On March 7, 2015, I celebrated my second anniversary of returning to Phoenix to help care for Ricardo’s apartments, which he and I named The Avatar. Within those two short years, I had become somewhat of a carpenter, painter, handyman, gardener, Security Guard, and Property Manager.
Although I wasn’t paid a salary for all my hard work, the opportunity to help provided me with a lovely, quiet home during my connection with the Hopi and gave me free time to come and go as needed. If I had to pick and choose my favorite chore, it had to be gardening. I loved planting something, caring for it, and then watching it become magnificent.
In the two years I was assigned The Avatar’s caretaker, I transformed the property’s appearance from this…
To this.
I loved caring for this place; my love and energy could be felt all over the property.
A week later, on March 28, 2015, I began preparing for my upcoming trip to Hopi. It was the halfway point between the solar eclipse of March 20 and the next lunar eclipse/blood moon of April 4, recalling r the following dream I had several months earlier, back on November 3, 2014.
I stood on the southern edge of Second Mesa at Hopi, looking out over the high desert towards the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff, Arizona. A white figure of a person or being stood on my left, directly behind me. This being instructed me on how to perform a very powerful ritual involving two rattles, one in each hand, shedded snake skins, and following the outline of a diagram the size of a small house sketched into the desert floor. The being had me circle the outline twice.
…I knew it was time to check in with my intuition and finally figure out exactly what I was supposed to do during the next Blood Moon ceremony at Hopi.
Since finding shedded snake skins in the desert was challenging, I decided to be more flexible with the instructions outlined in my dream. After serious consideration, I concluded that I would return to The Transfiguration of Christ Mountain over the next several days to search for and retrieve the shedded snake skins or any item I thought would be appropriate for my upcoming ceremony at Hopi.
March 28, 2015: Since the temperatures in Phoenix were in the mid-90s, twenty degrees above normal for late March, I had to watch for live snakes. According to the local news, they were out in full force, and people were getting bitten all over the city. This made me very nervous.
Thirty minutes into my search, I neared the top of the mountain, and that’s when my biggest fear was realized. I peaked over the edge of a cliff and came face-to-face with a very large Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake. It was nestled in between two rocks facing west. The snake appeared to be warming itself by basking in the setting of the Sun. However, it was so close to my face. When it saw me, it shook its rattle. I was a bit frightened. Nonetheless, I backed away, gave the snake its space, and then continued just a few more yards to the very top of the mountain.
Empty-handed, I began my hike back down the mountain. Since the sun had already set, I wanted to ensure I reached the parking lot before it got too dark so I would not accidentally step on any wandering reptiles. As I was about to enter the parking lot, I came upon my second snake, a young Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.
Snake brought the following wisdom and medicine:
- Messenger of the Rainbow Serpent
- Elusiveness
- Manipulates lightning
- Transmutation
- Exploration of the mysteries of life
- Primitive or elemental energy
- Protection from religious persecution
- Goddess energy
- Psychic energy
- Creative power
- Immortality
- Connection to or forms the magic cord by which the shaman travels to the soul world
While I couldn’t help but wonder if the large snake seen at the top of the mountain was some warning sign from the Universe, I felt like the sighting of both snakes had something to do with my dream and was somehow related to the snake skins. I felt almost sure that their appearance played a very significant role in the task at hand, nothing more than to make me focus and be aware.
Spiritually, I believed that seeing a poisonous snake meant one thing, while being bitten by one meant something completely different. Since I still had four more days of combing The Transfiguration of Christ Mountain for the items to use in my ceremony, I knew I had to be extremely careful.
March 29, 2015: Around 5:40 PM, I began combing the mountain’s east side for snake skins. I started at the bottom and worked my way to the top. Before I began combing the mountain, I decided to bring with me a very long stick. I used the stick to beat the bushes directly before me as I hiked across the mountain’s surface. I also invoked the angels for protection against all venomous snakes.
Once again, I came up empty-handed. However, I came across the carved stone I had left on the mountain sixteen months earlier, on November 5, 2013. I decided to use this for my ceremony at Hopi.
March 30, 2015: I began combing the mountain’s south side around 5:50 PM. I started at the bottom of the mountain and once again worked my way to the top. As soon as I began my search, I was greeted by a tiny bird that appeared to be curious about my presence and the purpose of my visit.
I acknowledged the bird and then continued with my task at hand. As I continued combing the mountain, I still could not find any snake skins, but I came across the carved stone I had left on the south side of the mountain on November 7. I found it very interesting that the stone had been discovered and moved from its original placement, and whoever discovered it then chose to leave it out in the open. This discovery fascinated me for some reason. I continued my search for snake skins.
What happened next fascinated me even more. While combing the mountain, I came across another of the carved stones I had left from the last day of my 36 prayers, which I had placed on the very top of the mountain on November 8, 2013. What fascinated me most about finding this particular stone was that I came across it all. It had been moved from its original location at the very top of the mountain and placed in a secret spot on the southwest corner. And I could tell that whoever moved it did so with great care and respect. This touched my soul on a deep level.
While the sun continued to set, I continued my search for the ever-elusive snake skins, but all I could come up with was a wandering Harvestman who appeared to be scavenging the mountain for food.
And then, just before I reached the top of the mountain, I came across a cigar that had been thrown down on the ground.
Tobacco was perfect for Native American ceremonies. Happy with my find, I stood around for a brief moment to take in the sunset…
And then headed back down the mountain towards the parking lot.
March 31, 2015: Around 5:50 PM, I began combing the mountain’s west side for snake skins. I started at the bottom of the mountain and worked my way to the top. As I set out on my walkabout, I couldn’t help but notice the moon hanging overhead. On this day, I could not find any snake skins, but I did find a small plastic water bottle with a hole in the bottom. I picked up the bottle and continued to the top of the mountain. The plastic water bottle would be the fourth item for my ceremony.
April 1, 2015: It was time to return to the mountain to leave offerings for the items I had taken over the last four days. Even though I could not find any snake skins during my exercise, I was ready to return to Hopi.
This was the day that The Transfiguration of Christ Mountain appeared to me as a pyramid.
