White Winged Wolf Woman

In 1990 I began pursuing different paths of enlightenment and self enhancement.  This lead me in February of that year to do a weekend of sweat lodges with a Lakota Sioux woman known as Barrett Eagle Bear.  I didn’t know anything about the sweat lodge, known to the Lakota as the “inipi”;  just that a friend had recommended it.  Since I had had no orientation, it was quite frightening; small and dark and very hot!  You definitely sweat as you do “rounds” of prayer and ritual to Great Spirit and All Our Relations, lead by an appointed Guide.  What I didn’t know but would find out that weekend is that there is  magic in communing with the Mother Earth and all her plants and animals that for me brought about a great transformation. I felt a transcended connection with the earth and all nature.  Some people saw a white-tailed deer running through the small, rounded tipi.  Many people relay having mystical experiences in the lodge.   I was sold on the sweat lodge and would do many more with Barrett and others. 

O Mitakuye Oyasin means , All My Relations.  The Native American Indians believe that we have a relationship with everything; humans, the earth, and all the plants and trees and stones and animals upon her.  This brings about a respect for all life that comes back to one’s self in a very good way. 

Some years later I was invited to do a Sundance.  This proved to be one of the most powerful and transformational experiences of my life!  I actually did another one soon afterwards.  Essentially some people dance and some surround them on the sides for support.  There is a tree in the middle usually cut down and brought there to represent the sacredness of life.  Then the dancers dance all day around the tree for 4 days, usually sleeping there at night.  They do not eat or drink anything during this time. Some men are tied to the tree with a cord that has a “piercing” in their chest which at some point they will pull back and “pop” off of.  Again, what is difficult to convey is the powerful and heightened experiences that result from this ceremony. Honoring the Earth and all life has significant rewards! I believe this is why the US government outlawed the Sundance for some years.  It was just too powerful.

 Since I am of mostly Celtic descent, someone once asked me why I didn’t do more of those rituals.  Actually I do, yet I had to think about why the Native American way is so special to me.  Then it came to me.  I live on the land where they and their ancestors  lived for a very long time.  And they continually did ritual and ceremony and lived in a harmonious way with the Earth.  I think that is what we in our Western civilization are lacking and the consequences are easy to see.  It is really quite simple; everything and everyone wants respect, and that makes a quantum difference in how life reveals itself.

Searches and Links:  www.aaanativearts.com (This site has 2000 articles about Native

                                            Americans)

Google search:    Mary Brave Bird (also known as Mary Crow Dog) and her book

                                  “LAKOTA WOMAN”

                                  the story of  White Buffalo Calf Woman

                                  The book,  “BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE” by Dee Brown

                                  The book,  “DANCES WITH WOLVES” by Michael Blake

BRIDGING HEAVEN AND EARTH

IN THEIR OWN WORDS:

"THE BRIDGING HEAVEN AND EARTH ART PROJECT, IS, SIMPLY: A WORLD-WIDE ENERGY AMPLIFYING PROCESS USING ART AND THE COLLECTIVE ENERGIES OF MANY.......BASICALLY IT IS THAT EACH ARTIST PRODUCES AN ALL-NEW WORK OF ART....BASED ON THE THEME 'BRIDGING HEAVEN AND EARTH'........."

MY STORY:

WHEN ALAN ASKED ME TO PAINT A PAINTING BASED ON THE THEME "BRIDGING HEAVEN AND EARTH" FOR THIS AMAZING PROJECT, I HAD BEEN THINKING THAT MY NEXT PAINTING WOULD BE JUST ONE LARGE FEATHER.  AFTER I PAINTED IT THOUGH, I WASN'T SURE THAT THAT WAS THE ONE I WANTED TO SUBMIT.  AS TIME PASSED HOWEVER, I CAME TO SEE WHAT A PERFECT EXAMPLE A FEATHER WAS FOR THIS THEME.

FEATHERS HAVE ALWAYS FLOATED BETWEEN THE WORLDS.  WHO HASN'T FELT MAGICAL OR TRANSPORTED WHEN THEY CATCH ONE DRIFTING ON ITS OWN THROUGH THE AIR?   NOT TO MENTION WHEN THEY ARE ATTACHED TO A MAGNIFICENT BIRD ON THE WING, SUNLIGHT GLEAMING OFF OF THEM.

AND MY APPRECIATION OF THE FEATHER'S POWER AND GIFTS HAS INCREASED OVER THE YEARS OF DOING A VARIETY OF NATIVE AMERICAN RITUALS AND PRACTICES.  THE NATIVE PEOPLE HAVE TRULY HONORED AND RESPECTED THE ESSENCE OF THE FEATHER.   THEIR TANGIBLE USE OF THE FEATHER IN SO MUCH OF THEIR CEREMONIAL EARTHWALK ELICITS WHAT TRANSFORMATION CAN COME FROM THE NATURAL WORLD AROUND US IF WE WILL ONLY LISTEN AND RESPOND.

AND SO I REALIZED THAT HOLDING A FEATHER IS LIKE HOLDING SPIRIT IN YOUR HAND, A BRIDGE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH.

O MITAKUYE OAYSIN,  NAMASTE AND BLESSED BE,

MARY HARRIS CUTTING/WWWW

MASTER QUAN YIN

PERHAPS THE MOST PAINTED AND SCULPTED WOMAN IN ALL THE WORLD IS THE CHINESE GODDESS OF COMPASSION, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS QUAN YIN OR KUAN YIN. I HAVE HAD A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HER FOR MANY YEARS, AND AS I USED TO CHANNEL HER FOR GROUPS AND INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS, I AVOIDED READING TOO MUCH ABOUT HER SO THAT I WOULDN'T HINDER THE INFORMATION THAT SHE WANTED TO BRING THROUGH. AT SOME POINT, HOWEVER, I DID READ ABOUT HER AND RECEIVED CORROBORATION FOR SOME OF THE INFO I HAD RECEIVED.

I DID HEAR AND IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT THE GREAT ONES CAME TO HER AND TOLD HER THAT SHE HAD EARNED THE RIGHT TO ENTER THE IMMORTAL REALMS AND DIDN'T NEED TO BE ON THE EARTH ANYMORE. TO THIS SHE SUPPOSEDLY REFUSED AND SAID SHE WOULD STAY AND BE OF SERVICE UNTIL EVERY HUMAN NO LONGER SUFFERED. FOR THAT I FEEL, EVEN THOUGH NOW ON THE OTHER SIDE, SHE HAS WORKED TIRELESSLY IN SERVICE FOR HUMANITY.

ONCE SHE TOLD ME THAT I HAD BEEN INCARNATE WITH HER AND THAT WE WERE SOME SORT OF "NUNS" AND WENT AROUND THE COUNTRYSIDE HEALING PEOPLE.

IT WAS 2003 AND I HAD HAD A VERY HARD YEAR SINCE I MOVED TO SEATTLE. IT FELT, THOUGH, AS IF I MIGHT BE FINALLY ABLE TO MOVE TO EUGENE, OREGON, THOUGH I WASN'T SURE OF ANYTHING ANYMORE. I HAD A GOOD FRIEND WHO IN SOME WAYS REMINDED ME OF QUAN YIN.  THIS ONE MALE BEING HAD SPOKEN THROUGH HER FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT NEVER ANYONE ELSE. I GUESS MY NEED PULLED IT THROUGH BECAUSE ONE DAY SHE BEGAN TO CHANNEL QUAN YIN FOR ME. (AFTERWARDS MY FRIEND'S HEART EXPANDED BEYOND WHAT SHE HAD EVER KNOWN. ) THIS WAS RIGHT AFTER HER AMAZING DOG STARTED BARKING AND LOOKING AT THE FRONT DOOR WHICH HAD MYSTERIOUSLY OPENED. AS THE DOG FOLLOWED "SOMEONE" ACROSS THE ROOM THERE SEEMED TO BE A TRAIL OF MAGIC, AND THEN QUAN YIN BEGAN TO SPEAK TO ME. SHE TOLD ME THAT, YES, IT REALLY WAS TIME FOR ME TO MOVE AND THAT THE WAY HAD BEEN MADE CLEAR.

THEN SHE ASKED ME TO PAINT HER SAYING THAT SHE ESPECIALLY WANTED MY HANDS ON HER FACE..........
SHE REQUESTED SEVERAL THINGS THAT SHE WANTED IN THE PAINTING AND SAID THE THE REST WAS UP TO ME. SHE WANTED TO BE WEARING A GOLD ROBE, TO BE SITTING ON CLOUDS, AND MOUNTAINS AND A WATERFALL BEHIND HER.

SINCE A PART OF HER NAME MEANS WATER AND QUAN YIN IS WATER ITSELF TO ME, THE WATER PART WAS UNDERSTANDABLE. AND JUST BEFORE I PAINTED HER I ASKED FOR MORE SIGNS ABOUT ANYTHING SHE MIGHT WANT IN IT. DRAGONFLIES SHOWED UP IN VARIOUS, MAGICAL WAYS AND THE REST WAS MORE INTUITIVE ON MY PART.

I WAITED A YEAR AND A HALF - FEBRUARY OF 2005 - BEFORE IT FELT RIGHT TO PAINT HER. THE TIMING WAS INDEED DIVINE AND ACCORDING TO ALMINE THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW PARADIGM OF EXISTENCE HAPPENED THEN. QUAN YIN CAME TOGETHER MAGICALLY AND HAS BEEN WITH ME EVER SINCE. I AM SO HAPPY I CAN SHARE HER THROUGH MY GICLEES, PRINTS AND CARDS.

THERE ARE MANY MORE STORIES I HAVE ABOUT QUAN YIN, BUT THIS WILL DO FOR NOW!

CORN MOTHER STORY

THE CORN MOTHER HAS BEEN VERY DEAR TO ME FOR A LONG TIME, ESPECIALLY SINCE I MOVED FROM MIAMI TO THE WEST. WHEN IT WAS FINALLY TIME TO MOVE, I TOOK A TRIP TO THE SOUTHWEST TO FIND THE RIGHT PLACE FOR MYSELF.......UNCERTAIN ABOUT MY NEW LIFE, I DECIDED TO BE VERY FRUGAL AND NOT BUY ANY "EXTRAS" UNLESS THEY REALLY CALLED OUT TO ME..................

STANDING IN THE ALBUQUERQUE AIRPORT AT THE END OF MY TWO WEEK SOJOURN, I HAD, WRAPPED IN MY BAG, THE ONE COMPELLING GIFT I HAD GIVEN MYSELF - A CERAMIC RAKU HAND MADE BY THREE WOMEN WHO CO-OWNED A GALLERY IN SANTA FE...........WITH SOME TIME TO KILL I WANDERED INTO THE AIRPORT GIFT SHOP. THERE ON A RACK I SAW BEAUTIFUL STRANDS OF NECKLACES IN PURPLE, TURQUOISE, YELLOW AND PINK. ON CLOSER INSPECTION I SAW THAT THEY WERE MADE OF CORN THAT WAS DYED AND HANDMADE BY NATIVE AMERICANS. THE PRICE TAG SAID $3.99 ON THE PURPLE ONE I PICKED UP AND PLACED AROUND MY NECK, STILL NOT CONVINCED THAT I WANTED TO PURCHASE IT. "OH, THAT LOOKS SO GOOD ON YOU," THE WOMAN BEHIND THE CASH REGISTER SAID. I RESISTED THE THOUGHT THAT SHE JUST WANTED TO MAKE A SALE. "OH FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, HARRIS, " I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "IT'S ONLY 4 BUCKS, GET IT!" AS I PAID FOR MY NECKLACE SOMETHING STRANGE AND MAGICAL AWAKENED IN ME. THE CORN MOTHER TOUCHED ME AND I BEGAN TO WEEP. AT FIRST GENTLY, THEN THE TEARS RUSHING SO TAHT I FELT MOVED TO GO OVER BY THE MAGAZINES AS THEY CONTINUED COMING AND I STIFLED THE LOUD SOBS THAT WANTED TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES. FOR A LONG TIME I WORE HER (MY NECKLACE AND CORN MOTHER) ALMOST EVERY DAY.

LATER AFTER I HAD MOVED TO SANTA CRUZ, CA, I WAS WORKING GIVING READINGS IN A RETAIL STORE DOWNTOWN. A MAN I KNEW SLIGHTLY STOPPED TO TALK. HE, AS MANY OTHERS, ADMIRED MY NECKLACE AND DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS CORN. AS I TALKED ABOUT MY CONNECTION WITH THE CORN MOTHER HE LIT UP AND DECIDED TO SHARE WITH ME THE STORY OF HOW HE AND HIS FRIENDS, ON A HIKE IN THE SOUTHWEST NEAR SEDONA (WHERE I HAD FIRST LIVED ON MOVING TO THE WEST) HAD "STUMBLED" INTO A CAVE-LIKE DWELLING TO FIND THE REMAINS OF SOME ANCIENT INDIAN TRIBE. EVERYTHING APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN LEFT UNTOUCHED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. THERE WERE SOME EARS OF MAIZE WHICH HE TOOK WITH HIM, THANKING AND BLESSING THE SPIRITS. BECAUSE OF MY NECKLACE AND OBVIOUS LOVE FOR THE CORN MOTHER, HE DECIDED TO GIFT ME WITH ONE OF THE ORIGINAL EARS.

IT WAS A GOOD DAY.

THE FIRST TIME I MEDITATED WITH MY CORN MY CLARITY AND ABILITY TO RECEIVE MESSAGES FOR MYSELF INCREASED TREMENDOUSLY. AS I PLACED HER ON EACH CHAKRA I FELT OPENINGS AND A DEEP CONNECTION TO THE MOTHER EARTH AND THE PEOPLE WHO HONORED HER FOR SO LONG. WHEN I GOT TO MY CROWN CHAKRA THE EAR BECAME MORE MALLEABLE IN A VERY TANGIBLE WAY AND SLOWLY STARTED TO BEND DOWN ON THE ENDS AND WRAP ITSELF AROUND MY HEAD. THEN IT MOVED BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION CONTINUING TO BEND AT THE ENDS UPWARD 'TIL IT WAS IN A SEMICIRCLE LIKE THE HORNS OF ISIS. IT CONTINUED ITS GRADUAL MOVEMENT DOWN AROUND MY HEAD, THEN UP TO THE SKY. THE SACRED DANCE OF THE CORN. THE CORN MOTHER ONCE AGAIN HAD COME ALIVE AS SHE ALWAYS IS.

IT WAS AUGUST 2000 AND I NEEDED A PAINTING FOR A NEW SHOW AT THE ART CENTER WHERE I WAS A MEMBER. I KNEW IT WAS TIME TO PAINT THE CORN MOTHER. SHE WAS DUE SOON AND I PAINTED DAY AND NIGHT FOR 3 DAYS. SHE CAME ALIVE ON THE CANVAS AND I FELL IN LOVE WITH HER (.I NAMED HER  SELU AFTER THE CHEROKEE CORN MOTHER, REFERENCING A BOOK I HAD READ WITH THAT TITLE  WRITTEN BY MARILOU AWIAKTA, A CHEROKEE WOMAN HERSELF. LATER I WOULD SEE GREAT SIGNIFICANCE IN HER REPRESENTING THE CHEROKEE, AS I GREW UP WHERE THE TRAIL OR TEARS ENDED AND ALSO REMEMBERED MY PAST LIFE AS A CHEROKEE WALKING THAT TRAIL.)   I HAD SUCH STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT HER AND HAD TO RELINQUISH HER SO QUICKLY AFTER HER BIRTH THAT I MISSED HER AND WENT TO VISIT HER 3 OR 4 TIMES. SOMETIMES AFTER HOURS I JUST WENT TO GET A GLIMPSE OF HER THROUGH THE WINDOW. WHEN I RETRIEVED MY CORN MOTHER, THOUGH RATHER LARGE, I PUT HER IN THE FRONT SEAT WITH ME. I TALKED TO HER ALL THE WAY HOME AS IF SHE WERE A LOVER WHO HAD BEEN AWAY ON AN EXTENDED TRIP. I WAS GLAD THAT SHE HADN'T SOLD!

NOW SHE SITS PERCHED ACROSS FROM MY BED SO I CAN SEE HER ALOT AS SHE BLESSES ME MORNING , NOON AND NIGHT.

TAWANDA!

THIS PAINTING WAS STARTED IN JANUARY AND LAY UNFINISHED AND DORMANT FOR MANY MONTHS, BUT TOLD ME HER NAME WAS "TAWANDA", THE POWERFUL ARCHETYPE FROM ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES, "FRIED GREEN TOMATOES."  I SUSEQUENTLY MOVED THAT SUMMER FROM MIAMI TO SEDONA, AZ.  PART OF THE INSPIRATION I HAD TO MOVE CAME FROM A WOMEN'S CALENDAR/ART/POETRY AND WRITING/ASTROLOGY BOOK CALLED "WE'MOON" THAT I PURCHASED EVERY YEAR WHEN IT CAME OUT.  I IDENTIFIED HEAVILY WITH THIS GODDESS FOCUSED TREASURE AND THE YEAR THAT I MOVED THERE WAS AN INVITATION IN THE BOOK TO COME TO THEIR 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION.  I WAS BROKE AND WITHOUT MUCH WORK AND THEIR INTENTIONAL WOMEN'S COMMUNITY WAS IN OREGON.  BUT THE MESSAGES BECAME TOO STRONG AND POWERFUL TO IGNORE.  I HAD TO GO TO WE'MOON!

I WAS EXCITED ABOUT BRINGING MY PAINTINGS FOR THE TALENT SHOW AND I KNEW THAT "TAWANDA!" WAS SUPPOSED TO GET FINISHED AND BE THERE TOO.  I PAINTED INTENSELY FOR SEVERAL DAYS AND NIGHTS.  SHE BEGAN TO LOOK WILD AND POWERFUL LIKE TAWANDA SHOULD.

I GOT OFF TO A LATE START BECAUSE OF TAWANDA, BUT SHE FELT RIGHT STANDING UP IN MY BACK SEAT AS SHE WAS TOO BIG FOR MY TRUNK.  RACING UP THE HIGHWAY WELL INTO MY JOURNEY, I GLANCED BACK AT HER IN MY REARVIEW MIRROR.  SHE LOOKED INCOMPLETE. SHE NEEDED YELLOW!  I STOPPED AT A GIANT DOLLAR STORE AND GOT MY YELLOW PAINT.  WHEN I GOT A ROOM FOR THE NIGHT I KNEW I WOULDN'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO SLEEP.  I HAD TO GET TO WE'MOON AND I HAD SOME PAINTING TO DO. UP AT DAWN TO PAINT.  SHE FINALLY LOOKED COMPLETE.

IT WAS AN AMAZING WEEKEND THAT CULMINATED IN THE TALENT SHOW IN THE BARN ON SUNDAY.   I THOUGHT THE ROOF WOULD FLY OFF WITH ALL OF THE GODDESS POWER THAT WAS BEING GENERATED!
THERE WAS SINGING AND DANCING AND STORY TELLING AND UBIQUITOUS GODDESS WORSHIPPING.  "TAWANDA!" WAS A BIG HIT AND  MUSAWA GAVE HER THE PLACE OF HONOR ON THE STRAWBALE ALTAR IN FRONT ALONGSIDE MY  OTHER PAINTING, "BIRTHING THE GODDESS".  WHEN I GOT UP TO SPEAK ABOUT MY WORK I BURST INTO TEARS FROM SHEER GRATITUDE THAT A PLACE LIKE THIS EXISTED WHERE WOMYN COULD BE SO SELF EXPRESSED.  AFTERWARDS MUSAWA, THE CRONE CREATOR OF WE'MOON, THANKED ME FOR REMINDING HER WHY SHE DOES THE WE'MOON BOOK CALENDAR. 

I THANK ALL THOSE THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE ESSENCE AND RENAISSANCE OF TAWANDA..................

LONG LIVE TAWANDA!

"DREAMING TREE"

THE LAST PLACE I LIVED IN MIAMI HAD A MOST BEAUTIFUL TREE OUTSIDE MY WINDOW AND SLIDING GLASS DOORS......THIS TREE AND ONE PARTICULAR NIGHT BECAME THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS PAINTING.

THAT WAS THE NIGHT I WAS DOING A FULL TRANCE CHANNELING FOR A GROUP OF PEOPLE AND THE GREAT MOTHER CAME THROUGH. SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT HOW EVERYTHING IS MADE UP OF SYMBOLS AND THAT WE RESPOND TO THESE SYMBOLS WITH MAGICAL AND BEAUTIFUL FEELINGS. THAT'S WHY WE ARE AWED BY A MAGNIFICENT SUNSET. THEN SHE POINTED OUT TO WHERE THE TREE WAS AND SAID THAT FOR INSTANCE THAT TREE IS JUST CHOCK FULL OF SYMBOLS, WHICH IS ONE REASON WE LIKE THEM SO MUCH. THAT STUCK WITH ME AND I DECIDED TO PAINT A TREE WITH MY VERSION OF THE "SYMBOLS" BEING ALL THE DESIGNS I PUT IN ITS TRUNK.

ALSO I AM CREATING A GODDESS EMPOWERMENT DIVINATION AND INSPIRATION DECK OF CARDS. HERE IS THE MEANING OF THE "DREAMING TREE" CARD:

THIS IS THE DIVINE TREE OF LIFE - STRONG AND BEAUTIFUL - INVITING YOU INTO ITS MAGICAL WORLD, OFFERING THE FRUITS OF ITS CONSIDERABLE WISDOM AND PERSPECTIVE. THE TRUNK IS FILLED WITH THE HIDDEN SYMBOLS THAT ELICIT A COMMON AND DEEPLY REMEMBERED ESSENCE THAT IS THE GODDESS HERSELF.

INSPIRATION:

FROM THE RICH BODY OF MOTHER EARTH THE TREE STARTS OUT LIKE ALL PLANTS, SMALL AND FRAGILE. WITH TIME IT DEEPLY ROOTS ITSELF, GROWS A FORMIDABLE TRUNK, CYLINDRICAL AND STRONG AND CONTINUALLY REACHING HIGHER AND HIGHER TOWARDS THE SKY WITH BRANCHES STRETCHING OUT TO TOUCH ALL THE DIRECTIONS; EVEN AS IT CONTINUALLY ROOTS ITSELF DEEPER AND DEEPER TO ACCOMMODATE THE WEIGHT AND BREADTH OF THE UPWARD GROWTH. THE BRANCHES GROW THE LEAVES THAT ARE BEAUTIFUL AND SHADE US AND THE FRUIT THAT FEEDS US. IT PROVIDES OXYGEN THAT KEEPS US AND THE PLANET ALIVE.

TREES TRULY ARE GIVERS AND THEIR ABUSES HAVE BEEN MANY. THEY ARE SHAMANS AND SO GIVE US A PERFECT REFLECTION OF OUR SELF OR SELVES. TREES CARRY THE MEDICINE OF PATIENCE AND STABILITY AND THEY SHOW US THAT THERE IS GRACE, POWER AND WISDOM IN AGING. AND THOUGH THEY DON'T SEEM TO FIGHT BACK, THEY HAVE SHOWN ME THAT THEY WILL HAVE JUSTICE.

WE SHOULD ALL BE LISTENING TO THE TREES.

DIVINATION:

LIFE IS CALLING YOU HOME.

THE TREE STANDS BEFORE YOU WITH BEAUTY AND GIFTS OF SHADE, STABILITY, FRUIT AND LONGEVITY. YOU NOW HAVE YOUR ROOTS (FEET) PLANTED FIRMLY IN MAMA EARTH AND YOU CAN REACH FOR THE SKY AND STARS AS YOU NEVER HAVE BEFORE. THIS HAS BEEN A LONG PROCESS. NOW THE REWARDS AND FRUITS ARE MANY AND CLOTHED IN THE MAGIC AND BEAUTY OF MAGNIFICENCE AND GRACE.

SPREAD YOUR PICNIC BLANKET 'CAUSE THE PARTY'S ABOUT TO BEGIN.

THIS TRULY IS YOUR LONG AWAITED HOMECOMING!

YOU HAVE COME OF AGE!