The Huichol Mask

An excerpt from my soon-to-be released memoir, Riding Spirit Horse: A Journey into Shamanism. Copyright © 2021 by Michael Drake.
 

I made my first pilgrimage to the Maya pyramids and ceremonial centers of Mexico in March of 1995. It was an empowering, transformational journey of self-discovery--the culmination of a lifelong dream to explore the pyramidal temples found at Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Palenque and Tulum. I spent about a week in Playa del Carmen, a coastal resort town along the Yucatan Peninsula’s Riviera Maya strip of Caribbean shoreline. The Riviera Maya is known for its palm-lined beaches and one of the largest coral reefs in the world. The beaches of Playa del Carmen are famous for their white powdery sand and crystal clear turquoise waters.
 

One afternoon, I went shopping for some gifts and souvenirs to take back home with me. While walking along Quinta Avenida (5th Avenue), a pedestrian-only walkway through downtown Playa del Carmen, I discovered a colorfully dressed street vendor selling his beadwork. He was a Huichol indigenous artist from Guadalajara. The Huichol, or peyote people, are known for their yarn paintings and papier-mache masks covered in small, brightly colored beads. Yarn paintings consist of commercial yarn pressed into boards coated with wax and resin and are derived from a ceremonial tablet called a neirika.
 

The beaded art is a relatively new innovation and is crafted using glass, plastic or metal beads pressed onto a wooden or papier-mache form covered in beeswax. Common bead art forms include masks, bowls and figurines. Like all Huichol art, the bead work depicts the prominent patterns and symbols featured in Huichol shamanic traditions. The most common motifs are related to the three most important elements in Huichol religion, the deer, corn and peyote. The first two are important as primary sources of food, and the last is valued for its psychoactive properties. Eating the peyote cactus is at the heart of the tribe's spiritual knowledge and core to their existence, connecting them to their ancestors and guardian spirits through psychedelic visions.  

Huichol masks are akin to mirrors that reflect the patterns of face paintings worn during sacred ceremonies. The Huichol people understand themselves to be mirrors of the gods. The Huichol believe that you must look past the ego reflected in a mirror in order to enter the place they call the "original times," before the present separation occurred between matter and spirit, between life and death, between the natural and the supernatural, and between the sexes. They are a culture based on being at one with the Cosmos. The very purpose of life is to reach a state of unity and continuity between man, nature, society and the supernatural.
 

The shaman-artist had some small beaded masks displayed on his table. I asked him if he had any larger masks. He pulled a bundle out from under the table and unwrapped a beautiful life-size human mask. The intricate design featured a radiant sun on the forehead, a stalk of blue corn on each side of the head, a double-headed peyote eagle on each cheek, a prayer arrow on the ridge of the nose, and a deer on the chin. I asked him how much? He said 300 pesos, or about 50 dollars. We settled on the price, but the artisan needed to finish the beadwork. He asked if I could come back later in the day. I agreed to return later that evening to buy the mask and continued shopping other vendors.
 

With great anticipation, I returned in the evening to purchase the finished mask. As I carried the mask back to my hotel, it felt warmer and warmer until it was hot in my hands. When I got back to my room, I noticed a tepo or sacred drum (which is the voice of the gods for the Huichol) in the mouth of the mask. The symbolism was a metaphor for a "talking drum," the name I chose for my entrepreneurial publishing company. This meaningful synchronicity convinced me that the mask was meant for me. I later discovered that wearing the mask during meditation induces a blissful state of unity consciousness with the deities that the mask both represents and embodies. It’s a way of communing with the essence of these deities, channeling them to deepen shamanic trance, to honor them and more. To learn more, read my blog post, The Power of Masks.

Pilgrimage to the Crestone Ziggurat

Crestone, Colorado is a spiritual center that includes an astonishing array of sacred sites. Within walking distance of this small international village are ashrams, monasteries, zendos, temples, chapels, retreat centers, stupas, shrines, medicine wheels, labyrinths, a ziggurat and other sacred landmarks. Most of Crestone’s major religious centers are sheltered in the juniper and pine forests on the lower slopes of the mountains south of town. The Camino de Crestone is a 26 mile inter-faith pilgrimage that visits 15 of the spiritual centers.
 

Since moving to Crestone, my wife, Elisia, and I have made pilgrimages to many of the area’s sacred sites. Although pilgrimage may seem an antiquated religious ritual, it remains a vibrant activity in the modern world as pilgrims combine traditional motives—such as seeking a remedy for physical or spiritual problems—with contemporary searches for identity or interpersonal connection. That pilgrimage continues to exercise such a strong attraction is testimony to the power it continues to hold for those who undertake these sacred journeys. Pilgrimage has been an essential component of my spiritual practice for over 30 years.  
 

Our first local pilgrimage was to the Crestone Ziggurat, a nearby landmark built by Najeeb Halaby, father of Queen Noor of Jordan, for prayer and meditation. Halaby, an American of Syrian Christian descent, built the Ziggurat in 1978 as a representation of the Zoroastrian gateway to heaven. Ziggurat comes from an ancient Assyrian word ziffurantu, meaning light pinnacle. A ziggurat, by definition, is a temple tower with an outside staircase that leads to a shrine at the top. The first of these temple structures were built in ancient Mesopotamia, or what is now Iraq. The purpose of a ziggurat is to get closer to heaven, the home of the gods; in fact the people of Mesopotamia believed a ziggurat connected Heaven and Earth. Essentially, a ziggurat represents a stairway to Heaven where one can commune with the divine.
 

Elisia and I walked to the ziggurat, which rises from a hill on the easternmost edge of the San Luis Valley less than two miles from our house. The wind began to gust as we made our way up the switchback trail to the castle-like observatory, which had been stuccoed a golden ochre color. The ascent up the rail-less ramp was treacherous due to the gusting winds. I hugged the inside wall of the structure as I made my way up the 40-foot tall tower. I stood on the summit and took in the stunning views of the San Luis Valley, one of the highest and largest alpine valleys in the world, encompassing an area of 8,000 square miles. The flat, expansive valley is ringed by the San Juan Mountains of the Continental Divide on the west side and the Sangre de Cristos on the east side. It is a truly inspiring place for prayer and meditation.

The Lindisfarne Chapel

Crestone, Colorado is a spiritual center that includes an astonishing array of sacred sites. Within walking distance of this small international village are ashrams, monasteries, zendos, temples, chapels, retreat centers, stupas, shrines, medicine wheels, labyrinths, a ziggurat and other sacred landmarks. Most of Crestone’s major religious centers are sheltered in the juniper and pine forests on the lower slopes of the mountains south of town. The Camino de Crestone is a 26 mile inter-faith pilgrimage that visits 15 of the spiritual centers.
 

One of the most remarkable structures in Crestone is the Lindisfarne Chapel. With its sacred geometry, stunning interior and remarkable acoustics, the 2,800 square foot dome serves as the main practice and retreat space at the Crestone Mountain Zen Center. The Lindisfarne Chapel was conceived and designed as an interfaith sanctuary by cultural historian William Irwin Thompson, founder of the Lindisfarne Association. The Lindisfarne Association (1972–2012) was a nonprofit fellowship of artists, scientists, and religious contemplatives devoted to the study and realization of a new planetary culture. The group placed a special emphasis on sacred geometry. The exemplar of these ideas is the Lindisfarne Chapel, which is built to reflect numerous basic geometrical relationships. The world’s premier performer of the Native American flute, R. Carlos Nakai, recorded his iconic 1987 album "Sundance Season" in the Lindisfarne Chapel.

Riding Windhorse

Mongolian shamanism is concerned with personal power and bringing good fortune into one’s life. Personal psychic power is called hii (wind), or hiimori (windhorse). According to Mongolian shamanism, windhorse, or hiimori, can be increased through smudging, drumming, and other forms of shamanic practice in order to accomplish significant aims. Shamans raise their windhorse, and then ride on that life energy. This force resides in the chest; it is the fundamental energy of the heart, or basic goodness. If you live a life in balance, doing good for others, your windhorse will be strong. Windhorse is often portrayed as a winged horse and is an allegory for the human soul. You can ride on the energy of your soul. 
 

The concept of windhorse is also found in Tibetan Buddhism and has essentially the same meaning. Lung-ta, which translates as windhorse, is the name given to a particular kind of prayer flag seen flying on mountain tops, on high passes, along rivers, across bridges, on people’s homes and around holy sites. The flags normally have a horse in the middle and one of the majestic mythical animals in each of the four corners, the snow lion, garuda (golden-winged bird), dragon and tiger, which represent heavenly qualities. When the wind catches the flags, the prayers printed on them are carried on the breeze and distributed for the benefit of all living things. The purpose of Lung-ta prayer flags is to entreat the Windhorse to intercede on our behalf, by petitioning Buddhist deities and protectors, to give us good fortune and to remove obstacles from our way. The Windhorse carries prayers to the heavens and bring blessings back from the heavens. 
 

To the Tibetans, the horse represents a very sacred animal and symbolizes well-being or good fortune. The horse is thought to be a spiritual communicator, messenger and carrier. The horse represents stamina, endurance, beauty, elegance and freedom and will bring these things to you. Where it was tamed and especially where used not only as a steed but also as a draft animal, the horse symbolizes force that can be controlled to benefit society. The horse symbolizes energy, and the energetic pursuit of the objectives of Buddha’s teachings. The horse will assist you in staying free of troubles and avoiding pitfalls and danger. Horses are known to have great speed, thus creating a quickening within the mind and soul. This allows one to evolve spiritually and mentally at a much faster or quickened rate. The Windhorse will assist in setting the mind free so that it may soar. You can then ride on the energy of your life.

Spirit Horse Falls

An excerpt from The Shamanic Drum by Michael Drake

 

Jade Wah'oo Grigori, my mentor and teacher, stood before me. "Find Spirit Horse," he exclaimed! The shaman vanished from my dreams as quickly as he had appeared. I awoke in the morning with the words "find Spirit Horse" indelibly etched in my mind. I had not seen or spoken to Jade in over four years, but I remembered full well his teachings of Spirit Horse. Jade had taught me that, through sacred drumming, one could ride Spirit Horse for personal empowerment and healing the land.
 

I contemplated this dream throughout the day, trying to discern its meaning. I was finally drawn to a stack of back issues of Shaman's Drum magazines in my office. I fervently leafed through the magazines with no idea of what I was looking for. Midway through the stack, I opened the winter 1990-91 issue to an article titled "Native Americans Join Efforts to Preserve Sacred Ridge on Mount Hood."

Enola Hill, a densely forested, pristine watershed ridge on Mount Hood (Oregon), was under the threat of logging operations. A coalition of Native Americans, historians, and environmentalists appealed and delayed the U.S. Forest Service's timber sale, pending ethnographic studies to determine the area's cultural significance. The ethnographic studies revealed that Enola Hill is a tawyash, a Sahaptin Indian word for a place where spiritual power can be obtained and maintained. In fact, there is no other site in the Pacific Northwest with such great cultural significance. For thousands of years, Enola has been a Native American Mecca -- a revered and sacred place for pilgrimages, ceremonies, and vision quests.    

As I continued to read the article, I came across a reference to a spectacular waterfall known to natives as Spirit Horse Falls (Devil Falls on USDA maps). The falls got its name from vision questers who saw a spirit horse rising from the mist. As I read these words, I was overcome by a profound sense of euphoria and resolve. I knew that this sacred waterfall was the "Spirit Horse" that Jade had told me to find. I expressed my gratitude for this gift in a prayer to Creator.

Two weeks later, I stood for the first time on Enola Hill, overlooking Spirit Horse Falls. The power of the roaring falls and the beauty of the rain forest filled my senses with a lucid-like awareness. I felt a holistic connection to my Earth Mother. In my heart I felt that I had finally come home. I drummed and performed a ceremony for the protection and preservation of this sacred place that provided spiritual power for this region. I prayed that this nerve center in the web of life would continue to distribute vital energy throughout the surrounding natural systems.

Afterwards, I made the three-hour drive back to my home in Bend, Oregon. That night, and for many nights to follow, my dreams were filled with drums, Enola Hill, and Spirit Horse Falls. In my dreams, I saw myself drumming at all the waterfalls around Mount Hood. I was told that the rivers that flow from this mountain are sacred. These rivers feed the spirit. This water will awaken the people when you drum at the falls. All who touch this water will be awakened. I was told that a home would be provided from which I will go out to drum the sacred places. It is time to consecrate these sacred places. The time has come to awaken them.

Three months later, a friend contacted me regarding a caretaker position in the Mount Hood area. I soon relocated to a community near Enola Hill and Spirit Horse Falls. I spent the entire summer, hiking to waterfalls and drumming the sacred waters. By the end of the summer, I had completed a circuit around Mount Hood. Having completed my mission, I sensed that my work there was done. I moved back to Bend, Oregon, yet Spirit Horse Falls will always be a significant power place for me. I still make pilgrimages to the falls to drum and pray.

Unfortunately, the threat of logging persists at Enola Hill. Though ethnographic studies reveal otherwise, the Mount Hood Forest Supervisor has determined that there are no traditional cultural sites on Enola Hill. The Forest Service contends that Indian cultural use of the site was transitory and doesn't qualify for the National Register of Historic Places. The U.S. Forest Service hungrily eyes the mature forests on Enola. This greed for more timber to cut makes the agency loath to acknowledge the native cultural and religious value of the area. The continuing degradation of sacred sites stems not only from colonial attitudes about the lands where native people live and worship, but also from prejudice and disrespect for native religions. Indian religious freedom is an environmental issue, and the destruction of sacred sites is the ultimate environmental racism.