Palo Muerto, Palo Vivo

 

A forest is a natural extension of the Munanso for a Palero.  It is the space into which the Palero moves in order to gather ingredients for the various Medicines, Fundamentos, and Trabajos that are required.  Inside the forest the dance of life and death is a constant reality as the trees thrive with the help of fungi, and tiny tiny organisms so often overlooked or even despised by so called modern society, and together they all are instrumental in producing the very foundation of our lives that feeds us all, the precious top soil.  In the forest the Palero can retreat from the concrete and lawns that make up so much of the once fruitful Indigenous Land that has been stripped, desecrated and "sterilized" in the name of progression and civilization.  

As Paleros we are blessed to live in a forest, a forest large enough to provide us with all the wood we need for fire, heat, structures, fences and especially all the wood we need for our Munanso.  In appearance all trees look grayish and brownish at first glance.  As we approach closer we see different shades within the grey and brown, perhaps some yellows, reds, even orange tints.  However it is once we cut or split open the wood that the true beauty of it is visible.  First we notice the aroma of the various woods, from the spicy scent of the sassafrass tree to the well known scent of the cedar.  Then we notice the colors within the wood, colors we are surprised by when we only know of the tree from its bark.

As the splitting of the wood takes place the Palero splitting the wood becomes aware first hand of the various properties of the wood, some splits easily, others with more difficulty and the life within the wood becomes visible.  The Palero sees beetles, spiders, various insects eating the wood, making homes in the wood, laying eggs in the wood.  In these photos these insects and spiders are visible, as well as the shapes they make in the wood, trails and homes.  To see the wood as simply just the tree itself, unconnected to the life which inhabits it and which it inhabits is a form of modern ignorance, which as Paleros we must overcome to truly understand the Spirits and Energies that we work with in our Munansos every day.  Palo, as stated many times by many people, means "stick" and working with the forest, whether by growing trees to renew the forest, or by harvesting and splitting the wood for something so mundane but so miraculous as heating our home is an opportunity to interrelate with the Spirits of the various trees and learn directly from those Spirits!

As Paleros who live outside of the Ancestral homeland, we find ourselves confronted with the reality of winter, a season of cold and ice where warmth is a necessity.  For many Paleros warmth is a thermostat that controls the burning of oil, propane, gas or electricity.  We all know the evils of these materials from the pollution at all points in their refinement process, to the wars and conflicts over the control of these materials.  Additionally in our area electricity is produced primarily from nuclear power and coal mining.  Nuclear power is clearly an insanely dangerous source of power and the coal mining comes from "mountain top removal" that has desecrated and continues to desecrate huge areas of Appalachia, especially poisoning the rivers, one of our our most sacred Misterios, fresh water being so essential to our lives and the lives of "all our relatives" upon the Earth.  At this point we heat our home exclusively with the wood from our forest.  We replenish that wood by planting native trees every year, and selecting only the weak trees to remove or by harvesting trees that have naturally died or the branches broken off in storms.  At the same time we use the small branches which are not useful in our wood stove or for cooking to renew the topsoil and to create gardens and orchards.  We also use the abundance of wood for structural components in the house and in the Munanso.  Paleros appreciate the wood for its spiritual properties within the Fundamento or for its powder that can be used in trabajos or amulets of many varieties, however there is a whole world and depth of understanding that comes when working with the trees themselves in ways that extend beyond the confines of a basement, closet, urban or suburban Munanso.

Within the wood in the photo above the bugs have created a crevice, creating not only a natural sculpture that can be appreciated as a work of natural art, but also imbuing this wood with additional spiritual properties that cannot or should not be overlooked by the Palero.  As Paleros we have not been immune to the devastating effects of propaganda, advertisements, commercialization of life, and the watering down of wisdom and education.  Although we practice a tradition that sprung from the Spirit of Resistance to the invasive spirit that came to reduce our communities to commodities to be controlled, we have also suffered the mental incarceration that has come to enslave us all in the here and now.  It is a journey, a transformation, an evolution to follow the Ancestral Spirit of our Tradition in its process of liberating our Minds, which in turn leads us to making choices to liberate our Lives to the greatest extent that we can, to the full lengths to which our arms can reach in the time that we have been given to walk upon the Earth.   Within this trail our Children are also blessed by this evolution to continue the mental liberation and the liberation of their lives as they can build upon the foundations that we strive for today.  

The forest is a University wherever it be found in the world, and with the availability of information today (unlike ever before), we can easily find insight and history regarding the properties of the various trees, once we are able to identify them, however it is our immediate senses (sight, taste, smell, touch and most importantly the voice of our Ancestors speaking to us) that make those "facts" that are easy to find, a living breathing reality.  The voices of the Ancestors bridge the gap (that has become a gaping hole in the educational system) between facts and Wisdom.  

In the above photo the white splotch is a spider web right within the tree that has just been split and in the photo below we can see the fungus growing on the outside of the tree.  The spider is a very sacred spirit to us, to the point that we do not intentionally kill spiders.  Fungus has a bad reputation in today's ignorant modern society where it is viewed as a bringer of disease to be sterilized out of all areas of our lives.  However mycellium the true body of the fungus (fungus just being the "fruit" you see) is the foundation of the health and nutrition of our planet!  Many beneficial fungi are powerful medicine allies in overcoming diseases and carry a high price tag in health food stores!  As Paleros we need to remember that the Earth (the great Fundamento we all live inside of) naturally covers herself in forests (Palos if you will), and most of the open spaces we see today are man-made and man-maintained with endless tree cutting and vegetation cutting that goes on every growing season at great expense and use of limited resources.  The forest creates, with fallen leaves and wood rotting into the Earth, a perfect environment for a huge fungal network (mycellium) that powers the soil fertility cycle and gives natural health and healing to the many organisms living within it.  We also utilize some of our trees to cultivate edible and medicinal mushrooms such as Oyster and Shitake as we happen to have trees varieties that are perfectly suited to these edible mushrooms.    Essentially trees are the "food" for the fungi and fungi are essential in the process of death of the tree, decay of the tree that creates topsoil that allows further growth of trees and plants.  At this time where we have a top soil crisis globally due to chemical farming and deforestation, the importance of this process of care taking a healthy forest and restoring topsoil to the gardens and orchards we caretake is essential to us as human beings, but also is essential work to us as Paleros.

Being initiated as Paleros means many different things to many different Paleros depending on their perspective and story.  For some being initiated was a quick fix for certain issues within their lives, for others it is part of a business, an opportunity to profit.  Some take on a gangster mentality regarding Palo, and some take on a romanticized view of being Palero.  Some Paleros sadly only have the local botanica to rely on for their essential ingredients and some Paleros allow negative experiences with their fellow Paleros to isolate them from actively practicing the Tradition.  To us these are all effects of the process of colonialism and mental slavery.


Within our Munanso we recognize Initiation as the beginning of a journey hand in hand with the Spirits of the Ancestors and the Mpungos themselves deep into the worlds of the Misterios as they reflect in the world around us.  It is a journey back into the Ancestral Minds and the Ancestral Wisdoms that still vibrate in the natural world, a rediscovery of the many insights the Ancestors had regarding the great Mpungo, the great Fundamento - Ntoto, Mother Earth herself.  Every day relating to the natural world, coming back into real relationships with her, brings wisdom and a profound appreciation. We also emphasize bringing the Initiate "off the cross", in other words freeing the individual from the incarceration created by the image of the human sacrifice of the so called "Jesus" that keeps many of our Sisters and Brothers entrapped in a network of lies, deceptions and cultural genocide.

When the difference between your home being 60 degrees or 30 degrees is between the tree, your axe, your mallet and your maul, a great appreciate arises for the empowerment that the trees give to us.  Our trees give us the empowerment to reject nuclear and coal as sources of warmth for us, the beauty of that also being that through this process we also ensure the health of our forest and gardens.  Here we have an example of the Palo representing power in real and practical terms, now when we put the Palo into the Fundamento (or carve a Cemi from that Palo or spiritual Baton or what have you) we have a greater appreciation of that Palo but we also carry within us in our action of placing that Palo into that Fundamento greater strength and power because of the empowerment manifesting in our lives through the choices and actions of reclaiming our empowerment within heating our home.  The strength of the Fundamento is not just in its raw ingredients but also in the Wisdom and Spiritual- Ancestral Strength of the Palero placing those raw ingredients into the Fundamento.  By empowering ourselves in our lives in terms of our relationship with Mother Earth and all her Relations, we empower our Ancestors and we empower the movements that we make within our Munansos.

The beauty of the wood tells us its story and not only its story but the story of the environment that it grew in, the weather patterns, the nutrient patterns, animal patterns, insect patterns, the cycles of the seasons and even human activity.  In all the wood we have chopped never have we found an "ugly wood" or "bad smelling wood", it is all beautiful, amazing and aromatic, which tells us that we as humans have a profound connection to the trees (and all the plants), it tells us that the name Palo does not just refer to "sticks" but refers to a deep relationship to the forest and an understanding that it is the forest that is our natural home.  It is not a coincidence that colonialism came with so much deforestation because colonialism came with the spirit to kill and destroy our Traditions and Cultures.  As Paleros we must never forget that our Tradition arose from the Spirit of Resistance to Colonialism and that today that battle continues although now it is much more insidious, manipulative and deceptive.

Below the wood has begun a process of decay through the insect activity within it.  Death is occurring within the tree intertwined with the life of the tree, just as it is occurring within us, as cells within our bodies die off and are renewed simultaneously constantly renewing our physical body.  Even within the roots of the tree the tree cycles between the growth and dying off of the roots as essential to maintaining a healthy vibrant tree.  It is within the dance of life and death that vibrant health arises, it is not through the fearing of death and decay but the conscious working with those cycles that allow us to thrive.

Below is just one example of one of our native trees in this area, the Osage Orange tree (also nicknamed "monkey brains").  The Osage Orange tree was used by Osage Indigenous People to make Bows from its exceptionally strong yet bendable wood.  Its color inside is a beautiful yellow.  It is extremely resistant to rot, making it perfect for fence posts, but can also be cultivated to make living fences that can keep animals in or out of areas.  It can protect a garden or flock of chickens from "predators".    Below a section of Osage Orange has been sanded and prepared for use as a structural material and the powder resulting from sanding has been collected in the jar.  Paleros utilize many different powders in the course of work within the Munanso.  This powder collected here is a great powder for our Munanso, naturally holding properties of Protection, Strength and Endurance.  The true beauty of the wood is revealed when sanded at which point we see how extraordinary this ordinary tree really is!  It is the journey of the Palero to make these discoveries whenever the opportunity arises so that we do not take our Tradition for granted or contribute to the assault and negative reputation that falls upon Palo that unfortunately occurs on a daily basis as many Paleros are well aware of.  It is in the hands of Paleros themselves to reclaim the Tradition from the ravages of colonialism, and the ongoing ravages of industrialization and global greed and destruction.

A Palero's Definition of Love!

Exploring this Munanso’s perspective on the Reality of Ancestors and Spiritual Love

Palo is a Life changing system, linking the living with the Ancestors in formal Trato. By its very Essence it is also Death changing.  It impacts the way that we as Palero’s die and empowers that transition, empowering not only the process by way an Ancestor incarnates in the expression of a fetus carried in a Sacred Womb but also the process by way the Human Being excarnates as that Spirit and Soul moves into the World of the Ancestors.  

All Human development (the pyramids, temples, technologies, plant breeding, agriculture, and so much more) is inspired by Ancestors.  This includes also the european dismantling of the sacred hoop which was also inspired by ancestors, although ones who were and continue to be spiritually immature, stunted and even spiritually suicidal.   Although at times we say “these dismantlers are soulless”, that is an expression and is not factually true, because without a soul, one cannot have a human experience.   We may say that person is “soulless” because we cannot understand the evil behavior of the individual, it is also perhaps our prediction that because of the ultra-evil behavior of the individual we anticipate that the soul of that person is going to be spiritually dismantled upon re-entry into the Ancestral world due to their total lack of spiritual progression and their internal process of spiritual suicide. 

Palo is about bringing to justice all of those injustices.  It is about the Sacred Hunt that “hunts” and brings to justice all those things that destroy progression, and it is about “harnessing” all those things that enhance and nurture progression.  

We are an incarnated Ancestor.  Broken traditions and “lost” memory, mean that Ancestors have to vibrate that much more strongly to relate to us and stimulate us.  We are the ones who need to understand that we will be ancestors, and it is our Right to prepare ourselves for that Transition.

To be vigilant of our mind is to be vigilant as to how we phrase things, it is to look at what we are saying, how we are saying it, and why, this way we know that we are not just justifying our own inadequacies through our expressions.  The power and strength of the Ancestors is in our Mind, our mental body, because that is where spirit begins to ride, to take action.  Our Minds are Sacred to our Ancestors and as Paleros our Minds must be an accurate, empowered and healthy “vehicle” for our Ancestors to ride!

Bakongo do not see those who die as DEAD, saying “Ancestors” rather than “dead” or “deceased”.  Through our use of the word DEAD (and its sound vibration), we empower our separation from our Ancestors because when we think about “dead” we think of gone.  Bakongo understand that the Ancestors iare in a World that is within the SAME Divine Cycle as our “Living-Physical” World.  The Taino distinguished Ancestors from living through the absence of a navel.  The Taino had such good Vittiti (Spiritual Sight) that they saw the Ancestors as clearly as the living and could sometimes only distinguish if the “person” was an Ancestor through absence of navel.  Ancestors become ‘the dead’ through the non-ceremonial process of burial that is typically engaged in this society, where they  just throw a corpse in a hole and move on to the next one.   

Through constantly strengthening the mental body, we develop more productive results in all aspects of our lives, and especially as Paleros.  However we need to realize that we always gets results, even if that result is frustration.   This leads us to engage our mental body strongly to overcome mental blocks.

The Ancestors relationship to the Living is often distorted through a misconception of energetic, spiritual reality. The relationship is not a separation:  We turn to a phenomenon readily visible in the world, a Tree.  There are trees which root everywhere under the ground, and send up saplings all over.  Symbolically this reflects the Ancestors as the roots under ground and the Living as the sapling in air.  If one cuts the sapling from the root, the sapling dies.   However the sapling is no “different” in Essence than the Root, it is just the expression that came up into the air.   The Root keeps living and sprouts up again in the form of the “Living” Being. In this metaphor we see the WHOLE TREE as a LIVING BEING, a LIVING ORGANISM, A LIVING ENTITY, that lives in TWO WORLDS (the one filled with Sunlight and the one that is in the absence of direct physical Sunlight).  We also see certain trees (such as locust, choke cherries, mulberries) which sprout back up when the trunk is cut off.  The tree that we see sprouts right back up from the Living Roots!  Metaphorically we can see the separation of the Living and the Ancestors as the separation between the sapling and the Root System!  It is a separation in terms of space or environment, or worlds in which the two aspects are “living”.  In this system  fluids come from root to sapling and back.  The root takes in water and the sapling takes in sun, the root sends up water with minerals, the sapling sends down sugars made from sun through the magic of the leaves.   

As we adjust our thinking and the way we say things and conceptualize things, the natural environment tells us about spiritual reality.  The Sacred Patakis (Stories) are told every day as we look at the Phenomenon that is life.The stones, trees, grasses, animals, sun, moon, are all telling that story!

Many speak of animal totems and the meaning of animals that show up or are dreamed of, this is wonderful and you also can go to the more vegetative forms of life and learn that story.  All the animals are telling stories of the reality of the experience.  “Concrete” has distorted our ability to see and experience this, also the devastation of forests, of rivers, of mountains and oceans have damaged our ability to see and learn.  The devastation of the natural environment turns people away from the different organs and expressions of the Mother herself.  Earth is all one, earth continues under ocean. Wherever we go soil is soil,  and the same Sun is giving his blessings everyday and the same water is giving her blessings to the earth.  

We look at a simplified water cycle:  Oceans evaporate water forming clouds, wind blows the clouds over to land, they gather and it rains, rain run into rivers, the rivers flow by us, and run to the oceans.  This is a whole cycle of life and death and rebirth. It is telling us truth about our Soul and Spirit.  Our relationships with Mpungos are so deep that we are able to recognize the Mpungo in the person saying ‘that person is a Chola Wengue” .  The Mpungo is within the whole cycle and the individual walking with the energy of that Mpungo has a powerful relationship to the cycle.  The cycle is telling about Soul, Essence, Spirit and Expression.    When we develop this understanding, it allows us to deal with situations more effectively, we learn how to approach or diffuse a person or situation, and learn how to influence the spirit.

Romanticizing raw energy is problematic, you may allow it to mesmerize you for a minute, but if it is romanticized, it will eat you up. Romanticism takes you into fantasies which are then easily manipulated, this also leads to missed opportunity.

When we walk through native forest it is easy to feel the Spirit, we become uplifted, we begin to hear the Ancestors speaking to us. However the adaptation we need to make  is to be able to walk down a city street and still hear the Ancestors, to be able to pick up the messages without judging the messenger.  Mystery speaks through anyone and anything.  We must not allow the “ugly” environment to be an excuse or limitation in terms of how or if one receives messages.  

We always look for unusual animals, lately snow geese, a mink running by river, and ravens. We have never seen these animals before and they all bring messages  Then under our seed boxes, we found fuzzy animals, never seen before, voles.  All are messages the Spirit is bringing.  This also occurs through dreams, and it is up to us if will clog our ears or open our ears.  

Spiritual Love:

In Simple terms Love is the Forces of attraction.  

Let’s look at Water:

Water is two elements, Hydrogen and Oxygen.  We perceive it as one thing, and the bonds of attraction make it one thing.  What is that bond?  In theory it is an electron (a charged particle with virtually no weight) which makes a connection through an orbital (pattern).  What is shared is almost weightless but is very CHARGED (empowered), it is the force holding two things together.  When we perceive death, we have a seeming contradiction between birth and death. During birth we can see a baby coming out of a Mother, we can see that the baby is connected to the Mother and Father, but at the point of death, the body is put in the ground, not put into a human being, a mother’s womb, but put into Earth.  A physical separation appears to be taking place.  Going back to the water, we know hydrogen and oxygen are two separated (physically)things but a bond holds them together.  Hydrogen and Oxygen can morph into many different things,hydrogen gas(H-H), oxygen gas(O-O), an alcohol group (O-H) and more.  But the physical is not solid as we perceive it to be.  We see ourselves as physical but it is actually a spiritual bond that holds us together, it is only a perception of solid not a reality.  There is so much space in the human body, it only seems solid because of the dimension we are in and the limitation of our physical senses.  We come to understand through this little exploration that Material and Non-material is not two different realms.   

Spiritual love and love is not two different things.  Love is love, it is the same energy, from the same source, it is the same DNA, the same creation.  What separates this in our minds is words and the definitions we give them.  Spiritual love and so called mundane love is separated through the lack and brokeness of tradition and culture.  Conceptually through our miseducation and mis-definition of words and concepts, we don’t “see” a sacred fire, the river, ocean, and worms, connected to mundane love.  However, All those things that connect us to death and life are love.  Love is ALL those attractions in the universe, love is the force of attraction- the attraction of the river to ocean, the attraction of the bees to flowers.  

Love is not contingent on the material.   In our so called physical experience, we learn about the innate energy of life from the external, from everything around us.    The emotion of love- that feeling of deep connection, upliftment in the heart and spirit, that is when one is able to SENSE what holds everything together.  When one has that SENSE then one feels love in the heart, upliftment- and that is a small experience of what holds everything together.  We feel the winds, the sun, the earth, and we begin to feel good- we feel love, because we are able to SENSE those forces of attraction that hold everything together.  Love is a force of attraction, and is not contingent on the material’s (incarnated being’s) perception.   Love is both Potential energy and Kinetic energy.   Great Mystery, Nsambia Mpungo creates, sustains and dissolves everything.  It is a Process of Love.  

Oxygen, iron, hydrgogen, and carbon (and many more) are spiritual elements as precious as gold, as precious as diamond (which is carbon).  They are all within the medicine pouch of Great Mystery, they are within Great Mystery’s Fundamento!  We put precious Gems within a “Carga” these are raw elements. All the attractions of the universe generate Love.  When we connect with the Fundamento, Cemis, Nkisis, Bilongo, we feel “LOVE” which is beyond the raw physical elements in the medicine, we feel what is “invisible” which is the forces of attraction that hold everything together, this is the Life force itself.  The FORCE OF ATTRACTION is everywhere, it holds everything together and makes everything move.  

On personal level we make it contingent on an object or individual, which creates obsessions and exclusivity.  The mind that is unbalanced or atrophied is materially oriented, and places the experience of love as contingent on an individual or even object, not realizing that (through that person or object) we are having “window” of experience of love.  Love itself is not possessed by that individual.  Through mistakenly designating “ownership” of love to an object or individual or sensation, obsessions are created. 

We see the whole Earth as a Spiritual Entity.  The Sun Moon, Earth are SPIRITS, it is only through the perception of indoctrination that we see things separated and in components.  The Ancients did not separate the seven (or multiple) liberal arts, one would go 40 years to learn something, now one goes 5-8 years to learn next to nothing.

And if we do have an experience beyond “ordinary” reality, we tend to think of it as separate from our life.  If we dream it, we relegate it to pure symbolism, not realizing it actually is an experience.  The use of the word “dream” puts it into the realm of fantasy, but it is reality in another dimension.

If we examine the electromagnetic spectrum, we see the visible spectrum as a very small aspect of that larger continuous spectrum,  which includes gamma rays,  xrays, radio waves, etc.  We see green because the material we are looking at is absorbing all colors but green (in effect we are seeing a “negative” of what is in front of us), but

 if we could see radio waves we would see a color never seen before.  We use xrays to see our bones, the rays are passing right through our body.  All this is making statement son reality of life and death.  

The forces of attraction within whole of the universe include the force of attraction that holds the earth in orbit around the sun, and the gravity that holds us to the earth.

It is our definition of the word/ concept “physical” that we are questioning here.

A note on learning and revelation:  When spirit gives us a flash of insight, we use the mind to go deeper into that thought, we put something on paper concerning that insight.  The Ancestors are always giving us perspectives never given before.  We give that insight more thought and put it on paper and share it with others. This develops that insight and makes it more real to us, then we can have discussions with other people and their spirits may give further insight.  We take a flash of inspiration and build on it.  The flash of the Spirit brings a flash of insight, then we  have to put in the work to fill in the information. It is up to us to put the energy in!  

PALO ROMPE MONTE! (Click on photo to enlarge to better view)

Our Land itself sits on ancient mountains that have been worn down to hills, volcanic lava had also spilled out leaving green basalt stones which are all over the land.  As we move west we cross a large plain, and come to the Catoctin Mountain.  Catoctin mountain is an Indigenous name given to the mountain by Algonquian Indigenous People, said to mean "place of many deer", "old hill or mountain" and "speckled mountain".  Catoctin was a favorite seasonal hunting ground for the Indigenous People of the area.  

As Paleros we are always seeking out the Misterios in their "natural" setting, we are always looking for special palos, soils, or special places in which to "play palo".  The Catoctin mountain (which is really one huge formation with many "peaks") is visible from the Land, and we admire it from a distance every day!  After years of abuse from logging, milling, iron ore mining, and a stint as a moonshine still during prohibition, Catoctin was preserved as parkland.  The park has had less than 100 years of "renewal" however it holds numerous beautiful trees full of spirit and striking rock formations.  

On this day we went up to the Mountain looking for Misterio and bringing Anani to explore the various stone formations, trees and plants and soils that are abundant.  On a five mile circular walk we came across a large rock formation (called by the park "Wolf Rock") which we recognized as "Palo Rompe Monte".  This rocky formation was several hundred feet long and at places about 50 feet wide.  It includes cliffs, fissures, boulders perched in what appear as precarious places and incredible trees which grow out of rock and whose roots "SPLIT THE MOUNTAIN".  In the photo above we see a ROOT of a tree which acts as a mechanical force to split the rock. Ponder the power of some thing so flexible and vulnerable as a ROOT that can, through persistence and a formidable efficiency of using the available resources, literally split the mountain.

Rock is weathered and chemically altered through contact with water and air into clays and soils, and it is a fact that without this transformation of rock to soil "life" (plant, animal and human) would not be possible upon our Mother Earth.  The positive cycle of the growth and decay of trees adds further organic matter and fertility to the soils, further enhancing the power and productivity of the soils.  Therefore our physical bodies are derived from rock!  As Paleros it is these realizations that enable us to connect more deeply with the "stones" and minerals that we utilize within the practice of palo.

Many of us face situations in our lives where the challenges and obstructions appear immense, and this can be one reason that we turn to Palo or other Indigenous and African traditions, to over come the "impossible" so to speak.  This tree above is thriving where one would think it would be "impossible".  A Palo from this tree embodies this energy, and when empowered further by the power of our consciousness this becomes a powerful tool in the hands of the Palero or Palera!  Merely coming up to this Sacred Spot and making an invocation or prayer resonates that power into our lives or the lives of those we are looking to effect.  

The Indigenous Spirit is particularly powerful at this location and as Paleros we naturally honor that Spirit.  We recognize that these Sacred Places have been used for Sacred Ceremony in the past, and although a history of misuse has transpired and now the spot is a tourist attraction (although very "empty" during the weekdays and off season), we can link to the Sacred Energy in the here and now!

The stones you see in this photo have been split through a process of water thawing and freezing.  The glaciers during the "ice age" came very close to this area and at that time there was a tremendous amount of freezing and thawing during 3 seasons of the year.  The Rocks and Stones tell the story of our Mother Earth.  These mountain ranges themselves are said to have formed through a crashing of tectonic plates of Africa into the East Coast where we live.  As the plates then pulled apart fissures (cracks) opened up and hot lava flowed out giving us the volcanic rock that is all around the area.  Water flowing from Rain and Rivers further shaped the landscape and at one point there was even an inland sea that created the limestone that is all around this area (seashell rock!).  These rocks were once on the floor of the Ocean! So here we see the power and interrelationship of many Mpungo!  We have the Mountain (Tiembla Tierra), we have the effects of the Rivers and Rains and Oceans (Chola Wengue and Kalunga), we have the power of the Volcano (which we see as an aspect of Nsasi), we have the power of the Sun, the power of the Plantas and Palitos, the Power of the Winds (Lucero Mundo) and the Power of Time itself (Padre Tiempo or Kulusu!)  We have a tendency to separate the Mpungos where in reality it is not always so cut and dried because it is ONE ENTITY (NSAMBI MPUNGO) with many manifestation which can interrelate with each other in complex ways.

This tree here (above and below) is a Loblolly Pine (native) growing right out of a crack in the rock.  How it can be so efficient with the meagre (by most standards) resources it has available is astonishing.  It sends its roots deep into the rock to access pockets of nutrients and pockets of water, yet it is able to grow to quite a substantial size!  This is a power that is well worth "harvesting" physically and spiritually during a time upon the Earth where resources are in high demand and are getting more and more scarce due to MISUSE and WASTE!  This is a power that we go out to seek as Paleros because we are aware and very concerned with the situation that is embracing the Earth globally at this time!  We recognize that we NEED the power that this pine has to ADAPT to its situation!!!

Being up on top of the rocky formation "Palo Rompe Monte" was truly being in a different world.  It is only accessible from a few points, all other points being cliffs!  All around one sees tree tops and one realizes that it is a huge FUNDAMENTO with Palitos encircling the huge STONE in the middle, rich with mineral deposits and Plantas!  Our daughter heard us discussing that this would be a wonderful place to bring Fundamento of Tiembla Tierra (or Ta Jose) for Ceremony or to gather energy.  She then told us "the Medicine is already here so you don't need to bring the Fundamento here, it is here!"  (The wisdom of a four year old!)

By recognizing the space as a Fundamento gives us additional appreciation and understanding when we stand in our Munanso with Fundamentos!  The sky is "much closer" in this space, the treetops give it a sheltered sense but it is a high point and very peaceful.  

When one looks at the artistry of the space, the way the boulders lie, the deep fissures (cracks) that go down 20 feet or more and the many trees that grow out of the stone itself, one appreciates the masterpiece it is, created by the powers within Atabey (Mother  Earth) and the powers of the Mpungo.  One also appreciates the BILLIONS of YEARS it took to create this masterpiece and appreciate that it is still changing, it is a masterpiece in motion.

Below a root shows swirling patterns like the patterns that water makes, it also is reminiscent of certain Indigenous Petroglyphs or drawings, drawings made by Ayahuascueros and so on.  The root itself is reflecting the journey of water within it, revealed by rain as well as by the footsteps of the many people who have walked over it.  Somos o no somos!!!

Palo has traditionally been a way to overcome the "Impossible" beginning with the impossible situation of enslavement and dislocation.  Continuing with the impossible situation of Colonization, and the mounting impossible situation of global insanity.  This Sacred sight empowers our willingness to eagerly engage Spiritual Teachings, Spiritual Principles and Spiritual Life at time of rampant materialism, decay and global BARBARIC Gluttony and Violence.  

Deep fissures created by water freezing force the people who come onto the rock to be very cautious and to respect the space!  It is not a space for recklessness or inattentiveness.  

As trees grow upon the Stone, through the dropping of their leaves and the eventual decay of their "bodies" they make it easier for the next generation of tree!  It is a positive cycle of life, which is true for all trees, that builds the soil fertility and depth and allows us to have more abundance and gives to the Future Generations a richer Soil!  This allows us to understand that TREES represent THRIVING, ABUNDANCE and FUTURE IRE!!!!  When we plant trees, save trees, respect trees, we gather that powerful cycle into our Spirits!  This also bears reflecting on since PALO means TREE!!!  TREE is about enriching the soil and enriching the air (Oxygen), therefore enriching LIFE!!!!  As the trees are able to grow on the rock, they build the soil together with the rock, through the blessing of the Rain and Sun.  There is an ecological importance to this cycle that as Paleros we must not overlook.  As Paleros we must also not over look the rampant "deforestation" that has been taking place.  In Catoctin there had been a period of deforestation due to the wood mills getting lumber and to the tanneries which used various barks from the trees to tan hides.  At this point Catoctin represents an ongoing healing from that mutilation.

Below you can see pinks and reds, greens and yellows in the surface of the stone.  These come from the reaction of water and air with some of the mineral deposits in the stone itself!  

This weathering and natural chemical reactions reveal Misterios who look out upon everything going on!

Below (7 photos) we track a tree from top to bottom as it grows from the base wedged into the rocks, up and then through the rocks again then out of the top.  This tree grew seeking Sunlight, this trail of seeking Sunlight lead it to grow right up through a crack in the stone where it widened to also impact the stone in terms of further cracking the stone.  The tree itself was loyal to its need for Sunlight!  This tree embodies the energy of standing with one's principles and integrity regardless of the situation one is in.  PALO ROMPE MONTE even if it is PALO SOLO!

Another two trees growing out of the Stone.

Below (2 photos) a tree again growing out of the stone.  

Palo is a beautiful tradition which gives full appreciation and love to the natural elements that allow Life!  When we are building Fundamento or we are working with Fundamento, or we are involved in a process with Fundamento it is very important to understand the materials involved and more importantly to understand their Spiritual Powers and how those Spiritual Powers and Materials relate to us.  Our physical body is derived from Rock, Water, Sun and Plants!!!!  If there is any rigidity in Palo it arises from alienation from Nature and from the lack of exploration and inability to allow the EGUNS, the NKISIS to be the TEACHERS of these multiple Profound Teachings!  It is not just about "commanding" a Fundamento, it is also about learning and studying that Fundamento and the Mpungo it is a manifestation of!!!!  

It is important for us to recognize that Palo is a Spirituality rooted in Science, in Art, in Biology, Botany, Geology, in Story (ourstory),   in Astronomy, in Meteorology, and in the study of cycles and time itself!

Walking and Looking For Soils!!!!!!!

Soils are an integral part of Fundamento and the many Bilongos of the Munanso.  Soils are utilized also within ceremony, and also to prepare Batons and other Spiritual Things!  Soil is the breakdown of rock and organic matter (trees, leaves, plants, bodies of animals and insects).  Soil also contains living entities, soil bacteria, fungi and small animals such as worms, centipedes, bugs of all kinds, spiders, ants and organisms that are so minute they are invisible to the naked eye.  The soil is a world within a world which is essential within the processes of decay and life! At any given time both decay and growth is occurring in the soil.  Soil also embodies the energy of what is around it.  So sometimes we go out seeking specific soils, for example soil from the railroad tracks, soil from the river, soil from the monte, soil from a specific tree, soil from a cave, soil from a busy corner and also soil from Nfindantoto and many others.  Soil is also a PRECIOUS RESOURCE upon the EARTH, especially at this time where top soil (soil that supports life) is disappearing through poor agriculture practices and erosion.  

On this day we went out to the River and the hills next to the River, seeking soils from trees and from the River herself.  We went walking looking for trees with strong "Spirit", trees that "spoke" to us in one way or another.  We gathered soils, making sure to respect the Spirit by leaving an offering at each location.   The tree above and below, which is also shown in the following 3 photos as well, has abundant spirit.  It is a fairly large tree as you can see in the final photo of this sequence, and has multiple  faces at various different points on its trunk.

This tree below (3 photos) is a Palo Muerto, a dead tree which is still standing.    We gather pieces from its decaying trunk.   It has already begun the process of returning to soil and eventually it will fall and finish its process of decay directly upon the Earth.  It is a pine tree.

Here we have two trees  (Dos Caminos), one younger growing in an embrace with the older tree.  Its roots cling both to the soil and to the other tree.  The soil from this tree can be used for situations that reflect this phenomenon.  We pay attention to what is speaking to us, because the Spirit will speak in multiple ways and in multiple symbols.  You can see in the second photo that the younger tree's roots are actually in a process of being buried within the bark of the older tree.  This would be a tree to document over a long period of time if possible to see how this phenomenon changes over time as life and death are an ever changing phenomenon!  We may anticipate or predict that the younger tree may eventually thrive within the decayed body of the older tree which will most likely return to the Earth before the younger tree.  In the third photo is a stone that Anani found which she insisted on leaving with the tree.  She nestled it between the two trees.  In the fourth photo you can see a different side of the tree which has a hole with decayed tree as well as chopped up nuts from a squirrel or chipmunk who must live up the hole.  This is some of the soil that we gathered.

As we were walking through the forest as we approached the first tree described in this article we heard the hawk call out.  At that time we did not see him, however he continued to periodically call out.  Eventually we saw him fly over us along the River and he landed on the Palo Muerto shown below, bringing our attention to this tree, and showing us that he was the Sea Hawk, which is unusual, we generally see the sparrow hawk, the falcons and of course the Red Tail Hawk!  The sea hawk has very distinct colors.  He then flew around us showing off it seemed and most of the time we were too absorbed in his flight and what he was conveying to us to think of taking photos!

This tree is right by the edge of the River and it leans out over the River seeking the light and responding to the erosion of the soil that is constantly going on at the base of its trunk.  Multiple holes and entries are on this tree and soil can be gathered from any of them.  The soil by the river has a greater clay content which derives from the decay of rocks!  

It is also of significance to consider what state the River is in at the time one is looking for soils.  On this day the River had been in a state of flooding the day before but had relatively quickly cleared and receded.  The water was almost clear and the bottom was visible, however the water was more turbulent than it would have been during a period of no rain.  The current was rapid but not raging.  In particular circumstances one may need to gather soil from the River Bed itself.

This is a Palo Muerto which has already reached the point where it is almost completely returned to the soil.  If you are able to recognize what tree it is through the little bit of bark left on it, you will know what character and medicinal and healing qualities this tree has and you will have consciousness of what you are picking up when collecting its bark or the humus rich soil it is "creating".

This is a tree with a trunk that divides into three.  Soil can be collected from its roots and base of trunk, and soil can also be gathered in the pocket created by the tree trunks.  Occasionally we find a tree with four trunks.

Here the River has eroded the shore and created a small cave in the manigua, it is almost like a little hut on the shore.  Medicine could be place in here although you would need to be aware of rain or the river rising because it could easily be flooded and lost.  This is also a great source of soil.

Here we see a tree trunk in the water.  It is actually where the trunk meets the roots, and some plants are even taking the opportunity to grow on it while it slowly decays in the River.  The River strips the bark from the tree very quickly and makes the Palito smooth.  This particular tree called out to us clearly.  

Another triple trunk tree.  This tree is very big, covered with moss and lichen.  The second photo is a more distant view of the same tree.

This is a tree that can be utilized to overcome difficult (knotted or entangled) situations since this tree handles all the vines that are entangling it.  It could also be used for the opposite effect.  In the second photo you can see on the smaller tree that the vine is making the impression of a snake or helix going up the tree.  Some of these vines are poison ivy which must be handled with caution or not at all, especially if you are allergic to it.

Again a tree with vines.  This tree has vines climbing all the way up the tree. The vines are a lighter color than the tree bark and create an amazing picture.  Vines like these have the ability to climb very high in the tree, they are very strong, some can support the weight of a person and they are very durable.  These are all qualities that can be harnessed through harvesting the vine.  The tree itself was in a awkward place and the last photo in the series shows the strength of its roots.  At this point in our walk we were far off the "beaten trail" and we were taken into the deep woods.

Below is a large tree rooting strongly into the hill.  Close to this tree we found a very old horse shoe.  It must date back to when this area was used for farming as it was an old fashioned type horse shoe, most likely thrown off a work horse.  For us this was a special gift.  This tree shows a phenomenon that can be found in many trees in the forest where there is decay occurring at the same time the tree is thriving.  The decay eventually creates habitat for small animals and birds.  Eventually the decay will kill the tree but this can take years and years.  There are all kinds of beautiful Misterios that have formed in this tree!

The last photo is tree we saw when we were leaving, we show it to show the Misterio which has taken form on its trunk.  Trees are endlessly interesting both for their medicinal and healing properties in general and for their individual expressions.  No two trees are the same even if they are the same species.  As Paleros we are always learning from the trees!!!!