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Mythology's Mything Links: Common Themes / Weather-Working IntroductionMYTHING LINKSAn Annotated & Illustrated Collection of WorldwideLinks to Mythologies,Fairy Tales & Folklore, Sacred Arts & SacredTraditionsby Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D.Common Themes, East & WestWEATHER-WORKING:IntroductionAn experimental, on-going ritual in cyberspace Above and Below© by Wisconsin artist, FranceneHart[Used with permission]9 June 2000:Note from Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D.As many indigenous peoples have long known, and modern scienceis now recognizing as well, we're all interconnecting, intricate webs ofenergies. This is the basis of the ancient art of weather-working,once familiar to countless peoples but now largely forgotten. Itis the purpose of this page to make weather-working known again, but ina new way..... Calm Within© by Wisconsin artist, FranceneHart[Used with permission]Sacred smoke comes from fire-making, which was once at the cuttingedge of technology; the prayer wheel comes from the invention of the wheel,which was also once at the cutting edge of technology. Now it's cyberspaceand webs. Website technology gives us the means to create a "sacredspace," an online "sanctuary," a place of insight in which we can giveshape and color to our prayers and hopes. Just as sacred smoke, inmany Native American rituals, is a visible sign of prayer-in-motion, andjust as a Tibetan prayer wheel, set into motion, carries the "vibration"of that prayer to the four winds and out into the universe itself, so toothese pages can be our ritual smoke, our prayer wheels, moving throughcyberspace to unknown destinations, and also triggering new, more positivesynaptic pathways in our brain cells whenever we return to them.With this as a beginning, let me explain how I came to create thisexperimental, on-going ritual in cyberspace, a ritual seeking to give consciousconnections to what already exists as a field of connectivity between usand the planet we share....... Gaia© by Wisconsin artist, FranceneHart[Used with permission]On 3 May 2000 I saw an ABC News report on Nebraska and theadjoining Great Plains states where there is a very serious drought. The report showed Nebraska soil brought up in a coring-tube from abouta foot or more deep -- and it was bone dry. Even worse conditionsare forecast for the future. Even though I have never been anywherenear Nebraska, my heart went out to the land. It was likethe Wasteland of medieval legends. I saw that dry soil sifting liketalcum through the fingers of a worried farmer and I wanted to cry.What could I do? I remembered my shaman-friend JaniceVr Meer telling me last year that I have the power to do weather-working"magic." "Do I need to study with a weather-shaman," I asked? She checked with her Otherworldly guides and said no, that the WeatherSpirits were willing to "download" whatever data I needed while I workedon a special page for them on my computer. Weather-spirits, likecomputers, she said, are electrical energy-systems and they would not findthis difficult. In fact, they'd enjoy it. Returning© by Wisconsin artist, FranceneHart[Used with permission]I immediately, eagerly, created such a page full of lightning andimages, but there it lay in my hard drive for a year. Nothing furthercame to inspire me. I was disappointed, yet not really surprisedsince I knew that usually weather-workers only work within the limits oftheir own eco-systems. Since I live in Southern California only twoblocks from the Pacific, weather here is fairly stable, and I never feelswept up into the cycles of a more seasonal eco-system. It just isn'ta very interesting region for weather-workers (earthquake-workers,yes,but that's another story).Then, unexpectedly, that news report on May 3rd stirred somethingvery deep inside me. It was the land herself -- probably over-fertilizedwith chemicals, and periodically suffocated with vast clouds of pesticides,but she seemed to call out to me. How long had it been since shewas allowed to lie fallow? Maybe she wanted the prairies and buffaloto return. But nothing would return with such dry soil. Rain was needed.I was raised in a city near the eastern shores of Lake Michigan,yet I come from generations of farming people and spent happy childhoodtimes among them. I respect them and know that they are amazinglyadaptable once they realize the nature of a problem. Certainly theycould greatly reduce the chemical poisons and adopt some of the irrigationpractices used in Israel; certainly wiser natural cycles could be observed. But they couldn't be expected to change their ways in the midst of a drought. Rain was an urgent need -- and not a deluge that would bring flooding either.I don't live in Nebraska, however -- and, as I've said, the weather-workersI know all work within their own localized regions. There wasn'tmuch I, living near the Pacific, could do about a drought in the far distantPlains states. Their own weather-workers would have to handleit, assuming they existed. Most regions no longer have weather-workers-- new ones are few and far between and, among Native Americans, eitherthe indigenous skills have been lost or those who still possess them havebeen too abused and battered by the US government to care what happensto others.An image of a map of Nebraska unexpectedly came into my mind alongwith my friend Janice's suggestion of working with cyberspace. Nebraska might not be my turf -- but what if I were to put out a mapof that region among the pixels and electrical currents of cyberspace --could that be a possible answer? I've always loved maps and havingone in front of me somehow allows me to "merge" into that space. Might that not attract the friendly attention of the local Nebraska WeatherSpirits? Using a map as an intellectual focusing device might influencethe Otherworldly realms of spirit. It was worth a try. So that's how I decided to invoke weather-spirits beyond my own eco-system. I went searching for the right map, found a great satellite one, reversedits colors, created a new page for the Weather Spirits, got some copalburning beautifully, incensed the computer, and began with the prayer thatrains will come gently, steadily, wisely, in these regions. I evensang "Kumbaya, O Rain" (adapting the words, naturally). I just letthe webpage run for more than an hour on my hard drive while I did otherthings. I visualized the map being carried out into cyberspace oninvisible currents, through webs of shimmering energy. Invitation© by Wisconsin artist, FranceneHart[Used with permission]The next day the satellite map showed more clouds gathering and Ifelt cautiously pleased. Perhaps my plan was working. Thatday I again let the site stay on for an hour or more while I did otherthings. I didn't light any copal as I was tired (those charcoal roundelscan be hard to light!) and I sincerely hoped that copal was only necessaryto get the energies moving at the outset. I updated the satellitemap and added new ones with radar data on the third and fourth days.I was still doing this after a week. I felt a sense of urgency. I kept checking weather reports, listening to the Weather Channel, sendingout intense hopes and prayers for rain to soak that dry land. Myfingers could almost "feel" the soil heavy and rich with the kind of moistureonly many steady downpours could bring.Unfortunately, all this was a mistake -- a very basic one -- andI did know better but I was too caught up in the drama of tryingto rescue that poor, dry handful of soil in the farmer's hands. Ilet myself get hooked emotionally -- and when no major network weatherreport proclaimed after that too-intense week that the drought had ended,I felt too burned out to continue. I felt as tired as the wastedsoil that had so touched my heart. I kept the page in my harddrive, felt a bit guilty when I remembered it, continued to stay alertfor newscasts about the Great Plains, but I couldn't bring myself to doanything more. Between teaching, webbing, and writing new lecturesfor a summer course, I had nothing left to give.My mistake, I now realize, was in trying to change things when, ingood rain-maker style, I should have been trying to bring myselfinto harmony with the overall process and cycles of life. It's unwiseto persist to the point of fatigue or discouragement. In my initialenthusiasm, I forgot that. Somewhere in there I would also rememberKierkegaard's wise words: "Prayer doesn't change God, only the one whooffers it." Chakra Wheels© by Wisconsin artist, FranceneHart[Used with permission]A month passed. I shared the unpublished Nebraska page witha good friend, Jane Brown (who has much more of a gift for weather-workthan I do). She loved what she saw. Since I knew by then thatthe page wasn't doing me (or the Great Plains) much good lying around inmy hard drive, I started thinking about publishing it online and sharingthe ideas instead of trying to carry the weight alone. Sharing isusually an excellent way to bring about greater balance and harmony.I checked with Janice and asked if this would be wise. If so,should I restrict access only to those weather-workers I already know?-- or to selected friends who would understand the parameters of such aventure? Or should I open it up to everyone via my MythingLinkswebsite.What she got from the Otherworld was that they like the idea of manyhumans involved in this project, not just pre-selected ones; they saidthat since most people don't even know that such "intervention" is possible,this site will be truly educational and useful for them; those who feelinclined to help will be most welcome. Love and Power© by Wisconsin artist, FranceneHart[Used with permission]Of course, not everyone will respond to maps, nor will they intuithow to enter into relationships with the "beings" inhabiting the invisiblespaces represented by maps. Yet, hopefully, many will. In thisspirit then, if you feel inclined to go further, I have created three ritualcyberspace pages -- one for the Western Hemisphere, another for Europe,the Mid East & Africa, and a third for Asia and Australia(see belowfor links). There is also a page (with a great openingillustration of a tornado-spirit) of scientific weather links to varioussites if you wish to create your own private database for selected areas.I won't be updating the maps on these pages -- not only because oftime constraints but also became I like the idea of using the originalones as a baseline of what the weather was like on the days when I began. I'm including links directly below each map, however, where you can gofor current updates. You could also download my pages and createyour own private "sacred space" wherein you can make frequent downloadsof satellite maps for whatever regions you're trying to help. Just please avoid my own mistakes and don't ever get too drained or discouraged! Keep it light and humble. Wise Friend© by Wisconsin artist, FranceneHart[Used with permission]Please understand that this ritual in cyberspace is only an experiment. Don't expect global changes -- that would be unrealistic. But ifenough of us can "tweek" a little here, a little there, and if the Weather-spirits,seeing our desire for greater balance and harmony, are pleased, then wecan still accomplish much, albeit in ways we may never fully understand.  Weather-Working Pages:IntroductionWeather-WorkingCyber Ritual for the Western HemisphereWeather-WorkingCyber Ritual for Europe, Mid East, & AfricaWeather-WorkingCyber Ritual for Asia & AustraliaScientific Weather Links(Radarmaps, humidity, satellites, etc.) Other Related Mything Links pages:Common Themes: Floods, Storms, Rainbows,& Other Weather WondersCommon Themes: Nature SpiritsSummer Solstice 2000: Greetings,Lore & CustomsWheel of the Year (for all other solstice& equinox pages) © 2000 Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D.All rights reserved. |
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