Join us for a
Summer Solstice Gathering
Saturday June 20th
From 1:00-5:00pm
Donation based.
An invitation from Katherine…
As I sit here trying to find words to write to you so many thoughts come and go...come and go. Washed away in these torrential, yet purifying spring rains. The river has run over the banks and the field is flooded. Everything is saturated with this life giving force. Hidden under the mists the Hawthorne bushes bloom along the banks with flowers as strong and bright as I have ever witnessed here. Hawthorne is heart medicine...it knows it has a job to do this year and it is letting us know it is ready. Ready to help tend, in any way needed, our stretched and delicate hearts. Hawthorne has large, strong thorns that protect it and can protect us as we open in ways we never thought possible.
As we break through these barriers that have created an illusion of separation for eons, the importance of our relationship with the Earth must also be at the forefront. It helps give us stability and balance if we take the time to ground ourselves with her strong spirit every day. Connecting with her to try and remember why we are here during this potent, challenging and changing time and how we can be of service to this deep process that we are all in together.
For years the Solstice and Equinox times have always been important times for me to consciously link with nature and to honor the cycles of the Earth as well as my own. At the exact moment a certain amount of life vitality is released into the planet with the amount being different for each one. According to the Perelandra Nature Research Center nature’s new year and the beginning of its annual growing cycle begins at fall equinox when the garden is quiet and at peace. It hits its high point at summer solstice when we have a garden that is fully realized and demonstrating its strength and so this is when the greatest amount of life vitality is released.
It is amazing to truly stop and feel these moments in Nature. This year summer solstice is Saturday, June 20th at 3:44 PM mountain time. We feel it is the perfect day and time to open our doors out here at the ranch to those who feel called to share this afternoon with us. We will gather at ONE around the fire pit and receive a Way of Life Invocation by Smokey and Darnell Ridesatthedoor, Pii Kun Nii Elders. Pii Kun Nii is the original name for one of the three bands of the Blackfeet Nation. It has been discovered thru the DNA testing of Dusty Crawford in Heart Butte that his Blackfeet Ancestors have been in the Americas for about 17,000 years…the oldest DNA ever found on this continent. It feels important to honor this lineage that this area was/is home to as well as our own and spend the afternoon listening to Gaia in different spots on the land, culminating in a deep receiving from her at the exact Solstice moment. You will need to bring whatever is necessary for you to sit on the earth and take care of yourself as far as water, food etc.
Because of the current gathering restrictions this event will be limited in number, so you must register if you would like to join us. We ask that you respect distancing and what is being asked for now. If something comes up and you then can’t be here, it is important to let us know so that if there is a waiting list we can let someone else attend. This is a donation based event with the money going to two Blackfeet groups. The information about them will be at the end of this email.
Hopefully, no matter where you are on solstice, you are able to take a sacred moment to receive from nature all that is offered to you. We can all link together though our hearts and share the love that we feel for this planet and each other at the same time. Love is the most potent force and it can be fierce. It is time to bring that fierceness to our love and live in the highest truth. To look around during this time in the cycle and have the courage this year to see what we have cultivated and produced. This is the year that we have all brought forth great change and now we are being called to fearless service. There has never been a greater moment to answer that call.
Hawthorne says to call it in as your heart strengthening ally.
ALL of us at the ranch also send huge waves of love.
—Katherine
More Information
These are the two groups where our donations will go. We felt it was important to give to a group that is helping the youth step into a strong leadership capacity as well as to the group that works with the heartbreak that is addressed by the MMIW..the Murdered, Missing Indigenous women. It is sadly a huge tragedy for all the Tribal Nations that our government has chosen to ignore. You can find much about this online. Here is a description from Darnell about the Leadership Scholarship.
“NANAMPSKAA is the Thunder Medicine Pipe association which is a highly respected, very ancient group of traditional leaders of the tribe who practice the ancient Ways of Knowing given by the Thunder to the our People. The purpose of Sacred Thunder Medicine Bundles are to ensure goodwill and co-operation, to enhance and promote the survival of the People, as well as specialize in conflict resolution in a leadership capacity, generate power and strength, decide over life and death matters especially dis-ease and other ailments & to promote the healing from such maladies. The knowledge of these traditions is not only practiced but lived in balance with the greater activities and functions of todays life ways. In 1999 the NAA NAMP SKAA HUMANITARIAN LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP was created by those of us who know and live by these ways. It was established simply because there were no scholarships given to our students, the vast majority being Pii Kun nii (Blackfeet) who lived this way of life. We as Elders wanted to recognize these fine young people for their efforts in creating this balance.
Please bring anything you may need to take care of yourself and enjoy your day with us (food, water, blankets, etc). There will be no prop sharing.
There will be bathrooms available.
Please note that Dancing Spirit Ranch will be doing its best to provide a safe environment for everyone, but due to the quick spreading nature of Covid-19, there is no guarantee that you will not come into contact with the virus. If you feel sick or have been around anyone that has been sick, please do your part and stay home.
Pre-registration is necessary as space is limited due to group restrictions that are currently in place in Montana. Please email us at hello@dancingspiritranch.com to register. If you can no longer attend, please let us know so someone else can attend in your place.