In early January 2009, a dozen or so practitioners of diverse earth-spirit paths initiated a year of earth healing ceremonies focused in the Guadalupe Watershed. At the far southern end of San Francisco Bay, the 170-square-mile drainage of the Guadalupe River includes the site of the most productive mercury mine in United States history, a sacred mountain (Mt. Umunhum) whose summit is currently off limits to the public due to lead and asbestos toxicity, numerous dams on all creeks of any size, and nearly a million largely urban and suburban South Bay residents. In addition to these ecological stressors, in recent decades practitioners of earth spirituality have focused less ritual attention in the Guadalupe watershed than more frequented ceremonial sites such the East Bay hills, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, or the city of San Francisco. Our circle began with the shared understanding that our efforts to establish trust and alliance with the spirits of place in this historically desecrated watershed would require patience, tenacity, and abundant heartfelt offerings.
Guadalupe Watershed, Southern end of San Francisco Estuary
One year and over twenty ceremonies later, more magic and beauty has come from our weaving with the land than any of us could have imagined. The mining history of Alamden Quicksilver County Park in combination with nearby Mt. Umunhum, a sacred peak desecrated by a toxic, abandoned Air Force Base, served as opportunities for participants to learn how to co-create rituals of earth healing and repair in an area of human abuse and neglect. Our core circle convened once a month for a full day of ceremony, and we complemented these monthly gatherings with open community events like river clean-ups, purification lodges, and other rituals.
We spent the first half of the year in the highlands on and around Mt. Umunhum and thesecond half winding our way along Los Gatos and Guadalupe Creeks, through downtown San Jose to the Guadalupe River, and eventually out to San Francisco Bay. Before each day-long circle, one or more of us walked the land, listening for guidance about what would be welcome and supportive to the spirits of place in the gathering to follow. We then brought these messages back to the larger group to assist us in preparing for that month’s ceremony. During our gatherings, we sang, drummed, prayed, cleaned up trash, made offerings to the spirits of the land, engaged in direct visioning with and for the local beings, shared personal stories and dreams, and sometimes established natural shrines or altars to anchor and amplify various healing intentions.The narrative below highlights the winter season of our year of earth rituals and weaving community in the Guadalupe Watershed.
Winter: Consecrating an Oboo for Earth Healing
New Alamaden Quicksilver Mine just south of San Jose was the site of the largest mercury mine in North American from the 1850′s until the 1970′s. The mining operation included the extraction of nearly 85 million pounds (over 40,000 tons) of liquid mercury and the carving out of over 45 miles of mining tunnels. The mercury was primarily used to separate gold from its corresponding ore during the Gold Rush and in this way the mines at New Almaden came into being through a hunger for wealth that showed little regard for the Native peoples and the Holy Earth here in California.
In 2010 the entire Bay Area ecology, from human beings to microorganisms, continues to feel the effects of mercury pollution, and the Guadalupe River remains the number one single source of mercury entering the San Francisco Estuary. With this history in mind, we offered our first season of healing ceremonies at the former mines. After spending a day in January on Mt. Umunhum along the upper Barlow Rd trail bringing offerings to the mountain and seeking guidance for our year of ceremonies, we spent two full days in February and March at Almaden Quicksilver County Park, specifically on Mine Hill, an epicenter of the mining activity.
Opening in the Earth at Mine Hill
We offered a full day of healing ritual in February for the human ancestral presence on the land, specifically for those who died in mining accidents or from mercury poisoning. This also included paying respect to indigenous Ohlone ancestors whose rich cultures and ways of life were massively disrupted from Spanish arrival in the 1770’s throughout the entire Gold Rush period. Then in March we returned to present abundant offerings and ritual apologies to the many spirits whose bodies are the land there (e.g., the Earth spirit, mineral beings, water spirits, plants and animal relations, other nature spirits).
Both days of ceremony revolved around a Mongolian-style oboo or world mountain shrine (see the work of Sarangerel Odigan) consecrated together in February at Mine Hill. In addition to being a node of positive, healing energy on the land, one intention of the shrine was to ask the spirits of place to aid in the healing and transformation of addictive energies, including those of the type that fuel gold and mercury mining to begin with. Along with other natural offerings, we made intent to release various addictive patterns in our own lives by making intention and offering a stone to feed the work of transformation on an inner level and with the spirits of place. This shrine has been visited and renewed/reconstructed several times since, always with offerings (e.g., honey, tobacco, spirits, spring water, colorful prayer ribbons, food offerings) for the local powers.
World Mountain Shrine at Almaden Quicksilver
The rituals at Almaden were demanding in that we attempted in a short amount of time to establish a ritual anchor/earth shrine that could continue to feed the natural energies and be easily re-energized during subsequent visits. Once consecrated, the oboo seemed to function well during the ceremonies themselves by providing a physical manifestation of the World Center to receive offerings and from which to carry out our modest efforts toward shifting the balance at this place of historic desecration. We had the shared sense that our efforts were well received, despite the long history of prior abuse by our human relatives. For anyone wanting to have more experience offering service-oriented earth rituals in places of historic trauma, Almaden Quicksilver County Park could use the loving care, and we would love to hear how it goes.
In retrospect, of the three completed years of the Earth Medicine Training, 2009 was particularly satisfying in that our rituals occurred in a more concentrated area (all within the Guadalupe Watershed), we were able to complement this work out on the land with regular prayers in a purification lodge in Los Gatos, and we also complemented the ritual work with several garbage clean-ups along the Lower Guadalupe. As we have returned to Mt. Umunhum and surrounding areas in the last two years, there is a growing sense of some foundational trust being established with the spirits of place as they see that we are not just passing through and that we are doing what we know to approach with respect. We are also delighted to be able to complement ongoing efforts to restore the summit of Mt Umunhum with ritual on the mountain and in lodge that is specifically supportive of these efforts. For more information on this restoration process see (link to Mid-Pen Open Space on Mt Umunhum). For more information on the current Earth Medicine Training cycle see the earth medicine rituals section of this site.
