Journey 11 - First Encounter with Rains Again

I decided today’s Journey should be to discover the Native history of my Power Area. It is obviously filled with Spirit Power (recall I’ve seen it flowing in a Dream Vision), and has been there for eons. So I self-drummed, and soon met with Crosses, my Snake Guide, near the Epiphany Tree. He dug a small hole and suggested we go down through it. We went directly under the Epiphany Tree, and I could clearly see its dear roots spreading out in all directions, hanging down from the ground above us as if suspended from a ceiling. Suddenly, directly below the Tree, stood a very old and worn Tipi. I got the sense that the portion of the Tree above ground were the sticks sticking out of the Tipi’s top. Crosses and I went into the Tipi, and it was very dark and old, smelling of long-since burnt Sacred Herbs. There was nothing on the walls, the floor was very dark and bare. Suddenly, all my Helpers (Two Feathers, Gray Wolf, Eagle Claw, Underground Bear and of course Crosses) appeared with me, and we all joined hands and were floating around in the dark. After a few seconds, I could see land below me. It was my neighborhood, but very long ago. The River near my house was wider and closer to my house than it is now. The area was thickly wooded, as now. I got the sense that the people who lived here then were mainly fish and small game eaters. There was a strong feeling that this area never supported large groups of people for long periods of time. However, there was one small Tribe that lived here, about 900 years ago. One of the men from this Tribe came out of the sunlit woods (as I now stood on the ground) and showed me a wood and sinew contraption that had 5 corners, with the sinews interconnecting all the points both around and across. He held it out to me to inspect. I had no idea what it was, but though it might be a hunting tool..but how would that work?! I was confused. Suddenly, my mind shifted to the area right behind my shed, but in a time way back. I saw a very old man, the Tribal Shaman. He had a set of stones on the ground, 5 of them, with sticks interconnecting all the points, just like the item the man had showed me. So THAT was it! What I was shown was a mini-version of the Shaman’s power altar. I sensed that the Shaman would dance around these stones and sticks for power and prayer. I saw that he could actually change his size from very large (taller than the trees) to very small (smaller than a chipmunk). I sensed he used this power both to heal and to discover news. He did not use a Pipe..it was not invented. But he did use to the Spirit of Stones and Trees to work. I sensed his name was “Rains Again.” I sensed that in his practice, Rains Again had to deal with a lot of Negative Forces. I was so unnerved at one point I had to ask Crosses to come sit by me as I viewed these Stones. Having recovered my balance, I then realized that these stones are still down under my Prayer Site! What a thrill! They have been pushed and spread apart a bit by the centuries of Earth-shifting, but they are still there!! The Shaman himself was buried about 700 feet SE of my house, so HE is still there too. No wonder there is so much Spirit Power in this area, and that I was restored to my Shaman ways by living here. I then sensed that all of us, my Helpers and Rains Again, were meeting in my room (but what is was back then) as I lay there. White Spirit Rain was falling heavily upon all of us, strengthening us. Rains Again, who was on my right, then drew a symbol in the dirt before me. It was an S, with two small dots, one within each bend of the letter. To the upper right (the Northeast quadrant) of the S was a rotated right-parentheses symbol that stretched from the east to the north point. I memorized this symbol, for I was certain it was being given to me as a symbol of Shamanic Power! (I have since, in the hour since my Journey ended, constructed a Shaman’s Wand using a small stick given me a few weeks ago on a walk with Janet. I have attached all the Feathers I received from the Hawk-kill of the Dove a few weeks back. On the handle of the stick I have carved in my new symbol. This Wand will now serve with me to strengthen my Prayer Ceremonies.) After this message, I returned to the here and now. I have since checked my new symbol against ancient symbology called “Runes”, used by the ancients as power symbols. My symbol is very close to the rune that stands for “Power of Will, Directing Power, Spine, Regeneration, the SHAMAN’S RUNE (my emphasis added)”. There is therefore no doubt I have been given my own Shaman’s symbol. How amazingly exciting!! I then checked the number 5, since I’m not used to any other Sacred numbers than 4 and 7. 5 stands for the Power of Unconditional Love! It represents “the means of merging with all that exists around us.” It also represents “the primary matrix, a center with 4 cardinal points”. It represents “the Power of Family, and is placed in the due South, the Direction of Trust and Innocence.” So now I have a firm knowledge of the Spirit past of this place, and have the added bonus of having met with and received my Shaman’s symbol from the Shaman who once practiced here.