Sweet Hair Teaching
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The Sweetgrass/Hair teaching was meant to be a teaching just about
Hair, and how important it is to think in a Sacred Way, as your
physical Hair is a manifestation of your thoughts. As I started this
writing I realized that it is impossible to separate the teachings of
Sweetgrass from the Hair teaching. The reason being, all teachings
are One teaching from the Great Spirit. All teachings are smaller
circles of the Greater Teaching Circle.
This is a spiritual writing and is meant to be read a minimum of four
times. This is only a partial teaching of the wisdom of Sweetgrass
and the teachings about Hair. There are many more teachings that
would compliment the ones written here.
Our Hair and the Hair of Our Mother, The Earth
Hair is the physical manifestation of our thoughts and an extension
of ourselves. So pure and sacred are the thoughts of Our Mother, the
Earth, that Her hair grows long and fragrant. The Sweet Grasses found
growing around the World represent the hair of Our Mother, the Earth.
These special grasses have long been collected by the Native Peoples
of Earth to use as incense(to perceive by the senses) for physical
and spiritual healing, celebrations, for sacred prayer and
purification rites. Loving All Her Children, the Earth allows us to
share in Her loving intent and Her perfect and purifying thoughts. On
the Medicine Wheel Sweetgrass sits in the North position, the place
of Water/Consciousness, the Place of the Minder of the Universe, and
the Sol of Man.
As Native People walk the Sacred Path of the Creator God, Our Hair,
the physical extension of our thoughts, allows for our direction
along the Path of Life. All Peoples of Earth have cultural tales/tails
(tails guide beings,example; without tails-Birds could not fly, Fish
could not swim and Animals would be without balance) depicting the
Power of Hair/Thought, telling of the strengths of Men and Women,
using thoughts/hair to defeat evil. Should you maintain pure and
perfect thoughts, evil sorcerers and witches cannot use your hair in
their evil ceremonies to defeat you, for they need the weaknesses in
your thoughts, to cause you harm. Believe in the Power of the
Creator, not in the magic of Man.
In many countries around the World, Holy men and Holy women are
recognized by the length and glory of their hair. The cutting of hair
by oppressors has long represented the submission and defeat of a
People, through humiliation. The Language and Sacredness of Hair is
taught by All Tribal People of Earth. The way a People comb(the
Alignment of thought), braid(the Oneness of thought), tie(the
Securing of thought) and colour(the Conviction in thought), their
Hair is of great significance. Hair styles are important for they
portray and announce participation in various events and the feelings
expressed by People; the state of merriment or mourning, at a given
time, or a stage of life; whether one is coming of age, marriageable
or married, one's age and tribal status. Hair can depict the Tribal
Spirits one follows given the geographical location of a Peoples and
the Spirits flowing through someone depending on their age as a
Spirit and the spirits that one is calling on, in a given ceremony.
Different styles signify the Tribe one belongs to and are worn to
indicate times of peace or war. Hairstyles like seasons change for
public, private and ceremonial occasions. Hair represents the pure
thoughts and spiritual status of an Individual, showing the bonds and
spiritual oneness of a Family and defines the cultural harmony and
spiritual alignment of a Nation. Hair represents the Pure and
Spiritual thoughts of All Tribal People.
Everyone is given Straight or Curly hair, depending on the Creator's
discretion. Straight, flowing hair, teaches of one that can
gracefully hold or let go of life. Thoughts can extend in a uniform
manner, flowing directly from the source, like the movement of water
flowing from the mountain top to the ocean, and then the water can
rise up again to fall once more. For those with Curly hair, they will
have the potential to understand the Spiral, Curve and Energy of
Life. Their thoughts teach about the decrease and enlargement of
life's movement. The winding, circular energy of movement and growth
on the Earth. All thoughts in life tend to ebb and flow.
Native Children are taught from a young age how to groom and care for
themselves, their immediate and extended family. They are taught that
grooming one and other, unifies the bond of a family, caring for one
and other strengthens the family ties, respecting one and other
maintains family harmony and loving one and other defines a family's
pride. They are taught to correct one and others appearance and
habits, to strengthen one and other continually, causing them to be
beautiful, strengthening in them the ideal that they are an extention
of the Creator's thoughts of Love. They emanate from the thoughts of
Perfection and strive to become(to pass from one state to another and
to enhance) Perfection.
As Children are raised up, so too is the spiritual level of teaching
raised, to elevate their Spirits. In youth and innocence(in-knowing-
sense=freedom from guilt, sin or pain), Mankind is blessed with a
bounty of beautiful hair. The more pure and sacred your thoughts, the
longer, healthier, and vibrant, your hair. As Humans age and loose
their innocence, falling off the Path of Light, harboring dark
thoughts, losing the light of pure thought, Humans loose their hair
and the shine(aureole) it once had.
Caring for hair is very important, for like the Sweet Grasses of our
Mother, the Earth, our hair holds the purity of our intent. For our
thought can purify the thoughts of others. Native Children are taught
to wash and rinse hair, and are taught the proper use of the gifts of
the Plant People; learning which bulbs, roots and herbs, will bring
luster and light to ones hair. Maintaining the health of ones hair is
important, as is maintaining all physical and spiritual health and
wholeness.
They are also taught combing rites. Special combs were and in some
places still are used for the Sweetgrass Rites and ornate combs were
and still are made for Human hair. Careful consideration is given to
the types of woods, bones, metals, jewels, and brush materials, as
well as the symbols and (spirit)designs, for the best physical and
spiritual purpose, of the task of combing Ones hair. The Porcupine
shared itself by giving Native Women a Sacred Comb, which was made
from the bone found on the underside of the Porcupine's tail. After
taking the skin off, drying it and making a wooden handle, it was
ready to use.
Combing is the act of separating and adjusting the hair so that it
will lay or move in the best or most beautiful way. Native families,
knowing that our hair is the physical manifestation of our thoughts,
also understand that our thoughts need to be corrected and adjusted
by the Creator, so that we will move gracefully along the Beauty Way,
the Sacred Path of Life.
When combing our hair each day, we are re-minded to keep our thoughts
pure. The hair that falls out and gathers in our brushes and combs,
is gathered up and kept in a special place or pouch, for the 28 days
of the Moon/month. This hair is a recollection, a record of our past
thoughts and deeds. At the time of the Full Moon, the time of
illumination and completeness, the Hearts of the Families, the Women,
gather in ceremony and offer the thoughts of their families, their
bundled Hair, to the Spirits of Fire, Earth and Air. When our
offerings of Hair are placed in fire, our thoughts are uplifted, sent
through the smoke, moved by the power of the Moon, and prayerfully
given to our Father, the Creator God or if buried, returned to Our
Mother, the Earth and She relays our intent to through the Moon, to
Our Father. In this way the Creator reads your families thoughts and
sends His Spirits/Angels to guide you on the Sacred Path, correcting
your Mind, Heart and Soul, strengthening the Body of Oneness, till
the next Full Moon. Holding Sacred thoughts, choosing to walk a path
of light, One that is pleasing to the Creator God, stengthens the
individual Family, and the Greater Family of Universal Oneness, that
every One is a part of.
Your hair teaches you that your thoughts are to flow in all
directions but are to be uniformaly directed. Yellow, Red, Black and
White the four colours of hair symbolizing the major directions of
Earth, and the direction of those constant in the flow of
thought/Spirit. Also, the four directions in between, Gold, Orange,
Brown, Blue/Grey, Hair indicating those continual in thought/Spirit,
flowing throughout the Universe. Your hair is just one way of
indicating to others another conviction you carry throughout your
lifetime. When the colour of your hair changes, naturally, that means
you have been Elevated, by God. You have more responsibility in and
for Life.
You were given a sacred colour of hair to wear and you were never to
bleach(whiten) or dye your hair. Even the word dye/die when used for
colouring states the death or diviation of a God-given thought and
purpose. Dying(destined for death) ones hair places your desires
before the thoughts of God. Bleaching ones hair to change spiritual
status, does not make one an Elder or Pre-dating Spirit, for you are
born who you are, choosen, and elevated by God, not by Mankind. In
Native ceremony when ochers and hennas were used on hair it was
understood that it was for a Sacred purpose and Spirit(God) inspired,
and the natural colour would naturally return.
The act of cutting your hair is the cutting off of the flow of
thought. You actually sever away past thoughts from future deeds.
Cutting your hair usually occurs when one chooses to make a major
change in ones life, putting past misdeeds behind them, and beginning
a new/knew life. In Native teachings many tribes cut their hair
during the mourning process, which symbolizes the deep wound to ones
sensibilities caused by the piercing hurt of a loved ones passing.
Other tribes, remembering that they are Spirits that live forever,
cut their hair after a year of mourning. Symbolic of the severing of
their ties, freeing the spirit of their loved ones, allowing them to
enter the morning of the next world. Ready to start a new life,
knowing they must respect and honour their loved one, they feast and
urge their loved Ones' spirit on. Demonstrating their love for all
life, they signal they too are ready to start a new day, a new
morning. For in wisdom, they except the greater cycle of life. They
know the Body of their past Love, was given back to the Earth and the
Spirit of their Loved One, needs to return to the Sol/Star their
Spirits emanate from, to be re-aligned in the Body of Oneness, being
reborn as their future and the re/newed Children of Earth.
Even the time of cutting your hair is important, for all things need
to be in harmony with the natural rythym and flow of the Universe.
Cutting old thoughts, harvesting full grown ideas, cutting all ties,
is best on the Full Moon. For fresh starts, like the planting time,
for new seeds of thought, or for the trimming, pruning and monthly
maintainance, we cut our hair by the light of the New Moon, so it
will grow thick and quick.
Young men are often seen with braids of sweetgrass for personal
purification rites. In some Tribes, men weave Sweetgrass into their
braids to unify their thoughts with their Mother, the Earth,
strengthening their thoughts of Oneness. This demonstrates the way in
which hair is used to extend and bind your thoughts with others. By
attaching a lock of a loved ones hair, in your hair, or by carrying
their hair on your person, One is able to carry the thoughts of their
loved ones with them on their travels. It is so important to have
your families spiritual support and protective thoughts(prayers) in
life generally, that the hair of ones family and the hair of their
protective spirits, was braided into a warriors battle dress for
added strength and stamina. It is generally understood that you do
not touch a person's hair without permission.
Sweetgrass headbands(the things that keep your brains in)(joke) are
worn for concentration, to purify thought. The aroma of Sweetgrass
clears the mind. Sweetgrass necklaces or collars refer to the Spirit
that is born head-first, and is used to call-in/coll-ar the Spirit of
Wisdom you are descended from. Sweetgrass braids,like the braids on
your head symbolize the serpents of wisdom, that keep you on the
Sacred Path of Light. It is the double-headed serpent that warns you
with a shake of its tail, should you step off the path of light, to
get back on the sacred path or suffer the venomous bites of despair,
depression or death, depending how far you wander.
Braids symbolize Oneness and Unity. The flowing strands of hair,
individually weak but when joined together in Oneness, physically
demonstrate the Strength of Oneness; "One Mind, One Heart and One
Soul", the Song of the Uni-verse, and the Sacred thoughts you are to
hold. There are times to wear the hair braided and times to let it
flow free, different times to demonstrate your harmony with the flow
of life and to demonstrate your thoughts of Oneness to others.
There are different teachings about the way to braid ones hair, and
different teachings about the ways and rites of braiding Sweetgrass.
One way is to gather 28 whole strands of Sweetgrass, one strand
symbolizing each sacred day in one moon(month). Divide them in three
equal piles, 9 strands each, each pile symbolizing the wandering
spirits of the 3 tiers of Heaven (upper world, middle world, lower
world), and with the one strand that is left, the strand that
Symbolizes the Great Spirit, the Creator God(Father Sun), you tie all
the loose strands together. Remembering as you braid the Sweetgrass,
to keep your thoughts and intent pure and healthy, placing the
prayers of love for life into your braid. It is the intent placed in
the medicine that makes all healing possible. To end the braid, tie a
knot with the grass. A Knot is symbolic of Union and a Bond. The Tie
that binds. The knot in the Sweetgrass braid also binds all
the "thoughts" of our Mother together, to teach us, once again of the
strength of Unity or Oneness.
Know it is only the Creator's power that holds the Universe together
and the wandering spirits are His Great Spirits that flow and protect
Life all the way to the outer edges of the Universe and the 3 tiers
of Heaven are the lower, middle and upper worlds or the Sea, Earth
and Sky(Universe) where all the Great Spirits dwell. Keeping thoughts
of Love and Respect for All Life in your Mind and Heart, allows one
to share the Sacred Sweetgrass with others in a good way.
When working with the Sacred Medicines, our intent should be as pure
as the intent of our selfless Mother, the Earth. She wants only the
best for Her Children. So hold Sacred thoughts; thoughts of Oneness
and Healing thoughts; thoughts of Empowerment and Love, when braiding
and using Sweetgrass. Soon All Nations will be strong again.
Written by Paula Johnstone
also known as Lightening Woman
"The Heart of Creation"1996, Copyright Painting by Del Ashkewe
You ask me to dig for stone. Shall I dig under her skin for bones?
Then when I die I cannot enter her body to be born again. You ask me
to cut grass and make hay and sell it, and be rich like the white
man, but how dare I cut my mother's hair?"
Sitting Bull
"The Nazirites do not cut their hair because all that is done by just
men, prospers and their leaves do not fall."
Origen Quote
Better to think thrice and say nothing, than to bring about foolish
thought.
Chinese Wisdom
Donations are excepted and greatly appreciated, Thankyou.
Permission is given to copy these writings provided they are left
unchanged and in their entirety. Copyright September 4,1998
For more teachings or information on workshops, write to Meshu Peshu
Productions, Box #98135, 970 Queen St. East, Toronto, Ontario. M4M 1J0
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