Gyidakhanis mask
Tsetseka the winter dance cycle, is both the going inward winter season and the presentation of many tsekas, sacred dances. NW Coast Native Americans observed a two cycle year that mirrored the Northwind people of Scandinavia (October- April & April- October). But where Scandinavians used sun and stars to measure the season against the […]
11 December
Namnsdag Daniel, Dans
(dance - the stonecircles were known by some as stone dances)
Winter Poem IV
We join at the sacred circle of healing; Circle of Hel. Tomorrow we begin the journey across the bridge.
10 December
Namnsdag Malin
(to grind, become authentic)
Drifts
Ilmarinen, great smith,
placed into his forge
the tips of white-swan feathers,
the milk of greatest virtue,
a single grain of barley,
the finest wool of lambkins
He blew upon his bellows
looked into his forge and saw a glorious crossbow forming
it sang with promises of great ability to kill in battle.
But Ilmarinen […]
9 December Namnsdag Ann, Anna
(the scent of the divine, a feeling of wonder)
New moon, a door opens
Mountain Breath
we long for a new beginning or is it the ancient one?
morning
new
I can see
smell
feel
a new morning
One step
another
day
day and night
week
month
year
Years
tens
hundreds
thousands
that’s how I grow out of this earth
to the earth
I
and those like me
Valkeapaa
8 December Namnsdag Vera
(sojourn- a moment to pause in comfort)
Grandfather visits my backdoor. He is a wise relative of the hudra-folk.
These are the last days of the old cycle. We honor our kindred, review our lessons, reflect. For a moment longer we pause, look inward. Soon we will step onto the bridge, then we will […]
Boreal Forest
Frost climbs into the arms of Alder
kisses Stars
escapes into the deep ocean of midwinter-night
scatters glitter across frozen water
i am a Northwind Daughter
walking under the boreal sky
i am home
in
Silence
brittle leaves crunch under foot
small twigs snap
i can hear my heart beating
following a trail of stardust
7 December Namnsdag Angelika
(Sweet fragrance that enters the living body)
Winter Poem VII
Multiple meanings can be found. Another day of honoring a kindred.
Angelica is a plant which grows on the tundra. It is an important food source.
step by step
smell of green grass, the first grass
blue heather
Angelica
wood sorrel
upland waters
towards the sky
Valkeapaa
Today the Sun rides over the […]
6 December Namnsdag Nikolaus
Ni-ko-laus (no-cow -useless)
We are in the sacred days of Ullr. Today we honor our kindred, the female reindeer. In a culture with some 150 words for snow and an equally large number for reindeer there is no useless cow. Reindeer allowed the Northwind people to survive 10,000 years in harsh environment.
Is it […]
5 December namnsdag Sven, Svante
Sven: Swedish
Svante: swan
Winter Poem II
Myth: Swan maidens; Valkyries.
There are two ways to interpret the Valkyrie, one is
val-kyrja, f. a chooser of the slain, Valkyrie
The older definition I prefer
val-mær, f. - valkyrja.
valr (-a, -ir), m. hawk, falcon.
mær, f. - a maid who answers to Freya, goddess of […]
Sun in the Cedar
Cedar is the Tree of Life among the Salish. The spirit of Cedar is entwined with the people. Longhouses which protected against Pacific storms, planks, bowls and fabric all came from Cedar. Tsetseka masks were carved and worn by story-tellers as part of the drama of the winter dance. Totems with […]
