As part of the recent "Ancestor Reverence, the Tarot, and Raising the
Dead" workshop
(
http://www.rootswithoutend.org/emporium/2008ancestor.html ) we have
been looking at lots of ancestors, including the ancestors of the area
where I live.
The true name of Easthampton, Massachusetts, is Pascommuck, which
literally means "where the water bends", referring to the oxbow of the
Connecticut River on the eastern end of the town.
We visited a monument commemorating a patriot (Native American)
victory over European invaders, we called Baron and Brav Gede, who
consecrated the Tarot decks of the participants.
Monday we went to a stream where we often go to call lwa.
Lots of lwa came! Simbi Makaya, Ogoun, Baron Samedi, Azaka... but
first of all, and completely unbidden, came through possession into my
head the spirit of a young Native American woman, a member of a group
of Native American people from a Connecticut tribe that were fleeing
through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts when they were
ambushed and murdered by European invaders.
