Tools: Ground on which to plant a rose bush; rose food; peat moss; cornmeal; tobacco; shovel;your smudge bowl, sweet grass and sage; matches; journal and pen.

The Ceremony of the red rose is an honoring of the self, The red rose stands for your Strength. The ceremony is done to celebrate it. The best time for planting the rose is in the Spring–the day after a Full Moon.

1. The Opening of the self. Sit with your journal at the beginning of the day, preferably at sunrise, but definitely before 10:00 am. The first part of the ceremony is the opening of the self. Allow yourself to look at your weaknesses and list them. They represent the thorns  on the rose. They are the clues that you are acting out the emotions of fear, sadness, anger or disgust. It is the rose’s way of protecting itself. It is your way of destroying  your human connection to spirit by protecting yourself, by allowing yourself  to be a thorn. You are pushing yourself away instead of pulling yourself towards.

2. Honor the Ground. Choose a piece of ground in which to plant the rose bush–a park, your own yard or someone else’s — where it can remain an honor, an achievement. Honor the ground by placing tobacco and cornmeal, and smudging the ground in the area  where the hole will be dug to plant the rose bush.

3. The purchasing and the bringing of the plant. It is important to know a little bit about roses, so go to a nursery to purchase the rose bush and asks questions. Read the instructions and pay attention to what the rose expert tells you to do. Part of gathering Strength is understanding and having knowledge.

Here are the flowers that I gathered for the ceremony. I also got some herbs like Oregano, Rec Sage, White Sage, Strawberries. You know the Cherokee legend of First Man and First Woman? Will post that next time. For now, just know that when they had an argument, and First Woman ran off, everywhere her tears fell a strawberry grew. This is how First Man found her. To me, Strawberries represent HEALED RELATIONSHIPS.

4. The opening of the hole.

The rose represents the male, and the hole represents the female. You need to re-unite the rose with the earth. From there you will grow your strength.

Start in the east with prayer and dig a hole in the ground. When you have achieved a hole of the right depth for planting the rose bush (by reading the instructions), place cornmeal in the hole and plant food for the rose. Then place the fresh rose bush in the hole and put in your prayers for Strength by taking a pinch of tobacco and holding it to your heart, making your prayer, and placing the tobacco in the ground. Fill in the area around the rose, packing it loosely with peat moss and dirt. Cover the hole but do not press down on it. Pressing is anger. Just cover the hole lightly and loosely. After you have covered the hole, give it water and watch your Strength grow.

5. First Bloom.

When your rose bush puts out its first bloom, look into the rose. Spend time around your rose bush, go to your rose bush to pray; go to your rose bush to dance.

If you cannot get to a place where you can plant a rose bush, do this ceremony in your mind. Go into your mind, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and see the rose bush in front of you. Go there in your spirit and be there with the rose. One of the most beautiful things in shamanism is that you can have both the earth and the spirit world. You can go both places and become enriched.

AHO!