UNM Curanderismo Conference and August Classes

Image from Codex Badiano, 1592 Aztec herbal manuscript

Greetings!

As we greet the month of August (and the month of my birthday), I am feeling very blessed and grateful. I recently returned from my annual trip to a ceremony in New Mexico. Afterward, I attended a few days of the University of New Mexico’s incredible two week class entitled Traditional Medicine without Borders, Curanderismo in the Southwest and Mexico.

I arrived in time to receive teachings and healings from a group curanderos from Mexico. My heart is still full from this experience. It was a gift to be in the presence of such high caliber healers with strong roots in the ancient healing wisdom of Meso America.

Curanderismo has so much to offer modern people of all cultures and walks of life. One of the most important aspects of curanderismo is the attention it gives to the tonal, or human spirit. So many people today are suffering from soul sickness or soul loss. This can manifest in many ways- as depression, anxiety, insomia, apathy, addiction, violence, emotional numbness as well as many forms of physical and mental illness.

One of the most effective treatments for the spirit is a traditional cleansing ceremony called the limpia. In the limpia ceremony, the curandero prays over the clients as she or he works with the elements of nature- fresh aromatic herbs, flowers, candles, incense, water, along with songs, drums, & rattles- to cleanse the person of unwanted or imbalanced energies or emotions.

With an expert curandera, a limpia ceremony can be very long and intense. However, most people can learn how to perform a simple limpia on themselves and their loved ones. It is a great skill to have in these times when most people are in deep need of spiritual cleansing.

In honor of this great tradition, I’ll be teaching the basic elements of the limpia in both of my upcoming classes, The Healer’s Toolkit and Herbs as Spiritual Allies.

The Healer’s Toolkit begins Tuesday August 3rd and will be held for five Tuesday evenings in August. In this class we will cultivate skills and knowledge to treat basic health concerns with acupressure and herbal medicine.

Herbs as Spiritual Allies will focus on connecting with the spiritual energies of plants and working with them to balance and heal ourselves. This class will be held mostly outdoors so we can open to the healing power of the plants, the earth and the elements.

Finally, I’m happy to announce that this month that Floracopeia is launching a brand-new website called Medicine Crow. Medicine Crow is dedicated to all aspects of the plant-based, grass roots health care revolution. It is exciting to be a part of a global community of healers, herbalists, gardeners, & environmentalists dedicated to preserving and continuing the wisdom of medicinal plants. Watch the inspiring video by founder David Crow and join us!

Have a blessed month,

Atava

Polish Ancestry and Genealogy

Ancestry is now gaining popularity with Hollywood and the NBC Series “Who Do You Think You Are?”.

For people out there who are exploring their Polish ancestry and genealogy, you might be interested in reading my Master’s Thesis entitled “Journey to my Polish Indigenous Mind.” It documents my exploration of my Polish ancestry including my ancestral journey back to Poland. My thesis focused on the earth-based and indigenous roots of my Polish ancestry, including my encounter with the ancient Slavic spirit Baba Yaga or (in Polish) Jezi Baba. In my genealogical exploration, I went beyond the normal methods of gathering names, dates, and stories. In the Indigenous Mind program, we were taught to incorporate indigenous science methodology in our research. These techniques of indigenous science, included dreamwork, ritual, and visiting sacred sites.

This was part of my master’s work in the Indigenous Mind Program at Naropa University Oakland.

Who Do You Think You Are? Ancestry is now popular.

My friend and colleague from our non-profit Circle of Ancestors, Heidi Guttmann wrote a recent blog post about the NBC series “Who Do You Think You Are?” about celebrities exploring their genealogy.

You can watch the first full-length episode featuring Sarah Jessica Parker on NBC.com.

Circle of Ancestors is an inter-cultural community that connects people with their own ancestral traditions through educational programs, experiential learning, ceremonies and other activities.

This reconnection heals and balances, encourages respect for differences and recognition of similarities, deepens community and environmental bonds and promotes peace.

For more information, visit our website, CircleofAncestors.org.

Dreaming with the Ancestors

One way I have been applying my training in Indigenous Mind is to lead dream groups that focus on dreaming with the ancestors. Dream work was a central part of the Indigenous Mind experience and we were blessed to be guided by some incredible distinguished traditional elders, including Dr. Apela Colorado, Mr. Hale Makua and Auntie Mahealani Poe Poe. In much of the western world, dreams are viewed mostly from a the perspective of the individual’s psyche. In IM dream work, we also viewed dreams as a major means of communicating with the ancestors. Many of us had dreams of ancestors and were able to recover lost bits of family history through our dreams. I personally had many dreams about the Polish land and Polish people as I began to explore my Polish roots. You can read more about my ancestral dreams in a paper I wrote called “Dream Journey to Poland.”

Vasalisa the Brave, from Slavic fairy tales of the Goddess/Witch Baba Yaga

Starting on March 18th, I will lead a 8 week dream group that focuses on Dreaming with the Ancestors. In this facilitated dream group, we will focus on how our dreams can help us connect to the ancestral and spiritual realms. In each class, we will build an altar and create a sacred space for our dreamwork. The focus of our dreamwork will be first be on our genealogical ancestors and we will set our intentions to remember their stories, rituals, and healing traditions. We will also practice making dream connections with our animal and plant allies, magical beings (like fairies) and our own spirit guides. We will work with family stories, fairy tales and folk art to help activate our ancestral dreams and memory. Flower essences and plant spirit medicine will be incorporated to help enrich our dreaming process.

I have facilitated similar dreamgroups for the past few years and amazing things are occurring in them. It seems as if the ancestors are ready and eager to show up for us to do this work!

For more information, go to the Events and Classes page on my website, AncestralApothecary.com.

For those of you who don’t live in the California Bay Area…….. teleclasses coming soon! Drop me an email if you are interested.

Blessings,
Atava

NBC Series: “Who Do You Think You Are?”

The other day in my inbox from ancestry.com came an announcement about the upcoming NBC series Who Do You Think You Are?.

Who Do You Think You Are? is a new series which takes a up close and personal look at the genealogy and family history of some of Hollywood’s hottest celebrities, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Spike Lee, Matthew Broderick and Brooke Shields.

As someone who has been working with my own ancestors pretty intensively for the past 15 years, it is nice to see that Hollywood is finally catching up. Perhaps all of us who received a Master’s degree in ancestral remembrance and recovery in the Indigenous Mind Program at Naropa University will finally be in demand for the unique work that we do.

I did my graduate research on my Polish ancestral roots, which culminated in an ancestral journey back to Poland in 2002. You can read more in my thesis. “Journey to my Polish Indigenous Mind” that you can download for free on my website.

Other IM graduates include Audri Scott Williams, who traced her African roots back across the Middle Passage and to West Africa; Sulonda Smith, who traced her ancestors to South Africa and had a chance to study with Zulu healer Credo Mutwa; Marcela Sabin, who reconnected with her indigenous Basque and Spanish roots; Kit Cooley who made an ancestral journey to Italy; Teresa MacColl, whose ancestors come from the clan Colla of Ireland and the highlands of Scotland; Linda Joslin, who retraced the steps of her ancestors in England; Bernd Geels who rediscovered the Celtic Goddess Brigit; and Venus Herbito who helped restore the healing traditions of her indigenous Phillipino ancestors.

All of these people have amazing stories to tell and have much to share. I hope that Hollywood and the world will soon discover some of what we all have to offer.

Polish Ancestral Dream, Thesis Excerpt

“To reenact is to remember.”
Dr. Apela Colorado, Founder of the Worldwide Indigenous Science Network

On Summer Solstice of 2003, I participated in a Polish ceremony that has its roots in ancient pre-Christian times. A few days before Solstice I had this dream:

“Picnic, Pickles and Polish People”

I am at the Summer Solstice Polish picnic. I am lying on a picnic table with my sister. Polish people are surrounding us. They walk up and say, “Dzien Dobre” (Good Day).” Everyone is chattering in Polish. Many of them have brought jars of pickles. Polish people and pickles are piling up on the picnic table. (June 18 2003, Sun in Gemini, Moon in Pisces)

This was the first time I heard Polish being spoken in my dream. It signified to me that there was a lot of Polish ancestral energy around this time of year. Summer Solstice, called Kupala in Polish, is one the four major fire festivals of the traditional Slavic year. The ancient Slavs saw this day of longest light as the day the sun “bathes in the river” and “dances and plays in the sky.”

On this day, special fire and water rites are performed. The word Kupala comes from the ancient word kupati, meaning “to bathe.” Water is believed to be infused with special healing power on this day, and people gathered to bathe at rivers, springs, and seas. Women create wreathes of nine sacred herbs and flowers to offer to the water. These offerings to the water helped to strengthen the water as well as to bring protection to families from floods and thunderstorms.

In the evening of Kupala (also called Sobotki or St. John’s Eve) people gathered on hilltops, mountaintops or in clearings in the forest to light huge bonfires. The sacred fire was believed to be connected to the sun itself and could only be started by rubbing two sticks together. People would dance and sing around the fire. Later they would jump over the fire to receive its blessings of cleansing and protection. The smoke from this sacred fire would drift into nearby fields to help protect the crops.

Mugwort or Blycia

Mugwort, or blycia, is the herb most honored by Poles at Solstice time. Polish herbalist Sophie Knab Hodorowicz writes: “No other plant played as important a role as mugwort, so much so that the midsummer bonfires were also called mugwort fires.” In pre-Christian times, the Slavs used blycia to protect themselves against evil spirits. On Kupala, blycia is hung over doors, worn as belts, and offered to the fire for protection. On Solstice morning, I gathered blycia and other herbs for our ceremony. I first made an offering of salt and tobacco to the Ohlone people, the ancestors of the land. I told them about our Kapula ceremony and asked permission to have this ceremony on their soil.

Later, in the afternoon, I met with other members of the Polish Arts and Culture Foundation at Lake Temescal in Oakland. We were gathered to reenact an ancient ceremony, in which we created beautiful wreathes of flowers and herbs. After we finished making our wreathes, we walked to the water’s edge and tossed our wreathes to the water. As I sat with my Slavic friend David watching the wreathes, the water seemed to shimmer with our prayers and blessings. The lake looked like a beautiful woman covered in flowers and jewels. The energy surrounding us felt peaceful and welcoming. I could almost hear the lake saying: Thank you for your beautiful gifts.

This day was an important landmark for me, for it was the first time I had participated with the Polish community in such a ceremony. Smelling the pungent aroma of the blycia, I was transported back in time. As my hands wove together strands of herbs and flowers, I could almost see the hands of my great-great grandmothers. As I gazed at the lake decorated with our wreaths ancient memories stirred within me.

Ancestral Images: Hamtramck, Michigan

My father, child of Polish immigrants was born in Hamtramck, Michigan. My grandparents ran a bar there in the 1940’s. I am in the middle of writing an story about my family and I began to wonder if images of that bar still existed. I found many, so I’ll have to check with my aunt to see if she remembers the exact name of the bar. Meanwhile, I found this video of archival footage of Hamtramck on youtube:

It’s strange and wonderful to see these images and to imagine my grandparents as a part of this world.