Luminous Steps
   by Ananaia O’Leary

Why do you seek this?” I ask her, as she sits across from me expressing the desire to develop her intuitive abilities.

It has been such a focus of discussion and attention that the question catches her unawares, and she laughs aloud in that wondrously naked laugh of hers. The one that reveals her willingness to expose the regions she has not yet explored. “That’s a great question!”

We go deeper … she breaths the question into my cuya, one of my stone helpers. It rests on the cloth of my mesa, my medicine bag, holding undiscovered wisdom. The rattling begins. We are calling forth the spirits of Nature and Ancestors … calling out her spirit, that which is luminous within her. Spirit answers, flowing into the sacred space between and around us. She responses. She is ready; open to shift and receive. The rattling continues and the stone begins to speak … sharing flashes of history … pain and impeccability, a soul contract to utilize her deep spirit power only in right-alignment … peeling away the appeal of identities to unveil the purpose beneath …

Expansion … “I’m seeking expansion,” she breathes again into the cuya, moving its placement within the ring of stones on my mesa cloth. Now the stone draws us into the realm of visions, riding the sound of the rattle. Here is Eagle medicine … a medicine man embodying Eagle.

He is chanting. The words form on my lips and die away, faltering on my inability to shape the unfamiliar sounds rising in my mind. He is showing us impeccability, absolute knowledge of Spirit-force moving through the world, through him. He is calling the spirits. They will answer him. He knows this. He has no doubt. Every cell in alignment.

Now he is dancing, leading a ceremony in sacred circle, sand beneath his feet, rocks rising around him. Others join in the dance … a handful of human dancers and then the eagles, drawn by the power, like answering like. The eagles come! First one, then another, then flights of eagles soar in the sky above. Night falls. Dancers fade away until once more he dances alone. Eagles wheel skyward, seeking nests in high places.

Now Serpent awakens, slithering up from her subterranean home, moving with messages from the Earth Mother. She writhes across the circle beneath the feet of the lone dancer … danger and wisdom combine. Each footfall must be impeccable now. He curves his shoulders, moving deeper into the dance. Welcoming guidance, allowing it to flow over and through him. Mantling him. Infusing him. Empowering him for the spirit-dance. He is moving without hesitation, each foot perfectly placed, avoiding Serpent’s coils. 

Night deepens. Heart deepens. He is drawing on guidance now … no longer from fear, but from love. Careful. Careful, lest he injure this sweet serpent ally. It is love that guides him … deeper purpose emerges. We are invited to seek spirit guidance … not simply to ensure the safety of our path, but to ensure that each step is taken in love, with respect for All.

We emerge from the dream, energies dancing across the mesa … across the space between us, around us. She is aligning … Eagle above her head, Serpent beneath her feet … aligning with spirit, with love … expanding … luminous.

Thanks to my spirit sister for permission to share her story.