Day 719 (Tidbits)

YAY... I'm so happy that Blake is starting off the first post of the year with content about Native Americans!

Check out Day 719 on the THE 800 DAYS BLOG!

A couple of posts back, I'm sure I mentioned I am part Cree. For me, this means a lot of confusion and struggling to find people who know about the Cree elders, about Cree culture.

Sadly, Cree individuals - right now, right as I type - are being absorbed into primarily Blackfoot culture in my region and across many areas of North America. This means a blending of some cultural things between Cree and Blackfoot but also means that Cree will adopt more Blackfoot ways than Cree ways they can salvage.

I have only listened to "Rowena's Theme" - the vid posted at the beginning of the blog post. I've viewed the titles of the videos (messages from Native elders) which follow and on this day of new beginnings, and because the cultural topic is close to my heart, I'm going to post my blog entry without reviewing all videos before I end my post. Then I will smuge before continuing on to hear the Elders' messages...I have been listening to Rowena's Theme to settle my heart and mind into what I intend for the next half hour or so.

I will smudge and speak to All My Relations and ask the (1) ancient ones (the first peoples who passed away long ago), (2) the old ones (who passed away very long ago), (3) the relatives just departed (recently deceased), (4) spirits of current natives/elders (living, not necessarily family relatives but related by culture and beliefs and humanity), (5) my children (my son, and the current children of humanity alive today), (6) my children's children (children this generation has yet to bring forth in the world), (7) and my grandchildren's children (my children's children, yet to be born, as well) for wisdom, understanding, spiritual guidance - Seven (yes, 7) generations of permissions and guidance as I begin interacting with and reflecting on humanity in this brand new year.

If you would like to do the same, I invite you to smudge or pray to the deity of your culture or choice and participate in a ritual to acknowledge the beginning of the Year 2011 and the wisdom and humanity of those who came before you, are with us presently and those who will follow after us.

I may not return here to comment later on the content of the vids (I may feel the words therein are sacred or have meaning I wish to interpret on my own and leave readers to interpret as they see fit, since it is the elders speaking in the vids), but will soon post the vids at the vid/audio tab location with the other media clips on this blog.

Welcome to this New Year in 2011!

Hie hie !

Day 719 is associated with New Years Day and Saturday January 1 2011.

Day 727 (Tidbits)

The post for Day 727 on the 800 DAYS blog is a Christmas Eve post!

Blake brings good wishes to readers in light of the holiday season and the special eve of the 24th, and the obvious celebratory day immediately following - and he also offers some wordplay.

Anagrams "Star" "Music/Magic" are detailed for your enjoyment and consideration...

Then a smudging ritual is offered.

Now, if you're not Pagan and have never done smudging, I recommend that you at least TRY IT. It's not going to make your God(s) of choice go away or anything and will probably be quite "grounding" for you. Many Christians also smudge, so no worries there...

Blake gives a nice run down on what smudging materials are common, their purpose and use. Personally, I almost always have sweetgrass and sage in my home, ready to smudge with. I don't often have cedar but, on occassion, a native elder will give me a gift of cedar for smudging. I still smoke, so I often also add loose tobacco in my smudge and speak to the Creator, apologizing for still abusing the sacred tobacco - so I offer some tobacco back to Creator, all my relations, the elements, earth, etc.

Blake also has some tidbits on a very useful plant that many people already use and have in their homes - the Aloe Vera plant. *Note: Aloe is not for smudging. Sweetgrass, Cedar and Sage are for smudging - also, Tobacco... but don't try to smudge with Aloe!

Other smudging materials:

Lavender: name may be derived from the Latin "lavare" (to wash) or "livendula" (bluish). A Christian legend has it that baby Jesus was laid upon a bush of lavender and his body was bathed in the fragrance, taking on the smell of the lavendar. From this, some Christians believe lavendar to be a substance with properties of protection against evil. Smudge from this substance works best with a charcoal burner.

Frankincense: obvious reference to frankincense and myrrh in Scriptures and, consequently, in some common and popular Christmas carols.

There are certainly more materials widely used for smudging. I just remembered that Lavender, Frankincense and Myrrh have definite Christian as well as Pagan uses and respect from many different religious denominations, so I thought I'd mention these.

Also used for smudging: Copal (tree sap, primarily in Mexico, citrus-like scent - a lot like Frankincense), Myrrh is a tree resin, Mullien/Yerba del lobo - often mixed in smudge bundles and primarily used in smoking blends for sacred pipe ceremonies, Red Willow Bark - smudge less often, used for pipe ceremonies more often, Pine, Juniper, and mugwort are also common.

Last but not least...

There are some awesome video/audio offerings on the Day 727 post! (I'll get those also placed on the Vid/Audio tab location here soon).

The Day 727 post on The 800 Days blog is associated with Yuletide Eve, Christmas Eve, sacred smudging and Friday December 24 2010.