I think I talked about this before. There was a question on the Edmund Fitzgerald thread that made me think about it again, so I am just going to share some of my learnings about it. First, I am a woman, so one of the things I had to learn about was the power of woman, and how to be safe with it.

The question had to do with Lake Superior who never gives up her dead, according to Gordon Lightfoot's song, the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Why does the Lake have the feminine gender? Someone thought it might have to do with the Chippewa as referenced earlier in the song. One person said it was because women are powerful. Another said because it was part of Mother Earth.

Answer to the first question: She doesn't give up her dead because of the extreme cold. It keeps the bodies from bloating and floating. Answer to the second question, I don't know for sure. But about the power of women?

The power of women comes from the power to give life. One way that is expressed is in the blood. If you shoot a deer but don't kill it, and that deer bleeds for a week, the deer will die. But women bleed for a week every month and they don't die.

That time of the month is the most powerful for a woman, and she must take care not to harm things that represent power for others. She should not handle her man's things, like tools, pipe, weapons, clothing, or food.

Here is a story. I was at language camp not many years ago. I was well grown and should have had all these teachings, but I had not. A man was showing us how to make ricing sticks, and he had a small fire going. He left his axe lying on the ground. At some point, he asked two of us women to get him something from the other side of the fire. I walked straight over to get what he wanted and brought it back. The other woman got another and came back too.

We were back sitting ready to listen some more, and he said, "I noticed you both stepped over my axe."

We looked at the axe and figured we must have because it was right where we went to get what he asked for, but we had not even paid attention. "Yes, we did," we said, puzzled. I know I was thinking, So?

He said, "Women cannot step over things. You have so much power, you can damage things for the next time a man wants to use it."

Now we were just appalled. "We are so sorry!! What can we do?"

He said, "You can purify my axe for me, and that will make it OK."

We looked at each other, each hoping the other would know what to do. No such luck. "How should we do that?" I asked, bravely.

He was ready for that. Must see a lot of ignorant city Indians. "You pass it through the smoke over there. I have cedar in that fire, and that will do it."

We each took one side of the fire and passed the axe across it through the smoke. I hope we had enough sense to pass it in four directions. I prayed the axe wouldn't have any issues for him the next time he used it.

So there was a valuable lesson by a very kind man, and it taught me how to be careful with my woman power, and how to purify things. I have had similar lessons since. Traditional beliefs sometimes seem so irrelevant in this non-traditional world, but there are strong reasons to abide by them, for spiritual wholeness.

More lessons: Women should not see the healer during their moon time. Marriage cannot be performed during a woman's moon time.
Women may not attend sweat ceremonies during their moon time.

It sounds restrictive, but it is because of the convergence of powers during these times. The power of healing, the power of men's tools to do their work, the power of joining two lives. A woman's life-giving power will overwhelm these other powers. Of course, if a woman is ill or needs spiritual help during her moon time, then the healer must come prepared for that.

In the old days, women would take themselves off to a lodge in the woods away from everyone so as to contain their power. Nowadays, that is not practical, but only think about it. A whole week away from the kids and all that work. Every MONTH! Now who's being restricted?