Always Take the Weather With You
Communicating with Weather Spirits
The first time I spoke to weather spirits, it was out of desperation. There was a wildfire going on in Colorado, and the winds were blowing it closer to the town where a dear friend lived. I had spoken to him on the phone, and he said the air was full of ash. It was a bad sign, not only for him and the people in the town, but for the thousands of acres of trees and animals burning up in the flames.
I decided to undertake a drum journey with the intention of talking to the weather spirits. I didn’t live in Colorado at the time, but I knew that didn’t matter. Once we’re in journey-space, we can converse with anyone, anywhere, at any point in time. It was just a question of whether the spirits would give me the information I sought. Proper respect must always be paid when approaching Spirit, and particularly with weather, we don’t want to make a lot of requests based on our individual comfort or preferences. Weather affects many things that we can’t typically understand or foresee, so I wouldn’t ask the rain to stop just so I can avoid getting wet running out to my car or something. But an out-of-control wildfire seemed like a matter of concern.
As I entered the journey, I asked my guides to take me to any weather spirits who might be helpful with the wildfire affecting my friend’s town in Colorado. Immediately a white dragon appeared. I bowed respectfully and asked it to show me what it knew about the fire. Images of a mountain on fire, burning trees, and black smoke came to me. I asked the dragon what could possibly be done—the fire looked enormous, and human efforts so far had had very little effect. As I watched, the dragon showed me an image of huge, dark clouds piling up over the top of the mountain, and it began to snow. The sense of relief in not only myself, but the surrounding wilderness, was palpable. I sent gratitude to the white dragon and its fellow spirits for bringing the snow, and watched as the fire stopped its progress and then began to shrink.
The following day, I heard from my friend that a snowstorm had begun and was containing the fire. It snowed hard for several days, successfully stopping the fire when no human effort could. My tip from the dragon had been correct.
In subsequent years, I’ve spoken several times with weather spirits. Once, I even asked a pattern of thunderstorms to dissipate to unsnarl traffic jams at the airport I was traveling through. I wasn’t sure, initially, how or even if I should do this; but when I asked the thunder beings for guidance on how to calm the storm, Spirit directed me to calm the storm within myself. As I sat on the floor near my gate and went into meditation, my travel stress began to ease, and I ceased worrying about where I was or how I was going to get to where I needed to go. Instead, I grounded myself, breathed deeply, and brought in gratitude for my safety and wellbeing.
Thirty minutes later, when I opened my eyes, I beheld orderly lines of people where before there had been chaos. Instead of cancelled flights, airplanes stood ready at each gate, and passengers were boarding. Soon after that, I boarded my flight, only a half-hour late instead of half a day or more. It was a big learning experience for me: exterior weather mirrors our internal weather. As above, so below; as within, so without. I’ve put more focus on my internal practice since that day. And again, I sent much gratitude to the spirits who taught me that lesson. Instead of ignoring me, they spoke to me and gave me the knowledge I sought. I have learned that it always pays to ask, with respect and love, for the things you most desire: in these cases, safety for my friend and the wilderness, and knowledge around how to balance working with inclement weather and human needs.
