The Essence of the Sacred Pipe

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Behold the Sacred Pipe
Which is a holy altar
A place of communion for the individual
And for the people
For the bowl is Goddess,
Mother and Grandmother
The receptive circle with a centre
The point within the circle
The Womb and source of all

The bowl is also the Zodiac
The circle of the Medicine Wheel
The centre of the universe
And also the heart of man
So let this bowl transform you
Let it take you from the outside in
From space to spacelessness
From time to Timelessness
From form to Spirit

Then consider the stem
It is the God, Father and Grandfather
The rod, the lance, the conceptual force
And creative seed of us all
Let your mind be straight and as true
As the way of the tiny hole
That leads along the stem
To the heart of the bowl
And the centre of all that is
The connecting link
Between the Heavens Above
And the Earth Beneath
Joining that which is Above
With that which is Beneath

By putting this Pipe together
You join more than stem to bowl
Sky to Earth
You are joining all things to yourself
So that when you smoke
All things send their voices to the Great Spirit
Along with yours

In this Pipe all the elements are involved
Earth, in the red stone of the bowl
Fire, which will be contained in it
Water, by the spittle from your mouth
And Air and Breath by the smoke which will come forth
To the Great spirit
From which all things have their origin

So when you pray with this Pipe
You pray not to Wakan-Tanka
But with Wakan-Tanka
And with Grandmother Earth and all the Planets
And with Grandfather Sun and all the Stars
And with everything that is
Everything the Great Spirit has created
Everything the Great Spirit is in

Behold the Sacred Pipe
The smoke from which Will touch the Earth with fragrance
And reach even beyond the heavens
That you, too, may touch the Earth with beauty
And that your thoughts may be elevated
Above the stars

With this Pipe you shall walk a living prayer
Your feet resting on Grandmother Earth
The Pipe stem reaching into the sky
To the Grandfather
Your body linking the Sacred Beneath
With the Sacred Above

From above Wakan-Tanka has given you
This Sacred Pipe
So that you may have a companion
As you walk the Earth
To bind you to all your relatives
That through it you may have knowledge
And through knowledge, wisdom
So through it, every dawn as it comes

And every day from this time forth
Becomes holy
For so great a treasure
Be grateful
And Walk in Beauty
Throughout all Time