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SPIRIT
LODGE
LIBRARY
Myth
& Lore
Page
28
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(Main
Links of the site are right at the bottom of the page)
Some of the 86 pages in this Myth & Lore section are below.
The rest will be found HERE
Legend of Crystals
Cherokee
By Bear MedicineWalker, LoreKeeper
In times long past, We lived in harmony
with Nature. We spoke the same language as the four-leggeds
and the plant people. We hunted for food only to satisfy our
hunger and needs, always offering prayer of thanks for what
was had been from Nature. As time went on, we lost this innocence,
harmony and balance. We became greedy and took more than we
needed. Forgetting prayers of gratitude. We began killing animals,
and each other, for sport and pleasure.
The Bear Tribe, Chief among the animals,
called a meeting of all the animals. They decided that something
had to be done. The bears suggested that they shoot back when
humans shot at them, but the bow and arrow required too great
a sacrifice, for one bear would have to give up his life so
that his sinew could be used for the bowstring. The bear’s
claws were too long for shooting a bow anyway, and would become
entangled on the string.
The deer tribe offered another method
of dealing with the problem,.one of their members said,”
“We will bring disease into the world; each of us will
be responsible for a different illness. When humans live out
of balance with nature, when they forget to give thanks for
their food, they will get sick, and in fact the deer did involve
rheumatism and arthritis; each animal then decided to invoke
a different disease.
The Plant Tribe was more sympathetic
and felt that this was too harsh a punishment, so they volunteered
their help. They said that for every disease a human gets, one
of them would be present to cure it. That way, if people used
their intelligence they would be able to cure their ailments
and regain their balance.
All of nature agreed to this strategy,
One plant in particular spoke out. This was Tobacco, the chief
of the plants. He said, “I will be the sacred herb. I will
not cure any specific disease, but I will help people return
to the scared way of life, provided I am smoked or offered with
prayers and ceremony. But if I am misused, if I am merely smoked
for pleasure, I will cause cancer, the worst disease of all.”
The close friends of the Plant Tribe,
the Rock Tribe and the Mineral Tribe, agreed to help. Each mineral
would have a spiritual power, a subtle vibration that could
be used to regain perfect health. The Ruby, worn as an amulet,
would heal the heart; the emerald would heal the liver and eyes,
and so on. The chief of the mineral tribe, Quartz Crystal, was
clear, like the light of creation itself. Quartz put his arms
around his brother Tobacco and said, “I will be the scared
mineral. I will heal the mind. I will help human beings see
the origin of disease. I will help to bring wisdom and clarity
in dreams. And I will record their spiritual history, including
our meeting today, so that in the future, if humans gaze into
me, they may see their origin and the way of harmony.”
And so it is today.
This is a Cherokee legend, Speaking
of an ancient time of peace, a mythical homeland known to every
culture on Earth. We call it the “Old Way.”
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Libraries
are on this row
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INDEX
Page 3
(Main Section, Medicine Wheel, Native Languages &
Nations, Symbology)
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INDEX
Page 5
(Sacred Feminine & Masculine, Stones & Minerals)
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©
Copyright: Cinnamon Moon & River WildFire Moon (Founders.)
2000-date
All rights reserved.
Site
constructed by Dragonfly
Dezignz 1998-date
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