THE FOUR SISTERS OF
EVERLASTING BEAUTY
adapted from a poem by
Nancy Wood by Christine Hoff Kraemer
Leader: Four Sisters danced on a
mountaintop in order to summon fire from deep within the earth. They danced
until flames poured from within veins in the rock, cleansing them and making
them new.
First: Let us face the East. The First
Sister was the Dancing Woman of Mirth, whose direction was East.
She wore yellow, the color of awakening moments. She brought laughter, the
first necessity in a world of sadness. The First Sister said: The spirit of
laughter is the same as wind or water. It soothes the troubled earth and makes
hard edges disappear, even in the face of sorrow.
Second: Let us face the South. The Second
Sister was the Woman of Long Experience, whose direction was South.
She wore blue, the color of memory. She brought the imprint of fossils, also a
collection of bones, the second necessity in a world filled with
self-importance and envy. The Second Sister said: The spirit of fossils and
bones is the same as long memory, a connection to the ancestors. It reminds the
sick of health and to the healthy gives warning of their mortality.
Third: Let us face the West. The Third
Sister was the Woman of Unfulfilled Dreams, whose direction was West. She wore red, the color of purpose and daring. She
brought tears, the third necessity in times when cleansing is required. The
Third Sister said: The spirit of weeping is nothing more than human rain, shed
for loss as well as love, and for children we never had. The unfulfilled dreams
of warriors and women, of birds taken from the nest, and of animals denied
their place in life, justify my gift of tears.
Fourth: Let us face the North. The Fourth
Sister was the Retreating Woman of Consciousness, whose direction was North. She wore white, the color of beginning anew. She
brought awareness, the fourth necessity in a world of schemes and invention.
And the Fourth Sister said: Honor yourself before all else and you will embrace
all life. All direction. All stars. All light.
Leader: Let us face the center. And the
Spirit of Wisdom danced with them, whose presence was everywhere, beyond and
within. And the Spirit said: You are beautiful. You are powerful. And you are
strong.
And
the circle was complete.