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 Waboose, the Spirit Keeper of the North
position on the Native American Medicine Wheel, is
represented by the element of earth. Its mineral is
alabaster. Its plant is the sweet grass. Its animal is
the white buffalo. The color associated with Waboose is
white. The season is winter. The time of day is midnight.
The time of life is both the time when we are elders with
the snow upon our heads and the time of life when we are
newborns coming back into the world. Waboose directly
influences all the moons in the northern quadrant: the
Earth Renewal Moon (December 22 to January 19; Snow
Goose), the Rest and Cleansing Moon (January 20 to
February 18; Otter), and the Big Winds Moon (February 19
to March 20; Cougar).
The North is the most paradoxical time of the Medicine
Wheel. It is the time when things seem to be sleeping.
Yet within this apparent dormancy some of the deepest
growth is occurring. It is in the winter when seeds lie
frozen within the earth that they take into themselves
all of the earth's energy that allows them to grow in the
seasons that follow. It is in the north that our bodies
cannot move as easily as they have in the past or will in
the future, that we seem forced to take into ourselves
the wisdom of the Spirit we will use as we continue our
journey around the wheel.
The time of Waboose is a time of slowing down, of
apparent restriction, when outward activity definitely
diminishes. It is a time of darkness, quiet, and dreams.
It is a time when humans are fragile, when their skin is
wrinkled and resembles the soil and the face of the Earth
Mother herself. It is a time when people tend to
reminisce and from their reminiscences share the wisdom
they have gained. It is a time of assessing
accomplishments and aims and of preparing for the major
giveaway of death and of birth. It is a time when many
people come to an understanding of their own life, and
acceptance of what they have or have not achieved. It can
be a time of peace, and a time of power, a time of
forgiveness and compassion for all around you. It is a
time to give up old pattern, to surrender to the small
changes of body and mind in preparation for the major
changes that will come.
Waboose is a time of both ending and beginning, of
life and death, of new life cloaked in apparent death. In
the winter the earth appears dead, but there is much
happening within. The same is true in human life. Even
when we shed our human envelopes, our spirit, our energy
goes to a place that prepares us for the new beginning
that will come.
The major lesson of Waboose is that of the giveaway.
When we are elders, it is our responsibility to give away
to the people all of the knowledge that we have gained.
It is our responsibility to impart to our relations what
we have learned as we have journeyed around the Medicine
Wheel of life. It is our responsibility, ultimately, to
give away our body to the Earth Mother who has fed us
during all the time we have walked on her. When we are
infants we readily give away all of the love we have
gained in the world between, knowing then that the more
we give the more we have available.
One of the gifts of Waboose is an intuitive
understanding of this giveaway. Coming with this
understanding are increased psychic abilities and a great
acumen in attuning to dreams or visions, both your own
and those of other people.
The white buffalo, the animal associated with Waboose,
is an animal who gave up everything for the people: meat,
hide, bones, and spirit. It is the White Buffalo Woman
who gave the pipe to the people.
Then you are experiencing a moon influenced by
Waboose; it is a good time to contemplate your life, to
contemplate the paradoxes of life. It is a good time to
think about questions of life and death and to examine
your attitudes toward both. It is a time to learn
patience. It is a time when your psychic and mystical
abilities will be far above average. It is a time to see
how you feel about giving away all the many gifts that
life has given to you. It is a time to practice the small
giveaways that prepare you for the larger ones.
During times of Waboose, you will need to make a point
of grounding yourself, of remembering that you are a
being of the earth as well as the sky. One of the
paradoxes of Waboose is that while this is a time of
intuition and mystical abilities, Waboose is also the
direction that governs the physical level of life, both
how we relate to our bodies and how we relate to the
world around us. While your mind wanders through the
skies, you must also learn that you need to take care of
your body here on earth.
Waboose is the place of physical healing, the place we
come to give thanks for healing that has occurred and to
ask for healing that is needed both for ourselves and for
others. This can be healing of the body or healing of the
way in which we relate to the world around us. The power
of Waboose is the power of spirituality grounded on
earth; the power of patience that allows all things to
grow in their proper way. The power of Waboose is
acceptance of life, acceptance of death, and acceptance
of the necessity of sharing all that has been given you. |
The
mineral associated with Waboose, Spirit Keeper of the
North, is Alabaster. Although it is most commonly
colorless to white, alabaster can also be found in
translucent, white, pink, red, gray, yellow, and brown
hues. Alabaster can be found in many parts of the world.
There is both a soft and hard variety of this stone, in
keeping with the paradoxical nature of Waboose. 
The
Spirit Keeper of the North, Waboose, is represented by
Sweet Grass, To show respect for the great mother from
whom all plants grow, sweet grass is usually braided
before it is picked. For this reason, sweet grass is also
known as the "hair of the Mother." 
