November 11, 2002

Dear Drummers,

A note about this Friday’s drum:

On the Celtic wheel of the year, we are in the arena of the “West.” Autumn is associated with the mythic West – the direction of mystical vision, oracles, mystery, faith, spirituality, destiny, the element water, ocean, and deep sea. The “Cailleach” is also a figure of the West, and the next drum will be loosely attached to what we did together last month. You don’t have to draw a direct line between last month and this month, but I am trying to create experiences for you that can flow together, and maybe add to one another. I am also trying to work our way around the wheel the year, to help us raise our awareness of the flow of time—both linear and mythic. The West is a great place to start on the wheel of the year because dusk, in the Celtic tradition is the beginning of the new day. All life, including each day, begins in the dark, in the womb.

So this Friday, I will borrow an image from the Norse, which has some overflow in the Celtic world. The Norse God Odin, king of the gods—the most wise—had as advisors two crows — Hugin and Munin (Mind and Memory) who perched on his shoulders, and who flew out into the world every day to find out what was happening. I take this image to mean that there are two interlocking forces on the path to wisdom: Memory of what was, and Insight, or Vision of what can be. I also see it as a relationship between what cannot be changed and what can be changed. And I see it as an image of what must be remembered and what can be forgotten (and what Vision may be shaped and what Vision should be left alone). In Celtic legend, crows are more often distinctly associated with war or predictions of death, and once they pronounce impending doom, it doesn’t usually change. But Celtic Crows are also seen overall as creatures that can bring knowledge of future events. And, of course on the physical level, Crows are seen often as icky because they are most often seen pecking away at dead animals on the side of the road. But this is an important service of recycling the dead so that it does not infect us. In this way, the crow becomes an excellent image of what the Jungians like to call “eating our own shadow.”

So we will work with these images in “Hour 2” in a ceremony to seek knowledge of who we are on the deepest level. In “Hour 1” of course, it’s just pure drum fun. I will introduce you to a couple of new rhythms, and we will also have a good long “free” drum.

If you decide to stay for “Hour 2” I hope you will feel free to choose your comfort level from the options below. As always, I never want to force an experience on anyone, but I want to offer those who seek it a chance to go deeply into an experience that combines the drum with prayer and visioning.

Crow Options:

1) Some of you may want to participate just as a drummer—supporting the experience of others (a very important job).

2) Some may want to participate as an imaginative exercise. For this, I encourage you to keep your eyes turned toward crows in the next few days, to see how they move and how they make sounds. And you may ask yourself “What are my shadow qualities that I may recycle into other energies?”

3) Some may want to participate with the perspective that the spirit of the crow, in its guise as Memory and Vision, can enact a change on the inner, spiritual level that will affect the outer, physical aspect of your life. For this, I encourage you to watch the crows in the next few days, to try to see into their movements as much as possible, and to tell them in one way or another that you are open the Crow Spirit coming to meet you this Friday to enact the necessary change that you may not be able to see, but that it can.

See you Friday!

Jaime

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