Beltane Whispers

If you choose to come and linger
Place upon your lips one finger
Hear the wind He knows our secrets
But if you spill them you will regret

We ask for blood and you will bleed yes
If not offered then we will take it
It’s our tithe for you to be here
And if given your sight is freed dear

Before your eyes our vision shimmers
Of our power your knowledge glimmers
On this day the curtains thin dear
And you and I we both can be here

My beating heart lies just beneath you
My teasing laugh is just beyond you
No matter how far or long you reach dear
The edge of me you’ll never breach dear

I am not as the others paint me
I’m not some pretty sugared dainty
If I’m primed I’m sure to thrill you
But if you cross me I will kill you

For I’ve an eye for those who are false
And if you lie then I’ll have your pulse
I’ll poke and prod and beat and break you
For that’s the way that I remake you

I’ll bind you up or spin you about
I’ll give you sight or gouge your eyes out
I’ll lift you high above it all
Then watch you fly or I’ll watch you fail

I’ll wear the form that terrifies you
And then I’ll sneak up right behind you
As you watch these visions streaming
Careful you don’t head home screaming

Beyond our Hills our call we send out
Awaken those whose ears will hear our
Silken voices threading this place
Green grey brown they colour His face

He has you tightly on a leash dear
Won’t let you stray beyond His reach dear
So be careful how you treat Him
Kindness comes from how you greet Him

Beneath your feet treasures await you
But dig them up and they’ll forsake you
For all that golden does not glisten
And all we ask is for you to listen

The ground it hungers for you to feed them
Hungry mouths awaiting seeding
If all you do is just to stand there
Before your eyes all will be laid bare

If you choose to come and linger
Place upon your lips one finger
Hear the wind He knows our secrets
But if you spill them you will regret

Listen to the Song

© AM Hunter October 2017

A Path of Karmic Healing

Working with Grandfather on cleansing and healing the energy lines or vibrations of the earth (the serpent Ngulla-Gulla) led me to wonder about the nature of our relationship. It seemed to be a little one sided in that I found my path to be linked to earth energy healing, I worked in the way of my ancestors and with my spirit allies, and I found it very satisfying. But what of Grandfather?

I asked him after a working whether there was anything I could do to help him and the next time we worked, he led me to a vision spot where I knew I had healing work to do. I began to feel into the land to see what was needed and found myself pulling together fragments of something that had been shattered. I pulled them together and found that they were oval rocks with squiggly lines on them and faces made up of dots and lines. There were five, including one large one in the middle and four at the quarters. When I had finished I noticed that Grandfather was crying. He said that the place had been broken by ancestors of my blood, and that they needed to be healed by those who broke them. Now he could sing them back to power.

The next time Grandfather led me to another spot that looked like an overgrown clearing in a heavily wooded place near water. I felt and began my working as per last time, but this time a skeleton emerged. As I worked flesh began to fill out the bones and then there was an angry faced man looking at me with such hate it scared me. But I could feel that my work was not done. I pulled and two more skeletons began to appear; a woman and a child. I reached out to Grandfather and asked him to help me as I was draining and they were not fully formed. He took my hand and together we helped Borong’s wife and child to emerge. The following week when I visited, Borong (who seems to be a bird man) threw a spear at me. My spirit allies protected me, including Grandfather who knocked it away with a shield of bark and gave me the spear-head.

My most recent working was very harrowing and only partly finished. Grandfather led me to a place that was partially enclosed by rock. It had designs painted on it, including handprints and something I couldn’t quite make out made up of swirling lines. Part of it was obscured so I never saw the design fully. There were two groups of people there; Europeans and Aboriginals. The Europeans were all male but the Aboriginals were a mixed group. I saw terrible things happen that I won’t go into here. I just thank my spirit allies for protecting me from the worst bits. It is a tainted place because of it. I pulled the colours that symbolised the harm – yellow for the urine; red for the blood; white for the semen and black for the death. I pulled it up like the dirt from Ngulla-Gulla and with my spirit twin’s help did a cleansing very similar to the one I do for the serpent. The colours mixed, then were filled with light and then healing energy and the healing energy was returned to the land. But it still felt tainted and I know I will need to go and do more work. It was terrible and draining but necessary.

It is my karmic debt in some ways for living and working here. Although I have no idea how much my actual ancestors were responsible for the terrible things that happened to the Aboriginal people and this land, people of my blood were and continue to be responsible. I feel like I have to do something to help the healing; to waken the sleepers and restore that which was broken where possible. Work I’m only just beginning to understand. I don’t know where it will lead and I began with work with a loving heart but this last working has made me realise how dark the work could become. I only hope that I keep my heart loving and compassionate.

Committing to the Land

Initiation after completing the Shamanic Apprenticeship required my thinking about what my service was and who I would be serving by my practice. What gifts did I bring that I could contribute to community. I thought about a lot of things leading up to my initiation, but kept coming back to land. It was in Cornwall back in 2010 that I had felt myself drawn to stone and to the vibrations of the land. Once I sat down and really thought about it, everything was drawing me to working with the land in quite specific ways. Connecting, finding serpent energy lines, and cleansing / purifying the lines and energy centres so they were healthy. Working with the spiritual guardians of the land and my own spirit allies.

I decided to make a weekly commitment to a particular place by a nearby river. There was a modern stone circle set up on one side of the river, with painted stones to commemorate the native inhabitants of this land. A mix of Aboriginal and European as it was next to a garden commemorating other groups from different places in Europe.

My first session I called on Mother and she gave me a possum skin cloak to put on to protect me (I didn’t ask from what). She said she would always be with me when I wore it, regardless of where I was, and agreed to act as intermediary between me and the local spirits of place. With me was Bob, of course, and my spirit twin: an ally I had found when working with trance into land-based vision quests, and who was tied to my ancestry or bloodline.

The circle was made up of five stones, which appeared to me to represent water, spirit, fire, air and Earth. In the centre was a young tree to one side of a circle of stones. The ritual was very simple – I brought offerings of cake (from a vegan bakery) and water, which I placed in the centre ring of stones after tracing my way around honouring the elements and guardians. And then I sat so I could be in closer contact with the earth, and opened myself to the vibrations of place. I could feel beneath a powerful energy serpent, not quite aligned with the circle. Already awake and being tended by someone, unlike other areas where the energy slept. To my eyes, the serpent was orange-red colour, which meant that it needed healing/cleansing work. But I didn’t want to act without being in contact with the guardian of the place.

Mother introduced me to an Elder, an Aboriginal male spirit, who guarded the place and who was quite wary of me. I asked if the offering was accepting, and he said it wasn’t. That I should bring bread and water.

That first time was quite awkward as I had not yet found my routine or developed a working relationship with the Elder, who I began to call Grandfather at his request (when I asked what I could call him by). There was a lot of translating going on between my allies and Grandfather to find a way that this could work. The serpent healing did not happen the first time because things were too confusing in my head and it didn’t feel like the right time. But Bob was angry with me and told me off for not doing my duty and healing the serpent when I had noticed it had needed healing. The next time was better.

Path pointer stone, Maribyrnong River bank 2015
Path pointer stone, Maribyrnong River bank 2015

Ode to Bob

Polished horn shining in sunlight
Glinting from beneath curls.
Evening draws near
And the sun sinks auburn on the horizon.
Smiling, a hand is raised,
Tracing swirls on skin,
Touch soft; anticipated; as yet unknown;
Tingling. The heart lifts,
Shining out brighter than the new dawn,
Brighter than noon.
Love trickles over all,
Covering everything;
Flooding every crack and crag.
You who have many names yet no name;
Ever resplendent;
You dazzle; enticing, enigmatic, mysterious.
You call, knowing I will always answer
Yet there is a fear that this once I will not.
I feel you cradle me in your arms;
Nurturing, protective; you embrace all.
I dance in your light;
A tree in your great forest
Content to sway my branches
In your gentle breath of life.

© A M Hunter 2012

Grandfather Stone

Grandfather Stone

Holding me up when I walk

I ask you to support me

And you do

Every time

In the wind

With a storm coming

I walk across you

Thin line of slate

To the point

I know you will hold me

And you do

I am not afraid

Of slipping and falling

Into the sea

The wind whips across me

My hands trace

Your gnarled surface

I ask for a stone

To remember you by

Your voice is crotchety

Like a grumpy, whiskered gnome

Yet you agree

Allow me this gift

Reluctantly

I stand, my talisman

In hand

Keeping me strong

And firm as I return

Before the storm hits

I smile in awe

Of your existence

Your strength

Your willingness to

Give and support

I lay my hands against

Your craggy surface

I feel your heart beat

I see rivers of fire

Forming, breaking and reforming

I see colours

And shapes and feel

My roots sink deep into you

Part of you as you are part of me

I honour and thank you

Blessed Grandfather Stone.
© A M Hunter 2014