“Open their hearts, Grandfather, so that they may know there is no death, only a changing of the worlds.”

—Robert Ghost Wolf

“It’s funny how civilizations change, yet we all keep coming up with the same story.”

—Robert Ghost Wolf

Learning to Be

The catastrophic Earth changes that are foretold by those who interpret a native peoples’ prophecy might be likened to the birth pangs of a mother about to give birth. Yet we are in the “beginning of the middle of that which cannot be changed,” according to Robert Ghost Wolf,3 and the effects of the warnings for our time can be softened if we take the time to honor and regard them. This is the wisdom of the good ancestors.

The solstices and equinoxes are windows between the worlds that have been observed for millennia by indigenous cultures. They are a representation of the four directions, or the four winds, which define our origins and purpose on Earth. The summer and winter solstices are still points meant for deep introspection and regard for the Earth Mother, and the spring and autumnal equinoxes are points of evenness meant for time out, reverence, and reflection on our duty as caretakers for the planet.

It may seem that our observance of the solstices and equinoxes is becoming ever more important in our collective consciousness, but it is nothing new under the Sun. We’re just reawakening to ancient knowledge on a quantum level during this final chapter of the Mayan long-count calendar that foretells a time of transformation and renewal. These points in the Earth’s orbit around the Sun allow us time for keen insight into our souls’ purposes and the opportunity to regroup or redirect our vital energies.