Spiritual Growth - Morning Star Institute -- Feathered Serpent Medicine Wheel

THE FEATHERED SERPENT MEDICINE WHEEL
The Path of a Divine Human

"With forgiveness our seeds take root and produce the vines that through divine love bear flowers and fruit… with peace and harmony we tend the flowers and pick the fruit and with oneness we eat the fruit and share with all others as brothers and sisters…” Dr. JC Husfelt 1993

The Feathered Serpent is the Archetype of the Divine Human. It is the union of heaven (divine) and earth (human), the divine-human. The Feathered (Precious) Serpent or Plumed-Serpent was known as Quetzalcoatl. As a spiritual teacher, Quetzalcoatl brought to the people the knowledge of the ‘light body’ and the process of symbolic death and re-birth through ritualistic water immersions and was seen as the ‘once and future king’ destined to return when the world was at it's darkest.

The word Quetzalcoatl is derived from Quetzal and Coatl - literally Quetzal Serpent. A Quetzal is a brightly plumed tropical bird with brilliant bronze, green and red plumage. Coatl is the sacred snake whose movements mirror the way that Kundalini energy moves up the spinal column awakening the wheels of light that surround each of the major body centers. When this serpentine energy reaches the pituitary gland, the pineal gland and the crown chakra at the top of the head, we become one with the light of the heavens and the dark of the earth. Quetzal is the sacred bird that connects Earthly power with the Heavenly realms of the universe. Together the Quetzal and the Coatl are the creatures that are closest to the earth and heaven as well as representing the sacred balance of female and male.

Quetzalcoatl was known as Kukulcan by the Mayas, Viracocha by the Incas and Gukumatz by the Quiche Maya. Each was associated with Venus, the Morning Star. According to Frank Waters in his Mexico Mystique:

“Quetzalcoatl was a uniting symbol achieving union of opposites: heaven and earth, morning and evening star, matter and spirit… the transcendental meaning of this great myth is clear. It is an expression of the universal doctrine of sin and redemption, of death and resurrection, the transfiguration of man into god… this myth, in the broadest possible terms, enunciates the principle of all Creation: the incarnation of divine light, purity, and spirituality into gross matter; and then the agonizing redemption of matter by spirituality—the immortal theme of all world religions.”

As ‘masters of ecstasy and transcendence,’ shamans from the Americas honored the earth with a cosmology centered on the four powers—the cardinal directions of the compass. This four-fold path to knowledge, power and healing, known as the Medicine Wheel, enabled the shaman to shed the past, face fear, step beyond death and achieve the mastery of vision.

Divine Humanity’s four-fold pathway is known as the Feathered Serpent Medicine Wheel. However, there is a fifth direction—the Center—that makes our pathway a Quincunx. The quincunx is the most frequently occurring sign in the Mesoamerican symbolic language.

At the center of the medicine wheel, symbolizing the heart at the center of our being, resides the archetypal Feathered Serpent—the Divine Human. Each and every person has the potential to awaken as A Feathered Serpent—A Divine Human—A Sun of God.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT MEDICINE WHEEL

The Serpent Path of the South—Mastery of Release (Forgiveness). This is the path of personal healing where we learn to shed the past and release the emotional entanglements of anger, resentment and guilt. We begin to walk in beauty by reclaiming our power as we become the wounded healer. This is the realm of Forgiveness.

The Jaguar Path of the West—Mastery of Transformation (Death and Re-birth). This is the path of the Mystic Warrior—the Luminous Warrior. It is here where we face our death and step beyond fear and the uncertainty and doubt that lives within us. Here we are re-born as a Luminous Warrior. This is the realm of Divine Love.

The Hummingbird Path of the North—Mastery of Mind (Detachment). This is where we learn the way of the Ancient Ones by stepping outside of time with the death of ego. We live in the timeless now, in a state of awakening unfettered to the past, to fear, or to death. This is the realm of Peace and Harmony. Hummingbirds are sun angels—messengers of light. As the teacher, we take our message of light (knowledge) to the ones shrouded in darkness (ignorance).

The Eagle/Condor Path of the East—Mastery of Vision (Oneness). There is a prophecy from both North American and South American First Nation people: “When the eagle and the condor fly together, the Age of Peace will manifest.” In the East, the Shaman learns to see with his or her heart. It is here where we see thru the illusion of separateness to the reality of oneness. This is the path of the ‘shining being,’ known in old English as Elf. This is where you become ‘Ollin,’ where your heart becomes your face.

The Center - The Fifth Direction: Feathered Serpent—Divine Human—Sun of God—It is in the East where we discover the gateway that leads into the center of the medicine wheel - the Fifth Direction. With an impeccable spirit, one must enter through this gate and travel to the center. It is only in the center where one may finally accept their mantle—as a child of the stars—an elf, a Sun of God—a Feathered Serpent.

THE SERPENT PATH OF THE SOUTH--MASTERY OF RELEASE

If you were to ask me what I felt was the single most important spiritual quality to practice, I would reply by saying—forgiveness. It is the light that pierces the darkness of life and dispels the mists of hatred, anger, guilt and resentment. Forgiveness is the wellspring within the heart and is the cornerstone of love and all spiritual practice. And it is the key that unlocks the doorways to peace—peace within and peace on earth. Just think for a while about the number of times in just one day that forgiveness could be given. Now think about the past and what it is that you are still holding onto that could be released through forgiveness.

Many times in today’s world, forgiveness, as a quality and as a primary spiritual practice, is misunderstood and misrepresented. Pure and simple, forgiveness from God is a given. However, forgiveness between others and us is not. Each one of us has to do our own forgiveness, which also involves asking for forgiveness from others. This provides the means through which we able to take a long hard look at ourselves, our thoughts, words and actions, and thus make the necessary and appropriate behavioral changes. On the other hand, if an institution, such as a church, does the work for us, there is no real incentive to learn from our mistakes or to change our hurtful and dysfunctional behavior.

In down-to-earth terms, forgiveness is one of our divine qualities and allows us to face and eventually let go of what I call, our emotional and mental enemies. Three of these enemies, which attach to our heart and mind, are anger, resentment and guilt. These dissonant emotions, pure and simple, are the chains that bind us and prevent us from being happy. The more that we hold on to these emotions, the stronger the chains become. But freedom is always within reach; freedom is within our heart and mind; freedom is forgiveness. It frees us from the bondage of these emotions and allows us the courage to be fearless. Forgiveness does not condone the wrongdoing of others nor is it about forgetting; it does, however, release us from the emotional prison of the present as well as the past.

Forgiveness is transformational. The flow of forgiveness is always circular, returning to its source—and this source is ourselves. If, however, we do not forgive and hold on to our anger and hurt, the energy of our true loving self becomes blocked and hidden in darkness. To keep hurt and anger alive and fresh is to live a life of bitterness and pain. Resentment, anger, and guilt keep us in the painful past, day after day after day. Over time, this can affect our emotional, as well as our physical and spiritual well-being. These emotions also keep us from self-responsibility, by allowing us to blame others for our own unhappy, unfulfilled lives. We might even hold on to our anger to make others feel guilty. But negative practices such as these merely increase our own guilt and emptiness. All of this eventually leads to hate—the hate of others and the hate of ourselves.

Only by letting go, by the release of our past and our past woundings, can we dispel this hatred and truly begin to embrace the divine unconditional love that lets us be reborn anew, each and every day. As divine humans we are each responsible for the healing of the past and for accepting, in the present, the power of forgiveness and divine love. To achieve this most powerful way of being, we need to face our own darkness and we need to embrace the light of forgiveness that is within us. By embodying this healing power of forgiveness, we will be able to release the ‘baggage’ that no longer serves us.

It takes courage to look within ourselves for the dysfunctional patterns that no longer serve us—patterns that may, in fact, be preventing us from achieving the love, compassion, purity and power that is our soul. Sad to say but many of our negative patterns were established during our childhood and adolescence. Initially an important part of our spiritual work involves healing our relationships with our families.

This type of healing process requires change and transformation, which I realize is an uncomfortable thing for most people. But by accepting change and forgiving, we are able to heal and purify our emotions. By facing our past family relationships and woundings, we can achieve an inner healing, which, in turn, will increase our self-esteem and lead us to enhanced interpersonal relationships at all levels. In short, letting go of our woundings that were incurred growing up, not forgetting but forgiving them, allows us to welcome in a life of happiness, love and compassion.

As I have often said, “Forgiveness is the power of angelic light that illuminates the way for everything else. Ah, if you want to be illuminated and enlightened, then forgive!”

Practice of Spirituality:
7 Steps To A Spiritual Life

Practice of Entering The Path:
Spiritual Teaching

Practice of Forgiveness:
Forgiveness 1, Forgiveness 2, Forgiveness 3