Grief as Sacred – Robin’s Egg Blue Corn Essence

The autumn winds are blowing, everyday now, I can feel the shift in the air, the rains are all but gone for the summer.  Something like autumn is coming. Even the wind has a coolness to it that it didn’t have all summer.

Change is coming.

I’ve been falling in LOVE with my corn and my pumpkins all summer long.   Its the first time I have had the space for a real three sisters garden of squash, corn and beans, and last winter, I gathered up seeds traditionally grown by the peoples of this area, to plant in my summer gardens.  This Maiz, Robin’s Egg Blue- is speckled white and blue, and according to the Native Seeds/SEARCH website , this corn was traditionally planted as a prayer for rain.  I’ve been watching it grow ever so slowly all summer, its short stalks deceiving me, but whispering in my heart every morning and evening as it sang in the winds.  Now its all full of tassel and silk, flowering in the fullness of summer, just in time to set seeds for the autumn season.  I have a special love for corn, the spirit of which has become one of my sweetest and strongest plant allies, teaching me about abundance and rootedness, and nourishment and sweetness.  She’s a community plant, deeply connected with humanity since its creation by ancient farmers selection.  Without us, corn does not flourish, without corn, where would we be?  Our society’s messed up relationship with corn is something I’ve talked about before and will again at some point.

But, this corn, that I planted from seed, buried with offerings of tobacco and prayers, held in my mesa medicine bundle for months before planting, she was whispering to me.  So I went down with my intern Laurel to make this spirit essence from the corn tassels and silks emerging from each and every stalk planted in the 13 depressions in the cinder soil.

Inviting the spirits and ancestors of this land, the spirit of the corn, and the earth and the sun, who’s love each day makes possible the growth of every plant child, we gently added bits of silk and pollen laden tassel to the bowl of water, made offerings of spirit waters, and allowed the essence of Robins Egg Blue Corn to emerge.
  And when it was complete, we each tasted the Mother Essence.  Corn essence in general is known to be grounding and helps us to connect with the Earth and her energy, and I have always felt corn to be closely tied with the waters/water element in the environment and within us, as it is a good medicine for the kidney and urinary organs, soothing, moistening, and nourishing.  It teaches us about nourishment, self nourishment, and where we derive nourishment.  How are we feeding ourselves, from what sources, and how are we in relationship with that which nourishes us- be it food, friendship, partnership, nature, or Spirit.  But this corn, this mother maiz, I took a few drops, and was instantly transported to a land of red rocks, red mud, and rain splatter mud puddles, and this deep sense of grief, and loss, and heartache.  And it was not my OWN, from my own wounds, but this grief of all mothers, and the grief of people who are watching the desecration, abuse and mistreatment of our MOTHER EARTH body.  Tears filled my eyes.  So many of us watch in horror and sadness as our people continue to harm our pachamama, and subsequently, the abuse and control and mistreatment of  MOTHERS in our culture.  This is heavy grief, This is deep grief.  This is the kind of grief that can ONLY be grounded in something bigger than us.  The EARTH excels at taking our heavy energy, our refuse, our grief, and transforming it, transmuting it, composting it, so that in the following seasons of our lives, we may have a rich and fertile soil from which to grow new flowers, corn and communities.  This essence to me, feels as if it is the essence for helping us to release that great grief we carry, over the desecration of the Earth body and Mother bodies,  this rain, like tears, is ultimately cleansing, it is sweet release, the rain, the tears, our grief, and acknowledgment and expression of it, can feed, water, and cleanse the soil of our souls, and of the Earth.  Speaking in metaphor and poetry here ,its hard to express in clear English words, the images, feelings and knowings that flashed into my awareness with just a few drops of the essence, and in just a few moments, but I do think this is a medicine for our times.  Expressing and acknowledging our grief, and allowing the sacredness of release and cleansing through tears, and deepening our ability to resonate and ground and let the Earth both hold us, and teach us about resilience and strength, and give us that deeply rooted place from which to act in the world to effect change- be it for the Earth herself, or the mothers and children, our communities, or just our own processes of grief and transformation.

Get the essence of Robins Egg Blue Corn here!

This is a new essence, and I would so value and appreciate hearing about any feedback, experiences or insights you have while working with this essence.