Our fire’s light reflected the expression of joy on the countenances of all. In a gathering like minds and hearts, the fire cleaved to the people who stood together in circle. Its dance was solely devoted to its audience of women, men and children, to family as the first circle of life.

Our fires are not scripted or produced. These gatherings allow for the spontaneity of the moment to fuse with a loose outline I scribble beforehand on a piece of paper. We allow the wind, lake waters, sandy beach, and the light of the fire to guide our ceremony. The elements paint our faces and the music of the lake’s waves and the crackling fire’s voice accompany our prayers and songs.

Each fire begins with a statement of intent. The intent for our spring fire of creativity was to come together in the spirit of freedom to manifest our dreams of creativity. Together we would harness the power of creativity and the freedom to manifest an act of creation while allowing the universe to assist us in bringing it forth.

I then offer prayers to the elemental powers of the earth and sky. My prayers addressed each direction on our wheel of life in relation to the manifestation of our acts of creativity. In the south, we recognize the beginning, the germinating seeds of the dream we wish to bring into being. In the west, is the gorgeous flowering of emotions, the thrill of feeling that comes with fulfilling the dream. The north is the direction of giving the dream to the world, witnessing its fruition as we share it with others. In the east we discover the wisdom that comes from the experience of manifesting our dream of creativity. Revelation, illumination, and the crystal clear mirroring of self are the gifts bestowed when we bring a dream to fulfillment.

Where the shores of Lake Erie touch Timberlake, Ohio, a landmark beach narrates whispers of ancient history. On a high hill overlooking our fire ring, the people of the Longhouse, the Iroquois, camped, made fire, and came down to the beach to fish, living out lives balanced with the seasons of nature. In remembrance and in honoring of those who gathered at our lakeshore before us, I sang an Iroquois Women’s song I learned from Joanne Shenandoah. Mysteriously, at each fire, one particular chant springs forth from my memory. The chant builds in tone and force as I move around the fire, offering an awakening voice to the visible and invisible spiritual energies of this sacred place.

In the tradition of the Iroquois, the Clanmothers are the lifegivers and custodians of Mother Earth. Having spent my childhood roaming deer trials in the woods of New York, (land also known to the people of the Longhouse), I feel a remarkable kinship with these ancient keepers of wisdom. Echoes of their history stir my awareness whenever I orient to their enduring presence etched upon their homelands. Although I am not a descendent in blood, I tremble with a surge of energy and my heart floods with love each time I honor these ancestors in song. The Great Lake, like the ocean, is a pictorial representation of the first womb of all earthly life, and when I sing, I feel the presence of the Great Lady of the Lake join our circle with the blessings of the Matriarch.

The next moments of our ceremony were shared with poems, insights, and songs volunteered by willing members of our circle. This is a joyful time of a communion of hearts! We followed this moment of upliftment by each holding our scroll written with the description of our special dream. With scroll in hand, we silently gazed into the multicolored dance of the fire, envisioning our dream’s actualization.

Moving from the fire ring to the shore of Lake Erie, we each collected a rock to further symbolize the intent of our dream. Our rocks were cool to the touch and we held them, warming them in our palms with the body heat of our inner flame. Holding a rock in the right hand and the scroll of intent in the left hand represented the balance of our inner energies of the receptive feminine and the initiatory masculine. To create, we must first receive our dream, represented by the scroll in the left hand. To manifest, we must plant the seed of our dream, represented by the rock held in the right hand.

Returning to the fire, we sang in unison a very ancient chant, Yoh, Hey, Wah, which means Great White Spirit. This chant is known to form the vibratory equivalent of a pillar of white light that is drawn down from the Great Above and meets with the Great Below, bestowing the light of God upon us.

Two of our youngest members, Gabriel and Min Jing, encircled the fire with an offering of spring flowers. The beauty we witnessed in their innocent movement captured the essence of a dream’s precious inception, free of edits or judgements or any despairing over the proposed outcome. Their childlike inspiration led us to visualize our dream once again in the dance of firelight as each person then came to the fire individually and offered their scroll of intent to the flames. We fed the fire of creativity with the written intent of our personal dream. Then together, we moved back to the shore and flung our rocks, like seed crystals, into the womb of the great lake. The female scroll consumed by the male fire and the male rock plunging deep into the female lake symbolized the perfection of nature’s creative life force revealed to us on a starry night of celebration. The union of male and female energy sparkled, igniting the act of creation.

Encircling the fire once again, we sang Amazing Grace. Then one by one, each person turned to the individual standing to their left and gazing into that person’s eyes, said, “Your dream is realized.” This simple act of affirmation crystallized another precious moment shared among friends and family. Love and inspiration encircled our fire and empowered us all. After closing our ceremony with prayer, I moved around the circle and embraced each person. This impulsive act astonished and pleased me, because it overcame any timidity and allowed me to simply share my overflowing heart.

No longer the perplexed and anxious person who had to push beyond her fear of being seen as ceremonialist at the first fire, at this fourth fire, there were no separations between those gathered and myself. It wasn’t about me performing for them, nor was it about us generating the spirit of Jan’s photos. It wasn’t about anything expected or hoped for when we imagined these ceremonies. It was about opening our hearts and being true to the powerful life-changing force of love that only human beings can share.

Margaret H. Lewis is a highly regarded professional speaker, workshop facilitator, business and personal development consultant, gifted spiritual practitioner and author. For over 20 years she has provided countless training seminars and workshops on a wide range of life management and personal development skills.

Margaret is a graduate of an intensive four-year program of spiritual study, receiving her professional certification and ministerial license. She is continually engaged in many areas of research and study that further her continuing education as a spiritual practitioner.

In private consultations, Margaret has assisted hundreds of people in releasing the blocks that are holding them back from achieving their goals and visions of fulfillment. To set up an appointment with Margaret, please email her at info@wisdomwalks.com or visit her online store at www.wisdomwalks.com.


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