THE MOUNTAINFARMER SPIRIT
Some of the mountain farmers in the Alps embody qualities that have faded quite a bit into the background in today's world. Above all, this is a healthy common sense. The ability to think for oneself and put things into practice. This works remarkably well through the strong rootedness that one practically acquires naturally when living in the mountains. A very strong down-to-earth attitude and an appreciation of humanity, of quality, and of things that come from the heart and therefore have substance.
The mountain farmer spirit also embodies simplicity and contentment. Breaking away from ideas about how things are supposed to be is part of it as well. Although there are certainly some views that remain unchanged, the mountain farmer spirit can still lighten things up time and again with a certain sense of humour and mischief. It is therefore closely connected to the Howagoas.
When necessary, the mountain farmer can also be strict, as certain boundaries and values need to be upheld. After all, there is common sense.
They know hard work just as well as times of celebration and joy in life, considering both equally important.
Mountain farmers are closely connected to the rhythm of nature, naturally also through agriculture, growth and the harvest. A great knowledge of medicinal plants, as well as of animals and their symbolism, is usually a matter of course.
Plants are treated as animated beings, and mountain farmers are very much aware that it does the plants good when you talk to them and treat them well. In this way, they can blossom and grow magnificently.
There is an immense diversity of species on the farmer's land. It is a place where the fox and the hare say goodnight to each other. Squirrels, badgers, roe deer and red deer roam the forests, along with a wide variety of birds of prey, such as golden eagles, buzzards, owls and falcons. The farmer interacts with all these animals, observes them, learns from them or even communicates with them on a spiritual and soulful level – entirely in the spirit of shamanism.
The exchange with mountain farmers is valuable in relation to landscape mythology. They are aware that the land carries information and that certain energies influence both the personal field and the collective field. Dialect, as well as the names of places, rivers and mountains, also reveal a great deal about the energetic quality of the land and even about its Neolithic history.
A special aspect is also the local legends, myths and regional customs, which one can access in a unique way through the mountain farmer spirit, as many of these things look back on a long and rich history of experience within farming families.
At our gatherings of the Spirit of Wolf Union, or generally at fire rituals throughout the year, the mountain farmer spirit is therefore almost always firmly present. The exchange between shamans and mountain farmers falls on fertile ground, allowing things to grow and enabling both sides to learn from one another.
The mountain farmer brings the qualities mentioned above into the sacred ritual space and is thus able to bring these qualities forth in others through their very presence. In this sense, they are a healer and transformer in their own unique way.
Meivaehring!
