As a North Woman, I'm the least comfortable in the shamanic East, the time we're now entering; the time of eternal spring, of the rising sun, of birdsong and budding plants; the time when the earth is greening; the time of new beginnings when all things seem possible. Yes, all of that is lovely, but the shamanic East is also the place where we learn diplomacy, something for which, as a North Woman, I have no innate talent nor instinct whatsoever. Any diplomatic bone I might once have possessed was broken in my youth, and has never healed, now deeply buried beneath my North personna. So our journeys through this peaceful, beautiful landscape may be rocky at times. . .the lessons I must learn there are often difficult. For that reason, I won't be taking you along on my journey adventures in the shamanic East to begin with. Instead, I offer you these teachings about the shamanic East, and a little story and song about a dream White Otter had of The Time of the Greening Earth.
To help you more easily visualize the landscape of the shamanic East and She Who Walks in Beauty there, here's a link to the story of White Otter's dream, and a shamanic song about the East.
So that you'll get a better sense of what I mean when I speak about women as belonging to a particular direction, let's continue our entrance into the shamanic East with a small teaching about the Spring Woman of the East. All of these teachings are taken from my little self help book, Shamanic First Aid for Today's Woman.
THE SPRING WOMAN OF THE EAST
Key Words: Diplomacy, Harmony, Grace
The Spring/East Woman is born with a natural sense of diplomacy and an inherent ability to create harmony and beauty whatever she does or wherever she goes. If you are an East Woman, you use your tact to gently guide people, share difficult truths, or resolve conflicts.
Even when she is in the process of freeing herself from internalized patriarchal religious teachings, which is achieved in the East, the East Woman maintains her grace and dignity, and thus offers balance to the wild energies of her complementary opposite, the West Woman.
In order to get along in a “man’s world,” many women disguise themselves as East women, when indeed their natural directional personality type is very different.
The ability to draw upon the power and guidance of each of the feminist shamanic archetypes is one goal of feminist shamanic practice, and is a very desirable skill to acquire. However, drawing upon East Woman skills consciously, because they are the very skills needed to successfully deal with a particular situation, is not at all the same as unconsciously presenting oneself as an East Woman when your natural directional personality type would present itself very differently.
The Spring/East Woman under Stress
The East Woman under stress may find that her innate sense of diplomacy, harmony, and grace is seriously compromised. Under such conditions, she may retreat into the realm of visions and daydreams as a way of escaping the harsh demands of reality.
East Issues
Do you sometimes feel “spaced out” or unable to focus when faced with having to negotiate a difficult situation?
Whether or not you’re an East Woman by nature, if you are feeling spaced out or unable to focus, then you are experiencing an East challenge. You are being given an opportunity to refocus on the task or challenge at hand, and on bringing the East skills of diplomacy and grace to bear on the situation, so that harmony will finally prevail.
Shamanic First Aid for East Issues
This is a practice for regaining focus when we have inadvertently slipped into daydreams or fantasies as a way of escaping challenging situations:
1. Stand facing East in a place where you feel safe and strong. Ideally this would be outside somewhere, but it can also be done right in your home.
2. Extend your arms out in front of you, palms down. Hold them in that position, asking for grounding and clarifying Earth energy to come to you through the palms of your hands. When this energy rises up to you from deep within the earth, you will feel a sensation of some kind in the palms of your hands.
3. With your arms still extended, place your palms together in the prayer position, then bring your hands to your forehead. Open your hands, palms facing you, with the outside edges of your palms touching.
4. Place your fingertips on the middle of your forehead to receive the grounding and clarifying earth energy they now contain.
5. Repeat several times if necessary, until you feel grounded and clear-headed again.
An Emergency Quick Fix for East Issues
1. Whenever you find that you have unconsciously drifted away into a trance state of one kind or another in response to the stress of a challenge, immediately visualize, the feminine East archetype about whom Otter dreams, She Who Walks in Beauty, beside you, taking your hand, guiding you. Don’t forget that at times you may want to drift off into visionary trance states, but that should always be a conscious choice made to facilitate creative efforts or thinking, rather than unconsciously drifting off into a trance state in response to stresses or challenges.
2. This emergency fix for East issues involves a variation on the East Visualization below, which you should practice in advance, prior to encountering an East issue, so that it is immediately available to you when needed: When you greet She Who Walks in Beauty in the visualization below, ask her for a grounding and clarifying song you can sing, either aloud, if the situation permits, or in your mind, if necessary. Listen carefully to the song she gives you, thank her, return to ordinary consciousness, and practice singing the song until you have committed it to memory. Then write it down for future reference. (These kinds of shamanic songs are very ephemeral, so it’s important to both practice and record them as soon as we receive them.)
When faced with any kind of stressful issue which would normally cause you to dissociate into a trance state to escape from it, sing this song.
AN EAST VISUALIZATION
1. Stand or sit facing East, hands at your sides, or palms down on your thighs, your gaze directed at the earth or floor about four feet in front of you. Breathe in and out a few times before beginning the visualization.
2. With your eyes open, visualize a beautiful Spring landscape in the distance, just beyond the veil of your everyday vision. Breathe in and out deeply a few times as you contemplate the mysterious beauty of the beautiful Spring landscape of the shamanic East.
3. See that the time of day is Dawn, that the Sun is rising on the horizon, and that the eastern sky is awash with its soft rainbow light. Breathe in and out deeply a few times as you contemplate the mysterious beauty of the dawning Spring landscape of the shamanic East awash in the soft rainbow light of the Rising Sun.
4. Gazing into the Spring landscape of the shamanic East, you see the Great Valley at its heart, illuminated by the soft rainbow light of the Rising Sun. Breathe in and out deeply a few times as you contemplate the mysterious beauty of the Great Valley of the shamanic East awash in the soft rainbow light of the Rising Sun.
5. From within the depths of the Great Valley, a graceful feminine figure walks towards you. You recognize her as She Who Walks in Beauty. Breathe in and out deeply a few times as you contemplate the mysterious beauty of She Who Walks in Beauty at home in the Spring landscape of the shamanic East.
6. You greet her respectfully, and ask for her guidance for dealing with any East challenge you may be facing, and for your East song.
7. Now make yourself receptive to the guidance she offers you. You may hear it, sense it, see it, or feel it. When she has finished advising you, thank her, and offer her a gift. This gift will appear in your hands.
8. Gradually return to your ordinary state of consciousness. You are now prepared to deal effectively with whatever East challenge or situation you may be facing.
AN EAST AFFIRMATION
In the place of the Rising Sun
In the place of eternal Spring
In the place of birdsong and new growth
Where Otter swims,
I stand within the Great Valley at its heart,
Gazing towards the Center, where Sea Turtle abides.
As visionary, creative and spiritual power inspire me,
I am freed to explore feminine visions and spirituality.
I stand upon the collective visionary, creative and spiritual power
Of my feminine ancestry.
My arms reach for the sky,
Calling down unto myself that which is needed
To realize my soul’s purpose.
Before me is beauty. May I walk in beauty.
Behind me is harmony. May I walk in harmony.
To my right is feminine vision. May I honor it.
To my left is feminine spirituality. May I discover it.
I set my intent to honor, earn, and fully express
These, the gifts of the shamanic East.