Canto e invocación a la anciana ~winter solstice 2009

“La Anciana and the Solstice”

“Around her hearth is where she plays music and resounds- says, shouts and whistles, says. She is the mistress of the household says… Her voice and her breath are good, says. There is no problem nor any difficulty, says. There is no garbage, there is no dust- says.
Around her fire are the three stones of her hearth. Woman of the shade- says, woman of the doors- says, woman of the dooryard- says, …woman who dances- says, woman who shakes things up- says.
Bless her against evil whirlwinds and bad air- says, you are her voice and her breath- says.”
~Maria Aurora, Oaxacan healer

The mythopoetic chants of María Aurora were recorded in 1956 during a night-long vigil and healing ceremony, with her renowned aunt, Oaxacan shamaness, Maria Sabina. Like myth, the chants are metaphoric, healing, and alive. The imagery is that of an empowered woman. From her hearth, or place of power, she has the ability to travel between worlds, cleansing, healing, celebrating, and shaking things up in general. “Her voice and her breath are good.” She is honest and trustworthy. Protected from, she  protects against “evil whirlwinds” and mal aire. “You,” she says “are her voice and breath.” La anciana bestows her gifts upon the listener and reader!

As we approach the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, it seems appropriate to invoke la anciana, the elder, wise woman who brings medicine to the heart, mind, body and soul.

Among the ancient Mayan, turning 52 was a rite of passage in which one became an elder. 52 marks four cycles of thirteen and it is a sacred number to the Mayan. Respected and sought out for their wisdom, the elders, both, men and women, served the larger, extended family. They were intrinsic in keeping the larger community healthy and thriving as well.

Approaching my 55th year, I gratefully glean the wisdom of la anciana any and every where it happens upon me.  As we move towards an evolutionary shift in human consciousness, the voice of la anciana has begun to seep through the seams of our ailing society. Rising up through the cracks in our sidewalks, it glides freely in the whispers and echoes of the wind. It is found in the mythopoetry of indigenous healers, in the work of visionaries like Jean Houston and Barbara Marx Hubbard, who at 80 is a thriving force in the movement of “women on the edge of evolution.”

I find it among brave, single mothers and women facing serious illnesses, who still smile and laugh, cackle even at the slings and arrows of (seemingly) outrageous fortune.

La anciana’s wisdom is evident in the dedication of my sister Claudia, companion to my almost octogenarian mother, while working full time, (clearly a nominee for bodhisattvahood!)

I hear la anciana speaking daily through courageous, women journalists, storytellers, and professional women everywhere who are sharing their stories. Her voice is heard in engaging workshops and via fascinating tele-seminars by networking women and powerful Latinas like Aurelia Flores!

I find it among colleagues and am surprised and delighted when her wisdom surfaces among middle and high school students. I am blessed as I find her in my loving daughters whose wisdom and wit keep me laughing and on my toes, and whose tears bring to my knees.

This winter solstice on the longest night, I will take a moment to light a candle and go within, in search of la anciana. I want to thank her for the wisdom she has shared with me this year, for the courage she has given me to allow grief and move through it, and for the kindred spirits found in the unsuspecting nooks and crannies of our tumultuous planet, as one sun cycle dies and a new one spreads it seeds. I want to thank her in particular for the rich pages of the Powerful Latina where her wisdom and sabor have been duly appreciated and savored!

-Sandra del Castillo