Sacred Dancers
A Shamanic Ceremony of Transformation
The Soul is comprised of 22 Sacred
Dancers, or archetypes in Western terminology. The depiction of these 22
aspects of the Soul are evidenced in the 22 Major Arcana of the Tarot,
the 22 letters of the Hebraic alphabet, the Mayan calendar's 22 cycles
(of 52 years each), and in our own DNA which has 23 pairs of
chromosomes, one pair determining whether we are male or female, the
other 22 pairs determining our characteristics. Each of the Sacred
Dancers carries, implicit within it's structure, a capacity of
development and empowerment that is engendered by our emotive responses
to life's situations and experiences, our programmed conditionings,
beliefs and feelings, and epiphanies or traumas.
Dependent upon the quality of
emotional response, whether life-positive or life-negative, the Sacred
Dancer's qualitative nature is created thereby. If one should experience
a reverent, heart-felt and honoring feeling in the presence of a person
who exhibits a positive role-modeling, the appropriate Sacred Dancer
within the Soul is enhanced in its nature with an infusion of life-force
that carries with it a life-positive charge. Conversely, if an
individual has experiences of revulsion and disgust, learning to
mistrust and fear others who express a particular archetypal stance, the
Sacred Dancer within is endowed with a dissonant quality of life-force
associated with that particular archetype. Examples of these differing
models abound. One such example, in a life positive manner, is the
archetype of Father. When a child is treated with respect, shown
guidance and spiritual direction, where love is openly expressed,
concern shown and given through encouragement and discipline by the
child's Father, or other Father figures, the child empowers the Sacred
Dancer of Father in a life-enhancing state. When, on the other hand, the
child's experience of the Father is debilitating, demeaning, lacking
appropriate guidance and support, the quality of life-force fed into the
structure of the Sacred Dancer is disruptive and degenerative.
Every culture has, woven in its
mythologies, stories of the Sacred Dancers. The archetype of Father is
embodied within Odin, Zeus, Yahweh, Sun Father and the Tarot's Emperor.
Mother is exemplified as Demeter, Mary, Earth Mother, Frigg of Norse
mythology and the Empress of the Tarot. Likewise, the aspect of
Trickster is to be found as Loki, Coyote, the Tarot card of Fool, and
Hermes. Persephone, Isis, Astarte, Magdalene and the High Priestess of
the Tarot all are archetypal expressions of the intuitive function, the
Inner Feminine.
The culture figure I will utilize for
understanding here is the Hero. In Greece we find Hercules and in Norse
mythology it is Thor, while in Native America, Monster-Slayer appears as
Hero under many a name and guise. Every Sacred Dancer has specific
attributes by which it can be recognized, regardless of the culture of
origin. The characteristics of the Hero are: the Hero is born in a place
or manner that is different from the general populace, has a garb or
regalia which denotes that difference, and, due to the Hero's
supernatural manner or place of birth, has special powers, abilities and
gifts. The classic Hero utilizes these special powers and gifts to
rescue those in need. In the United States of America, 20th century,
there is a culture figure who portrays all of these characteristics:
Superman! In addition to the inherent attributes that make him
recognizable as a culture Hero, Superman has qualities of consciousness
that make him distinctive. Superman has a conscience, seeks justice for
all, and has a guiding principle of moral rightness, which, at times, is
shown as an excruciating inner conflict as to the correct course of
action. Superman exemplifies the life-positive expression of the Hero.
Another semi-popular culture Hero of
the latter 20th century is a character from the TV show 'A-Team': Mr. T.
He is born in a place 'other' than the general viewing audience: the
Philadelphia ghetto. He displays a garb and regalia that shows his
uniqueness, his gold teeth, hefty gold chains and Mohawk haircut. His
special powers, abilities and gifts are not just his brawn, but also his
intelligence that enables him to manufacture weapons of great
destruction from household items. These he uses to rescue those in need,
but in so doing he may lay waste to an entire city block. Mr. T is vile,
cruel, demeaning, arrogant and violent. He is the epitome of the
life-negative expression of the Hero. And yetŠ he is a Hero.
Just as an archetypal figure may be
seen to have either the qualitative nature of good or ill, so do we, as
individuals, have the capacity for life enabling or disabling
expressions of any given Sacred Dancer. Extending the example of the
Hero, let us suppose that any Sacred Dancer within our Soul has the
capacity of holding a hundred units of life-force. We will, due to
societal influences, modeling our behaviors through admiration or
refusal, emotional traumas or inspirational events, empower the Hero (or
any Sacred Dancer) in the proportion of those imports. Let us say that
we have empowered the Hero with 60 units of life force that is patterned
from Superman, an uncle who risked his life to save another, or a
Mahatmas Gandhi. The remaining 40 units are then endowed after the
manner of Mr. T: the local 'Made Men' of the neighborhood gangsters and
an admiration of self-serving abusers of power, etc.
A Sacred Dancer may be called forth
into conscious embodied expression in two manners. The first is through
conscious willful evocation. The second is as a spontaneous response to
a triggering situation. Assuming good-will on the part of every person,
none of us wish to express ourselves in a life-denying manner.
Unconsciously we then set the life-positive element of the Hero-within
to nullify the life-negative element of the inner Hero. When we have, as
in this example, a 60/40 composition, it takes a full 40 units of
Superman to nullify the existent 40 units of Mr. T. This leaves us only
20% effective in our capability to express the Hero in the situation
that demands a heroic response. In summation, we find that we are
ineffectual in our ability to meet the needs of the situation. This
further defeats our self-esteem, feeding the life-negative emotional
state of our Hero-within. Consider now that we have empowered our Hero
with 80 units of Mr. T and only 20 units of Superman. Setting Superman
against Mr. T before acting heroically fully dries up our life-positive
capability while leaving the life-negative expression functioning at
60%. This is pretty effective, overall. We, however, then express the
Hero in a life-demeaning manner, seeking self-aggrandizement and glory,
rather than selfless service. In such a dynamic we may then refer to the
life-negatively endowed expression of the archetype, which is
triumphant, as the Adversary.
When an Adversary is the expression of
the Sacred Dancer that comes into conscious embodiment, we find
ourselves acting out in manners and with behaviors that we consciously
have no desire to express. These may show themselves as phobias,
neurotic fixations, self-sabotage, poor habits and out-of-control
behaviors. In the situation where an Adversary has come into presence we
find that the Will is not sufficient to counteract the influence the
Adversary exerts.
For the purpose of examining the
further dynamics of the Sacred Dancers, imagine that the 22 are arrayed
in position on a wheel. This 'Wheel -of-the-Sacred Dancers' normally
spins with ease, allowing for spontaneous expression of any given
archetype respondent to the needs of any given situation in life. We
also have a 'Window-of-Identity'. Its sole expression is to say "I Am".
Whichever Sacred Dancer is residing in the Window-of-Identity is what
we, in that moment, proclaim ourselves to be. If we are called upon to
be fatherly, the Father archetype emerges into the window and we say, "I
am Father". Should we find ourselves romantically engaged by our mate,
Lover rises into the window, replacing whichever archetype had
previously been residing there. When we are about to enter a ceremony or
session where we are to assist another in their healing the Sacred
Dancer of the Healer comes into focus, and so on. The Window-of-Identity
is, for all practical purposes, known as the Ego.
Should an Adversary rise into the
Window-of-Identity and refuse to be replaced when another archetype's
need of expression arises, we then say that the Adversary has become a
Usurper. A Usurper's appropriation of autonomous and authentic
self-expression brings about a behavioral condition that is generally
recognized as an ego-fixation. For example: "Hello. I am Dr. John Smith,
D.D.S. This is my wife, Mrs. Dr, John Smith, D.D.S. And this is my son,
John Jr. He is going to be an orthodontist when he grows up." Here is a
man whose entire identity is fixated upon, or usurped by, the Healer
archetype. Unable to perceive himself in any manner but that of a
dentist, his every perception of himself and even his family is shaded
by the Usurper. We all may know individuals who are similarly affected.
It may be a woman whose only experience of relating to her family, and
herself, is as Mother. Or, a young man who is a Don Juan, the Lover
archetype having taken over his ability to interact with women in any
manner other than sexually, the drug addict who can only envision their
self and world view as an extension of getting high. A person who has a
Usurper in their Window-of-Identity is addicted to their self-perception
as being that particular archetypal embodiment. The typical references
of a person usurped by an Adversary are that they are indulgent in
emotional crutches, addictions, self-perceptions of importance, lack of
confidence, low self-worth, over-identification with a skill, trait or
characteristic (racial, religious, political etc), reliance on
irrational beliefs to bolster a cherished world view and an inability to
be flexible in response to new situations; they are the epitome of
people with weak egos. Yes, weak egos. A strong ego is a silent ego, it
only says, "I am". Ego is weak when the Adversary is constantly
proclaiming itself as being necessary and important.
The Shamanic ceremonial utilized to
alter the usurpation of our Will requires that the affected individual
be guided into the realm of their own Underworld, or Dream, Soul. There
the person is aided in calling forth the Adversary where, through the
intercession of a Helper Spirit, the Adversary is transformed from its
life negative state into a life enhancing state of being. Once this
transformation has occurred the life force charge carried by the Sacred
Dancer, once malignant, is now, in its fullest charge of empowerment,
accessible to the individual in the form of an Advocate. An Advocate is
a Sacred Dancer that is endowed with life positive qualities. These
self-empowering qualities are then available, to the person who has
undergone this ceremony, as a Soul Principle that intercedes in any
situation appropriate to it's calling, bringing forth the full value of
it's nature as an Advocate on behalf of the individual.
The resultant consequences of
undergoing this Shamanic Journey are a newfound freedom of expression
where once there had been debilitating behaviors and conditions,
addictions and indulgences. In the course of the two hour ceremonial one
is enabled to fully engage their own most deep-seated obstacles and
impediments and bring into existence a freer and fuller functioning
experience of life. In addition one also has in their spiritual arsenal
an Advocate-Helper who has been born of the triumphant engagement of
one's own Adversary.
ADDENDUM:
The material and knowledge presented here is in the spiritual
caretakership of Jade Wah'oo Grigori and may not be utilized, taught nor
published, including on the internet, in part nor whole, without his
express written permission.
Permission is hereby granted to distribute this article in whole,
including this addendum in full, to interested individuals for the sole
purpose of sharing information person to person, and must include the
following web site address and email for Jade Wah'oo Grigori:
http://www.shamanic.net
Articles:
The Art of Assisting Spirits in Transition
The Eagle of the North and the Condor of the South
A Day's Horse Ride in the Rockies
Sacred Dancers
Deer as Power Animal Part I
Spirit's Desire and the Nature of Soul
Men in Balance
The Mythos of Consciousness
A Shaman's Dream
Earth Renewal Story
The Power of Sacred Objects
Shamanic Drumming
Shamanism in the 21st Century
Ancestral Knowledge
Grampa Pena
Moontime
Spirituality and Money
The Sweat Lodge Of The Great White Mother Bear
The Sweat Lodge Of The Great White Mother Bear II
Spiritual Parasite
Dance of the Animal Powers
Star Wanderers
Wolves Of Memory
Amazon Journeys
Amazon Journeys Part 2
Ayahuasca Visions
Damazhon
Andes Reminisce
Scotland Tour
Right Of Passage into Manhood
Dreaming Dolphins
Whale Dream
