.“I’m in it everywhere
…………what a miracle trees lakes clouds even dust”
……………………. ~ Ikkyu, Japanese Zen Master and  poet

It’s spring in the northern hemisphere. What a scintillating pleasure to be in the backyard again with bright yellow tulips and heliotrope lilacs throwing their arms into the scented air.

The heartbeat of the garden is the rock cairn altar I built several years ago. It is dedicated to the Andean earth mother, Pachamama. The stones that create the altar are volcanic pinks, grays, golds and burgundies from high up on Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range of California.

The shrine has been battered by winter snow and rains, by flying leaves and twigs. I approach it respectfully, looking for any messages here. Two months ago goldfinches left a few yellow feathers beside it, delighting my heart.

It’s time to clean and rededicate it to Pachamama.

Pachamama

According to Incan mythology, Pachamama is the goddess of fertility who embodies the mountains and presides over planting, growth and harvesting. Her shrines are found in trunks of trees and sacred rocks. Her most important rituals are the watering and feeding of the land.

I put my hands and heart into the great mystery as I offer blue cornmeal out to the magnificent spirits of the east and west, north and south, up to the sky, down to the earth. I give thanks for all the gifts in my life. Gently I sprinkle the blue powder all around the stones and into the opening, down into the heart of the mother. The forces of life and new beginnings stir around me, and I feel the ribbon of life force shimmer and snap into place.

Earth Goddesses

Across the planet there are many names for our gracious earth mother. You have probably heard some of them. Gaia and Demeter from Greece. Europa from Europe. Coatlicue and the Virgin of Guadalupe from Mexico. Danu among the Celtic peoples.
…..“First in my prayers
……before all other gods
……I call upon Earth,
……Primeval Prophetess”
……………… ~Ancient Greek Prayer, Aeschylus

Earth Shrines Worldwide

Shrines and altars dedicated to mother earth abound in cultures all over the world. In Hong Kong street shrines are found in doorways and beside trees. Incense is burned here and prayers for the well being of homes and businesses are offered.

Medicine Wheels built with stone and crystal are found throughout the Americas. Here people meditate, journey into the earth and sit in gratitude.

Ancient Standing Stone circles dot the British Isles. As the sun reaches its most northern position in the sky, people walk inside these enormous stones. Stonehenge, for example, is a sacred place where sun, earth, moon and the seasons are linked. Celebrants become reconnected to the cycles that flow through all of life.

The earth mother is celebrated everywhere.

Why Altars and Shrines?

Our spiritual connection with the universal force can be embodied in the presence of our altars. They create a beautiful sacred space and invite us into communion. They remind us to dance, drum and sing with our spiritual helpers.

We take time away from the tasks of daily life and withdraw into the place of the mystical and the eternal.

.. .“I see that many people here are so caught up in their own little lives
….that they are not getting their love up to the sun, out to the ocean, and into the earth.
….When you do ceremonies, sending out your love in the five directions–
….this brings life force into you.”                               ~ Don José Matsuwa, Huichol Shaman

On Schweibenalp, Switzerland

In July of 2011, I led a workshop up in the Berner Alps on the theme of Earth Healing Rituals and Ceremonies. At the entrance to the Permaculture garden there, we received permission to build a huge rock cairn dedicated to the earth mother. Twenty of us cleared ground and gathered granite rocks.

Stone by stone we built a cairn that was about five feet high (1.5 meters) with a base about three feet wide. We left an opening at the top for offerings to be dropped into the cairn.

Students brought objects that were of great value to them – crystals, rings, coins, necklaces, photos of loved ones, bracelets and a few amber pieces. We took all day to build the cairn.

On the full moon night we drummed and sang to the earth, danced around the cairn and gave our offerings to the earth.

Creating Your Own Shrine

You may choose an entirely different style for your altar or shrine.

When I lived in Santa Cruz and was working with Evelyn Eaton, I had a small medicine wheel laid out in my yard. I loved starting my day facing the east, drumming and honoring the sunrise; then sitting facing the west and watching the sun set down into the Pacific Ocean.

You may ask, what is a Medicine Wheel? It is a circle of stones laid out on the earth, aligned with the four cardinal directions. The intention is to connect a person with the spiritual powers: the four directions, the circle, the cycles of life and the Cosmic Source. Medicine Wheels are used for ritual, healing and astronomical purposes. Engaging with a wheel can lead to inner awakening and transformation. (See Evelyn Eaton’s, The Shaman and the Medicine Wheel, Quest books.)

Sitting on the earth mother can be powerfully healing and revelatory.

My friend Katarina, whether she’s on the East Coast or the West Coast, creates shrines on the earth using stones, leaves, branches and flowers. Each design is unique, and she finds that the animals and elements leave her messages overnight, on each shrine. She builds these earth altars for the healing of her son.

The impulse to connect with the earth is found worldwide. Sitting with the shrine or altar you create and meditating with the earth, can help bring you great joy and help align you with the earth’s heartbeat.

You are your own spiritual authority in ritual and ceremony.

May these earth rituals inspire you in the creation of your own shrine.

Love, joy and abundant blessings to you.
Beth

 

Photo credits:

Stonehenge photograph by Gideon Rosenblatt
Virgin de Guadalupe photograph of a 16th century painting of unknown provenance
Rock Cairn photograph by Tinelot Wittermans
Street Shrine, Hong Kong photograph by David Bote Estrada
Medicine Wheel photograph by U.S. Forest Service Photo