Blessing the North

This post has arisen due to the shared challenges that many of our students and practitioners have expressed about the North.

So, I ask myself... is it just that the North is misunderstood? Or could it be so quiet and so subtle that it is missed?

Definitely for myself, the North has taken its time to reveal its beauty to me.  It speaks a different language than the one I have known from my culture.  Even the Northern Sun has a different voice, the quiet sun, the gentle light. As I have become attuned to the North, its beauty and my gratitude for this aspect of our great cycles has grown. Now, the North is dear in my heart, and I cannot imagine an East, South or West without it!

How does the North come through you?

So many people share that they are confused when it comes to the North - or that they aren't sure how to connect.

Its cold, its dark, its quiet, it is sleeping, it is dying.

What mysteries can the North reveal to you?

What happens when we recede into the cave of the North?  Deep in the earth, deep in our marrow?

What is ending? And what a gift this end is. The rich humus of earth, dark, nutrient-filled soil.

I often suggest that the sounds of the North are different... you may not know their tunes, their tone, their rhythm....you really have to listen.  And the movements of the North, are quiet too- still, flexed, internal.  But just because of this, it doesn't mean that nothing is happening...

Who comes out at night?  What teachings do they have?  How do they see?  How do they navigate?

What prayers of gratitude do we share with the North.  What do we thank the North for?  For the deep rest?  For the release of what is no longer needed, for the reusing and recycling of the old pieces... for making space.... for giving us room again... for preparing the path for fresh footsteps.

North with its dark shows us the light... for who can see the candlelight in the bright of the sunny day?  North teaches us that the light is deep inside... like the fires we light to warm our homes, like the sparkle in the eyes.

When you are called to the North... before your shamanic practice, you may be given information about what is to come.  You may be prepared for something that needs lying down to rest, something that needs honouring for its North, for its end.

Many feel, "Oh no! I cannot let go!" But you see the cycle shows us, that this is only an end that leads to a beginning.  There is no 'real' end as the spiral dances, and weaves, as we spin and travel. The East comes again.... and you can feel it within the North.

Its like the mother, giving birth.... the pregnancy ends, but the birth begins.  So sometimes, the North will be signifying the final stages of the development, that the womb or the seed casing is no longer needed.  It must recede, and drop and heal... it must release the new life.

So with the North, we often have to slow down bit.  We have to pause. And this means as well that we can't be too quick to interpret, not so quick to react.  Let yourself take a moment or two or 10. Too quick and you miss it, too quick and you react from previous beliefs.  Give yourself that moment.  Let the North reveal to you its secrets, let it show you its beauty, let it share with you its preparations and its gifts.

Now, we are in the last quarter of the Winter... so we see the hints of the East growing.  Its a beautiful time to feel the promise from the North.  You may take some time in honouring your North....and what she has brought you and is still bringing you this time around.  What she wants you to know while you are still in her cave.