizes its full potential as an anti-bacterial agent. The flavor of honey is what gave the ambrosia of the Gods its sweetness. From stories to recipes, for cough syrup or ice cream, or a medieval syrup of violets (they bloom this month!), honey will sweeten and sooth.
Facts and Fears of Bird Flu: “Fear is the mind-killer.” Frank Herbert encapsulated this gem of wisdom in his much-loved sci-fi classic, but there is nothing fictional about the effect that fear and panic have during pandemics of illness. Knowing what is real and what is rumor-induced fear helps prepare for the possibility of a bird flu pandemic. The World Health Organization has answers to the most frequent questions. While searching for ideas on preparation, keeping a quote from a molecular biologist in mind can rein in the wild terror: “No one knows if H5N1 is going to be a pandemic or epidemic problem or if it’s just going to fade away.” Cities in the forefront are bracing, and Homeland Security is supposed to take a leading role; find out if your city has a proactive plan in place. Make your own preparations, get correct information, keep your bird-chasing cats indoors, and keep a cool head. New efforts at an effective and quickly produced vaccine look promising enough that human trials may begin soon.
Study the Past If You Would Divine the Future: Confucius may have a point there: modern medicine looks to the last pandemic to find clues to dealing with ones in the future. There seems no agreement on the death toll in 1918, figures vary from 20 million to 100 million, and the unsure count only contributes to the uncertainty facing us almost a century hence. A blast from the (permafrost cold) past in Alaska was rich with vital scientific evidence of what made the last pandemic of another bird flu so deadly. Studying past flu epidemics of 1957 and 1968, as well as the deadly 1918 pandemic, showed vital differences in the types of influenza and will enable better preparation against the viral enemy.
We have hundreds of events listed on our California Community Calendar.
Here is just a handful:
· 10 Mar – Storytellers Festival – Mariposa
· 11 Mar – Calaveras Celtic Faire – Angels Camp
· 11 Mar – Quail Botanical Gardens Herb Festival/Plant Sale – Encinitas
· 19 Mar – Ostara Ritual – North Hills
· 26 Mar – Bath Salts Workshop – Costa Mesa
New events are added daily. Click on the Full Circle California Community Calendar to access the list. If you want your event listed, please go to our calendar page and click on the link that says “Submit Event.” The on-line form is simple and very easy to use. Questions? Please contact our Networking Coordinator ScoutGhost at scoutghst@sbcglobal.net.
Essay: Dancing the Power
by Katie Weatherup
In a recent shamanic journey, I set my intent to meet a new power animal. I was rather bemused when the power animal that came forward was a kangaroo - all the more so because it wanted me to dance with it, and I wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of bouncing up and down. My shamanic training includes dancing power animals, yet I tend to disregard that method of achieving an altered state in favor of lying quietly and listening to a drum. But, according to this new guide, I was missing the full experience.
The gifts from my shamanic practice have been among the most precious in my life. First and foremost, it provided me with direct contact with my spirit guides and helpers in a manner I could understand. While a loving brush on the shoulder or a series of synchronicities are wonderful in their own right, I wanted to be able to talk to the guides along my spiritual path. Shamanism gave me a direct, intimate, and immediate connection to my spirit guides. Also, shamanic journeying provided me with immediate access to receiving healing and energy.
I turn on my drumming CD, ask my spirit helpers to aid me in replenishing my energy, and move into shamanic reality. My guides and helpers have chosen a variety of ways to assist me in restoring my energy to an abundant and balanced state, including bathing in a waterfall, dancing in a circle around me, pulling out harmful energy, or just holding me while I rest. Time can stretch in shamanic reality, so a fifteen-minute journey can feel like hours of rest and rejuvenation. Beyond that, there is ancestral healing, soul retrieval, past life work, and shadow work, to name but a few, each providing its own profound healing experience.
Given the significant role my spirit helpers have played in my personal healing and growth, I agreed to give dancing an honest try. Indeed, the frequency with which dancing a power animal is used by shamanic practitioners throughout the world is indicative of how powerful a ritual this is. One dances in time to a drum or rattle, often played at a slower rate than is used for journeying. As one moves in time, eventually one is guided or prompted to move in a manner that expresses the energy of the power animal. This shifts the practitioner into an altered state, allowing full access to the life force and energies the given power animal offers and deepening the relationship with the power animal. By dancing the energy of different power animals the energy becomes familiar, and can be accessed and recognized in shamanic reality as well as in everyday life.
But for me, the need to dance power animals went beyond that. In addition to showing me how I might dance the energy of a kangaroo, that did not include a human pogo stick imitation, the kangaroo pointed out that this is an aspect of my spiritual growth that could use more attention. While I integrate my spiritual tools and gifts very well into my mental and emotional aspects, I tend not to blend the spiritual with the physical. While my spirituality was a large factor in deciding to make exercise a regular part of my life, it remained a means to an end, not something I did for its own sake. By failing to integrate the physical with the spiritual, my body remained somewhat disowned and uncelebrated.
When I danced the kangaroo, I felt the energy rush through my body. Fatigue fell away as these vital life essences coursed through my body. There was the instant when I fell into the experience, setting aside thoughts of looking foolish and undignified. My consciousness shifted out of my head, stilling my inner monologue, until I was completely present in my body and in the moment. I wasn’t just accessing the primal power of the kangaroo; I was accessing my own personal primal power, going back to a time before I decided to live more in my head than in my body.
The ritual of dancing a power animal is one that can be used without formal shamanic training. Use a rattle or drum to maintain a monotonous beat, consider a connection with an animal you feel most drawn to, set your intent to dance that animal, and give yourself up to the experience. This physical/spiritual connection can be accessed in many other ways---Tai Chi, for instance. But for me, at least, no matter how often I journey or how effortlessly I move healing energy, my spiritual practice will be incomplete without some form of spiritual movement.
(This essay is reprinted by kind permission of the author. It and other works are available at her website: Hands Over Heart.
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FCE Newsletter Staff:
Labrys is the Editor-in-Chief of the Full Circle Newsletter. She can be reached for comment at Labrys6@mac.com.
Sia is the Publisher of the Full Circle Newsletter and the Council Leader for Full Circle Events. She can be reached at info@fullcircleevents.org.
Charlynn is our Copyeditor & Grammar Witch. Thank you, Charlynn!
ScoutGhost is the Networking Coordinator for Full Circle Events. She can be reached at scoutghst@sbcglobal.net.
Snakemoon is the Senior Writer of the Full Circle Newsletter. She can be reached at snakemoon@comcast.net.