ALUNA TEMPLE MAGAZINE Edition No3 'INITIATIONS' | Page 36

Once purified, he takes a blanket and journeys to his pre-selected place in nature
where he feels a personal sense of connection to mother earth energy. He then
spends the rest of the day building a fire circle, clearing it so it’s safe and collecting three nights
worth of firewood. Near evening he makes a 20-foot circle using a boundary of tobacco or corn
meal, sacred to the Cherokee. He remains within for the entire three days.

The circle cannot be entered except for those he invites, both physical beings
and spirits. The spiritual universe always honors the intent of the circle.
A boy I know had a black bear come walking straight
toward him on the second day of his quest. It stopped
right where the tobacco was, looked at him then walked
around the south side of the circle and continued on its
way.
A while later, a cinnamon-colored black bear came
back from the direction the first bear had gone, stopped
at the tobacco border, looked at him then ambled
around the north side. The two bears had created a
complete circle around him.
The bears were a component of the quest message.

BEAR © C.R. Coursow

Now the boy lights his fire. As smoke rises, he offers up a prayer to the universe, saying,
“I am devoting to finding out what I am here to do. I ask that the universe cooperate
and bring me a vision of who I am”.
The boy may fall asleep which is fine because dreams may add to the message. However, the fire
must not go out or he would have to begin again. Sitting by the fire he is to ponder several things
repeatedly. He is asks himself how he should relate to his elders, the children of

his people, the women, the earth, the Creator, and finally, himself.
He makes vows: to become a beneficial elder, to live a life that is a good example
for children, to treat all women as his close female relative, to take care of the earth
as he would his own mother, to always possess reverence for Creator and to fully
respect himself.
During this time of contemplation he considers his strengths and weakness;
especially the

balance of the male/female aspects of his personality.
Understanding the awareness of both is essential.
Does he lack intuitiveness, a feminine trait? If so, he would ask for a gift to help balance this. The
spirits will bring him this gift, often in the form of something physical. He may suddenly see a
feather or an arrowhead on the ground that was not there before. In this example, the symbol
would contain the color red. If he needs more masculine, the color would be blue.
He carries this with him for the rest of his life; a continual reminder of the he was given for
balance.
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