"Raven Magic/Odyssey"
This is the final painting in a series of three representing my roundtrip journey to the Havasupai Native American Reservation. The first two paintings were Smoke Signals/Queen of the Night and Guardian Angel. Raven Magic/Odyssey illustrates the return journey from the bottom of the Havasupai Canyon to the top plateau. We had completed an arduous thirty-five mile journey to the Colorado River and back to our campsite. We were exhausted. On the morning of our exit out of the canyon (our final fifteen miles), we overslept. Four A.M. was the intended departure time. Because of lack of sleep and fatigue we started two hours later. The heat was already intense. This late start set the stage for our next set of energy lessons from Spirit.

I reminded my friend to take plenty of water at the last waterhole. As we began our ascent out of the canyon, we noticed the powerful rock formations. We decided to play a game and imagine we were invisible. Several people passed without noticing us. A Native American on horseback was coming up the canyon with a broad smile on his face. As his expanded energy field stretched, it came into contact with our energy fields and touched us. He then turned toward us and smiled. He was teaching us a practical lesson in energy. As one radiates an expanded energy field, these energies merge with others. There is connection.

As I painted Raven Magic, this Native American on horseback magically appeared on the canvas I was painting. He is above the woman’s head.

As we rested in our invisible spot, ravens started to gather around us and sit on nearby rocks. Raven means magic in the Native American tradition. They sat briefly with us and then flew further up the canyon as if to beckon us on. They were telling us not to linger, because the temperatures were going to soar above 110 degrees. Each time we moved further up the canyon, we would find a place to rest and the ravens gathered around us. Again, they sat with us briefly, and flew further up the canyon to wait for us. They were pacing us!

When we got into the widening of the canyon, the ravens discontinued pacing us and flew away. I experienced tremendous fear of heat exhaustion and subsequent death. My friend then informed me that she ran out of water. I then realized that we both set ourselves up to learn another energy lesson. We started to ration the remaining water between mouth and forehead to cool down. I visualized a shield of protection from the heat. All of a sudden I felt cooler and more energized. It seemed as if the extreme heat could not reach my inner core to harm me. Spirit was teaching me to wear a shield when exposed to heat or external pressures. The sun and heat represented the masculine energy. When protected by the sparse shady places, we could be in the receptive feminine mode to draw in more energy.

In the painting the woman is in the receptive, appearing to be birthing new energy. The hot rocks are actually protecting her. In life, when under pressure or in the spotlight, this painting reminds me not to allow anyone or any situation to get to my core.