This blog post is about the second mask, Orange Sacral Skunk created for the Prismic Vision NYE event hosted by the Body Earth Collective in Longmont. Read the first post in this series about Red Root Rabbit and other previous posts about the beginnings of the process as a whole and the success of the actual event. There will be five more posts, one for each mask. Be sure to Follow my blog to catch all the updates. I am looking forward to sharing more deeply about the process I went through with each mask.
The Beginnings
Originally my plan for these masks was to create them in order, from red to orange, and root to crown. However, after the completion of the Rabbit mask the timeline and my own creative flow didn’t allow for that to happen. In the end I worked on several masks simultaneously, creating different pieces of the armatures for some, while finishing the base of others.
The skunk mask was one of the last I completed. At first I thought I wanted to aspect as the skunk in the Opening Procession, as I had been working closely with orange in a Rainbowmancy course by the endlessly magical Molly Roberts. I was wearing orange, eating orange and had reset my altar to be be overflowing with orange. So when the animal allies were being assigned I was at first dismayed to miss out on deepening my connection to Skunk and Sacral energies. In the end holding space for the Snake, which will be the final post in this series, was deeply satisfying.
As I began creating the armature for the skunk, and looking at reference photos, I quickly realized that I had a very poor mental image of what a skunk actually looks like. Look at a real skunk. They are adorable! Their faces are actually quite long and slender, somewhere between a cat and dog. And communicating that the mask was a skunk, while also making it orange versus the iconic black and white that skunk is firmly associated with, was a challenge. In the end I did incorporate more black and white then any of the other masks, and the tribal spots were a last minute addition that felt just right. It had an aboriginal, ancestral quality to me, and the lower chakras have always felt deeply resonant with ancestry.
Working with Skunk Medicine and the Energy of Orange Sacrum
My home is filled with Orange. I have lots of orange art and a one-of-a-kind orange couch. When I grew out of completely adoring Pink and Purple, I stubbornly adored Orange for most of school (Today I have returned to loving Pink and Purple as well). Orange is also my husbands favorite color so I spend a lot of time with this color. It is a color of spunk and surprise. Its warming, like cinnamon and spice. It is a cheer to look at, filling one with energy. A kind and optimistic color.
Orange Skunk – Sacral Altar Sketch
The Sacral Chakra is the second Chakra, located between the belly button and hips, and powered by the sexual organs. It is the Chakra related to creativity, relationships, and sensuality. Once your root is grounded, the Sacrum facilitates feeling and connection with the world. The mantra for this Chakra is “I am Creative.”
When skunk appeared in the Oracle I knew it was the perfect fit. Skunk appears to remind of us our place in the world, and the connections between scent and sensuality are obvious. Perfume, bouquets, pheromones, and musk all have a potent symbolic mythology in the collective culture for relationships, and so skunk, with his potent smell, sits comfortably as the animal ally for Orange Sacrum.
The Mask in the Space
The Orange Skunk mask resided on a playful altar in the room where workshops, contact improv, and food were being offered. It was against a mirror, inviting reflection on Body, Self, and Connection to the event. The interplay between the activities in the room and the invocations on the altar worked seamlessly.
In the opening procession Maria and Joy invited us to connect and disconnect, playing with the tension of eye contact then moving toward a partner and then moving away moments before touching. A rapid drum beat demanded attention and stirred the energy of the prayerformance. To finish the activation of Skunk in the space we finally landed in connection with another, melting into contact and into the floor.
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The words on the Altar were as follows:
Orange – Sacral – Skunk
Self Respect and Reputation.
Attraction & Repulsion… that then melts into connection and yielding.
When one learns to assert, without ego, what and who you are. Respect follows. Your self-respectful attitude will repel those who are not of like mind, and yet will attract those who choose the same pathway. As the odor of Skunk attracts others of its kind, it repels those who will not respect its space. – Excerpt from “Medicine Cards” by Jamie Sams & David Carson
What are you attracted to? Where have you set your boundaries? Who do you want to be in the world? Notice the energy you are channeling into the room… how are others reacting to you?
