''The Gathering'' Series

The Gathering

   As was the tradition,they all came together this single night of the year in the forest clearing.First came the Coyote whose ancestors had stolen fire from Man.He gathered kindling and scattered it with the dust of fire opals which sparkled as they set the wood and moss ablaze,sending tiny offerings of light and heat up to the velvet black, diamond studded sky.Next came the great Bear who dragged in logs to burn on the fire,no-one would be cold this night.
   As the fire blazed it seemed as a beacon.Sending out an invitation to attend this Gathering.All rivallry must be set aside at the forest edge.There will be no malice or hunger,no pain or anger.Here shall only exsist a piece so deep as to transcend all earth-bound feelings.
   Through the deep moonlit snow they came,softly in the shadows of the trees.When at last the circle was made around the fire they numbered eleven. There were two places yet to be filled.
   The roll call was made ,each creature was equal amongst his peers.The Coyote and the Bear,the Fox and the Cougar,the Wolf and the Raven,the Caribou and the Beaver,the Hawk the Deer and the Owl.Only the faintest sounds betrayed the twelfths arrival and the Eagle took his place.
   Only now could they summon the last of their number for he had to be brought through the eons of time,across the veil of dreams.Slowly their minds became as one.They melded their hopes and dreams,their pain and sorrow,until their single spirit arose, and that which was good and pure was all that remained.
   Slowly the knots of this earthly bond loosened and the veil of dreams parted.The Great White Buffalo was amongst them.
   Then they did eat the food of knowledge and drink the nectar of wisdom,till each was sated.In those moments the shawl of peace surrounded and healed them.
   The Great White Buffalo left as he came,and the circle was broken.Each creature melted away into the shadows.The Coyote gathered up the sparkling dust of the fire opals and left the clearing.The snow fell and covered up all traces of the Gathering.
   In the black silence a comet streaked across the heavens and from its glittering tail, the seeds of hope were scattered across the land.

Christmas 1993.

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The Coyotes Tale

      He came as had his father before him ....as the Guardian of the Fire. When the Earth had cooled and the Great Spirit had formed the heavens and the earth , He had given the coyotes ancestors the promise of great honour.As time passed and Man encroached upon the Wilderness, so the coyote had grown impatient and had asked of the Great Spirit when he would be given his power.
      The Great Spirit said "I have given you stealth and cunning and with these gifts you must take what you desire,but you must not take a life to get it. You may only have something you can hold in your paws, and pass on to your young ones in due course."
      The coyote thought for a long time.He considered many things, but at last he knew what he wanted.It was something that only man had,and it had given him great power.The coyote wanted Fire.
      How was he to carry this,he would burn if he touched it ? Then one day he watched the Sun glint on the crystal teardrops of dew on a spiders web and he knew how he would catch and hold the fire.
      When the Earth had first cooled many beautiful stones had formed.He knew a secret place where the stones had formed into long slender faceted gems that were as clear as the dew drops. He called them rock crystals. He gathered some and late one night after man had gone to sleep and left his fire to burn low, the coyote crept into the clearing and with a stick ,pushed the crystals into the embers.He stole away and waited.
      The next morning Man rekindled the Fire and through the day tended it.When night fell the coyote again crept into the clearing.
      Withe great care he pulled the crystals from the ashes with a stick and wrapped the hot shards in moss. He took them to the lake and dipped them in the water. The crystals shattered into millions of pieces in their mossy pocket and each piece held a burning spark of flame.Thus was born Fire Opals. Each precious stone held an eternal fire , a spark of light so beautiful and pure that it could send an eternal flame through heaven itself.
      And so it came to be that the coyote became the Guardian of Fire and the Bringer of Light.

Christmas 2004

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The Bear

      Despite his great size he moved quietly through the trees.His soft tread absorbed by the deep snow.His ancestors were the Bears of the First Creation .... he continued with tradition and kept the appointment this night
      He was slow and sleepy , it had been hard to awaken into the cold Winter night from the healing sleep of hibernation, but this night was sacred. He had a job to do. He spotted the fallen branches and started to drag them towards the Clearing where the Coyote had lit the fire.
      They acknowledged each other with a deep gaze into each others eyes .... all that had passed since their last meeting was given up in it.
      The Bear pulled the branches onto the fire. The shadows in the Clearing danced higher as the blaze and the warmth took hold. He sat and watched the Spark Fairies weave their ritual dances, the year had been good to him.
      His mate had given birth to two strong cubs in the Spring, a male and a female.The Great Spirit had been bountious with His Blessings of food and health through the Summer and Autumn. The cubs had prospered, as had he and his mate.
      The Bear laid down and his thoughts drifted ...... he let the Great Spirit prepare his mind for the times to come.The World was a changing place, greed and anger and stupidity seemed to swamp it. It wasn't really that way though. Many still held the hopes and kindnesses in their hearts. It was this that mattered. To accept the defeats was necessary but to dwell on them was not.
      He looked up into the wonderous vault of the Heavens and allowed the light of the stars to heal him. He was a part of the Cosmic picture, a piece of the whole plan.He felt the starlight enter him and the process of renewal begin.
      He felt the echos of a thousand millenia warm his Spirit. His fur rippled softly and shone in the firelight. His eyes held the sparks of a million stars, his Spirit soared.
      This was the Great Creators hand at work.This Creator was whatever you perceived Him to be. Man had named Him ...... but He had no shape or form. He was the trees ,the flowers, the streams ,the sand ...... and finally the atoms of each element. It was this the Bear absorbed. The pure essence of thought and perfection. Not a man made false idol.
      The Bear eased back into his earthly form. He was ready for the Gathering. The time for the few to pool their souls to salve the many. No beginning , no end, but a vital continuity.To wash the World of its cares and hold the weary and the strong equally.
      He listened intently ...... then he heard it.The soft bell tone of the Universe. All would be well ...... it was the song of the Heart.

Christmas 2005.

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