For ALL who have the LS Native American Tarot!

[Debra]

hehehe

That "magician" card could not be a LESS Kokopelli-like figure, eh? Not southwestern-ish, not a musician, not a trickster, not a sex star....yikes!

When we lived in New Mexico the kokopelli figure minus penis was just starting to become popular; now it's a cliche but I never did know all this about that fellow, and much appreciate it. The man with the hump and the flute, giving out babies...boy is that an image. But not from any standard tarot, that's for sure!

 

[Mi-Shell]

Right you are Debra! I will use this here post to eddit in another little "story" about Kokopelli that I have on our main computer...... stay tuned....


For Adults only!!!!

A Kokopelli Story from the Hopi - Mesa (Arizona)
At the time when Oraibi (Hopi-village) was first inhabited, the katchina Kokopelli was living nearby with his Grandmother.
Within the village there dwelt a good-looking girl who was so vain that she rejected the advances of all the young men.....

Kokopelli confined to his grandmother that he meant to try his luck with this pretty girl, but his grandmother laughed and wished him good luck, because he was humpbacked and far homelier than many of the Oraibi boys .....
Kokopelli had already noticed that.
The girl was in the habit of going to a particular spot at the edge of the mesa to squat and make water ....,

His first step was to dig a trench from his house to the exactly the spot which the girl was accustomed to visit. Then he cut and hollowed out a number of reeds, fashioned them into a continuous pipe and laid it in the ditch..... filling in the trench and smothered it over.........
The next day the girl came to the spot ... Hardly had she finished than she felt something stirring under her and enjoyed the sensation but made no effort to investigate.
It was the penis of Kokopelli that she felt, for so cleverly had he arranged his hollow tube that , while laying comfortably in his home he could via this tube, use his loooooong penis to pleasure the girl...
From that day on Kokopelli never failed to take advantage of his device and the girl always went to this spot and came home smiling....

At last she found herself pregnant, but neither she nor any of the people in the village
had the slightest idea of her lover's identity .....
When in due time a boy was born to her, his paternity was as much a mystery as ever.
He however had a rather large penis.......

 

[Mi-Shell]

There are a number of cards that show cane like staffs in the artwork:
The Magician
The Emperor
The Hierophant
Death
The Devil
Ace of Wands
4 of Wands
6 of Wands
I wonder, what to make of them!
Cane-like staffs remind me of 2 very different things I see in Native Rituals:
1) The Eagle Staff, a standard of honor much like the flag, carried into the ceremonial grounds at the beginning of every Pow Wow

2) the Apache Girls Puberty Ceremonial Cane......

There will be pics eddited in!

 

[Mi-Shell]

Let’s start with the Emperor:
the BWB says: Inipi(male initiation): The Emperor
Initiation originates with purification: Try to silence the heart to communicate with the divine.
Recognize the power of the chief and obey him.

Ok in my humble opinion this is a pile of inconsistencies! And I will try to explain why I think so and then you all can decide:
Inipi is the Lakota word for sweat lodge. It has nothing to do with male initiation. And one goes into it naked or with a loin cloth and not all dressed up like our Chief here with his war bonnet + full regalia and a staff that is MUCH too high = large to fit into a sweat lodge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, the scene on the card is not in a sweat lodge, another person stands upright behind our chief = this is in a tent or another room....
The man in font is dressed more for a sweat and is smoking the pipe....
Many sweats start with a smudge....> read Cedar Card...
and the pipe is passed around too.

I like the next sentence! Try to silence the heart to communicate with the divine.
We should do that every day!!!
---Recognize the power of the chief and obey him.<< that one however is incorrect! It follows the White Man’s notion of what a chief is, not how the First Nations see a leader. Leaders lead by example by consensus achieved in council - or nowadays by simple majority. Not by fear and intimidation.
Every man can and will voice objection and will be heard!
When council has come to a decision then that will b heeded by all; or one who does nor agree can move family and belongings and move o a band, that sees things differently. Clan relations, going through many bands will assure that one is not cast out.
Or on who disagrees does not participate - nobody will make him / her, as long as the person does not actively sabotage the council and its work.
In Apache the word used for Chief is Nantan. But Nantan does not mean chief, it means Father = in the sense of Elder male who has lived and seen things. Sooner or later every male is a Nantan and the Nantans and the Yayas = Elder women decide what will be done.
So there were the whites asking for the Nantan, the almighty Chief and EVERYONE was one but NOBODY was “calling the shots” ( but everyone could shoot!!!!--> and up showed Lozan, Woman Chief and made the Whites all runnnnnnn! A Lady Fighter and Hand Trembler!!!!!

More about her daughters and sisters is to be found on this fascinating website:
http://www.geocities.com/coqrico/apachedance.html
And here you also find mention of the Apache Girls Puberty Ceremonial Cane......The 6 of Wands reminds me of that a little.....

The site however is written by one of Lozan’s descendants and she has an “opinion” about mainstream culture.......


A pic of how such aCane loooooks like is still on my other computer....

 

[Mi-Shell]

Here some pics of Eagle Feather Staffs carried today on Pow Wows and other ceremonies and a drawing of a Apache puberty cane.....

 

[Mi-Shell]

Since the last post mentioned the Apache Girl's Poberty Ceremony, I thought we could have a look back at the card of the Empress -----> page 3 post 28 has a picture.
The BWB proudly blurbs out the words Isnati Awicalowan and then does nothing to come even close to explaining that...... It is a very private ritual.....

This rite was performed at the time when a young girl realized the change taking place in her life was a sacred thing.

The ceremony was held to purify her in preparation for becoming a woman and bearing children. Her family built a tipi and gathered necessary objects for the ritual, which was conducted by a holy man.


On the day of the ceremony, sweetgrass was burned and all the ceremonial objects were purified with the smoke. The Pipe was smoked and prayer was offered up to Wakan Tanka, to the four directions and to the Earth.

In the ceremony, a buffalo skull was a central object. It was colored with the red paint to symbolize the earth. Cherries and water were placed before the skull.

Tobacco was spread in the shape of a cross, and blue paint put on display to symbolize the coming together of earth and sky.


The holy man then gave the girl a piece of buffalo meat, and the water and cherries were passed to members of her family.

A feast was held, and a giveaway took place. The goodness and holiness that came to the young girl also then extended to the whole tribe.

 

[Mi-Shell]

Here are some paintings from the artist Howard Terping that capture several sacred rituals quite well.....

 

[Mi-Shell]

Checking the thread I realize, that my post about the Inipi ritual did not "take" (I am on dialup and often loose the connection!) Sorry for that! Here it is again:

Inipi:
The Inipi Lodge itself is made with a frame of twelve to sixteen willow poles. These poles are bent over each other and stuck into the ground and covered with hides or blankets. When the lodge is finished, it stands for the universe. Usually the door faces the West from where the rain and storms come. It is where WAKINYAN, Thunderer lives.
The round fireplace at the center of the Lodge stands for the center of the universe, where Wakantanka lives. In it are put the rocks that were heated in a fire outside and brought in with forked sticks. Sage covers the floor all around. A path leads out of the door to a small dirt mound, which is the altar where the Sacred Pipe is kept.
When it is time to start the ceremony, those who are going to take part in it come in through the door and say a prayer to Wakantanka who has put them on this earth. The Lead Man prays and asks Him to purify them and help them in what they are doing. In this and in all things they need His help, because they are humble creatures.
Once they are inside, the men sit in a circle on the sage. Everyone is silent, and then the Pipe is passed in, and everyone watches as the hot rocks are brought in and put into the pit. When the pit is filled, the Leader offers the Pipe in the four directions, then to heaven and to the earth. He then lights the Pipe, smokes it and passes it around to everyone.
When they have all smoked the Pipe, it is put outside on the altar with the stem facing West. When the Pipe is brought out each time, it will have its stem in one of the other directions until the INIPI is finished.
Then the flap is pulled over the door, and the Lodge becomes completely dark, except for the glow of the rocks. The Leader pours some water on the rocks, and the steam fills the whole inside. It has come from the rock and the fire to purify everyone, both inside and out. Praying to the West, the Leader asks the Great Spirit to look on him and all the people and help them with what they need, so that they may live.
After a while the flap is opened, and water is passed around for everyone to drink. Then the Pipe is brought in again and smoked by everyone in the circle. Then, when the Pipe is put outside again, the flap is closed, and the same kind of praying begins again. It happens in this way till the Leader has prayed in all four directions.
Each of the directions has its own special meaning:
West. This is where thunder and rainstorms come from and all creatures owe their lives to this water. WAKINYAN, Thunderer. lives there. He is the one who judges all creatures.
North. This is where the powerful winds come from. Their cold breath chills the heat of anger and bad thoughts and makes men pure as snow, inside and out.
East. This is where new life shows itself and where hope makes us wise.
South. This is where happiness and harmony live. It is said that good souls go in this direction where they find Peace.
When prayers have been said by the Leader in the last direction, he talks to everyone about how Wakantanka has blessed them and how dependent they are on Him for everything. He is their light in the darkness, so that they can see things correctly with the heart.
Then the flap of the Lodge is opened, and everyone comes out and prays to Wakantanka in a spirit of thankfulness. As they leave the Lodge each one says: “All my Relatives”. It is a blessing.
It is important to know that this rite of INIPI helps those who take part in it as well as all people. It is done, when someone wants to purify himself or herself in order to prepare for God’s help and blessing. The blessing may be a personal blessing or a blessing on all the People.

(pics are on post 74)

 

[Mi-Shell]

Dancing with the Devil:

Dancing with the Devil:

I like the card! (pic on post above)
I also like the blurb in the BWB: Warriors and Spirits dance together the dance of life. There is no separation of worlds. The energy is one and connects everything.
I am just not so sure if it is a good coment on the Devil card or if it would fit better for the Death card, as that is one fundamental viewpoint about life and death that all First Nations share.....
When the White people introduced the concept of the devil to the First Nations they tried to convert to Christianity the “Natives” were perplexed: While most of the white Man’s (there were next to no white women- and the ones that were there rarely got a chance to openly talk) ..... so for argument’s sake “the white man’s religion and rules” were a strange, death affirming, life energy defying (no sex?? no fun??? no dances??) enigma. However, the devil was at least something they could get a grip on, they knew, what he was all about:
A Wisdom Keeper! A Spirit with horns = symbols of “more than ordinary knowledge” = esoteric knowledge, Wisdom = a shaman --> Although one, that according to the “Wasichu” was a “forked Tongue”, one that had sinister motives. ...... They had all seen one or 2 of those before....
But what flummoxed them was, that the Wasichu were afraid of “Wasi Yata”!!!!!??????????????????????
How come????
So Wasi Yata was the limit of THEIR power!!!! = the line in the sand so to speak.
And this fear and repulsion stretched out from Wasi Yata to all things touching on Native spirituality, ritual and ceremony!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How come????
Now turn the mess around and loooooook at it from the other side:
There were the devote Christians on full or new moon confronted by the powerful and hypnotic boom of the drums = prohibited as an instrument of the DEVIL by popes and evangelical church leaders alike.
There were the “Native Savages” dancing around the living fire of Hell adorned with Staffs of witchy power and wearing the horns of the Devil!!!!!!
Oh horror!
So in the best interest of said Savages it was decreed from up high that ALL Native devil-worship of any kind was to be stamped out and the lost souls be brought into the grace of the christian god.......
.....We all know the rest of the story.....
Still today I work with a number of residential school survivors -beaten and sexually abused by the christian brothers throughout the land...... Do not get me started on that one......

Today, on our local Pow Wow, I still hear the comments “look at that Devil over there” when referring to one of my fellow Medicine men in full regalia - which include a Buffalo Headdress = More than ordinary knowledge.....

How to read this Card?????
Well I am reminded of “ Dancing with more than ordinary knowledge, but also being aware of the ego trips and other pitt-falls that can bring with it....”

 

[Mi-Shell]

Dancing with Death:

Death:
The card: A Native man sits in a stone circle , an Eagle Staff and a war axe share his space. In the background there are grey rocks . 2 stone tablets with faces carved out of them are visible. In the air above the man several large and menacing serpent tailed “Ghosts,” rather than Spirits are flying with outstretched tongues licking after -?? his life???

The BWB states: The Calendar: Death
3 different kinds of calendars , 3 cycles that are intertwined: A 60 year Solar calendar, a monthly calendar, and a luna calendar: The sun and the moon are the hands of the sky and the clocks of our life's.

Well, the 3 calendars interlocking are from the Maya in Mexico and other First Nations in North America were not familiar with them.
The Pueblo People also had several interlocking time keepers to keep track of the times to plant and harvest and all the appropriate rituals involved- However Death was not a subject in connection with these time measures and sun dial systems.
So how did these 3 things end up on this card???
The man reminds me of a Medicine man that is on a vision quest for 4 days and nights, sitting in his Sacred Circle struggling with all his Spirits and the specters of his shortcomings.
He seems aware of his mortality but will eventually return to his People with a new vision, new guidance.
Is he left there to die? That is / was usually not the custom, other than he is an outcast.

Now looooook at the King of Pentacles! Another Elder sits in a Sacred Circle contemplating similar issues; this time in an Autumn forest...
The BWB says: Willow Tree: A sacred tree, symbol of the cyclical renewal that is painful but necessary. = This man is renewing himself....

However on the 2 of pentacles I think we are seeing a man, who just died in combat and his peers are in the background.... But what about our strange tree-climbing Badger and that Spirit Arrow???
The BWB here says: Pine Tree: like all evergreens it guarantees immortality: Its height reconnects it with askesis , where its link with the moon reconnects it with fertility and birth. The Trees on this card look nothing like Pine trees and
I assure you that all First Nations everywhere see the Pine tree VERY different than that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(stay tuned, it is another fascinating subject!)

....and last there is the Temperance card.
The BWB talks about the Hunkapi ceremony of making relatives. BUT I am not so sure the 2 people laying down there are still among the living!!! Especially because they would not be laying down like this during the Hunkapi ceremony.......