Cardinal Direction of the South

Now we do a quarter turn, heartwise to the left around the circle, arriving at the cardinal direction of the South.

Here in the South we meet and greet the sun in all it’s glory, directly overhead at noon. Here we acknowledge the time of summer, when Grandfather Sun is at his fullest. South represents a time of growth, the time of adolescence, the place of love, the place of learning; where the teachers/elders come to share the wisdom of life to the youth.

We find Coyote as the animal ally of the South. The Coyote represents the trickster/jester of the animal kingdom. The Coyote can run rings around us, turn us inside out and leave us contemplating our navel before we even know it. The Coyote is a powerful teacher, embodying the duality of the trickster/jester. Through this energy he brings our greatest life lessons to light. This is where we learn to laugh at ourselves and discover the great cosmic joke of life.

The element of the South is water, the sweet water people of the fresh waters we drink, the waters that we shed through our emotions, and the green water people of the oceans. We say also that the South represents our emotional body, through the tears that we share. It is said that our emotions are like the waters that run from the mountains to the sea. When we allow ourselves to open to them, they start as a trickle and build into a great river, flowing all the way to the ocean.

The Stone of the South is Carnelian. The Plant of the South is Sage, for cleansing and purification. The Ceremony of the South is Rites Of Passage. The Medicine Tool of the South is the Rattle for dispersing energy. The sound of the South is ‘iiiiiiiiiiiiih’.

We honor the Grandmothers and Grandfathers and all our allies of the South.

Aho!