A few weeks back, I led an intimate fire ceremony for some of my family. The purpose of this particular ceremony was to give to the fire anything that no longer served us. We did this by breathing our burdens into our own stick, and then giving each stick, one by one, to the fire. The ceremony was clearing, of course.
But I want to share what else happened – what reminded me, yet again, how closely connected we are to Nature and everything around us:
As part of the ceremony, I called in the spirits of God’s creatures that represent the four directions. The moment I finished calling in these powerful Beings, a nearby pack of coyotes began to serenade.
Even as it was happening, I understood the significance of their song, and the hair stood upon my arms. The coyotes finished singing, and remained respectfully quiet while we, in the circle around the fire, continued with our ceremony.
Yet, after the closing prayer, after I thanked the beautiful Nature Beings for joining us and then released them to continue on their journeys, the coyote chorus erupted anew. They sang for a few minutes before they also continued on their own journey. It was the most powerful experience, and truly difficult to capture in words.
Coyotes are powerful messengers that ask us to reflect on things we may have pushed down or hidden from others. Left unchecked, these issues can impact body, mind and spirit. Coyote also comes to us when family needs support. How fitting that we were all family encircling the fire, releasing our burdens.
The purpose of the ceremony might have been for letting go, but the power definitely came through connection with Nature that night.
Sending you love,
Lisa