TRADITIONS & BELIEFS
The following has been taken from Jamie Sams 'Sacred Path Cards'
These I highly recommend to anyone when purchases a set of cards  for readings.
The Pipe
From the moment the Great White Buffalo Calf Woman appeared to the Sioux nation, the Pipe has been a Sacred Medicine shared by the Brothers and Sisters of Native America as a way to pray, speak truth and heal wounded or broken relationships.
We were given the Pipe to send our prayers and gratitude to Great Mystery and to signify peace among al nations, Tribes, and Clans. The bowl of the Pipe represents the female aspect of all living things and the stem the symbol of the male aspect in all life-forms. When the stem is placed in the bowl, this act signifies union, creation, and fertility.
When the Pipe is loaded, each pinch of Tobacco is blessed as each branch of Our Relations is asked to enter the Pipe in their spirit-forms to be honoured and smoked. We honour MOtherEarth, Father Sky, Grandfather Sun,Grandmother Moon, the Four Directions, the Winged Ones, The Standing People(the trees)  The Stone People, The Finned Ones, the Four-legged(animals), the Creepy-crawlers(insects), the Great Star Nation, the Sky Brothers and Sisters, the Subterrainiums, the Thunder-beings, The Four Chief Spirits, (Air, Water, Earth, Fire) and all the other Two-Leggeds in the human family. In smoking the pipe, it is of utmost importance to smoke every pinch of Tobacco that was loaded into the bowl. Each flake of Tobacco has taken spirit into its body and is honoured as having the essences of All Our Relations in its form. If the fire, which is a part of the Eternal Flame of life, does not touch and ignite the Tobacco, the spirit that is inside cannot be released in smoke. If the smoke is not taken into the body, the spirits of Our Relations and our Ancestors cannot come into communion with us. To empty out a bolw that has not been fully smoked is to commit a grave error and dishonours those spirits who have come to smoke with us. The reckless use of the Sacred Pipe can stifle the willingness of spirits to assist us in our quest for wholeness.
The smoke from the Pipe represents visualised prayer and reminds us of the Spirit in all things. We understand that all life comes from Great Mystery and will return to that original source. Due to this understanding we know that we are all walking the same path, stepping on each spoke of the Sacred Hoop or Wheel of Life.
We find union will All Our Relations when we share the Pipe. The essence of every living creature enters us when we smoke them and we carry their spirits inside our bodies. We are reminded that harmony is attained through sacred union with all our fellow beings. We never place the spirit of any life-form outside of ourselves since through the Pipe, we have asked them to enter our being and share our Sacred Space and life experience.
Sweat Lodge
The term Sweat Lodge has been used for a long time and doesn't truely express the purpose of this ceremony. The purpose is to purify the body, mind adnspirit so that a new sense of Self may be present on the path. Sweating is one of the things that you do in the lodge but is not the reason that you enter the ceremony of the lodge.
For centuries, the Native American people have understood the purpose of purification. The psirit can pick up some "rust" along the way when the experiences of physical life run amok. Since the beginning of the Fourth World, which was the World of Separation beginning approximately sixty thousand years ago, the polarisation of all nations, creeds, and races has ravaged the Children of Earth. We have been taught to hat anyone that looks, acts, or believes differently. At the very least we have been taught to be suspicious due to the threat they represent to our belief system (no matter which race or creed we are).
Before any Native American ritual or ceremony can be performed, all participants must purify the body, mind and spirit. To enter ceremonial space carrying impurities is to lessen the potential of the ceremony's outcome. The purification may be done with Sage or Cedar smoke, a Sweat Lodge ceremony, "feathering' or a variety of other ways. Sabotage of ceremonial space occurs when participamts in that ceremony neglect to purify themselves prior to taking part in the ritual. There cannot be an at-one-ment among the participants if someone is carrying resentment, hatred, jealousy, envy, or other negative emotions. In understanding this idea, Our Native Ancestors made a ceremony to allow each person to let go of the "rust" that would keep them from shining and contributing their talents.
The Sweat Lodge is made from Willows and is circular. The number of Willows used depends on the purpose of the lodge. The Willow is the Tree of Love in our Seneca Tradition. It bends with grace and does not break easily. The lodge's door may be placed at the East, so illumination and spirit from the Blue Road may enter and join the ceremony, or the door may be placed in the West so healing and female receptive energy may enter. The door to the Purification Lodge is build low so we have to enter on our knees, a reminder for us to be humble and to understand taht we are no greater or lesser than other life-forms.
The Stone People heated in the fire pit are volcanic so their bodies do not shatter or break when water is poured over them and steam is released.
Some purification ceremonies either start or end with a Pipe ceremony, depending upon the purpose of the Sweat. The songs and prayers are a way of filling the spirit as purification occurs. There are four rounds of songs and prayers that honour the Four Directions. These rounds allow the participants different viewing points of the purpose for purifying themselves. Each round, or endurance, addresses different segments of Creation and allows the participants to reconnect with All Our Relations through prayer.
Vision Quest
The Vision Quest is one of the oldest tools used by Tribal People to seek direction for life. Under the guidance of a Medicine Person, the seeker is sent to a remote location to fast and pray for three to four days. The result of this activity, which is called Going On the Hill by the Sioux, is afuller understandinf of your place or pathway in the world.
Great Mystery gives the Sacred Medicine Helpers permission to come in vsion-form to the person who is Vision Questing. The spirit of the animal, tree, stone, Moon, stars, or Ancestor who appears will be an Ally, or guide, during that seeker's Earth Wlk and will protect that person's Sacred Path. Another aspect of the vision involves harnessing the energy presented to the seeker in the form of personal talents. If these gifts are used properly, they may allow a new type of growth potential throughout the seeker's life. The path that should be followed to develop these talents may also be revealed during the Vision Quest.
Vision Quests are one tool used by those seeking direction in life. Everytime anyone Seeks the Silence of a balanced heart, the intuitive process can allow the truth to come forward. Truth is the final destination of any seekers's path. When the truth is found inside of the Self, there is no need to look further. Since we Two-leggeds are here to grow and experience the Good Red Road, we find that the path changes many times and can include many shifts in perception. The vision created from  truth is the heart's desire to Walk in Beauty. A vision created from the  need to control others or from greed is based in lies about the natural order of Creation. A vision of the Sacred Path is always clear.
Every aspect of  life and every state of awareness is accessible to those who seek the serenity of the Silience. It is not necessary to go on Vision Quest once this natural balance has been achieved within the Self. The original purpose of Vision Quest was to assist the seeker in finding a way to contact this state of inner-knowing so truth would be present in that person's life every moment.
It is not a good idea for anyone to try to do a Vision Quest without guidance from a trained Medicine Person. Each person lives a Vision Quest on a daily basis. The key is to be aware of it. To seek the signs and omens that allow humans to make proper decisions, then act upon those signs is a part of the Quest for life.
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