February 13

" Mountains, streams, forest, and individual rocks and trees are all part of Mother Earth but are also the home of gazriin ezen, nature spirits. Some, if not all, of them were once souls of human beings, ancestors from so long ago that their numerous descendents no longer remember them and the spirits no longer have any connection with them. Looking back on the hundreds of thousands of years of human history it is easy to imagine how many of these spirits exist out in nature. A mountain or tree of great majesty will be said to have suld, which is the same word that is used to refer to the soul that remains in nature after death. Unusual rocks or trees are believed to have strong spirits and are respected or given offerings of tobacco, food, money,liquor, or but ( ribbons tied on branches). Because these spirits are found throughout nature it is considered taboo to offend them by needlessly damaging natural features or mutilating trees. An angry nature spirit is very powerful and can create many problems for a person or community until a shaman can placate or control it. When a dead person's suld soul goes out into nature, it may come into conflict with gazriin ezen spirits if it tries to settle in a place where other spirits are already living; certain prayers are thus said at funeral ceremonies in order to allow the deceased person's spirit to settle in a place peacefully.

Mountain spirits are considered to be very powerful, and they represent not only the individual power of the gazriin ezen of the mountain but also the abundance of Mother Earth herself in that locale. Mountains spirits are prayed to in order to provide good hunting and abundance of food plants. "


	Through My Eyes Thursday February 13 " Mountains, streams, forest, and individual rocks and trees are all part of Mother Earth but are also the home of gazriin ezen, nature spirits. Some, if not all, of them were once souls of human beings, ancestors from so long ago that their numerous descendents no longer remember them and the spirits no longer have any connection with them. Looking back on the hundreds of thousands of years of human history it is easy to imagine how many of these spirits exist out in nature. A mountain or tree of great majesty will be said to have suld, which is the same word that is used to refer to the soul that remains in nature after death. Unusual rocks or trees are believed to have strong spirits and are respected or given offerings of tobacco, food, money,liquor, or but ( ribbons tied on branches). Because these spirits are found throughout nature it is considered taboo to offend them by needlessly damaging natural features or mutilating trees. An angry nature spirit is very powerful and can create many problems for a person or community until a shaman can placate or control it. When a dead person's suld soul goes out into nature, it may come into conflict with gazriin ezen spirits if it tries to settle in a place where other spirits are already living; certain prayers are thus said at funeral ceremonies in order to allow the deceased person's spirit to settle in a place peacefully. Mountain spirits are considered to be very powerful, and they represent not only the individual power of the gazriin ezen of the mountain but also the abundance of Mother Earth herself in that locale. Mountains spirits are prayed to in order to provide good hunting and abundance of food plants. " I promise to add more tomorrow... Through my eyes * courtesy of Sarangerel in her book Riding Windhorses.