Sacred Spirit

"Sacred Spirit," 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas panel

What is "sacred"?

Historically from the Middle Ages, it's linked in Latin and other languages with sanctification, saint; it implies connection with the divine. The meaning has changed over the years, its application broadening. 

A better question is "What is sacred to you?" It belongs to no one religious or cultural belief, and symbolizes many things. It probably varies with every person, even without religious or spiritual meanings.

The more I read of Native American beliefs and cultures, the more impressed I am. If there is a symbol of the heritage of those people, to me it is the bison, the American buffalo.

Foremost in their spiritual heritage is the white buffalo, and their beliefs hold meaning we need today in this chaotic time. Only about one in ten million buffalo will be born white, according to science.

What is more impressive to me is what the Lakota and others believe, from stories almost 2,000 years old. I found this on the American Indian College Fund blog:

"The Lakota and other tribes believed that a white buffalo is the most sacred living thing on earth... .

"The American buffalo or bison is a symbol of abundance and manifestation... The birth of a sacred white buffalo is a sign of hope and an indication of good times to come. For many American Indians, the birth of a white buffalo calf is the most significant of prophetic signs... ."

The Lakota term for the white buffalo is "tatanka," and sacred or divine-- "Wakan Tanka."

That's the spirit and inspiration behind today's acrylic painting. In the middle of these political, biological and environmental turmoil, we need some good omens of good times to come.

Spiritual Encounter

"Spiritual Encounter," 5 x 5 acrylic on canvas

There are times when you come "face-to-face," for an earth-bound lack of a more appropriate word, with something beyond physical reality.

You just feel it, or know it, or wonder, whenever that "eye-contact" happens. It might be a butterfly, a bird hovering too close, or something else you just can't explain. For me, I always get a sense of it when I see the eyes of a what, or a bison, though you can't get too close. 

Given our heritage, I don't think that's surprising. I don't question the native American reverence for the spiritual strength of a rare white buffalo. Thus, this painting, finished today. Soon at In Your Eye Studio  in Paseo Arts District

When the Spirit Moves you

Getting started, 5 x 5 acrylic on canvas board

Sometimes you need magic, something beyond the ordinary to move you to breathe, to think, to live, to create.

Trying to come up with a composition for an Oklahoma landscape today lead down empty roads on the Great Plains, and into my imagination.

I, and countless others have painted bison, the iconic symbol of the American West. I will do so again, on a larger canvas. But today I ran across photos and articles about the Native American spirit bison, the White Buffalo.

So here's the start. Much more to come, out of the mist of snow and the past and spirits.