The
Patterns in the Stars Are Patterns in Us
by Sandra Cosentino
"By
you they will know the directions to guide them."
(Bernard Second, Mescalero Apache speaking of
the stars' role in human creation)
Shooting stars of the
August 12, 2004 Persiod Meteor Shower burst in curving streaks
of white fire across the dome of the pre-dawn sky. Gathered in
circle for a medicine wheel ceremony, we focused on our intentions
for new balance and absorbed the star energies, aligning ourselves
with the greater patterns of the universe. Each cell in our body
an electrical "star" receiving sparks
from the celestial display above. Circles within circles, universal
patterns of design replicating each other from within to the cosmos
without. Beyond the awesome beauty of this moment, I felt a rising
tide of new energy, a positive surge there for us at this time
in the evolution of humans on earth. Full of potentiality we
can vision into a new reality.
Here in the Colorado
Plateau country, a magical region lifted to the sky, the stars
are a constant, abiding presence. High altitudes, transparent
atmosphere, wide spaces of crystalline rock bring the stars into
our nightscape. Comforting, reassuring, tantalizing, felt as
an essential part of our inner landscape. The patterns in
the stars are patterns in us--ancient wisdom from this land whose
meaning I have sought for years.
People in Sedona so value the view of the night sky, that we have
a Dark Sky Ordinance. Flagstaff, just to our north was the the
first U.S. city to have such an ordinance. Lowell Observatory,
where the planet Pluto was discovered is located there, along with
an array of other public and private observatories. Sadly, night
sky nature is lost to over 90% of the earth dwellers due to urban
light pollution.
For humans grown accustomed
to artificially lighted night and Hollywood images of the monsters
lurking in the dark, being out in nature at night commonly evokes
fear. Susan Zwinger, eloquently speaks of the "Nocturnal
Cantata of the Colorado Plateau"*: "Now
I know why so many animals hunt in the night--as the visual
landscape is sponged into human-sized dark, the auditory landscapes
takes its most precise shape."
This is the realm of
the imagination, that terrain of the unseen. Senses alert all
night on her solo vision quest in Canyon de Chelly, one of my
group coined the term: "resonant
fly-bys" to describe the swooping visitations of winged
ones. A summer night constant, the pulsating cricket chorus seem
to echo the song of the stars. The unseen Holy Wind, or inner
form of all life that flows between and within the stars and
the cells of our body seems closer in the receptive dark vessel
of the night. This is especially true in Canyon de Chelly which
was designed as a starport, an earthly place of divine connection
at the time when supernaturals still walked the earth.
"We
have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the
night,"
says star trail
photographer Dan Peha.*
This
photo is of Balanced Rock in Arches National Park in Utah. |
 |
*(see Plateau
Journal, summer, 1998, a publication of the Museum of Northern
Arizona).
Native peoples have always been astute observers of the night
sky. For the Navajo, the stars are living supernatural beings who
embody the rules for living. First Woman used the stars as a tablet
upon which to write the rules that would govern the behavior of
humans. Every earthly creature has a celestial counterpart. Hozho
is central to Navajo thought--this involves wellness, beauty, harmony,
balance between the tension of opposites. Two carefully balanced
star groups embody this concept: Male One Who Revolves (The Big
Dipper) contains the central fire of life (the North Star) and
Female One Who Revolves (Cassiopeia) is a basket who contains that
fire within.
The stars have the ability to assist in healing. For example,
in the Navajo Great Star Chant, the stars of the sand painting
on the hogan (round traditional dwelling of symbolic cosmic design)
floor receive their healing power from a bright star that shines
though the smoke hole in the roof of the hogan. Another earthly
reminder of the power of the stars is found on painted star ceilings
in caves in Canyon de Chelly. No longer painted today, these panels
are regarded as sacred and their ceremonial use is a closely guarded
secret. A power not to be misused or diluted by becoming common
knowledge out of context.
Star People play prominent roles in the cosmology of most tribal
peoples as bringers of wisdom. Many Hopi kachina carvings, for
example, are inspired by such celestial advisors.
The New Fire of the
Hopi year is ceremonially lit with the winter Wuwuchim ceremony
in November when the Pleiades, Orion's Belt, Castor and Pollux
and Procyon are visible in the opening at the top from the kiva
(underground spiritual chamber symbolic of emerging from previous
worlds) roof. The prayers are carried skyward on smoke. And for
one night of the ceremony all roads are closed to the village,
leaving only a pathway for the return of the supernatural Katsina
spiritual helpers.
"Tribal ceremonies send heart energy out into the cosmos...these
energies are amplified in an expanding wave and have the power
to create stars," according to Physicist Dan Winter. Einstein
discovered that the 12 major elements that are in our body are
also present when a star is born. Science has discovered what ancient
peoples always knew, we are literally made of stardust.
Meteorites are
visible almost every night. You can see remnants of the Persiod
shower until Aug. 22. The Leonids , November 13 - 20, are the
next major meteor event. I really enjoy the weekly space weather
and celestial events newsletter from NASA (to subscribe).
May you discover your shining star and knowledge of your place
in the universe with assistance from the pulsating presence of
the stars.
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--Hopi, Navajo and other Native American |
written
Aug. 20, 2004
updated March 3, 2008