Page 52 - 10th Annual International Charles Town Maroon Conference and Festival Magazine

June 2018 Charles Town Maroon International Conference Magazine

ritual. Personally, I’ve come to understand ritual as
carrying out a routine with utmost respect for all relations.

I’d like to start the exploration of sacred herbs for ritual
with Tobacco.

PRAYING WITH TOBACCO : TALKING TO THE
STARS

What do you know about tobacco? This question is often
asked because many people do not understand the sacred
teachings around this herb, Greed has depleted the
sacredness from many medicines that our ancestors used
for a variety of purposes. The most tangible one being
tobacco since it has become a commodity on the open
market.

In this new era of travel, internet and hunger for
knowledge many earth teachings are exoticized, cate-
gorized and dressed in bells and whistles. While, some
people might feel called to this exotic approach for various
reasons, I am honored to have encountered teachers,
keepers of knowledge, that walk a humble walk,
sometimes so simple that if not attuned to it, you miss the
teaching entirely.

The wheel can take on the shape of a negative feedback
loop, where disconnection to tradition leads to misinfor-
mation, misuse, abuse and hurt. As we learn about the
sacred medicines stories and uses, we hold the responsi-
bility to use these medicines in a good way, to mend the
sacred hoop in order to integrate all beings back into the
medicine wheel and restore the harmony in our personal
and collective environment.

Tobacco is the original instruction, the way of communi-
cation between this realm with the realms beyond, It is
how we honor all directions at the beginning and end of
all ceremonies. Tobacco smoke mixes our breath with the
breath of the universe to carry our prayers to the stars. It
is through tobacco that a person can learn from a teacher,
therefore tobacco itself is the vehicle of knowledge.

Tobacco is humble and powerful; it allows all other
teachings to flow, protects and cleanses the spirit while
carrying our prayers.

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