2010-11: The Year of the Metal Tiger
Intense upheaval & spiritual purification
Scroll down for talks & events
Many thanks to all who came and lent their support to last year’s Winter Solstice ceremony on St Edmund Hill Mound, which once again celebrated the alignment of the Winter Solstice Sun and the Galactic Core. On this occasion there were over 100 people at the dawn ceremony, in spite of the fact that it was a very icy morning; and although the sunrise was obscured by clouds it was a wonderful and moving gathering. For a short video of the event, for which we thank Kawanishi Eriko, go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVEEOdJ7x_M
The new lunar year: We have come to see the period from December 21st to the new moon of February as a powerful liminal or gateway period: this long period of transition enables us to prepare for the new cycle that usually commences shortly after Imbolc on February 1st. This year the inaugural new moon, as observed by both Chinese and Tibetan calendars, will be on what is known in the West as St Valentine’s Day, February 14th. Two days before this, on February 12th, one of the key times for purificatory bathing in the Ganges is scheduled as part of the great Kumbha Mela festival. That day coincides with another momentous day in the Hindu calendar, the Maha Shivaratri or great festival of Shiva. In astrological terms, this time is very prominent also: the new moon is marked by an exact conjunction of Chiron with Neptune, and there are several other very distinctive features in the skies at this time.
The lunar year of 2010-2011 is described in Chinese tradition as the Year of the Metal Tiger. At the heart of Chinese mythology are four spiritual creatures: the green-blue wood dragon of the East, the red fire phoenix of the South, the white metal tiger of the West, and the black water tortoise of the North. Each sacred creature guards not merely one of the four directions on earth, but also a quadrant of the sky. In both Tibetan Buddhism and Hindu Tantra the tiger species in general are favoured allies of powerful deities, of Bodhisattvas, and advanced spiritual practitioners. The pure and righteous tiger guards the Buddha’s teachings. The goddess Durga’s consort, Shiva, often wears a tiger skin to indicate that he is beyond the bounds of the natural world.
Like all white animals, the white or metal tiger has an especial purity as well as a deep spiritual significance. The white tiger is not itself an imaginary beast – it is in fact a subspecies of the Bengal tiger – yet like the tiger species in general, its great rarity and endangered status makes it one of the nearest living equivalents to a mythical beast; most sources agree that true white tigers are now only found in captivity. The arrival of a White Tiger year now, at a time of great planetary crisis, when we are receiving so many warnings about species extinctions and our increasingly destructive impact on the planetary eco-system, is thus an especially potent sign – a reminder that we need to give especial reverence and respect to our Mother the Earth at this time, and avoid any actions which may endanger the long-term survival of her creatures.
In Hindu tradition, a tiger is ridden by the Earth Mother in her warrior aspect, as Durga. Together both beast and goddess draw on the depths of earth power to fight and destroy evil. The ferocity of this image is a reminder that the energies of the tiger year usually bring intense upheaval. For this reason, many Chinese forget the ancient connection of the white tiger with righteousness and spiritual purification and regard the year of the White Tiger as inauspicious, remembering only its association with war and the exercise of power: in imperial China, the white tiger was seen as a protector of emperors and generals. This may account for China’s decision to march its armies west and invade Tibet in 1950, the last year of the Metal Tiger. Indeed the previous year of the Metal Tiger, 1890, included another infamous and unjustified act of war, in the massacre of Lakota Sioux by the US army at Wounded Knee (a site near the symbolic heart of North America, the Black Hills of Dakota). The long-term effects of both these tragic events continue to reverberate today, not just in America and among the Tibetan peoples, but worldwide.
Yet however traumatizing and unjust these events were, and however destructive their impact upon two ancient peoples, it is also true that the sufferings of the Tibetan and Lakota peoples have had a quite extraordinary impact on the spiritual understanding of the rest of the world. Those two last white tiger years led indirectly to greater awareness of both the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism and Native American shamanism. A Lakota elder said recently of the sufferings of his people:
Perhaps it is not by love, but blood, that land is bought… Perhaps my people had to die to nourish the earth with their truth. Your people did not have ears to hear. Perhaps we had to return to the earth, so we could grow within your hearts.
(Neither Wolf nor Dog: on forgotten roads with an Indian Elder,
by Kent Nerburn)
Last year, 2009-2010, the year of the Earth Ox, was a year of relative calm and consolidation after the economic collapse of 2008. But it may also be remembered as a year of ostrich-like blindness and apathy on the part of humanity. Instead of heeding the accumulating warnings, beginning to change its priorities and preparing for the coming changes, the world simply held its breath for short while, then returned to its frantic pursuit of economic growth! And possibly the greatest opportunity for a radical revisioning of global economic policies ever, the climate change conference in Copenhagen, was wasted; governments and people again decided to postpone making serious and painful changes to their policies and lifestyles, as many hoped the scary scientific predictions would be proved wrong.
But the arrival of the Metal Tiger suggests 2010-11 will not be so calm. As opportunities to check runaway population growth, rainforest destruction, widespread pollution of land, sea and air, and compulsive economic growth continue to be lost, the White Tiger will very probably bring us face to face with some of the less pleasant consequences of our actions – and of our inaction. The resulting purification will hopefully inspire those who can read the signs of the times to move further towards living in balance with Life on Earth.
We believe the best way to use this year is to look with tiger-like courage at the real situation on our planet, where numerous beautiful and sacred regions of the earth - forests, mountains and other precious wilderness locations - are under violent assault by our unstoppable greed. As many more wonderful species like the tiger reach the edge of extinction, and innumerable indigenous peoples are pushed in the same direction, it is more urgent than ever to honour the teachings of our distant ancestors, who knew that they must step lightly on their Mother Earth. As we face these disturbing truths, let us also embrace the significant opportunities for spiritual purification represented by the white tiger - opportunities that are also signalled by the arrival of the twelve yearly Kumbha Mela festival and by the powerful and rare conjunction of Chiron with Neptune. One thing seems certain, the White or Metal Tiger will compel us to take a challenging look at both ourselves and our global society.
In love, hope and trust
Nicholas Mann & Philippa Glasson
Events, tours, consultations
* We will be holding the Winter Solstice Ceremony on St Edmund Hill Mound on December 21, 2010, beginning at 7:30am, when a Full Moon eclipse will mark the alignment of the Moon, Earth, Winter Solstice Sun, and the two crossroads of the ecliptic and the galactic equator in Gemini and Sagittarius. On this day, two unique gateways will align us to the Galaxy – surely a most auspicious time to attune to the heavens and to Divine Law.
* Nicholas is now offering tours of both Glastonbury and Avebury. For more details, contact him at nicholasmann@britishmysteries.co.uk or through the Pilgrim reception centre at Glastonbury: http://www.glastonbury-pilgrim.co.uk/
* Both Nicholas and Philippa are available for consultations and readings by phone or in person. They offer shamanic and spiritual consultations (together or separately), Druidic or tarot readings, and Philippa is available for astrological consultations, using Western or sidereal (Vedic) astrology. Please contact us via the website or on 01458-831868.
Talks
* Nicholas is speaking in Torquay on April 17th at the Fountain International Conference. The talk is called The Sanctuary at Avebury & the Corridor of the Stars. http://www.fountain-international.org/events/conference_torquay_2010.html
We will be giving several talks in Glastonbury:
* August 17, Secrets of the Avebury Stones: Ancestral star lore and its relevance today. The builders of the Neolithic monuments at Avebury closely followed the heavens. What were they looking at and why?
* September 7, Working with the Ancestors and the World Tree. The film Avatar suggests that we can reconnect with all of life through the World Tree. If this is true, and the ancestral past and future of our genome—as well as a large part of life and all their future generations—is now in our hands, what is the work we have to do?
* December 14, Moon, Sun and Stars: the unique Winter Solstice skies of 2010 Our annual talk on the Winter Solstice / Milky Way alignment of our times. We will describe the dawn ceremony on St Edmund Hill: where the Sun (if visible) rising over the Tor, is aligned with the Earth, the full Moon (eclipsed), and the two galactic gateways of Gemini and Sagittarius.
Local talks are in the new Avalon Room, Glastonbury Experience, High St.Glastonbury. Start 7:30pm, £4.
* Nicholas is also speaking on Avebury in London on December 4/5 at the annual Gatekeeper Conference at Colet House, Talgarth Road. The talk is called Avebury: Keeper of Time. http://www.gatekeeper.org.uk/
News
* Nicholas hopes the subject of his recent intensive research, the great monuments of Avebury, will be published next year His book, Avebury & the Cosmos of our Ancestors, reveals the reverence of the Neolithic people of Britain to Sun, Moon and stars and indeed all aspects of life. It will offer the most complete perspective on Avebury yet, balancing archaeology and anthropology with astronomy and the ancient wisdom.
* As a result of her deepening interest in the soul-wisdom of ancient sidereal astrology, Philippa is now studying Jyotish (Vedic astrology) in the Parampara lineage of Sri Achyuta Dasa of Jagannath, Orissa, India, which is transmitted orally (in this case, courtesy of the internet and telephone!)
____________________
Notes from last year:
2009-10: the Year of the Earth Ox
A call for humanity to reconnect with the Deep Earth
It seems hard, but only through facing our collective wound with humility and sorrow will we be able to hear the urgent messages of our mother, the Earth, the heart and soul of the world, concerning the paths we must take at this time. When the white races can truly reconnect – not simply at the mental level, but in our deepest cellular realities – with the precious earth wisdom followed by our distant ancestors, then we will, like them, act with humble respect and reverence for every part of the great web of planetary life – for all our relations.
This lunar year, 2009-2010, is also an earth year: the Year of the Earth Ox or Earth Bull. The strong earth energies that are opening this new lunar cycle signal it is time for humanity in general, and the white races in particular, to pause, regather and return to the roots of their traditions. Guided by these teachings, we are being asked to put down deep earth-roots, so that all beings can be sustained by and in harmony with the indwelling living spirit of the Earth during the coming planetary changes.
For the Tibetans and Chinese, and also for the Nordic and Germanic peoples who placed Uruz, the rune of the ox, second in their (runic) system, the Ox signifies cautious new beginnings. The Earth Ox is associated with building to last, and with slow but sure action. This Earth Ox year has a predominantly yin or feminine energy.
The key to 2009-2010 is for us to make wise choices, individually and collectively, that are not based on ‘short-termism’ or ungroundedness. Whatever is begun now will have long-term consequences and will need a solid set of roots or foundations. To truly harmonise with the energy of Earth Ox, therefore, humanity will need to slow down and listen to the measured and steady heart-beat of the Earth - teaching us to ‘go slowly with the flow’ rather than rush ahead in ungrounded hyper-activity, initiating a lot of impulsive actions. The message of this year is that our actions can be successful, and bring us true abundance, only if they are in harmony with the receptive, feminine spirit of the Earth Ox. All ancient cultures respected this animal, seeing it as especially beloved by the primal Earth Mother.
In sum, this is the year to return to the roots of our own traditions, and root ourselves deeply in place. As we do this, the wisdom of the ancestors will connect us ever more strongly to the Earth, and we will begin to hear the subtle whisperings of its indwelling spirit more clearly - whether we call this great interconnected web of life the Earth Mother, or the anima mundi, the heartbeat and the soul of the world.
Earthkeeper work: shamanic tools & readings
During our study of Neolithic Avebury, we noticed how the Anglo-Saxons seemed to be the last to resonate with the ancient site, introducing the worship of their deities, especially Odin or Woden, to key areas. Since we began the British mystery work, we have been told of the need to balance the red with the white dragon – to honour not only the earth-teachings of our Celtic ancestors but also the Anglo-Saxon paganism that followed. Well-documented and recorded, this was the last time a strong earth-based pre-Christian tradition was upheld across the land (although with the settlement of Vikings a few centuries later a last brief resurgence of Northern paganism occurred). This year, we have been drawn to deepen our understanding of the Anglo-Saxon and Nordic traditions.
As we work more closely with the runic mysteries, we have been supported by our local tree-spirits, especially ash, hawthorn and hazel, in creating a series of shamanic tools called Earthkeepers. These will eventually include other symbols including ogham signs and those of the Neolithic, but currently they are the means for the runes to come into manifestation.
We begin by carefully gathering wood from permissive places with the waxing moon, leaving offerings to the trees and the spirit of place. We then allow the wood to inform us what it wants to become and how it wants to be decorated. For several years we have had a strong sense of the importance of staffs in shamanic work – staffs form an integral part of our Winter Solstice ceremony. But with the guidance of the trees, not only staffs and stangs but new shamanic tools – pieces for creating ceremonial space and focusing ritual energy - are coming into being: stocks, staves and other shamanic tools. See the accompanying pictures. If you are interested in obtaining an Earthkeeper tool, please contact us directly.
Left: Ash Stock. Pair with hollow core, red & yellow ochre. Runes for the temple.
Right: Ash Stocks Complete Elder Futhark. One with red ochre.
May this New Year be a time of great healing for the hearts, minds and bodies of humanity. May it teach us to live together sustainably with all our fellow creatures, and to follow the ancient trackways once again, in loving balance on our precious earth.
