Sweat Lodge Healing Ritual

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LINEAGE & HISTORY A sweat lodge is a gift from the Great Spirit, as well as a tradition handed down through generations. The Rainbow Lodge was given to me in 1990, by a native woman of African American and American Indian ancestry. In the world of ordinary reality, she is a social worker and also a native healer and teacher. I was introduced to her by my Qigong teacher at a time when I was preparing for my first vision quest which took place in the summer of 1990. To honor her privacy, I will call her Oya after the African Goddess. Rainbow Sweat Lodge

She and others helped me to prepare for my quest and the gift of the lodge and its ritual was part of that preparation. In the spring of the year, the Rainbow Lodge was built by me and the women who were part of a Ceremonial Circle that met monthly at my home in the mountains above Boulder, CO. Oya conducted a "Consecration of the Land Ritual", naming me as Keeper of the Land and the Lodge. She instructed me and the women in the building of the lodge and conducted the first sweats for us while tutoring me in the ritual. At that time, the lodge was primarily a woman's lodge. Honoring the feminine principal through this earth centered ritual has always been a strong focus of the lodge even after we began to conduct co-ed lodges.

NAME The name of the Rainbow Lodge also came as a gift from the Great Spirit. Early in the spring, on a trip to Montana, I discovered a pictograph image of a human figure, possibly a woman, under a rainbow shaped arch drawn on a rim rock wall in a canyon near where I later vision quested under a similar sandstone arch. Rainbow Pictograph

During that quest I received a vision of leading quests for others that eventually brought me back to live and work in Montana. When I returned to Colorado, after discovering the pictograph, Oya offered to gift me with the lodge and instructed me to make a staff which would represent the Center of the Lodge and of the Universe. I was so influenced by the pictograph image that I placed it on the staff. During one of the first sweats we included prayers for a name. As we emerged from the lodge, a fast moving thunder storm blew down Boulder Canyon and showered us as we danced in the rain. Then the sun broke through, and a glorious double rainbow arched across the sky. As I looked around our circle, I realized we too were a rainbow of humanity representing all of the colors of the four directions coming together in harmony, and gazing at the image on the staff, I realized the name and the intent of the Lodge was reflected in the sky above. Thus, it became the Rainbow Lodge.

RELOCATION and CONSTRUCTION In January, 1992, I returned to Montana to live and work, following the call of the quest. I dismantled the lodge in ceremony and brought with me some wood from the skeleton, some rocks from the fire and altar, and of course, the staff that my teacher directed me to make. These are now part of the Montana lodge. I held the lodge in my heart for four years, praying always for a new home for it, knowing it would come in time. Native Americans revere the number four as the cardinal directions of the circle of wholeness so it seems part of the plan that it took four years for the lodge to find a new home. We rebuilt it at Autumn Equinox in September 1995, at Dreamweaver Lodge. I conducted the Consecration of the Land Ritual. My partner Bob, who is part Native American, helped construct the lodge using tree saplings that we blessed with tobacco and cut by the creek. The frame is made in a specific circular pattern using 12 trees. It is covered with two layers of blankets, a black tarp and a heavy canvas cover designed to keep the heat in and the light out. Our adoptive Crow father calls it the "Metra" of sweat lodges for it's large size. (Metra being the name of the convention center in Billings.) Oya always said that the lodge chooses its own size according to plan. This one is evidentially meant to welcome many.

PURPOSE The sweat lodge, as I celebrate it, comes from the Native American people, although purification lodges exist in many other northern hemisphere cultures, including my ancestors the Celts. A sweat lodge is a sacred ceremony. My lodge is a derivation of the traditional Sioux lodge taught to me by Oya. As with all lodges, the tradition of this one has evolved as I have evolved and made it mine. In keeping with the rainbow theme, we celebrate teachings and traditions of many cultures. The greater purpose of any sweat lodge is to cleanse, purify, die to old outmoded energies, and be reborn out of the dark circle of the lodge, which represents the warm moist heat of the womb from which we come forth renewed into the light of the world. This cleansing takes place not just physically, but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually, through the ritual process. In addition, a sweat lodge is for worship, for healing and for celebrating accomplishments or special events. In Native America it is usually held before Sun Dance, Vision Quest, and other important ceremonies. In addition, tribal Indians regularly participate in sweats with family and friends for renewal and social connection.

RITUAL Honoring the sacred quaternity of the circle, there are four rounds or sessions. The door is opened at the end of each round so participants may exit to cool off if needed. Drinking water is passed around the circle and new rocks are brought into the center pit in the lodge from the fire outside. In a mixed gender lodge we wear loose clothing or swim suits, although traditionally "birthday suits" are best. In a woman's lodge we can be nude. After smudging, participants enter the lodge down the Path of Life from the Heart Fire. Inside the lodge, we move clock wise around the circle to our places. During each round, the lodge is totally dark. Hot rocks from the Heart Fire are placed in the center pit and water and herbs are poured on the rocks to create steam. In the tradition I learned, singing, chanting, praying aloud, story telling, laughing, wailing and crying are all allowed, but not required of the participants. Through me, Spirit leads the ritual. The purpose is to sweat and to suffer the heat or alchemical cooking necessary for release of toxins and transformation. All four elements: the earth, air (steam), fire and water are engaged. Each round is dedicated to one of the four directions and corresponding four elements, beginning in the East. The door also faces East and the leader of the lodge sits in the East. The participants choose their places arbitrarily or according to the theme of their personal focus in the lodge. The East is birth and new beginnings; here we set intentions. The South is childhood and relationships; here we pray for others. The West (the hottest spot) is the going within time, a place of death, rebirth and healing; here we pray to let go of negative influences, and for healing for ourselves and others. The North is the place of the ancestors, the deep quiet wisdom of the ages, purification, endurance and gestation in preparation for rebirth; here we pray for our ancestors and descendants for seven generations that our world might endure. We ask for strength and guidance to endure the suffering of our existence and to understand what it is we are being born to. These are general guidelines that may be modified according to the theme and needs of the lodge and its participants.

ALTAR Outside the lodge, the altar is a mound of earth which was taken from the center pit in the lodge and piled to the right of the door. A large quartz rock in the center comes from my home in Boulder and was used on the original altar. The staff is planted in the center. On the altar is a buffalo skull, a ceremonial pipe and other sacred objects. Participants may add their own items they want blessed as the sweat takes place.

PARTICIPATION and PREPARATION The Rainbow Lodge is open, by invitation only, to family, friends, clients, students and colleagues. If you would like to participate in a sweat lodge, contact us at Dreamweaver Lodge for more information. I hold sweats quarterly at equinoxes and solstices and at other times of the year as well. Sweat lodges can also be part of retreats and Dream Quests. As with most traditional lodges, the ceremony is not open to the general public nor is a monetary fee charged to participate. However, it is traditional to bring gifts of food, herbs such as sage, cedar, or tobacco, to the sweat lodge keeper. We all share the food after the lodge. An optional love offering of money helps to maintain the lodge. A person may also offer gifts and ask that a private sweat lodge be held specifically for their healing or honoring. It is possible to invite guests after you have participated in at least one lodge, so you can prepare your guest to honor the experience. To prepare yourself for a sweat lodge, fasting or light and conscious eating for 24 hours before the lodge is recommended. It is not wise to eat heavily before a lodge. Abstaining from toxic substances such as recreational drugs, alcohol, caffeine and sugar before sweating are also advised to enhance purification. The sweat lodge is not recommended for menstruating women, people with serious illness such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes, nor is it a pleasant experience for anyone with claustrophobia or an aversion to heat.

While there is sometimes criticism of whites stealing Native American spirituality, we trust that the lodge was given to us in a traditional way and through Oya and Great Spirit for our use in helping and healing ourselves and others. We honor the deep importance of that gift, and enjoy sharing it with others of all traditions and cultures who are on a path of light.
Aho, Mitakuye Oyas'in (All of our Relations),

Jaqui Thier, M.A.

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