Old Wisdom.

Dark and forbidden by John Santerineross

Self Betrayal by Gerbie Pabilonia 

posed by Sahara Isidro Perez.

The chambers of thought from within climb over and above doubt in one's self only by choice. It is always a choice. Choice makes its way into a path we follow, or create. It is magic the way this works for the good, but the tragedies otherwise coming from bad choices unleash our shadows into the awareness of others. Shadows and light. They are calling us to ourselves. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 3/12/18

shadow of a woman.

Gangsta Chicks!

Gangsta chicks posing for Roland Dawson's camera. 

Women in the 'Game' are invaluable studying why things have fallen apart in the development from adolescence to adulthood. Casting the divinity of security within the Divine Femininity for the rude, crude corruption of low level masculinity aside has created inexplicable crimes men dare not do! 

The most recent event national news is talking about and horrified by occurred in Chicago, Illinois, the first week of September 2017. A 36 year old Black woman, from the feel of jealousy, got a man to rape her romantic competition while the much younger woman was unconscious; filmed it, and posted it on Snap Chat. The victim found out she'd been raped seeing the film on her Snap Chat page.  

Crude masculinity exchanged for access to the gangsta life submits women's bodies to sexual subjugation in ways that would get the men locked up; but these women don't care! They take it like a champ, and submit to their gang rapes, and arise dripping with men's semen, and assume command of the beast birthed within. How does any authority fight this force? It is a vicious comparison but one should take the look, and plunge into thinking about the 'whys' of Arab women, who strap bombs to their bodes, to kill American soldiers in their war torn countries, while pregnant! 

Gangsta chicks pose by Roland Dawson. Chelly Minyon Martin, Zaria Fortson-Linton, Ayanna Yan'Model Best and Faith Coffield surrounding the leader.

Women in the 'Game' are invaluable studying why things have fallen apart in the development from adolescence to adulthood. Casting the divinity of security within the Divine Femininity for the rude, crude corruption of low level masculinity aside has created inexplicable crimes men dare not do! Capturing a glimpse of it in this photograph toys with social responsibilities Elders, we don't have enough of, have developing through initiation of children into adults. Initiation is no longer part of the equations of developing children along the lines of who they are, and what their spirits need to grow into their authentic selves. Instead, we rely on modalities created by a people, whose inability to develop their own has merged with our brokenness developed in our relationship with them!

It is a lot to say, and there is more; but I revisit your photos, and they stir serious thoughts. I can't image you not being a serious man. Your serious work is powerfully capturing the elements of a people in need of self-reflection to move on to the next right step! - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 9/6/17 

SISTERHOOD

Wild Woman Sisterhood

Wild Woman with Wilds Cats

“To win the Wildish Woman’s Heart, a mate would understand her natural duality through and through. Anyone close to a Wildish Woman is in fact in the presence of two women; an outer being and an interior criatura, one who lives in the topside world, one who lives in the world not so easily seeable. The outer being lives by the light of day and is easily observed. She is often pragmatic, acculturated, and very human. The criatura, however, often travels to the surface from far away, often appearing and then as quickly disappearing, yet always leaving behind a feeling: something surprising, original, and knowing.”

~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes

artist unknown
Sept. 17, 2013

Apache women
late 1800's

In traditional Apache culture, the most important Ceremonial event for women is the 'coming of age' Ceremony, or Isanaklesh Gotal. This four-day ceremony endows young women with the power of Isanaklesh, the female Apache deity. The Ritual transforms the girl to a Woman and teaches her the responsibilities she must meet as a good Apache woman.

This is also know as the 'Menarche Ritual' - anon

WHAT IS SAID IS DONE

artist Karen Hallion - the Wicked Witch

"I am indeed a fanatic and I am inclined toward destruction as well as construction. There is hatred in my heart for that which my detractors sanctify, and love for that which they reject. And if I could uproot certain customs, beliefs, and traditions of the people, I would do so without hesitation. When they said my books were poison, they were speaking truth about themselves, for what I say is poison to them. But they falsified when they said I mix honey into it, for I apply the poison full strength and pour it from transparent glass. Those who call me an idealist becalmed in clouds are the very ones who turn away from the transparent glass they call poison, knowing that their stomachs cannot digest it." - Kahlil Gibran 

Karen Hallion

July 3, 2012

Shadow of DARKNESS

the women we love we understand to be co-conspirators.
April 11, 2013

MYSTIQUE & WELLNESS

“... the mystery & mystique of a woman is developed by her for her. It is an early teaching coming from the exchange between daughter and mother, daughter and aunts and grandmothers. Outside of the natural context of development other arrangements have been made. One of the intriguing elements of a woman's mystique comes from what was stolen, and what was gleaned from great silences, and profound sadness. Mystique itself is mysterious. It is a mysterious form of retreat and access.” © Gregory E. Woods 4.15.13

CB Photography
April 29, 2013
model Emily B.
photographer Chris Barnes

"There is joy here. Capturing it is easy in life, embracing it is easy as a child, and loving it is gracious within a mature person." - Gregory E. Woods 5.14.13

early WOMANHOOD

Ashley from Ryche Guerrero's BOUDOIR series
The Prints Charming

Early womanhood is frankly honest.

by Jonathan Irvin for Enigma Fotos
October 3, 2013

"The dream of night is much unlike the dreams of day when the Sun peoples the land with possibilities and shows how to live, or see one's worth, and purpose. How the darkness intrudes upon the light is dependent upon the mood of the person dreaming, and trying not to be responsible for the story from the dream dreamt day or night." - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 10.13.13

Betwix DARK & LIGHT

The story that sparked this reaction in me is about a New York city school teacher who a policeman arrested because he assumed the man had smoked a cigarette with marijuana in it... Read the story yourself. 

a grim spectre. photo by  Sam Hodges
July 29, 2013 

"Having lived in and visited countries that were police states it is astounding how easily it has been for American citizens to relinquish their legendary freedoms and fighting spirit. It was avoidable, but Americans at this time in history are deeply committed to being consumers and have developed a penchant for being afraid and making decisions based upon fear and denial . It is sad, but it could easily have been avoided. Momentum towards a police state is growing, but there is enough of an opportunity to regain integrity and become a free people instead of remaining sheep-like.

Speaking of sheep how much of this change of consciousness is related to the religion that encourages followers to become like sheep in need of a Shepherd?" - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 12.19.13

model, Kim Thomas July 2012 in the woods in white wedding gown by Sam Hodges. 

A better quality image:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/68992703@N07/7623986500/in/photostream



... I know a man, a white man who would daily walk within two blocks of the White House smoking a joint. He got away with it, he told me, because the police would not stop an older white man in a $400 suit smoking a rolled joint. He said I couldn't do it. "You're suspicious from the beginning."

My friend wouldn't let me walk with him smoking a cigar because he said I attracted unnecessary attention to him. So, we agreed to meet in a park near the White House on I Street, NW and talk while I smoked my cigar, and he his 'weed'! - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories

Black WOMEN telling stories

The strong image of Black women is strong within my thinking about things that need to be thought of in the light and the scope of what their essence embodies within my purposes in life. Intertwined with mine are the story lines of existence we trail from a common point of time, and of geography to a present day condition with limits on our image together, and the actuality of combining forces to be together in theory and practice. It is the together piece that is difficult to ascribe to in personal relationships because of belief, the tasks of survival, and the things, like magic, that often have to be set aside to get ahead, and that is an illusion itself because magic is the elixir, and dreams are the channel, and action is the movement we need to come together and be together. ~ Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 5.14.13

CB Photography is Chris Barnes

April 29, 2013

model: Andrea Moné

... big Black woman at the beach in scuba outfit. Must be an adventurous soul.

Andrea Moné

Chris Barnes, photographer

I understand the depths of shadows and dark brooding lines in there. But, it is the depth of darkness we come from we fear most in the relationships we need and pursue, and there is the fear of what lies deep in the darkness of our surroundings, and within our souls. Those are journeys we must make, steps we must take to see the light darkness leads towards. How else can a dream come to light, a bird come to alight after a long day into the somberness of night time, or the adventurer know the end of a path and the beginning of another? ~ Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 5.14.13

Black gentle woman on a bridge

Andrea Moné

Chris Barnes, photographer

black couple naked

"What are the symbols she is resting upon? What symbols do our lives rest upon?"

Our foundations rest upon the strength of the symbols we are founded upon as an entity, and the symbols that define and direct our thinking, thus our words themselves are symbols of who we are. 

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks..." my mother often quoted when addressing a problem created by my spoken words. It rivaled against the absurdity of the old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!" 

As a child I depended upon the words my mother and father shared with me. They entered me, took root and grazed and fed me until I became the words I nurtured." ~ Gregory E. Woods 5.14.13 

Black Diva conservative

Black actress Aisha Tyler smoking a cigar is as sexy as her necklace challenges the notion of God, the look in her eye dares the senses, and the contrast in her projected personality against the facts of her life that contradict the formula many Blacks deem necessary to be Black make her funny, interesting, compelling and desirable to be around.- Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 11.22.13 

FACE our truths

a dark beauty in cave

HOLY INVENTION

3.11.13

"From the darkness I came and brought forth light. From the darkness we came, and we held on to each other's embrace as one living Being breathing together as one. From darkness came the idea of shadows from where we could stand to gaze into the light of day, and wonder how to live. From darkness we were birthed from Water to Light, and into the darkness we plunged first as misfits and emerged as Holy Ones." - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 7.27.13

SKIN WALKERS & Shadows

Legend of the Skinwalker 
~Ql

Most societies have folklores and legends of witches, werewolves, Sasquatch, and creatures that walk amongst us. The Navajo Indians or Deni’ people have Skin walkers. They are those who trot along here and there on all fours, those who change skins depending on powers they seek, those who follow the ‘Witchery Way’, the ones that the Navajo people defer from talking about for fear of reprisal. The Skin Walkers are the Witches Witch, the Highest Priest or Priestess who turns evil, who practice cannibalism and necrophilia, those who are no longer human – but are profound deviants – pure evil.

Yeenaaldlooshii, as the Navajo call Skinwalkers, literally means “it that walks/travels like an animal – He who trots along here and there on all fours.” It is said that skin walkers transform into the animal they want to utilize particular powers from. The skinwalker dons the fur of the animal while un-clothed underneath, and the transformation begins. A variety of animals are favored: the bear for strength, coyote for speed and cunning, wolf for heightened sense of sight, hearing and smell, cat for stealth and agility, and so forth. Any animal can be chosen. Yet when the skinwalker transforms they never get the gait and the rhythm of the animals walk exactly right, so it is said they can be tracked while they are traveling on the ground just not when soaring with the vultures.

Besides transforming into animals, the skinwalker has other powers. He/she can read your mind, control your mind, bring forth disease, destroy your home, even cause death. Trained in both physical medicine for the body and spiritual medicine for the spirit, they wrap the two tightly together in their practice. Most are trained high priests or priestess who then choose to follow the skinwalker’s path. Initiation into this deviant life is normally through killing a member of their immediate family, usually a sibling. They believe this provides them access to the powers of the skinwalker. Not all Navajo witches are skinwalkers, but all skinwalkers are witches.

Transformation to animals is not the only power the skinwalker has. They can sound like a baby crying or like any animal to get one’s attention, and they have their potions and spells. They use a mixture some call “corpse powder”, others call an immobilization powder, to blow into their prey’s face. This powder causes the tongue to turn black and swell, then convulsions, paralysis, and eventually death. Corpse powder is believed to be ground human infant bones which are powdered and made into a potion. Sometimes if the skinwalker chooses to target a whole family, the powder will be poured down the chimney or smoke hole of a home onto the waiting fire below. This brings sickness and possible death to all who are within.

Revenge and jealousy are the motivation for skinwalkers. The only ways to be rid of a skinwalker is to hire an expensive good medicine man to cleanse your home and perform ceremonies for protection. The only other way the Navajo get rid of the skinwalkers is by learning their identities and calling out the full name of the skinwalker. It is believed the skinwalker will then die in about three days. The Navajo say to shoot the skinwalker with bullets dipped in white ash. This doesn’t usually kill them, but when the skinwalker returns in everyday dress, the gunshot wounds make him/her recognizable so they can call out the skinwalker’s full name and destroy the evil amongst them. - Luis Aguilar

Native History. Myths And Legends
a skin walker

Win I do not know for sure Luis but I know that we, in my house, have experienced or rather have been experiencing the works of a shadow person and the clearing and cleansing of my house is not yet complete. I am not the target, my husband is. He still has a burn on his back healing from it. He was sitting on the couch next to me and he just started to squirm. I asked him what was wrong and he said it felt like his back was on fire. I looked, he had a shirt on and I didn't see any sort of burn mark or hole in the shirt. Then I raised his shirt and it looked like somebody took a cigarette and held it to his back just moments before I looked, there was a very clear burn. 2 days later you could see the initials in it... JM... like some sort of brand. He gets scratched and attacked both while awake and while sleeping. It scares me and I can't shake the sense that he's being attacked because he is with me.

Now you know exactly why I read this and just about crapped my pants haha. I live right by the Trail of Tears but also in an area ripe with slave history which ties in with the hoodoo. In hoodoo it is a live person who creates the shadow person, they are created in anger to get revenge and gain power and when their creator passes to the next world they become the shadow person and will continue to feed off the living picking and choosing their targets as they go.

I have had much to ponder and now you've given me a little bit more to think about. - Pam Omnica Ikhan



The Wall Group

Photographed by David Schulze for
 Surface Magazine, April '13. Hair by Seiji.

How deep does sadness go?

Shadow of the soul

Theory of Evolution in practice

MY DARK TIME

December of 1995 I had $40 in my pocket, a one-way Greyhound bus ticket to Florida, pain and deep disappointment in my heart, the pain of two dead children, a simmering rage, and a dream of who I am today trembling within me the way heat shimmers above a desert floor. Deep down inside me I knew this dream would birth itself, and I knew the midwives would be in attendance. It wasn't the easiest of times. It was my Dark Time. From there I evolved with help, lots of help! - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 9.15.12

SACRED STORY: dark insane

by Photokappa 

"Emotions live in desolate, empty spaces and in the open grasslands with endless arrays of colors and sequences of events creating more space, and pathways from one state of being to another until we feel we can take in the whole universe and have room for more..." - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 

https://www.facebook.com/photoKAPPA 

"There were many nights I lived in deep depressions. My sorrow invited nefarious creatures large and small into my dwellings where lived, what I loved, who I loved, what I needed and who needed me to have a full mind. There were children, and children's voices that sounded like mine, but incapable of leaving the dark places I watched TV, sometimes for nine or more hours straight with no chaser, or I would walk for days with a little food on my stomach, and a lot on my mind. Each episode and commercial I watched sealed a timeless message to my soul I could discern, but not read. It was madness I feared, and madness I resisted with the words, and memories of powerful entities I'd known all of my life speaking beyond languages into my being to what I was created for.

The medicinal powers of ancient rituals, songs, and ancestors do leave voices imbued with tested powers to restrain mind darkness. It happened often enough in those dark days, and I lived to tell those stories to the insanity of the times we live in today, and to those near insanity in parks, and churches, and living rooms or standing on streets poised to hurt or kill someone they know not!

"Freedom is on your breath. Freedom is in your mind, on your breath; inhale exhale."  - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories

thus teacheth the DARKNESS

DARKNESS into light

I don't think darkness is only the mere absence of light. I see darkness as the process of and the beginning of Creation. It is the sacred place of Introspection and Rebirth. Darkness is terrifying to be clear, and darkness can make it terrifying to be clear. But it is also revealing the way light plays with darkness creating shadows, the grey areas of our lives, of our thoughts.

I have never expressed darkness as you have so beautifully, and done so elegantly saying, "It's darkness that teaches the beauty of light." Nor have I expressed darkness the way Dal-Ham W. Payton does saying: "Darkness give birth to Light itself. There are 2 Elements found everywhere in the Cosmos. They are Darkness=Carbon(C) and Water (H2O). They are fundamental foundations for all living organisms. Darkness isn't bad, it is a physiological play on words."

I never thought of it as a play on words because I have spent so much time in the forest late at night absorbing, and immersing myself in intrigue, and moonlight, and stalking during a time I was hunting wild dogs alone, or listening to the peace of growth as a young father exploring the realms of consciousness having babies opened to me. On second thought darkness, light, Life, and all elements are the manifestation of words, and play does create the proper amount of friction, or tension to create. I guess there is merit to the assertion.

Dal-Ham W. Payton continues with a line of thought pure in its linear qualities I can better stand to hear and contemplate after my other worldly experiences with the dark of the forest, and the sacred Lodges, and the darkness of in my soul. His words, " Scientist’s today are enthusiastically researching various things that are mystical and intriguing: Dark(Black) Holes, Dark Matter, Dark Energy and Dark Flow. What great mysteries are they diligently searching for?” His observations pull the divine, somehow, into focus. – Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 1.6.13

 thus teacheth the DARKNESS...

Cassandra Peterson (Elvira)

dark sky dark water

“People in or near cities don't feel the dark of night or know the unique feeling of the embrace of star brightness. Planets, and the phases of the moon viewed in the mountains, the forests, the open grasslands, or at sea create a sensation within the body unduplicated by pharmaceuticals. Without the experience the intimacy captured in a photo does not breathe! It reflects. Being within darkness, and under the heaviness of nighttime illuminated by stars, and planets is the mystery of being in the present, the past and the future in the one moment. It is a powerful mystery to allow into the body when you are outdoors, and vulnerable to the unseen watching you from their perspectives above and below.” – Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 10/6/11

BLUE LIGHT BLUE FLOWER

“The blue light calmed people’s homes, and assured night creatures of the soul with the knowledge of imminent danger. The blue appeared to be a balm, but nefarious creatures were distracted from their tasks by the pull towards righteous light, bearing and integrity. It was disturbing the power of blue, of light, and the stillness evoked by its presence confused dark sorceress. Most living beings did not question its source, or wonder long into the night of their souls, or their memories where blue light came from or why it settled in certain flowers. The Magi did, and men and women of various cultures saw blue light amongst other lights cast throughout great forests as the first idea from God, and others thought blue light was the strand, the life line between the Goddess and the God she birthed into existence.” – Gregory E. Woods



photo: blue flower from Zatiti Ema's gallery

Kim Kardashian's news flash !!!!

Kim Kardashian's exotic mysterious look 2

"Dear black one-shoulder dress, I am officially retiring you. We had a good run, and it was fun while it lasted, but it is time we went our separate ways! Thanks for the memories! xo Kim." - Kim Kardashian

The depth and nature of our culture's malaise is evident in the urgency of this morning's news flash. If we had the prerequisite insights of powerful people it would easily be caught and a news agency would be chastised for attaching such importance to this against the vast contradictions of an event occurring in Washington DC this weekend. Conservative talk show host, Glenn Beck will be speaking at the Kennedy Center this Friday, the 27th of August. His site asks Americans to “Join Glenn Beck for an inspiring look at the role faith played in the founding of America and the role it will play again in its destiny. The audience for the event will be overwhelmingly made up of pastors, ministers and clergy: a modern day Black Robe Regimen. Tickets will be made available to the general public at no cost.

So, if you are sick and tired of hearing about how divided America has become, then join us for an eye-opening evening at the historic Kennedy Center in Washington, DC on Friday, August 27 that will help heal your soul. Guided by uplifting music, nationally-known religious figures from all faiths will unite to deliver messages reminiscent to those given during the struggles of America's earliest days. The event will leave you with a renewed determination to look past the partisan differences and petty problems that fill our airwaves and instead focus our shared values, principles and strong belief that faith can play an essential role in reuniting the country.”


In and of itself, at face value, it is noble, patriotic, caring, and selfless but the deep senses of many are chilled by what is behind door number #1. African-Americans with a strong memory, and a fine sense of self and history are alarmed at the similarity of the dogma of white conservative religious connections to suppression, subjection, and the tomes of white supremacy that fueled resistance to the Negro vote just a few decades ago. Native Americans hear Glenn Beck’s use of the term Black Robe Regimen and the bitter conquest of Indian nations, and American government, education, and religious policy to remove the Indian from his soul through schools, and churches awakens those who suffered through that system.


Intelligent Americans, in general, independent thinkers, agnostics, Democrats, etc. have not suspended informed introspection for the reactionary tone, and closed spirituality of the American Evangelical Christian movement that compelled thousands of conservative Christians to the nations capital. Millions of Glenn Beck’s followers cannot grasp the chasm between their beliefs, and the Jesus they follow and pattern their lives after. Their inability to embrace the concept of sacred ground has baffled and killed thousands of Iraqi citizens, and pushed some Muslim women to their edges and they turned themselves, pregnant or not, into bombs and killed people, as a sacrifice, against the uncaring, cold calculating indifference of an invading force on the ancient land that once housed the Garden of Eden. Unable to see the sacredness in their religion’s holy land Islamic freedom fighters recognize there are no boundaries the ‘invaders’ will honor as Americans convince themselves they are defending America in Iraq.


Dark spirituality has a hold on American politics, and millions of good Christians don’t recognize it as they try to live their lives with Jesus as their master. Ignorant of Jesus’ teachers, the initiatory tradition he went through, and the books, and practices he studied in his early life never touched Christian education. Without it this rally needs the attention, the loving, non-judgment of Wisdom Keepers, Light workers, Healers, and strong Elders to be in attendance. This assembly in the nation’s capital needs the prayers and the spiritual support of elevated souls. Did we not ascend from those ranks to become who we are today? They are our relatives who care enough to make a stance in a dark time.


These are my words. I am Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories

Glenn Beck with his children

CREATION STORY: How the Sun was made

The woman who fell down from Heaven was unhappy on the Great Island. She was alone. There was no one to whom she could speak. She wept & wrung her hands. She was sorry she said she had done wrong. She had lost her country. She had lost her husband. She wanted to go back to the land above the sky.

One day Hoo-Wa'neh heard her weeping. She was lost wife. He had great pity for her, he could not take her back to the sky land, but he told her what to do.

The woman did just as he said. She went into the hills. She came to a place where tall trees grew; it was like a beautiful park. A clear, swift river ran there, and the leaning trees along the blank made shadows on the water. From the hill the woman looked far off. She saw an Indian lodge in a clump of trees on the river bank. From its top rose the smoke of a fire. She came to the door, and sat on a stone before its door. A woman came out to speak to her. It was her mother ... She had been there by Hoo-Wa' neh. So the woman lived with her mother & was happy.


Before the woman came, all the lower World was dark. Now the Woman was its light! But when she went into the lodge, darkness fell again all over the earth.


From the Archives of Blue Panther, Keeper of Stories

Origin of Light - Inuit

In early times, there was only darkness; there was not light at all. At the edge of the sea a woman lived with her father. One time she went out to get some water. As she was scraping the snow, she saw a feather floating toward her. She opened her mouth and the feather floated in and she swallowed it. From that time she was pregnant.

Then she had a baby. It's mouth was a raven's bill. The woman tried hard to find toys for her child. In her father's house was hanging a bladder that was blown up. This belonged to the woman's father. Now the baby, whose name was tulugaak (raven), pointed at it and cried for it. The woman did not wish to give it to him but he cried and cried. At last she gave in and took the bladder down from the wall and let the baby play with it. But in playing with it, he broke it. Immediately, it began to get light. Now there was light in the world, and darkness, too.

When the woman's father came home, he scolded his daughter for taking he bladder down from the wall and giving it to the child. And when it was light, tulugaak disappeared.

This isn't a creation story in its purest form, but it is somewhat of an origin myth. It reflects the geography of the Inuit, who would have no sunlight for months, and the patriarchal nature of their society.