m2creates
Firewalking for Spring
Spring is upon us with the equinox only days away - it's time to discover balance in our lives. Yesterday was a fascinating day, one I would like to define as an Experimental Anthropology Day.
While researching the Toltec culture, something interesting popped up: The Austin Toltecs group. Today was their Spring Equinox Ceremony. Jose-Pierre and I decided to check it out.
The ceremony began in the evening after voting for our favorite piece from their art exhibit. I voted for the winning painting "Rocks and Water" - a beautiful multicolor abstract piece.
We began by creating a circle, there were about 40 of us present, and after joining hands, called upon the elements with a chant:
Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath, and fire my spirit."
After opening the circle, each of us found a partner to discuss what we wanted to plant in ourselves this spring and what we wanted to weed out. In my case, I want to increase my sense of security and weedout my impatience with others. Then we joined groups of six and took turns surrendering our bodies to those around us by letting ourselves gently fall into the hands of each group member.
Now that we'd defined how to begin our spring, we took a little pot of soil from the center altar and planted a seed that symbolized our goals. Our intents are like seeds - if we nourish them, they grow!
Once again, we joined hands, this time in two circles around the altar and called upon the elements to close the circle we'd opened.
The night was barely beginning. Next was the firewalk. After watching people overcome their fears of not being able to do something, we went into the night under the skies and chanted again, this time to prove we had overcome our obstacles: Our toes survived!
What I find most interesting about all of this is the fact that many ancient traditions are still alive. People have been walking on fire for thousands of years and we were able to take part in this ceremony that still survives.
I hope you enjoy this pop cultural revival of ancient traditions, you are about to witness The Firedance!
Thanks for reading! If this helped or you learned something, Buy Me A Coffee.