Community Connections

Here in Southern California rain is something we truly appreciate. Our average annual rainfall is about 14 inches and many years we receive less than that. So a rainy day is greeted with appreciation. I always thank the Water Spirits for blessing the land with the sweetness of water and for refreshing nature. 

In the Dagara tradition of West Africa, there are five elements: fire, water, earth, mineral, and nature. People carry one of these five elements and this is their soul's contribution to the community. To identify your element, look at the last digit of your birth year. Then look at the picture below to see what element you carry. 

Each of the five elements has particular medicine to offer to the community. Fire, the original element, is seen as a most potent connection to the spirit world. It connects us to our spiritual path by consuming that which stands between us and our purpose. Water brings cleansing, reconciliation, purification and peace-making. Earth, the central element, is the mother who is inviting us to come home to community and the earth, our true home. Mineral is the elemental energy that invites us to remember, through ritual, who we are and why we are here. Nature asks us to open to transformation in order to realize our true and authentic selves.

Within communities, all the elements need to be represented. The example of Mother Earth and her expression through nature is key here. We must be in touch with our human nature while living with the elements of nature – water, earth, animals, plants. When we are connected with the rhythms of nature, we are in balance and see with all of our senses. Intuition is heightened and the importance of living in harmony with our neighbors and our self is brought into focus. There is an ongoing cycle of death and renewal in nature and if we apply this to our personal and family life, we can learn how to interact harmoniously with others. 

This year, 2019, is a Mineral Year in the Dagara system. A mineral year is about remembering who we are and why we are here. Our bones hold the "stories" of our lineage through our DNA. The minerals of the earth hold the ancient wisdom of Earth's creation and the history of all that has occurred during the earth's transformations. What old stories are relevant for today and can help guide humanity move forward in a positive way -- stories that we can benefit from remembering and sharing? It's also important to look at the old stories we tell ourselves that are outdated and need to be reimagined. How can we learn from the past to create a better future?

Indigenous cultures throughout the world understand this connection between humans and the elements. Rituals using the elements are performed to remember who we are and why we are here. We can learn from the wisdom of cultures that are consciously choosing to live in balance with the natural world.

Humanity has much to reflect upon in our current chaotic climate. Our personal and collective communities are going through an evolutionary process and we are being invited to choose how we move forward. What can we learn from history and how can we take responsibility for the future of Mother Earth? Grassroots nonprofit organizations are communities focusing on solutions and need the support of those in alignment with their mission. I encourage you to find local organizations where you can volunteer or offer financial support. Get involved in your community!  

What do you long for? Is it time to change jobs, receive training in an area that interests you, move to a new place, or end a relationship in your life that no longer serves the highest good? What is working well? What is not? What old stories about yourself do you want to release? Listen with your heart. Discover joy again. Get involved with like-minded people who also want to contribute in a positive way to Mother Earth's evolution. Be the change you want to see!

Blessings of peace, love and joy,

Gogo Gretchen Crilly McKay

For more information about the Dagara, read an article written by Sobonfu Some

Mineral Year ~ 2014

I've been reading numerous astrological blogs that share the stories of the sky and how planets are interacting, affecting our lives here on Earth. Numerology provides another layer of understanding to the picture being revealed and Chinese astrology invites us into the year of the Wood Horse. All of these perspectives offer layers of comprehension about how to live in balance here on Earth.

The cosmology of the Dagara people of Burkino Faso explains life through the five elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Mineral, and Nature. Depending on which year you were born, people carry the gifts of one of these elements. However it takes all of the elements to bring balance within and without.

This year, 2014, is a Mineral year according to the Dagara tradition. Mineral refers to communication and to the memories existing in our bones and the "bones" of Mother Earth. Mineral people are referred to as storytellers and communicators. In a traditional culture where the stories are memorized and shared orally, mineral people are equipped with the gifts of memory and communication and are skilled at working with crystals and energy healing. They carry all the stories; not just mythological stories but also genealogical stories and stories of creation. The druids and bards of Celtic tradition were required to spend years memorizing the history and poetry of their lineage. Elder shamans from the Native American, Hawaiian, and African indigenous cultures still hold the secret stories and memories of their ancient oral traditions. 

At a personal level, when we suppress painful stories from our life, they can result in illness and create imbalance within our physical bodies. The ability to remember a suppressed story, and the emotions connected to it, provides the opportunity to release it and allow transformation and healing. Mineral people can often help us in this process as we are guided gently through our memories to release them through energy healing and/or ritual. 

If your birth year ends in a 4 or a 9, you are a Mineral person in the Dagara tradition. According to Malidoma Some,

"The formation of any village, at least that we know of, is always based on some kind of cosmology, cosmologies that help people find out where they came from and where they're going. This is all based on the quest for people's identity, because without it it's very hard to live a life that is focused and motivated. What you have here is a Dagara model of building identity, or building community and creating a viable relationship with the spirit world. 

That's why people in the tribes or in villages are divided into these five different categories, which are based on the understanding that the universe is made of five essential elements. Those elements are intertwined in such a way that it makes it possible for people like us to live in it. Our daily challenges are based on how we dance with these elements. Pain is the result of ignoring one or several of them, and the feeling of groundedness and focus is more connected to a balancing or a proximity to balancing these elements all together. But the most important thing in it is the possibilities or the availabilities in this so-called Wheel of giving us some very substantial knowledge about ourselves. When you know who you are you know how to dance, and then everything else perhaps becomes not as threatening as it looks."

What old stories are you ready to release this year? What new stories are you ready to create? Don't get stuck in an old story that holds you in victim consciousness. In this Mineral year we are being invited to release the old stories and beliefs held in our bones, the ones that no longer serve the highest good. When we are courageous enough to do this, transformation is possible and new stories are waiting to manifest!

Blessings of peace, love and light ~ Gretchen

May you find a harmony between your soul and your life ~ John O'Donohue