Psychedelic Easter in Antigua Guatemala

Here I am in glorious Antigua, Guatemala. I have come to Central America to learn Spanish and experience Semana Santa, Easter in this Technicolor land. It is the biggest Easter celebration in the world, begun after the Spanish overtook these lands. The procesiones (processions) and valaciones (holy vigils) have been occurring since the mid 1500s. The procesiones have 7000 pound floats that shudder and lurch through the streets with 60 men, women or children carrying them on their shoulders for 10 to 12 hours. These devotees all wear purple robes until good Friday when they change to black. A corporeal representation of the weight of responsibility and honor necessary to properly eulogize Senor Sepultado, the crucified Christ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh84u0Ak07E

These behemoth barges are glittering  apparitions, surging and swaying over the cobblestone streets. They are made even more magical and elusive by the thick cloud of frankincense dutifully swung ahead of the approaching float. With its jerking movements it seems like a drunken centipede, with the altar of the gods above attempting to win the  beauty pageant for devotional glory. There are a series of Jesus´s and Mother Mary´s that leave the different churches daily throughout holy week. They are very very graphic, with all of the blood and glory of the crucifixion horror portrayed.

The entire event is awe inspiring, crowds of believers filling the streets lined with food and souvenir venders adding a circus atmosphere to everything.  A band follows the float, with the loud exhaust spewing little generation responsible for illuminating Mary or Jesus as they lunge through the streets. The droning funeral march of the band can be heard throughout the town from morning to night. They even blast it on televisions when the procession is not near. I have been taking both film and digital pictures, and will not see the fruits of my labor with the analog images until I return.

As I write they are broadcasting Christ in his coffin being paraded through a church. This is a big deal here. I do not in any way mean to minimize colonialism, destruction of indigenous culture, or the violations done by organized religion, but I also wonder where  true devotion and love for Jesus and Mary fits into all of the injustices. Beatrex Quntanna spoke of an astrological event over the next 8 years where we are to heal the heart of the world religions. I am holding onto that, the beauty, the sincerity, the humility of honoring something  beyond ourselves, the great grace within the Mystery.

How do we get any better than this? Well, there are the alfombras, the mandala like carpets that are spread over the nubby cobblestone streets for the processions to stagger over. These rainbow carpets are made of colored sawdust, flowers, plants, bottle caps…anything that may make a powerful statement to the beauty of Christ´s sacrifice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZEED4iMv8c

I wish I could upload some of my images, but I have freed myself from my laptop and do not have a secure place to lad my images. It will have to wait. If you search google images for ¨Easter + Antigual Guatemala or Semana Santa + Antigua¨ you can see some of the barges and carpets. I added a couple of videos so you can get the idea.

New Years Monk Mandala with POP ART

The Monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery rock! I was blessed to have a front row seat at the releasing of this labor of love, the sand mandala. Words cannot convey how intense this work of art is, I was shaking when I saw it “finished”  on New Years Eve.

Seret’s Collection here in Santa Fe hosts the monks each year for their daily chanting and sand tapestry creations.  I had never seen the releasing, and was blessed to have my buddies Amy and Beth there with me. Each stage of the ceremony was filled with a pageantry and beauty that was inspiring.

When the monks came out in their yellow crowns I felt like Mayan priests had entered the room from centuries past. The telescoping horns they played shook my entire torso as the two elder women bowed to their offerings. Watching the precision and reverence they carried during each of the phases of the event was an honor.

They chanted, blew horns, made wild and crazy chaotic explosions of noise, and then were silent. Life really has become like one big acid trip, without the drugs. The world really is Technicolor, in sight, sounds, taste….and these ancient practices recognize that. Lets shake-um up so they enter an alternate reality, and then bring it down so they can sink into the temple we’ve created.

Then the mudra-making bell-ringer circumvented the mandala, took the white daisy that has been with the Dalai Lama altar, and dropped it in the center. Very Wabi Sabi; lets rake a perfect zen garden, and then drop a leaf in it.

He took bits of the sand from each directions and dropped them in the center on the flower. He bowed his head, took off his pompadour hat, and placed some sand on the crown of his head. Next came the slow and methodical crooked pointer finger pushing the sand into the center from the four cardinal directions, and then the cross quarters. In one of the photos you can see the white powder on the monk’s finger and his quietly profound recognition of having this sacred dust on his finger.

Time for  a changing of the guard, another monk takes his blue handled brush and does swirls into the center to obscure the images. wow. The busy bee monks are on point again, no more rhythmic chanting here, they need to make little dime bags of sand for we patient devotees to carry off into the world. The MC monk said this was the first time they had dedicated one of their mandalas to abundance and prosperity. They wished for the world to see a rebalancing in resources.

AND as if it couldn’t get any better than this…THE POP ART ARRIVES.

Yes, one of the monks has a CHIPS AHOY box to carry the little sand offerings in. It was such a thrilling juxtaposition, the ancient traditions with a gleaming blue box of processed American cookies. The commercialization of the “good life,” in a box of hockey puck “treats.”  Life is so so good. And now my two baggies of vibrating rainbow sand are sitting with Santo Nino, Eshu, messenger between the worlds and opener of the pathways to blessings and abundance. Blessings on the sacred sparkly soils.

Thanks Amy for the first image of the Mandala-its a great one.

to see more about the monks: www.MysticalArtsofTibet.org

Trespassing, Holy Dirt and Baby Jesus’ Shoes

I love to trespass. I have so few vices left that my punk rock soul needs something disobedient.  “You don’t drink, don’t smoke…what do you do?” {Had to get a little Adam Ant up in here}. I am actually a fairly modest person in everyday life, despite the wild and intense work I create. I need outlets for pushing the boundaries of my courage and fierceness. There is something about a forbidden place, a place that is imposing, boarded up, abandoned that peaks my interest. What will be in there, who might have passed that way, and what did they leave behind.

I have been exploring deserted places since I was a child. I grew up in a family of artist, adventurers, scavengers; young parents who brought their curious child along on their borderland journeys.  We would scale down beached barges, take photographs with graffiti strewn barns, crawl in the windows of decommissioned army housing to see what we might find. My father particularly loves to collect funky-old-cool things with character and personality. The addition he built onto his 30-year-old artists studio in Fremont used doors and windows salvaged from 40 years before.

Yesterday I drove to my beloved Chimayo, The Lourdes on North America. A cherished pilgrimage site and sanctuary to the Tierra Bendita, Sacred Soil, that is said to bring miraculous healing. This land is also sacred to the Tewa Indians.

I came to offer the first printing of my Oracle of Initiation deck, the divine work that has emerged on this New Mexico land, of this land, through dancing with the Holy Dirt. The Oracle deck really is devotional cards, born out of great reverence for the Earth, Ancestors, and the power of the unseen Guides and Guardians. They are dedicated to the mystery of our emerging expansion, the dream-time, the power of stepping between the veils to claim your true essence.

They are also an acknowledgment of the power of faith; of viewing your challenges and trials from a spiritual perspective. The belief that our struggles and complexities are actually the tempering process forming us into sacred vessels capable of carrying our true gifts. One of the core inspirations for the deck is the old religious cards of Mary, Jesus and the Saints. I did not grow up Catholic, but I have always been deeply drawn to the symbolism and iconography of that faith. I have died and gone to heaven living in a place where you constantly see the  homemade imagery and crafts of a very earthy and sincere love for the divine.

My wish was to offer some of the images from the deck in a holy and sacrificial way to this sacred site. I was on pilgrimage to honor the incredible work that had channeled through me. As I entered the grounds from the lower parking lot, I placed 4 of the cards onto the chain-link fence adorned with rustic little twig and rope crosses.  The most Mother Mary-like images chose to be represented:  36. Trust; 46. Reliance; 56. Dedication; and 64. Sanctified. I was so focused on placing the cards firmly on the fence that I had not noticed a companion nearby. The horse spirits brought me back to the land in a powerful and potent way. They are one of the main guardians of the Oracle deck, and honored guides on my earthwalk. As I was fussing with the cards I heard out of the corner of my consciousness a subtle, yet familiar whinny.  I looked up to see a large, furry, four-legged equine friend. I had never seen it there before, so I brought the cards over for an inspection. They obviously needed some sacred horse markings, because the animal grabbed them in its mouth and drug two of them over the fence. I was both surprised and thrilled. I felt the offering had been accepted; slimy grass-flecked horse saliva is a great honor. I retrieved them from under the fence and continued on. Quite an auspicious beginning; thank you beloved horse being for consecrating the Oracle.

As I placed the cards on different altars throughout the property, I was amazed at how naturally they blended in with all of the rosaries, crosses and devotional candles. I had accomplished my goal of making a deck that referenced the dedication and commitment of those traditions without being tied to the dogma of those beliefs.

I carried the cards around this beautiful old church and eventually brought them into El Pocito, The Well. The Myth is that around 1810 a devout Spanish Friar saw a light emerging from one of the surrounding hillsides by the Santa Cruz River. With his bare hands he dug down into the earth and found the crucifix that graces the main altar of the church now. The local parish in Santa Cruz tried 3 times to take the cross away from its original location to their church, and three times the cross disappeared and returned to the initial hole. So they left the cross in Chimayo, building a church around this crucifix and the well of sacred soil that is said to have miraculous healing properties.

In the room adjoining El Pocito, there are crutches left as signs of the sanctified soil’s power to transform infirmities. I had always noticed the lines of baby shoes, but had never read the story of Santo Nino de Atocha. Santo Nino represents Baby Jesus as he cared for persecuted Christians in Spain. He is said to watch over prisoners, bringing them bread and water to survive. He carries a basket filled with flowers and food, and a walking stick with a water gourd attached. The baby shoes are to replace the ones he wears out during his travels supporting those in need. I was really taken with this humble notion of the servant being so active that he needs a constant supply of new footwear. Santo Nino is also one of the Catholicized version of the African deity Eshu, guardian of the crossroads.

So, back to trespassing. There was an abandoned house I had always wanted to photograph and explore, and today was the day. I decided to circumnavigate the property, seeing if there were any interesting things in the back. Bingo-the side door was open. I always ask permission before entering vacant dwellings. They are so filled with disembodied Spirits that you must be sure you will be energetically safe.

When I was traveling around the American West visiting horse people, I had an amazing trespassing experience in the old mining town of Wallace, ID. I found an old Victorian home that looked as if it had not been occupied since the 1940’s or 50’s. The peeling wallpapers and layers of paint patinas were glorious. When I went upstairs, the back bedroom was completely intact. It was so eerie, I could feel the old woman who lived there. You have to be careful about what has taken up residence in these deserted places. You are entering a sacred temple, and the lives of the past occupants are still present. It serves you to be quiet, respectful and alert.

So I asked if I was safe, and got the go-ahead. The rooms were strewn with piles of little faded boxes and cartons from the1950’s. There were also cases of the left over religious candles from the altars in the church. The boxes were all from baby shoes. Hmmmm. I continued around the back and found a really interested tableau though an open window. I was initially not going to go in, there are houses directly behind this one and I didn’t want to be yelled at. As I walked away, I realized I needed to climb in. So off I went, and my curiosity was richly rewarded. Those gentle little intuitive voices will bring you some very interesting adventures.

Part of the reason I go into these deserted places is because they are portals. They are crossroads; liminal spaces where the divine and the mundane meet; truly alternate realities. There are potent forces that gather where the heavens and earth merge, and what might you create there? New Mexico itself is one big magical multi-cultural land of enchantment and mystery.  It has revealed itself to me on occasion.

As I clamored in, more graffiti, abandoned chairs, and the torn white sailcloth ceiling cover dangling from the rafters. The torn white fabric revealed a pristine wooden viga ceiling. The ceiling looked brand new. I found this juxtaposition interesting. The seafoam green adobe structure was disintegrating, graffiti tags and lewd saying were everywhere, and here was this perfectly preserved ceiling. Might the illusion of this decaying edifice be shrouding a holy shrine?

I rounded the corner into another room, and what I saw stopped me dead in my tracks.

The entire room was completely covered in hundreds of pairs of baby shoes, infants clothing and faded statues of saints.   This is one of those acid-trip moments; Am I really here, did I dream this, is it real? Am I real? How in the world did these little offerings get into this abandoned building? The divine can be hidden in the most interesting places, reveling itself on its own terms.

As I surveyed the room I could not believe what I was seeing. There were boxes and baskets filled with hundreds of little time-warped children’s shoe packaging.  To the left was a built-in wooden cabinet styled as if it was the most precious layette awaiting the newborn’s arrival.

A beckoning stairwell dominated the room, light streaming down from the broken out windows. I was literally astonished by this secret shrine. At the top of the stairs was a glorious statue of the grace-filled servant Santo Nino joyfully watching over this sacred space. Santo Nino, Eshu, guardians of travelers, the crossroads, they were holding court over this hallowed ground.

These are the same mysteries and devotions I am searching for by creating The Oracle of Initiation deck; myth, magical & allegory; the hidden treasures of the unknown; entering the temple of your fears and finding glowing Saints and Guardians; exploring new vistas and navigating unrecognized worlds. You will need dedication and courage to investigate your own neglected places, to open those locked doors, to decipher the unconscious graffiti of your psyche.  What great beauty, joy and magic awaits if you step through the threshold into the unknown? And how will you trust that your worn out shoes will be always be reverently replaced?

And remember…only 3 more days of the amazing pricing on the 88 limited Edition Oracle of Initiation decks…only $88 bucks-wow….

https://melissaweisssteele.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/88-decks-8-days-88-bucks-order-the-limited-edition-oracle-of-initiation-deck-now/

Unveiling the Limited Edition version of The Oracle of Initiation Deck

Last night was a BIG NIGHT {but Stanley Tucci was not there…}.  I unveiled 56 of the images from the Limited Edition Oracle of Initiation divination deck. The Santa Fe Embodydance community were the first humans to see this monumental project I have been gifted with prinited. The altar honored the many inspirations & guardians for the deck. Alec did a beautiful wave, and people got to choose cards from the altar. WAAAYY COOOOL. Stay tuned for Monday the 8th for the yummy offers on getting your hands on one of 88 limited edition decks. love and light, Kawhu Abeja

The Search for Lost Beauty

“This wanting, this drive to consume, is really a drive that we assert for the lost beauty. Beauty is so complete that it is outside of the reach of human language. You just have to be in it.  There is something in being {infinite} that tells me about the absolute humility inside beauty, once you have become one with it. This is what makes this particular lifetime worthwhile, the pursuit of it, and the willingness to die searching or serving it.”

Malidome Patrice Some

This is so true, and so vast, and so deep. Beauty is intangible, and yet we know it when we experience it; it elevates us; it has an energy signature. It can be cross-cultural, as well as specific to a certain locations and periods. It has a vibration, resonating differently within each of us, but, as a devotee of inner and outer beauty Jeanne Releyea says, “Beauty is a Feeling.”

Beauty is like tenderness, it can undo you. It can be so transformative, overwhelming, and heartbreaking that it can bring us to tears. Some people weep during certain pieces of music, in front of artworks, or spending a moment gazing into their children’s eyes. If we have been severely broken or shattered, we may not have the capacity to actually hold the vibration. We may react against it, or turn away, not able to meet this awesome force. As with the genuine erotic, which is a form of beauty because it comes from a core of authentic truth, our culture has neglected this essential human need for living in beauty.

Not everyone has lost this way of living. I remember when I was immersed in Early Childhood Education I read an incredible book on children’s spaces. One of the environments they discussed was a classroom of a Reggio Emilia preschool in Italy. The Reggio Emilia programs are extraordinary. I could totally get on my shoe box here about the primal need children have for freedom and empowerment through  creatively shaping their environments without adult dominance. The Reggio Emilia method allows the children to communally brainstorm and then produce elaborate projects around a chosen theme. The level of collaboration and vision these Italian kids are working at could serve many of our adult institutions worldwide. But we will leave that passion for another post.

The image in the book was of a Reggio Emilia hallway in a sunny, art-filled compound with a beautifully displayed collection of stones. The way these objects were placed, you knew this school was a temple; and everything, and everyone, and every process was a sacred ritual, and an altar. Everyone was allowed to shine. They were operating out of their divinity. We are talking about being in beauty here. Living it.

The other piece of this book that was extraordinary was the sense of play and perspective the author had. To me exuberance, awe, and delight are all pathways into beauty. The author suggested when designing children’s classrooms to get on your hands and knees and crawl around to understand the experience small children would have in the space. This is brilliant. This is about stepping out of our habitual ways of interacting and getting a new view; referencing from a new angle; unsettling our preconceived notions to let new inspirations in. We need to “get out of the way” and open to wonder. Wonder is a natural reaction to beauty, and wonder is transcendent.

I ultimately believe beauty is the merging of the heavens and the Earth . It is transcendent, and that is why it touches us so deeply. It may come through a physical manifestation, a stone, a beetle, a captured image; or it may touch us through heartfelt words, a dedication to a cause, a fierceness of spirit in the face of adversity. We can become beauty through reclaiming that unique brilliance we each carry, a signature which calls to be expressed. When we courageously open to our light, we open the channels to our divinity, as Malidome says , we become infinite.

“Beauty is a form of genius-is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation.” Oscar Wilde

I do this in my own work. I essentially get on my knees to meet the earth, the darkness, tunnels, the stonewalls from an altar-ed perspective. Being on our knees is also the humility that naturally flows out of truly being in touch with transcendent experiences. I step out of my every day get-it-done mode and open to the wonder and the magic. The beauty is there. It will meet you. You just have to come play-where are you going to get on your knees today?

Opening quote From:

Orion Magazine, Summer 1998

“To Help us be Human”

an interview with Malidoma Patrice Some by  Melissa Nelson

Sacred Adornment-The Altar-ing of Self

In my Painted Body photography series for The Oracle of Initiation deck, sacred adornment is a central part of the process.  The talismanic jewels and natural objects I decorate myself with are as altar-ing as the painting itself. The feathers, scarves, crystals & bones all carry an energy and power that radiates beyond their physical existence. In welcoming them into a ceremonial process, they reveal their true essence, offering a glimpse into the inner-glow that everything possesses but we rarely notice. We see that things we perceived as lifeless are actually filled with a sparkling grace.

In Norse mythology, Freya, the Goddess of beauty and love {Scandinavians version of Aphrodite & Oshun} wears a gleaming golden necklace named Brisingamen. It is said to be the most beautiful piece of jewelry in the world. To receive this treasure she spends a night of “love” with each of the four dwarves who crafted the necklace. One of the interpretations of the dwarves is as the four directions of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. I also view them as the richness available within the underworld; the darker inner-places where complexity and contradiction nurture great creativity and visions. Freya returned to her primal elemental connections to claim her true radiance.  I descend into tunnels and caves to see the glow of my own amber abundance.

I too decorate the temple of my body during the photographic process. I become naked & vulnerable, as well as bejeweled & majestic. This is the paradox of the work- getting muddy and becoming a Queen. Offering ones self to the dwarves for the most beautiful necklace in the world. What shadows in your life could be the contrast illuminating your most glorious gifts?

Altars as a Way of Life

Altars as a Way of Life is sharing one of my favorites ways of bringing the power &  beauty of  reverence  into our  daily lives.  I see altars as visual prayers, focusing  intentions and praise on what you value , honor and love.

I will offer regular posts of altars I have either created or found, sharing my insights, impressions and inspirations gained from seeing life through the eyes of  sacred intention.

Altars can be anywhere. They can take many forms, man-made,  indoor or outdoor, and impermanent natural occurrences.  For  me to call it an altar,  there is something harmonious and powerful that i can both see and feel. There is a synergy, a coming together, a  resonance in that specific space.  It may be a ring of flowers on the forest floor, a stacking of rocks in an arroyo, or a spider web glistening with dew. There is something magical and mysterious and otherworldly that elicits a sense of awe. It really is a visceral feeling in my body, I don’t always “see” them before they come to my attention. I was walking through the forest in my beloved Discovery Park  in Seattle  and my attention was literally  yanked behind me to  a large tree just off the pathway. There was a woven circle of twigs placed subtlety on a tree branch-I would not have ‘seen’ it the direction i was heading, but i felt the strong  intention.

The first altar photograph above is one of my Ancestor altars. They are the ones who walked before us, and have influenced many things about our lives. I choose to give them respect and honor by placing them in a central part of my home. All of the Elements are brought together on this altar, feathers for air, stones and bones for earth, water in the cup, and candles for fire. Recognizing the Elements is a way to bring balance and harmony to our existence as we are simultaneously  both earthly and Spirit beings.  They are the basis of our lives, air for breath, water for blood, earth for bones and fire for our Spirit/life force. When we access their powers we are able to enhance those areas we need support in, and transform, release or integrate those areas we have excess or inconsistencies.

Altars can and do surprise us with their appearances. The photo of my Horse Drum by Soaring Eagle Woman http://www.soaringeaglewoman.com/ below is during a Medicine Walk I was on. When I saw the light coming through the back of the hide, it was a Hopi Kachina. I was stunned, the Kachinas are the Native American Hopi peoples Elemental Angels/Spirit guardians. This image pre-dates my draw to the southwest by about 2 years-our path may call us years before we actually arrive there. The earth altar  above is in my beloved Rainbow Canyon here in New Mexico. I have taken many of my Painted Body images for my Oracle of Initiation deck in this sacred place.  The altar  has such a grace and presence to it, I had to take a picture.

I look forward to sharing the magical images and presences that appear through this process.  MelissaBee

You can see more of my ritualistic artwork/artlife through The Oracle of Initiation page on the menu above right, or go to my main website at http://www.Weiss-Steele.com to see all of my bodies of work. I have an Oracle of Initiation page on Facebook   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Fe-NM/Oracle-of-Initiation/49839812155#/pages/Santa-Fe-NM/Oracle-of-Initiation/49839812155 as well, you can even see the influences for the Painted Body images in the deck. For more information about divination readings, got to that subject in the upper right hand corner of this Blog.