Passion A Sacred Rite: The 13 Healing Moons of the Great Turtle Mystery School

By Marianne Spider Star Weaver Ober & Stephanie Rainbow Lightning Elk Wadell

Not your typical back-to-school list: Iridescent Note-book. Pens. Grounding Cord. Etheric Boundary Roses. Magickal Costumes. Medicine Bundle. Ceremonial Tobacco. Gold Light. Violet Flame. Curiosity. Open Mind. Open Heart. Healing Channels ready. Good to go!
The 13 Healing Moons of the Great Turtle Mystery School is not a typical school. Elder and guide, Rainbow Lightning Elk, is an unconventional "principal."

I have never met anyone who sees me as Rainbow Lightning Elk sees me. Imagine someone who sees you for who you truly are. Who sees your strengths, weaknesses, and gifts in a clear and clever way. Who can guide you to balance and harmony within yourself and with Mother Earth.

How do passion and going back to school relate to one another? They usually don't. On the other hand, in a Mystery School, they do. A Rite of Passage Mystery School is about igniting the passion within, about discovering your essence and connectedness to the Great Mystery.

As passionate as Rainbow is about guiding individuals to their Sacred Dream, she is even more passionate about Rites of Passage being reintroduced to our culture. That is, a ceremony marking a transition from one phase of life to another and acknowledging one's talents, gifts, and abilities. With the exception of a few religious traditions, Rites of Passage are not part of our current culture. The Great Turtle Mystery School is a modern day Rite of Passage, incorporating ceremony, psychology, lineages, and traditions to ensure healthy transition from child to adult.

"Stand in the center of the doorway; drop your robes and your egos. Kneel as you enter the womb of Mother again. Go into the darkness. Circle clockwise. Step into the silence. Make your prayers with your Source. Omatakyasin." Rainbow Lightning Elk spoke to us as we began the first Sweat Lodge of 13 lunar cycles we committed to in the Great Turtle Mystery School. Healers needing healings, I thought. A crescent moon hung low in the big sky. A shooting star caught my eye as I knelt to enter the Purification Ceremony. Finally I had arrived, searching over many years for the right vibe.

Rainbow Lightning Elk and my journey through the 13 Healing Moons of the Great Turtle Mystery School sparked within me a passion for healing myself and assisting others in healing themselves, too.