Path of Souls - Journey to the Stars Part 2

Ancestral Medicine Women and Men of First Nations who were holy people knew the secrets of life and death . When the white man came most of their people died or were forced to be moved and under control. Many have forgotten the secrets. Many no longer cared. They only wanted to survive. Some of the old ones told the white the secrets. The whites wrote it down in books. But these books became forgotten, lost in time. The mystery starts with our Mother Earth, the substance from which all things are made. All things are alive. All things contain the Spirit from the Mother, the soil, the trees, the plants, the rocks, the trees, the animals, the waters, even the air we breathe. All things have Spirit.

We live in the Middle World. All objects in the World come from the Earth. But there also is a World above in the Sky and a World below. Each of these Worlds has great powers. They are connected together by a great Pole. The Shamans/Shamyns can move through these Worlds using rituals to gain knowledge and understanding, the power of the Upper and Lower Worlds. They also use this power to influence and enter our Middle World.

When the body is formed of the Earth, it is given a Living Spirit by the Earth. The Ancients called it the Life Soul. This Life Soul makes the body move and gives it energy, but it has no mind, no memory. Our Ancestors showed it as a bone or skull. But there is another Soul , one that came first from the Sky World. It was called the Free Soul. It has memory. It has Free Will. It is our true Soul. When we die, the Free Soul leaves the body. The Old Ones showed it as fire coming from the skull. The Free Soul will stay near its body for a time after the person dies. But in 3 days, it must take a sacred journey. During this time, the body with the Life Soul still clinging to its bones must be handled with care by the living. For some who have died, the body is prepared by removing the flesh and the bones are eventually burned. This burning returns the Life Soul back to the Earth. Then the Life Soul and the Free Soul can no longer join together.

When this ceremony takes place, it must take place in the Winter. So bones are sometimes stored until the Winter Ceremony. The body of a dead leader will be prepared and placed in a tomb without being burned. This meant that at a later time, the Free Soul and Life Soul could rejoin. It might mean that this person could return to this World some day.

This presents the possibility of reincarnation. The ideas are quite similar to ancient Egyptians and other ancient cultures. The origin of the Death Journey idea is another mystery. Many archeologists and historical researchers believe these cultural beliefs are as old as 19,000 years ago. That was the time period when Cygnus served as the Pole Star. The cremation of the dead is often seen as the way of returning the flesh to its origin and therefore releasing the Free Soul from its imprisonment in physical matter. The Free Soul is then released to allow it to return back to its Source, to the Deneb Star in Cygnus the swan's tail feathers.

When the Free Soul leaves its body, it travels to the West where it meets trials and tasks on the journey. But after a few days, the Free Soul reaches a vast body of Water. The Water is the surface of the Underworld. In the Summer, the Underworld is ruled by a feathered serpent who flies in the sky in the South. It is made of Stars and has a giant red eye. In the Winter it goes back to the Underworld below the horizon, so cannot be seen. At that time, it does not need wings to fly in the sky, so it is a giant snake, serpent or water panther.

The constellation of Scorpius is today known as the Native American depiction of the Feathered Serpent. The bright red Star serves as the Serpent's eye. Scorpius is visible in the Southern night time Sky in the Summer. But in the Winter, the constellation doesn't rise above the horizon. The ancient Mound Builders believed that the Free Soul needed to make its journey in the Winter, so that the Feathered Serpent wasn't watching and listening.

When the Free Soul stands at the Water's edge, in the early morning, when a large hand was seen to fall in the Western Sky. The Free Soul must jump into the Sky, or it will roam in the West Lands forever. When the Hand is about to fall the Soul makes a leap to a special spot in the palm of the Hand. Many people say it is an eye, but it is an Ogee, a slit in the Sky that leads to the Path of Souls in the Milky Way. Some people call this the Hand Star.

There are several legends about the Hand in the Sky and the Ogee in its palm. Some tribal stories relate that in the distant past, a set of twins tried to block the Ogee. One of them had its hand cut off at wrist. Its hand was placed in the Sky as a warning to others. Its severed wrist of the hand is formed by the three Belt Stars of the Orion constellation. The thumb and fingers are outlined by various Stars and the Ogee is actually Orion's Nebula. The ancient Maya also believed that Orion's Nebula is a portal in the Sky called Shibaba. But reaching this portal was only the first part of the Sky Journey.

Some saw the Ogee as the Spider Woman. She can grab the Soul of those who lack courage or those who don't reach the Ogee. Some of these Souls are cast back into the Underworld while some are cast back to the Earth to live again and correct their errors. Of those who make the jump to the Ogee are soon moved to the true path, the Path of Souls, the river of Souls in the Milky Way. It is a string of Stars that move across the Sky. When the Free Soul makes the jump to the Ogee and onto the path, it falls safely into the Underworld where it will rise the next night to start the final journey.

When the Hand Stars fall below the horizon in the early morning hours, the Milky Way is seen as a horizontal band across the Sky. In the Winter, it falls below the horizon just as the Sun rises. It was known that the Stars of the Milky Way were Souls making the journey. The Soul has many trials and adventures on the path. These adventures test the strength and goodness of the Soul. If the Soul stumbles and falls, it could fall back to the Earth or to fall into the Underworld to be lost for all time. But if the Soul passes these tests, it will reach a split in the road of the Dark Rift of the Milky Way. It has to decide to go one way or another. One way is a dead end where the Soul is trapped while the other path leads on. It is here where the path splits has its final test.

A large creature stands as a large bird, an eagle, falcon, or hawk as an adversary to the Soul in the constellation of Cygnus at that time period. The bird judged the Soul on its bravery and goodness. It saw how well it served its people and how it dealt with its enemies. Those who failed this test were blotted from existence. Their memories and thoughts are blotted out. Those who have passed the test are allowed to pass through the great opening in the Sky World to join their Ancestors who made the journey long ago. In the past this hole in the North Sky was where all revolved around it. Now it is in the top of the Sky dome.

The portal to the afterlife was the Star Deneb in Cygnus constellation as the brightest Star, part of the Swan's tail. It used to be thought that many of these symbols were part of Sun worship, but now we know that it is to do with the Milky Way. This is Sacred Knowledge, knowledge that is long forgotten. The First Nations people are a counted people, a forgotten people who are pushed from their land and made to forget their ways. There is truth in their ways. Their true destiny is revealed in the Death Journey. It is time to remember. Time to remember where we came from and where we will go.

Written by White Cloud Woman after visiting the amazing Moundville near Tuscalousa, Alabama

- Excerpted from t he Youtube teachings of Dr Gary Little, Path of Souls & Andrew Collins

Andrew Collins and Dr. Gary Little at Moundville Archeological Park & Museum at Moundville, Alabama

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Native American Festival October 2022

Article written by Joanne Brophy

Wind Daughter

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