The mystery box
by Rainbow Moon Raven

One day a friend of mine calls me on the phone. She had purchased a huge plastic box of arrowheads and other pieces of broken artifacts from a local geologist. Much to her dismay, and the dismay of her husband Rick, they found bones and remains of Native Americans in the box. So of course, me being the local swamp witch, or stone witch they called me. I lived in a stone cottage and used the herbs and stones, so I get the phone call for help.

So I called Sha'la' my teacher and got her advice. Then went to Sandy's house to bury the bones. With me I took>>>three little angels off the Christmas tree, a huge slab of moss I had gathered the week before, but felt drawn to use it now, a few stones, some sage and two hawk feathers, from my first hawk I was gifted.

I get to Sandy's and she has big shovels and huge picks and a tractor ready to go. Not to mention her gun strapped on, (as if that is going to help you with Indian Spirits anyhow? *giggling*)

We go through the box, piece by piece and take out anything that feels negative in vibration, or some stones and things just wanted to go. So they too were put into one pile. While doing this I notice my finger joints, three of them are hurting really bad.

I rub my fingers, and later notice Sandy rub hers as if we both are feeling something but we do not know what. Most of the bones were small ones, nothing really major. You could tell they had come from a burial ground. All the arrowheads were broke in two as that is how they bury them in Cherokee land maybe. With the arrowheads broke in two. I do not know but that is what I thought as sifting threw all this. So we each as well took a few stones that felt like they wanted to go with each of us personally. There was one stone in particular that drew my eye. It looked to be half of a petrified nutshell, all worn and smooth. I knew it was the best gift in this box so I looked at it fondly, then proceeded to hide it from myself with other stones so I wood not want to take that one home with me.

Sandy, of course, Old Miss Rambo Fairy Eagle Eye, noticed me fondly looking at this stone. Then watched with smugness, I am sure as she saw me try to hide it from myself. What a hoot she is! Then we were all done going through things seeing what needed to be buried. We sat back a minute, tears in our eyes for all the Natives have had to endure. For the sadness that these people went through when they were hunted by white man. When the tears stopped Sandy reaches in the huge pile of stones and pulls out the nutshell, and hands it to me. She says �This is yours for putting these bones to rest.� The nutshell began to speak to me almost instantly then. I knew just what to do with the bones and we knew where on her land to take them. The back left hand corner of her 80 or so acres.

We took the bones, �my fingers are hurting I am thinking�, as I put the bones in a box with the angels and we put in herbs and flowers and nice things. Smudging everything and our selves. We take the little box and load it on the tractor. Sandy insists she needs all her arsenal, I tell her ok, but NO GUN!

She says �Oh Rick will have a fit if I go on the land and not take my gun, besides, what if we SEE A SNAKE?� I laugh and freak at the same time. �Sandy I say, if we see a SNAKE it is one of my power animals and it has come to help us and I PROMISE I will protect you, but you can not shoot one of my power animals in ceremony! She thinks on this. Decides she loves and trusts me enough to still take her gun with her! *hahhahahhaha*

Halfway there she lost the gun mysteriously. It was not to be found till the next day. *hahahaha (hugs the fairies thank you and gives them some tobacco)

I put a hawk feather in her hair, and one in mine. When we get as far as the tractor will make it we unload. Sandy struggling with huge rakes and shovels, and Goddess knows what else, and me and my medicine bag and a little box of bones and stones.

Suddenly a Hawk appears. He sits in the tree right above us and calls out to us. A greeting of �Hello.� Sandy's eyes grow big. I can see her reaching instinctively for that silly gun of hers, but *wink* the fairy's by now have hid it* She then looks, wide eyed, at me like saying. �IT IS A HAWK?�

So yes I tell her, �He is a Spirit Hawk and has come to show her where on her land she wants to put the bones. The Hawk, on that note, swoops down and touches the ground between two tall pine trees. Then he flies a short way off and sits in a tree to guard us during the ceremony.

We take the stuff to the area. A boom box with Native singing and drumming is one thing I am grateful Sandy brought. I turn it on. Get out the smudge and prepare us a circle around the trees so we may do our work. The Hawk watches silently.

When the circle is made and our prayers said. I call the spirits in respectfully. We are ready to dig the earth. Little tiny Sandy takes out this huge shovel and jumps on it. It goes nowhere! �Oh no!� she cries. �We are going to have to hack threw trees roots and do this and that�, and she begins to bring out her arsenal of things.

Laughing as I watch her. �Sandy?� I said. �Yes?� she says. �Can I suggest an easier way?� Since she is exhausted trying to get the arsenal to open the earth she stands back a minute. I take tobacco and knock three times on the earth. I give the tobacco to the earth then ask if I may bury some bones and stones here in this spot, and if the earth is OK with this, will she help me by opening up so the bones may go into the ground?

I began gently with my hands to gently scoop the earth out of a hole. The dirt came out as if it was soft sand. In less than five minutes I had a one foot by two foot hole. Sandy, her mouth opened a bit, watching in amazement. Then we could hear something happening all around us. The Spirits were coming in from every direction. The Hawk called out loudly to announce their arrival.

All around us were Native Spirits. We could see them and hear them chanting. The hair on our necks and arms stood out.

We placed the bones in the ground. �Man my fingers were hurting. Then I got cold chills. �Sandy? I asked. �Do you think these are OUR bones we are burying from another lifetime?�

When I said that I knew myself I was right. We were putting our OWN bones back into the ground. They were taken out with out permission. The stone I so fondly remembered? Turned out to be my Grandfathers stone, from another lifetime, yet touching this lifetime.

There is much more to this story as this barely scratches the surface of the magic that day, and of the blending of realms. When we went to leave the Indian Spirits opened up and let us out. Then closed in again on the bones. So they may never be disturbed again. And, my fingers are no longer cold nor do they hurt.

Seven years later, White man came to Sandy's land. They wanted to take part of her trees to make something there. As the workmen came to take the trees, Sandy told them there was an Indian Burial Ground back there. And that the bones had been raised once and put back in the ground and that she was not responsible for what happened to the workers. They all turned pale and left her land alone. So the bones and the stones and the trees remain untouched for now, from White Man. In peace they rest once again.





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