Drum Trance

Welcome to all visitors from THe Real Witches of Halloween!
Sorry for the delay in the post but I had a magickal evening that I would love to tell you about!

Last Night six other people and myself spent some time on a vision Quest with the Mama Drum, Sacred Yellow Drum, of Flagstaff. It was a beautiful exerience. I was leading the trance and people seemed to really enjoy it and receive a lot from it. This definitely made me happy as SYD and I had this vision of drum trances this summer. It was a total moment of transformation and manifestation in my life. To see a vision come to fruition created a sense of being in the right place at the right time. A conformation of this feeling is when poeple were drawing Tarot/Medicine cards, one person drew the Dolphin! I was blown away. THe dolphin is the messenger of the dreamtime people to the people on this Earth and back again. Dolphin had a message for all of us that night and I was in shock! Have any of you all experienced this feeling?

The trance borught out the best in me for sure. I took the role as leader of the trance because I had the vision to make them happen. But this was a big step up for me. This drum has a lot of magick in it and to be able to guide people with that Magick is wonderful and something that I can't wait to do again. When this vision was manifesting itself ono this plane I thought that there would be only one of these occuring and it turns out SYD has different planes and has called for more Trances to happen. Drums are entities that know what they want. They are our ancestors and they have something they want to tell us! Listen to their heartbeat and when you are lost or just looking to be rocked by the mother listen to your heartbeat to tap into the
Drumbeat.

Blessed be!

What to do when you are lost...

Recently my life has taken a drastic shift. My partner and I ended our relationship and are transitioning to friendship. This is not an easy task and something that I have never wanted to do before with an ex. Honestly the road ahead is filled with tricky turns and blocks that I am not fully prepared for but with the grace of the Goddess I will make it thru.
In this time of great crossroads in my life I find myself exploring the Goddess Hecate. She is the Goddess of magick, witchcraft, and crossroads. In ancient times people would leave offerings, poles, and altars for Hecate at the crossroads.
It is said that, food was often left at the crossroads to honor Hecate, especially at junctions where three roads met. Frequently a pole was erected at the intersection and three masks would be hung from it to pay homage to Hecate and to request her guidance in helping to choose the right direction.
This seems kind of hard to do now-a-days but part of me feels compelled to leave an offering of something at a crossroads. I feel as if Hecate is calling me to look inward and look into the future for some insight. She is the goddess that can offer these wonderful gifts and as such when I feel such a calling I know I must make an offering. I do not believe that I have to make an offering to work with Hecate, but to me it is part of the process. The universe works in a reciprocal way. There needs to be a balance in the universe and to me that means I need to make an offering to the area I live in. Appeasing the area I live in is important because the spirits of this place have made this one of the most welcoming and loving places to live.

Back to Hecate. She is the great teacher of change! She is there to us release negative things from the past, especially those things that are not serving our personal growth any longer. She is also the mother of acceptance. Accept the things we cannot change and accept the change that comes with it. I also read that "She sometimes asks us to let go of what is familiar, safe, and secure and to travel to the scary places of the soul". During this time of transition I feel an extra special bond to Hecate because I need a teacher to help me let go and search within myself for the answers. My mentor is on a spiritual retreat for the next week and I already miss her. There are some things I need to learn to cope with on my own and this is one of the lessons. Then again we are never really alone we just feel lonely.
New beginnings are not easy but Hecate is there at the crossroads waiting to guide us down the path we choose and lead us with her torch.

On Saturday I am participating in a LongDance and we will be drumming from 9pm till we fall asleep. This is connect with my sister witch on her retreat in Washington. I hope that Hecate will be there to guide me as Sacred Yellow Drum guides us into a deep trance where answers can be found and the world of energy maybe accessed.

Blessed Be Sisters!
Ponderosa Pagan

Drumming into my Heart

Drums. What beautiful entities they are!
I have never worked with drums before in my life but thanks to my wonderful mentor Madrone I have had the most joyous experience since they have entered into my life.
Over a year ago Madrone had the vision come to her through spirit that a Mother Drum was being called to come into exsitence in the Flagstaff area and she was to create this with a drum council. Together eight womyn were holding space to birth this be-ing
for the Flagstaff community. They worked together with the spirit of the drum to see what She saw the Flagstaff community needed.

On the weekend of May 28th the drum was birthed. 15 Womyn were a part of this process and two other mother drums were there to witness the birth of their sister. Buffalo Heart and Otter Woman played as the womyn birthed Sacred Yellow Drum (that is her name until the drum council receives another one). The other mama drums are part of a group called Woman's Way Red Lodge. If you have not heard of them please visit their website and find out more about them. Here is their LINK. Supporting groups this like are important on our pagan paths and some of you might even be called to start similar groups in your areas.

Sacred Yellow Drum was played for the first time on June 12th in the first drumming into the seasons and she was amazing.
Her Medicine is already being felt by myself and others in the area. At the sunrise ceremony when we welcomed her into the world Otter Woman and Buffalo Heart surely touched me in ways that are indescribeable and I am forever changed because of them.

For my graduation Madrone got me a frame drum made with Goat hide and it is beautiful. She sits on my altar and she herself has experienced the healing powers of the mama drums.
On summer solstice a small group of us went out to the peaks and celebrated the sun in ritual with Sacred Yellow Drum (SYD) and other drums. I brought along my drum (she doens't have a name yet) and was excited to play her while SYD was playing. The ritual was lovely especially as the sun was going down. I played many songs on SYD and then decided it was time to take my drum and head on out to do some playing for the sun. I am not sure what came over me but I started singing a song. I couldnt believe it....me creating a song all because I was with SYD and my drum. In my tradition we call it being "sung" because the song comes from some spirit, most likely my drum or SYD but the song came through and I went with it. My mentor wanted to hear the song right away but I explained I was nervous and that I only had one line. So when I got home the next day I decided to have some time with my drum. Next thing I knew I was singing the song again and chose to right it down this time. Two days later the song was complete and I have never been more proud of myself or more amazed. The song is called Magical Mother Earth and evolved into a sort of call to the directions. I will put up the lyrics and perhaps a video or me singing it at a later date. If you chose to sing this please remember that I worked very hard and do not mind sharing just hope that you will honor and respect my hard work and the intention of the song.
This picutre is where the song came to me!

Magical Mother Earth
Goodbye brother Sun,
Brother Sun

We Welcome Sister Moon,
sister Moon.
We the people guided by your light
call on you for your great insight.

Ancestos of the Drum,
of the Drum
Bring your wisdom,
wisdom
Help us through the day into night...

Great Fire Spirit, in the south
Enliven our senses, to your flame
Awaken us to our voice deep within

Wonderful Water, of the West
Womb of the Mother, we seek rest
Purify our hearts and our minds....

Whispering Winds of East,
sing your song
Carry the breath of change to our hearts,
Inspire new growth, on hte future horizon.....

Magickal Mother Earth, home of life
Resting place of Ancients, we seek peace
As we walk down our path in the life,
Strengthen our steps with your ancient might!
Copyright Ponderosa Pagan

That is the song. Hope you enjoy! I will post the video soon!
If you have not picked up a drum before Isuggest doing so. They are beautiful bright spirits that long to sing with you!