Page 214 - Dark Matter:Women Witnessing Issue #3 - December 2015

My friend Alex once said that the act of making an offering creates a tangible edge, a

threshold across which one can enter into dialogue with the Source. I like to conjure the

image of that threshold: a luminous oval platform floating in space above my head and a

bit to the right, in a dimension right next to this one, pressing close, always available. In

Permaculture, edges are known to be especially fertile. Perhaps this holds true at the

edge between the Spirit World and the tangible one as well. In Nature as in human

society, the edges are where the action is. Think of a cut, a scab or a bruise: the outside

edges heal first and then the healing moves slowly toward the center. In Nature, the

edges where different ecosystems meet (riverbanks, edges between field and forest,

ocean and shore) are more fertile and have higher concentrations and diversity of

insects, plants and animal species. Crops planted in fields at these edges are

dramatically more productive than those planted in other areas. By observing these

natural processes we can see that edges and ‘edgewalkers’ have a special role to play

in restoration and healing. Offerings are healing dialogues that take place at the edge.

In Liberia, the words offering and sacrifice are often used interchangeably. A serious

crisis in the life of a person or a community is considered an indication of an egregious

imbalance in the Other World, in need of a commensurately serious offering. This often

involves a blood offering of a chicken, sheep, goat or cow. A specific result is requested.

The covenant between the animal, human and spirit worlds must be explicit and clear—

and mutually agreed on. This is a sacrifice. After the Mourning Feast in Liberia, we met

with a circle of Mandingo women who patiently explained to us that, In our language, the

word for sacrifice means ‘to give more than you can’. (As a Westerner, I have yet to

surrender to this depth. As I clean and organize and store my too-many possessions, the