Wealth and Prosperity.

             Yesterday I spent 47 minutes on the phone with my mother.  I openly acknowledge that the woman is freaking nuts.  (As was her mother before her.  As, unquestionably, am I.)  She is also a very wise and insightful person.   She tunes in differently than I do, but wow, when she does, she never misses her mark.

             Just having the opportunity to call her up is a blessing, a gift that not everyone has access to, I’m abundantly aware of this.  She is as well, knowing that I am her only living daughter.  We appreciate each other, and never take this relationship for granted.  (Even when we are teasing each other, in the most loving and gentle way.)

             You all know that she lives with my father in a rented double-wide, with only a rescue horse out there in the country to keep them company.  Well, the horse and satellite TV.  And whatever friends she’s knitted for them.  Plus a couple of stuffed bears.  Are you also aware, though, that she calls herself The Richest Woman In America?  Because she does.

            She says it nearly every time we talk, she is that convinced of her wealth.  Her treasures are not of the material type (an attitude we could all learn from and more consistently adopt).  Her most prized possessions are not possessions at all.  They are people, they are her loved ones, they are (in her mind) the most valuable single commodity on the planet: family and friends.

             When anyone needs help, reassurance, or just a kind word, she’s the one to call up or drop in on.  Can she buy you something to assist or bail you out with cash?  Nope.  But she can light a candle, say a prayer, and hug you warmly as she holds your head and says confidently, “oh Honey, it’ll be fine, just fine!”

             As she hands you a cookie or rummages in the freezer for a meal, she bolsters you up while exclaiming loudly that “this world is all so shittin’ stupid that none of it matters anyway!”  She will call you beautiful and put her tiny brown arms around you as she tippy-toes up on her platform flip-flops to kiss your cheek.

             My mom is the epitome of a loving and doting Granny, and yet she is also as foul-mouthed and irreverent as any teenager.  What she wants everyone to know is that we can’t change the negative crap we hear about so often, but we can change how we deal with it.  We are able to heal others simply by offering ourselves as support.  By simply BEING there for those we care about.

             If anyone needs uplifting, e-mail me, I’ll give you her number, she’ll talk your ear off, but when you finally hang up, you will feel better than you have a really long time.

             On our card altar today we have been visited by a messenger who reminds of my mother’s generous spirit and Divine connection.

“Buffalo  ~  19  ~  Prayer & Abundance

In the Lakota tradition it was the White Buffalo Calf Woman who brought the sacred pipe to the people and taught them to pray.  The bowl of the pipe was the receptacle that held tobacco, an herb with male and female medicine.  The stem of the pipe represented the male entering the female and seeding life.  In the coming together of male and female, the connection to the divine energy of the Great Spirit was made.  As the pipe was loaded with tobacco  every family in nature was asked to enter into the pipe and share its medicine as prayer and praise to the heavens.  The smoke was considered to be visual prayer, and was very sacred and cleansing.

All animals are sacred, but in the many traditions White Buffalo is the most sacred.  The appearance of White Buffalo is a sign that prayers are being heard, that the sacred pipe is being honored, and that the promises of prophesy are being fulfilled.  White Buffalo signals a time of abundance and plenty.

Buffalo was the major source of sustenance for the Plains Indians.  It gave meat for food, hides for clothing, warm soft buffalo robes for long winters, and hooves for glue.  The medicine of Buffalo is prayer, gratitude  and praise for that which is received.  Buffalo medicine is also knowing that abundance is present when all relations are honored as sacred,  and when gratitude is expressed to every living part of creation.

Because of its desire to give the gifts that its body provided, and because of its willingness to be used on Earth for the highest good before entering the hunting grounds of Spirit, Buffalo did not readily stampede and run from hunters.

To use Buffalo medicine is to smoke the pipe in a sacred manner, and to give praise for the richness of life to be shared with all races, all creatures, all nations, and all life.  It means smoking for others so that their needs are met, praying for the good of all things in harmony, and accepting the Great Mystery as a part of that harmony.

If you have drawn the Buffalo card, you may be asked to use your energy in prayer.  You may also be called upon to be an instrument of someone else’s answer to a prayer.  This could portend a time of recognizing the sacredness of every walk of life, albeit different from your own.  To honor another’s pathway, even if it brings you sadness, is a part of the message that Buffalo brings.  This may be a time of reconnection to the meaning of life and the value of peace.  Most assuredly this time will bring serenity amidst chaos if you pray in earnest for the enlightenment and the power of calmness and give praise for the gifts you already have.

Buffalo medicine is a sign that you achieve nothing without the aid of the Great Spirit and that you must be humble enough to ask for that assistance and then be grateful for what you receive.

Contrary:

To receive Buffalo upside-down is a sign that you have forgotten to seek help when it has been needed.  If your hand is closed in a fist, you cannot receive the bounty of abundance.  In understanding the significance of the reversed Buffalo, you may well ask yourself.

1)  Have I forgotten my eternal partner, the Great Spirit?

2)  Am I pushing myself too fast in the physical world and keeping myself from seeing the importance of reunion with the Source of life?

3)  Have I forgotten to honor the ways of others and to afford them the same respect that I wish to receive for myself?

4)  Am I feeling like my life is being used for the highest good at this time?

5)  Have I forgotten to be grateful for my life, my possessions, my talents, my abilities, my health, my family, or my friends?

6)  Is it time to make peace with another, or to make peace with some inner conflict I have so that I may walk in balance again?

Become Buffalo.   Feel the smoke of prayer and praise change your Buffalo robe to white so that you may be an answer to the prayers of the world.”

Today’s Deck:

Medicine Cards – The Discovery Of Power Through The Ways Of Animals by Jamie Sams and David Carson illustrated by Angela C Werneke