Walking with Our Grandmothers: Exploring Ancestral Imprints and Trans-generational Complexes with Muriel McMahon, M.Ed., ISAPz Diplomate
MONDAY, May 9 at 5pm PDT
I met a First Nations woman in Algonquin Park at a "Gathering of Nations" one summer in Canada. She addressed a small gathering in the Women's Lodge about her passion in tracing ancestral histories. Her eyes danced as she told stories about solving the mysteries of lost identities and putting people back in touch with their roots.
An 'ancestors lost and found service' is what she fondly called her work. As she spoke in that rhythm and cadence I have come to appreciate as the song of the indigenous feminine soul, the lake waters lapped against the rugged northern shore, the wind whispered in the towering cedars and pines,and the scents of sage and sweet-grass wafted toward us from the sacred fire and wrapped us in a warm blanket of fragrance.
In the distance, the sound of the Pow Wow drum could be heard warming up for the pomp and pageantry of Grand Entry. Around the circle, in this Women's Lodge, the faces of maidens, mothers, and crones; the faces of red, white, yellow, and black women listened to Traditional stories and shared dreams.
The speaker held the Eagle feather tenderly in her copper coloured left hand and absentmindedly caressed colourful rainbow ribbons through the fingers of her right hand. Joking, she said her kin sometimes criticized her for spending more time with the ancestors than with the living.
The wizened old woman squatting on the grass next to her, knowingly and affectionately clucked, nodded, and smiled. Later, I asked the speaker about tracing my own ancestral lineage. She asked me for the birth dates, marriage dates, and death dates of my maternal grandmothers. Explaining that she had access to the comprehensive Canadian National Census of 1911, she said she could use it to establish familial lines.
Sadly, I told her, I did not have the specific information at hand and was not certain I could even dig it up. "All that I have are the stories and my dreams" I apologized. The afternoon breezes teasingly lifted our cotton skirts.
A crane passed overhead and cast a wide winged shadow. The scent of fry-bread and juniper roasted wild turkey came to us as hunger spirits on the late afternoon breeze. The distant chanting of Traditional song and story rose and fell into the lap of a momentary shared silence. "If you have the stories and the dreams" she whispered, "then you have EVERYTHING!"
In this complimentary webinar, Jungian analyst and wordsmith, Muriel McMahon M.Ed., Diplomate, ISAPz, will use story and images to explore ancestral imprints and trans-generational complexes in the feminine psyche. Word and image, Logos and Eros, analyst and artist will weave us into a virtual Women's Lodge and invite us to reclaim that inviolable interior space where our deepest knowing resides.
This webinar will be recorded and the recorded link will be e-mailed to all registrants.
Please direct questions to assisi@together.net or call
860-415-5004
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