January New Moon Ceremony at Lake Siskiyou and Gratitude Blessing
Many of you may remember my blogs from 2022 where I talked about the serious water shortages and droughts afflicting our area and California at large. These droughts encouraged me to take action Shamanically by going to waterways and ministering to the land by performing blessings, raising awareness about water shortage, and supporting local organizations devoted to conservation.
Before and After picture of Lake Siskiyou from October 2022 vs January 2023
I am happy to say that we have had record levels of precipitation in our area in the last month.
Rare photos of gullies filled with water a short distance from Lake Siskiyou. When full, the water in these beautiful gullies empty out into Spinny Meadow and drain into the lake.
Although the storms this year have been taxing on the ecosystem, many Californians have been grateful that we have received so much precipitation this season, which has been unprecedented. I want to just share with everyone the importance of maintaining a spiritual connection with the land and sky, and in cultivating proper stewardship of the lands. While I cannot prove it was prayer that made a difference in the precipitation we have received in California this season, I do know that so many people have been putting their heart and soul into blessing these lands with renewal in the form of water. I will continue to pray, bless, and give my energy to this Earth and to these waters and I do hope that my own practices and images that I share with this small community can inspire others to do the same.
Images of Lake Siskiyou and surrounding area during and after snow and rain storms.
It is so simple to come to a waterway and offer the waterway gratitude and blessing. I feel such a deep well of gratitude to my water relations and I know whatever energy I give to the land, the waters, the Sky can never really equal all that they give to me to sustain me and my family and this community I love. I feel humbled and grateful and also deeply longing to increase reciprocity and right relationship with this beautiful Earth home. Every day, I move through personal inquiry and self-reflection on how to live in deeper alignment. I don’t say these things to brag or to get goodie-goodie points from others. Again, for me it is about inspiring others and sharing my passion and sense of relationality, communion, connection, and responsibility with others. That is one of my values in my mission here at SAMSAC.
All that being said, I’d love to share with you all the beautiful images of our surrounding areas and Lake Siskiyou during my most recent adventures and ceremony. The lake has filled up so much in this abundant wet season! It was near bone dry in the middle of Fall and the Sacramento River was the lowest I had ever seen it thus far. To witness such an abundance of water blessings filling the land brings me hope. I know it may be a small glimpse of hope as the climate crisis in ongoing and will likely continue to afflict these lands, but my own sense of duty and desire to protect the Earth still remains.
New Moon Ceremony at Lake Siskiyou by the Sacramento River Inlet
It is my deepest prayer that we all offer prayers of gratitude to Nature and that we may take up the call to minister to this Earth and become kin to the land. May we see and witness this land, the waters, the sky, and all the creatures who inhabit these ecosystems as relatives and may we minister to one another in love, in generosity, and in peace.
With love,
Srimati