Gathering materials
Now just clear your mind and think of the prayers you will make. Choose a focal prayer. This will be the one which you use for today's set. Choose your cloth according to the guide below.
What you may hear
NORTH
White | evening, winter, ancestors | Buffalo
EAST
Yellow | sunrise, spring, renewal | Eagle
WEST
Black | afternoon, harvest, maturity | Bear
SOUTH
Red | noon, summer, changes | Coyote
DANCE
(SUNDANCE)
A special
prayer ceremony
(Easter Sunday)
Because this teaching comes from the Lakota Sioux Red Road practice of prayer and prayer ties, We will be using some of these words and concepts in the process.
BELOW
Green | creation, plants, seasons | Mother Earth
ABOVE
Blue | sky, Spirit, healing | Father Sky
Creating your prayer ties
INIPI or
SWEAT LODGE
A common
prayer ceremony
(church service)
MEDICINE
form of practice
WITHIN
Purple | sacred relationship with creator
TUNKASILA &
WAKAN TANKA
(GRANDFATHER)
Creator
Before you watch this video, set up a smudge station nearby and within reach. THESE ARE HOT.
WAKAN
Holy, literally
"mystery"
MITAKUYE OYASIN
"We are all related"
SMUDGE
burning herbs and
plants for cleansing
& healing
Closing
As you leave your wakan space of prayer and meditation, think about where you will place your prayer ties. Will you send them to be tied to the tree at a Sundance ceremony? Will you place them over your bed or around your home? On your favorite nature trail? Burn them?
What is a prayer tie?
Prayer ties are spiritual tools created to be a physical representation and carriers of the energy of a prayer. Making Prayer Ties is a ceremony within itself. The process should be done with much reverence and respect.
Mitakuye Oyasin.
Prayer ties are created in sets of 7:
The Four Directions Above Below Within
Red Road Prayer Ties
UUCR Spirit in Practice
Way to Pray Class - Prayer Ties
Music by Kevin Yazzie:
"Four Harmonized
Peyote Songs"