4 - Wolf Moon

Susanna Suchak (January 2006)

JANUARY: Snow Moon or Very Cold Moon also known as Wolf Moon

We too, wanted to give something of sacred meaning to my son Dan as he "came of age" to his 13th birthday. So on this moon, this wolf moon, we created our own ceremony. Jeff carved and created a beautiful walking stick. I prepared a special smudge. We bought him a t-shirt with animal tracks on it. We took him out under this full snow moon, this Wolf Moon. We bestowed our gifts; we named him "Tracker"; we prayed over him and then we all howled at the moon. There are too few rituals in this time and place, not too many. There are too few rituals that mark these rites of passage for our youth. They need to be launched into this free and responsible search for truth and meaning with ceremony and sanctity. This is an onerous task for it will last their lifetime. They need the gifts of being blessed by their elders and knowing they are esteemed and supported in this quest. A modern day vision quest under the full moon of Wolf.

Yes, January brings us the Snow Moon, the Wolf Moon and what better example for us to "vision quest" a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Wolves have long been scapegoated, burdened with a false mystique regarding their nature and purpose. However, in Native tradition Wolves are called teachers.

Not ravenous random attackers, preyers on little girls who venture into the forest of fairy tales, nor the loner of cowboy legend. They use both instinct and intelligence to survive and teach the pups their lifestyle. Freedom is the essence of life for wolves. Wolves who mate in captivity breed a different kind of wolf ? Floyd Looks for Buffalo calls them skin-deep wolves as he likens them to Indians in captivity ? that is forced into Reserves and Reservations, or even urban ghettos.

Dependent on their "caretakers" both wolves and humans in captivity are reduced to a basic survival mode dependent on caretakers, in humans' case ? government handouts. Yes, he speaks of Indians, but each of us is at risk of allowing our lives to be "governed" by others who may not have our values and ethics. Beware of benevolent dictators particularly in the guise of corporate agenda Prime Ministers and smugly smarmy Leaders of the Opposition. Freedom entails a burden of responsibility. If we become complacent in our comforts, we run the risk of being skin-deep humans.

Wolves do not howl at the moon, though they sometimes howl under it. That so-called "eerie" call is not to scare the wits out of humans. For all its many purposes, that is never one of them. The plaintive howl of the wolf evokes in us a wide range of emotions, awe, sadness even fear and since their reintroduction into Yellowstone Park, visitors have been thrilled to once again listen to this primal call and to perchance catch a fleeting glimpse of this magnificent animal. Brother wolf.

Wolves also communicate with a wide range of growls, barks, whimpers, facial expressions, body postures and gesturing, licks, cheek and nose rubs and scent marking. Their sense of smell is at least 100 times more keen than our own.

If language, spoken and written is what makes us "human" and many believe that it is, then what we gained in phonetic alphabets especially vowels has also led to some loss in the ability to communicate. Written language can be misread and often is, especially today with the internet. It is necessary to insert emoticons and little clues such as ROFLMAO and LOL to let people know that you enjoyed the joke or are being sarcastic. The other and more important aspects of communication, including human communication, are those postures, gestures, facial expressions and even those little sighs. Ask your kids if you don't quite believe me. My older kids used to ask Kate to "Make a Mommy face" to which she responded with a silly little grimace of exasperation. (Demonstrate) And she had it right on! Which of course, burned me up even more; at least it did, once I stopped laughing.

Wolves are not loners at all, certainly not by choice. They live in cooperative, close-knit, hierarchical families. All members of the pack care for pups including feeding them. They are highly intelligent, steadfast and skilled in protecting self and family ? they are adept at taking advantage of change, often finding new solutions to problems while providing stability and support to their family structure. No wonder the native people's of this continent found a kinship with them.

But wolves are loners in the sense that they keep their own counsel. I have never heard or read of a wolf proselytizing, evangelizing or even giving good advice. Why do humans think that their "opinion" is the one Truth?

In his book, Never Cry Wolf, Farley Mowatt beautifully records his findings during the early 60's not of a den of marauding killers but a courageous family of skilful providers. The family is headed by an alpha pair ? a balanced method of leadership and a wonderful model for humane and healthy family values that humans would be wise to emulate. Alpha pairs mate in January or February; hence the Snow Moon is significant in their life cycle. The pack is what we might call a nuclear family which works as a team to feed and protect each other.

They take (or kill) only what they need to live. They can eat 23�f their body weight at one feeding, then go days or weeks without food. Such economy of effort in eating is practiced that wolves do not even chew their food, just tear off large hunks and swallow. Well adapted to their feast or famine lifestyle, their digestion is so efficient for their diet that only bones and fur are eliminated in scat.

Wolves have a strong sense of self and are territorial. Their intelligence and keen instinct for survival leads them to innovative food choices ? farmer's stock if need be when their territory has been invaded by humans and their normal food source eliminated. We can see here that there is no "universal" truth ? wolves have one truth and meaning, but it does not align with that of the farmer/ rancher/ even urbanite human. Whose is the Truth? There is a definite conflict brewing here. Often leading to antagonism and fear.

One reason given for our irrational fear of wolves is that they are top predators and their territorialism means they will kill or harass other wolves that trespass. It follows that they will also protect their territory ? their truth and meaning, if you will ? even from other trespassers like humans. Do they pray "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." It sounds like humans have been very like wolves in this area for at least two thousand years. Humans and wolves are in direct competition for the same resources, land and prey. In fact, wolves have only one enemy ? humans. And some of them are at risk of extinction.

Now this isn't a lesson about wolves, we are talking here about the fourth principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning. So what can we learn from Wolf?

One thing that jumps out at me is the irrational fear of humans of wolves; it seems that that fear is also transferred to any other being that competes for resources with us. Our consuming greed cannot abide anyone else having. We take far more than we need and we strive to eliminate all danger from our lives, usually through governmental intervention. We are driving species, resources and other nations into extinction. We need to discover a way to embark on our own free and responsible search for truth and meaning now more than ever. So let me tell you another story about someone's search for truth and meaning.

A youth came to his Grandfather, black with anger about an injustice done to the community by one whom he had regarded as a friend who held a high position of trust in the community, so Grandfather pondered his grandson's predicament ? should he confront his friend with his lie ? his broken promises ? his greed? Or should he retaliate by sharing his friend's secrets, those confidences with others?

"Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt great hate for those who have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. However, hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It's like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die."

"I have struggled with these feelings many times. It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offence when no offence was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.

But...the other wolf... ah! The littlest thing will send him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all of the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing."

"Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit. Only one can be allowed to win this battle for my will."

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?" The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed." ? A Native American tale told many times around the Sacred Fir

We have discussed the wolves' food consumption and efficient digestion as well as the ability to patiently wait for the next meal and risk life and limb getting it. What does that teach us? To me it speaks of our rampant greed and laziness as consumers. The attitude and acting out of that attitude, that if I want it, I can and should have it ? by whatever means. Noble gestures like making your Hummer more energy efficient aside, we know how wantonly wasteful we are. Tokenism will not do. If wolves over hunt a region, they begin to starve and die. Are we above and beyond that outcome? I do not think so. We may prolong the process, but our practices are killing others who we only have to view occasionally in commercials on the television. 30 seconds of guilt easily bought off with a donation to the local foodbank or a cheque a month to some aid organization.

But this problem is much more complicated. It will take social action equally complex and committed to change. Are we up to it? Do we divert attention from the real problems with red herrings? Isn't that one of the purposes of modern government? Let's have a conference and mull this over; is global warming really happening? And if it is what shall we all-powerful humans do to fix it? Wolf might say, "don't just do something, sit there". Patience and prayerful meditation might be better answers than all this dashing about. For each time we fix one part of our eco-system, we have forgotten that it is interdependent. When we move the river, we set ourselves up for greater risk.

I believe that Wolf can teach us to pay attention to that interdependence and discover how we (as humans) fit in. Not the doing but the understanding and humility ? perhaps repentance will offend some, but I think it works here. The task might be viewed as overwhelming. Nevertheless, it behoves us to ask, "How can we reverse this consuming trend, this destructive treadmill we have set ourselves on? If there is one Universal Truth it must hold true for the entire web of life. Can we seek this Truth and find our best meaning and purpose? I pray we can or we too, like Mary Tallmountain, will be comforting the last wolf. I'd like to close with her poem.

Let us live in freedom with responsibility. Let us seek Truth and meaning not just for ourselves but also for all who live within this interdependent web of life. Let us be keenly aware of what is happening around us, for alertness will be our survival ? All of life depends on alertness. So too must we. If one among us is not free, then none of us can be.