I arrived Friday afternoon in the beating heat. I knew no one when I got there. I was truly on my own. It is a beautiful place. I am surprised that I have lived nine years in Kansas City and never heard of Tall Oaks. I am so glad that I have been there and can now go back any time.
My sponsor was running late, so off I went by myself to pick my place in the circle. I chose the west, just to the south of the cardinal direction. The cardinal directions are left open with no dancers, beautiful altars reside there instead. I chose the west because it is the element of water, to balance my usual experience as fire. (The west is also the place of the heyokha. The contrarian, jester or coyote energy.)
Then we were off to gather the large tree for the center of the medicine wheel. It was a beautiful tree just above a gorgeous piece of natural red granite. Everyone had an opportunity to help with the axe, I asked my inner guidance, and I was simply meant to observe and pray. It was an intense experience. And watching that great tree fall was heartbreaking. We brought it back to the medicine wheel, tied our prayer flags into it, took out the tree from last year, and brought it up to it full height in the very center of the wheel.
When this was complete it was time to gather our own sapling. Each dancer has their own sapling at their spoke of the wheel. Your prayer ties (we each had to tie 405 prayer ties) go from your own sapling to the center tree. I had tied my ties with jute. Big mistake! It tears your hands up. Mine are still peeling from the experience. Next time I know better and I also know to tie them closer together. Mine went around my sapling 100 times over and then to the big tree, back and then around my tree some more.
I was ready to go get my sapling, but my sponsor was not yet there. I had no saw, no axe, nada. I sure as heck wasn't going to gnaw the thing down.
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