JOSE ATID LENA STEVENS 23Finally her closest friend Lynne persuaded her to
come to the "empowering circle," a group of dedicated
shamanic practitioners whom she met with weekly to
dance, drum, and journey. Andrea had resisted going for
months because the whole thing sounded so hokey and
ridiculous: sitting, imagining silly animals, and hopping
around like them. They must be a bunch of weirdos.
Andrea was rather surprised to find a mix of very
ordinary-looking people from all walks of life. As the eve-
ning progressed she was introduced and the group let
her know she was welcome to participate in all their activ-
ities. They began with some sharing and sage burning
and then proceeded to perform a vigorous line dance ac-
companied by the drum that Andrea thought was silly.
Why had she come? She thought about sneaking out but
then began to see the humor of the situation. She started
to laugh at the ridiculous picture of herself and the others
hopping up and down in the semidarkness, loud drum-
beats punching through the air. As she laughed, to her
surprise Andrea inexplicably became tearful and for a few
moments didn't know whether she was laughing or sob-
bing. When the dance ended Andrea felt confused but
strangely energized. A group member then explained to
her that they were going to "dance their animals" and that
she could join them. He explained that since it was her
first time, all she had to do was let an impression of an
animal come through her.
As the drumbeat began again, Andrea was doubtful
that she would get a sense of any animal but was again
surprised at how quickly the image of a large deer came
to her. Slowly, awkwardly at first, she mimicked the move-
ments of a deer, feeling a warmth associated with the
animal. She found herself assuming the stance of de-
fense, head down, antlers protecting. As the drumbeat
increased in intensity, the deer shifted to movements of
attacking and sparring. Andrea suddenly felt an enor-
mous relief and gave herself to the vigorous thrusts and
parries.
Later that evening as Andrea drove home she had the
strange sensation of a deer in the backseat of her car.
She smiled to herself and sighed happily. Somehow
Jacques didn't seem that important anymore. She had
found a new friend and new power.