Earth Renewal Dance
(From Sunset to Sunrise Friday)
We are giving back to Earth
As She continually gives to us.
We give the power of our spirit
And the power of our bodies,
As Earth Renewing Dancers we
Take power into the center of our hands
Take power into the center of our bellies
Draw up power into us
Draw down power into us
Calling on all our Teachers
And all our Power Animals
And altogether in-spirited
Now to Earth do we give
Dancing, heel and toe and heel
Until the spirits of all that ever was
And all to come
Permeates our very being
Moves within and around our Circle
As we Dance and Sing to Her
As the Stars slowly shift
Our feet now come to know
The Creation of this World
How Earth Herself came into being
Then birthing us and all beings
Sharing of her memories from eons long ago
Sharing of her hopes that rest in part
On each individual one of us
And the entire Circle gathered here
We shall dance with hearts held high
Lungs bursting along ancient, sacred trails
Until I am one with Earth and Sky
We are one with Earth and Sky
Earth and Sky are We
On Friday night we do the ancient Dance of World Renewal. This takes various forms across the world yet the basic premise is the same: we humans must do our part to restore the balance and harmony of the world. These dances and ceremonies were done in Fall and Spring – the major turning points in the seasonal cycles of the larger Whole.
Such is the significance of World Renewal Dances that tradition tells us "should you cease to dance at these times, then the world stops and does not make another round in the turning of the Year."
Creation itself - and all other beings - pull away from the humans: the humans who take no time for renewing the World while the World, and Earth Herself is constantly giving and providing humans with life and all that humans need.
Others have kept alive the Dance for us – we honor our Ancestors who so did and kept the World turning for us, their descendants. We join with others now to take on the privilege and obligation to Dance for Renewing the World.
Traditionally the World Renewal Dance (sometimes call World Renewal Ceremony) can occur over one or several nights. When it occurs for several nights, the time is spent in various preparation ceremonies, making of prayers, focusing intention, and preparing one’s own self both spiritually and physically. In essence, we are doing many of these activities through our various offerings in the village and during our Village ceremony on Thursday morning.
Another reason it is sometimes called ‘World Renewal Ceremony" is because other spiritually focused activities take place in addition to dancing. Some of these ceremonial activities will be shaped by journeys done prior to Oracle. Others will arise as the spirits and the community collaborate in the Arizona desert. And still other activities will arise within the Night itself as the Spirits move amongst and within us.
The intention holding all together is our focus on Renewing the World.
It is this very intention that is the reason why World Renewal Dances take place between Sunset and Sunrise.
There are three primary reasons:
1) An element of sacrifice from us is required – an unusual expenditure of energy from body, heart, and spirit. Thus do we give up our usual comforts of sleep during the night; keep returning to our heart-felt gratitude for the World; and focus our spiritual powers on harmony, balance, and health for all beings and Earth herself.
2) It is the time when the spirits make themselves most visible and they shall join us in our long night together. To dance and sing with the spirits was and is greatly desired; to merge with them and give them the opportunity of experiencing the world through our physical form is a gift to them.
3) The Star Nation and the Moon are important – for some they are the Beings by which we find our way in the dark of the night; for some they are our Ancestors; for others they are spirits waiting to be born in Earthly form.
These are but a few ways in which the Night Beings were considered important to know and to celebrate. Dancing and ceremony through the night allows for connecting with the Stars and Moon -- and they with us.
The Sun is honored both at Sunset and Sunrise.
Activities during the night
Renewing the World activities include music, dances, prayers, stories, song and anything else that manifests our Gratitude to all beings and the Web of Life itself. Walking with gratitude is to walk in the ‘blessing way.’ Gratitude is blessing itself. Gratitude infuses with love that which is blessed and for which thankfulness is made. Through such blessing do we restore and renew the world. Just as we give thanks in specific ways to our friends, so too, is gratitude amplified through specificity.
So as we plan and renew through the night long, it is important to do this for specific beings: the Plants, Animals, Fish, Ancestors, Sun, Moon, Stars, the helping Spirits that work and assist us. So, too, is dancing done for the waters, fire, air, minerals and other forms of life not mentioned here.
Usually there is a time when the recently deceased are remembered; and if a child (children) has been born since the last World Renewal Dance (since Fall), a time for blessing this child (children).
Each participant is expected to take some time beforehand and consider any special events or people in their lives for whom they might wish to sing or dance. For example, one might discover that Butterfly, Buffalo, Bear, Heron, SageBrush or some other being wishes to be honored – this is why prior preparation for this all night Dance of Renewal is highly recommended.
Finally, the World Renewing Dance is often associated with the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is that which is Eternal as well as that which is manifested in temporality. In some instances, the Tree of Life and the Hoop depicts the People of the Hoop gathered around the Tree, nourishing, honoring, and learning how to be a walking Tree of Life. When Tree and Hoop are joined, it indicates we understand that as humans, each of us is a servant to the Tree of Life. Each of us holds the power in our hands to flourish or to harm. Each of us holds the power to live for the coming generations or to live only for the day.
The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Tree of the Great Peace, whose roots take the shape of a Hoop mandala-the picture.
Thus, when a Hoop of People gather round the Tree of Life, the whole world seems indeed to rejoice –
May we be a cause for rejoicing during our days at Oracle and beyond.
Preparations for the Night Long
There are both practical and spiritual issues that need tending by a group of us. Coordinating this night’s activities is a lot of fun and joy. It provides a sense of service to the Village because you know that you are preparing the space, the place, and some activities for a ‘night of transformation.’
"We shall renew the Earth and we shall be Renewed."
Please note:
****If you are willing to join in working on coordinating this all-night Dance and Ceremony, please contact me at carolproudfoot@shamanicvisions.com
Meanwhile, I invite you to revisit this web page from time to time. We will be adding other material, suggested journeys, possible ceremonies, and perhaps (? – depending on our journeys), some dances we might do together during the night.
If you are coming with a group, perhaps your group may journey for a Dance. It is a long, long night……and then even longer.
**Please send to me any information you receive from journeys about this theme or this night. If you are in a Circle, please journey and see if you receive any information relevant to this Earth Renewal night. You can also send photos, drawings, poems, songs, etc. so that others, too, might read, reflect, and our intention begin to grow stronger and stronger.
I remind us once again our Call and Commitment to this night of Renewing the World together is:
--to keep our intention focused, ourselves in the ‘motion of giving’ just as Earth is constantly giving to us.
--to remember we are doing this World Renewal Dance to bring abundance and well-being to All.
--to unite with MotherEarth as she gives birth to all of nature: soil, vegetation, rivers, fish, bird and animal world.
Answering this Call and keeping commitment through the night long does not mean giving up more than you can give or staying in physical motion beyond the point of hurting yourself. Sometimes people can confuse this agreement or taking of responsibility to renew the world as a ‘burden’…because they seek to do that which physically brings them pain or suffering. We are limited only by our imagination. One can always be in motion to renew the world: giving blessings through one’s eyes, giving praise through one’s voice; giving gratitude through touch. And when one is tired, one can find ways during the night to be vitalized.
Learning how to be a Dancer through the Long Night is part of what this Oracle is all about. We seek to be initiated into the ways of our Ancestors – those ways that restore harmony, unity, and prospering of all beings. Our World is deeply in need of Renewal – we are invited to become such Dancers of the Spirit. We are invited to become -- not merely another person doing another thing but rather -- healers, lovers of humanity, of the Hoop, Tree, and World…Givers and Sharers. To take up such responsibilities as walkers of this path is not a burden…indeed, it is the opportunity to offer the privilege of service and to know the joy of being so privileged.
A Dancer of World Renewing once said to me
"I realized halfway through the night that the
Entire world and heavens danced with me
and that an orgy of mutual blessing was going on".
Well, that "orgy of mutual blessing" can happen when we come to a night of together Renewing the World. For from the stars, our songs can we gather. From the Desert Wind, power to lift our wings. And from the Circle itself, the power and support to sustain us in transformation through the night long until the stars shift, a curtain slowly seems to lift
The world is being newly born
We are being newly born
We are finally soaring into Rising Sun
And through the portal of the New Dawn.
Carol Proudfoot-Edgar
carolproudfoot@shamanicvisions.com
On behalf of ShamanicCircles