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SHAMANIC OFFERINGS
translated by Sara Ñusta

OFFERING TO THE SEA

This is an offering that we make to the Sea from the Kogi tradition. They are a native American Indian group that lives in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia. It is said that the sea reminds us of our origin, where we came from, and where we will return. She is the great aboriginal mother that was here in the beginning, when there was no beginning yet.  These Indian people walk down from the mountains to the sea, just to remember and to honor what she represents for humanity. She is The Great Lake, the aboriginal creator of everything.

We make this offering by wrapping a piece of cotton around the quartz crystal and throwing it into the sea.  Holding an intention within our heart, we must let it be free in the moment we throw it to the sea. We do not turn back to look where our offering has landed.

OFFERING TO THE EARTH

This is an offering that we make to the Earth, in gratefulness for all the things that we receive every moment of our life. It’s a moment in which from our heart we will offer a quartz crystal back to the earth depositing in it all of our gratitude and love.  We will use the tobacco plant as part of the ceremony, symbolizing the reverence that we have for our prayers and intentions. The tobacco will be with our quartz and its spirit will take our prayers and gratitude to the heart of the heavens (our own hearts).

The other plant that we use is the corn plant which brings fertility and beauty, fertilizing our prayers and intentions in the Earth, to grow in new ways.

This is the least that we can do to express our gratitude to our mother, who supports us every moment in every place. She gives us food and nutrition. Our earth is the one that inspires our lives.

TOBACCO OFFERINGS

This is a Lakota ceremony in which we pray to the Great Spirit through the offering of tobacco.  In this ceremony we will be honoring the spirits of the 7 sacred directions of the cosmos with tobacco and specific colored cloth. 

We will use the tobacco as a conductor plant, were we will deposit our most profound intentions and where our prayers will be carried to the heavens.

We will hold in our heart our intention and specific purpose, and when we are making our tobacco offering we will direct our intention to the 7 directions. We will place in the offering our intention of something specific such as the healing for a sickness or to make an offering of gratitude. This depends on what your heart needs to communicate in that moment.

Each direction is guarded by an animal(s) and is held by a color.

The West Direction (Black)
In the Lakota tradition this is the direction that reminds us of our Inner Path. Its darkness reminds us of our inner worlds and its wisdom.  Is the black beauty that we all have within and were we have to return to recognize our power and strength. It’s guarded by the bear, the horse and the spider.  The west direction represents the inner strength that we all need to honor. It’s the darkness that would allow us to recognize our own true being.

The North Direction (Red)
This is the Warrior path. It’s the direction were all the sacred ceremonies came from through the White Buffalo Cattle Woman.  She is the sacred feminine mother of the Lakota people.  This direction holds the hospitality that the buffalo carries for its people, in bringing to them clothes, food and protection.  Its guardian animal is the buffalo. It’s a healing and noble direction were we can remember the strength of the buffalo to heal ourselves.  This is a very important direction for the Lakota people because it holds all they needed to survive and to honor life.

The East Direction (Yellow)
This is the direction of the Sun, were we find light and clarity. It’s the direction that reminds us of the virtues that life has, like music, dancing, and painting. This is the creation path, the force of the sun, the vitality and the passion, that we were all made with.  Its guardian is the deer and the elk, by their strength and humbleness. This is a direction that holds light and life, the direction in our heart were we can find joyfulness and happiness.

The South Direction (White)
This is the direction that represents the Death path. It’s also the children path, were all children come from and were all children return back.  This direction reminds us to hold no attachment and about the letting go of old things in our life.  We can honor this direction when we feel that we need to release or transform the old ways of our life. The spirit guardian of this direction is the swan who represents the transformation of our spirit. The white horse is also of this direction and comes to remind us of our freedom.

The Sky Direction Above (Blue)
This is the direction which is associated with the Father, the Great Spirit.  It’s the direction that holds the most profound and celestial space of our heart. This direction is guarded by all the winged animals. But the most important one is the spotted eagle, who is the one that carries our prayers to the heavens. It’s a direction that represents a very important part of ourselves, the Great Spirit or the divinity within us.

The Earth Direction Below (Green)
This is the direction towards our mother, the Earth. In this direction we are honoring our mother, our nutrition, and our home. It’s a direction where we find the feminine energy, the direction that holds the energy of the womb, and of mothering. The guardian spirits are the turtle, the whale and the mole. The turtle is the ancient being that patiently moves through time. The whale is the great keeper of the wisdom of the earth.  The mole is able to hear all of our needs and can hear all of the steps over the earth. When we decide to honor this direction we are remembering the direction within that holds all of our feminine power and the strength of creation.

The Center Direction Inside (Violet)
This is the last direction and is the direction that gathers all of the directions above. It is the direction of our Heart. The inner place contains everything that is outside. Our heart is the most important direction because it is where our truth of being resides. Here our being is free of personalities and stereotypes.  In this space we can connect with God, where we can be part of God and the totality. It’s the wholeness and the emptiness at the same time.

(Thank you Sara Ñusta for translating this information and sharing these sacred traditions with us.)