52
COPPER WOMAN
EWF
In learning how to walk upon this earth, Copper Woman is in a place of water in the form
of ice and snow. Fire is at the heart of her survival.
Who is Copper Woman?
She is known from the Creation myths of the North West Indians. Copper Woman was the
original woman. It was she who learnt how to survive, how to sustain. After she had taught
herself basic survival skills, supernatural beings visited her and taught her more.
Copper Woman Dakini brings her ancient energies into modern times.
She represents how to survive in challenging situations and how to respect the spirits of the land
and its creatures.
Her portal is the realm of ice and snow, the arctic, polar regions. In the current world situation,
these regions are also in peril, their survival threatened.
The Dakini is seen here as the spirit of the land, of the mountains and glaciers, and also in her
role as Copper Woman, showing the way to survive.
Location/Sphere of Influence
Polar regions/Iceland/Alaska.
Allies
Arctic fox and all creatures of Arctic regions.
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Nature & Description of Dakini
Copper Woman stands within her realm. She is surrounded by ice and snow. We see the melting
ice, the arctic creatures. Here the creatures of the land are seen as allies and friends, respected coinhabitants. All struggle for survival.
She is seen in the mountains all around, like a Nordic Ice Queen, her icicles melting.
Totem poles, not flags, are planted in the landscape, to represent the connection made with the
totems, the animal spirits of the land, and their honoring.
Igloos and huts are seen as part of her landscape, for she is the Dakini who helps make things
habitable, who strives to survive and make things work.
Copper Woman represents adopting the indigenous approach to survival and co-habitation with
the animals and elements of the natural world and associated spiritual entities and energy fields.
It is an approach which takes spirit into account along with the material in every interaction with
the earth and all beings that live upon it.
She brings wisdom through simple acts. Her skin gleams like radiant copper, she wears furs and
is surrounded by arctic creatures as her totems. She is strong. She represents finding
enlightenment in simple survival skills and daily chores.
Copper Woman has the stance of a warrior, but her weapons are the axe and broom, tools of
survival and homesteading, not weapons of warfare. They are her magical tools.
She embodies the kind of strength that is needed to endure, to take on whatever challenge may
confront her with fortitude, perseverance and courage.
The face painted on her hide apron is from a representation of the traditional Copper Woman.
She is seen embodied in the glaciers and snowy peaks, expressing the feeling of the land as her
icicles melt…The studs of her fur coat pin themselves into the living landscape. As she dons her
hood of arctic fox, she resembles masked Eskimo dancers.
Divinatory Meaning
Copper Woman comes to you bringing tools for survival.
The suggestion is that there are challenges to be dealt with. Copper Woman brings you the
practical skills and tools to deal with them.
Doing your part, doing your best and therefore being eligible for divine guidance, divine
intervention.
When something is lost, if you do your very best to find it and cannot, if you just move on and
get on with your next task, have you noticed the lost thing ‘magically’ appears along the way?
That’s the work of your helpers. If you acknowledge them, they can do even more.
A resolute attitude is required. You must be prepared to fight for what you believe in, not in a
literal way, but in the sense that you are prepared to put all your resources on the line in order to
make things happen, in order to stay in the game.
There is a saying, ‘Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop
wood, carry water’. Copper Woman is the ‘Chop wood, carry water’ Dakini of our deck.
In the tales of the 84 Siddhas ( Beings who attained enlightenment, often by unconventional
means) there are those who met a teacher who told them a mantra (power phrase) to repeat while
doing their daily tasks. Through adhering to this transmission, they gained full realization.
Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, to work hard for what you want.
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If you have to clean house, create order out of chaos, Copper Woman and her supernatural
helpers are here to give you support and an extra boost of energy and efficiency.
Copper Woman is a strong Dakini who comes to you to lend you her strength.
Strong yet sensitive. Sensitive to the results of her actions, sensitive to the voices of the wild,
aware of the mark she leaves behind. Will it truly benefit those who follow and the land and the
creatures whose home it is as much as yours? They actually have more right to be here as they
are specially adapted to the terrain. Humans on the other hand make the land habitable by
artificial means. Who then really belongs?
She embodies the pioneering spirit.
Do not be afraid to bring new things into the world, to champion new ideas. These ideas are best
aspected for success if they build on ancient wisdom and give back as much as they take from
the eco-system.
She encourages us to use the ‘two tool kit’, the best of ancient ways and the best of modern,
working simultaneously on the inner and outer planes of reality.
Imagine the current condition of the planet if this could have held true for all exchanges between
the ‘new’ and the ‘old’ worlds. We could have a world where we benefitted from the best of
modern technology, walking hand in hand with the ancient ways of honoring the earth as a living
entity and all her creatures as part of her sacredness.
Stand behind what you believe in.
Take account of the effects of your actions, both short and long term, before taking action.
Copper Woman represents the path of Karma Yoga, the path of action, the aspirant who is on the
path to liberation through appropriate deeds and right action.
Take action that will promote your own survival, but also is supportive of survival in general.
Energy efficiency. Avoidance of waste.
Indications
Copper Woman brings the message that whatever your race, whatever your culture, your healthy
relationship to the planet is to be found in the indigenous approach.
As you take what you need for your survival, remember to give back and honor the spirit in all
things. In this way we keep the hoop of life intact.
Practices
1. Pay attention to menial tasks.
Make a practice of bringing joy and enthusiasm to simple, mundane chores.
For example, make a point of washing dishes while repeating to yourself the mantra, ‘As
I wash these dishes, I am washing away all stain, all residue of past actions…’
Sweep the floor repeating, ‘I am sweeping away all the sorrows of the world with my
broom’ (or sucking them up in your vacuum cleaner), you understand the principle.
‘Copper Woman’ will support you in your role as ‘Domestic Goddess’ and as ‘Cleany
Dakini’, as well as bolstering your adventurous and pioneering spirit.
1. Try not to take more than you need.
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3. Meditate on the icy regions of the planet. See their plight. Open your heart. Feel the
melting, cracking ice. Feel the creatures dependant on this habitat. See them as intimately
connected to your own survival and send the vibrations of your heart to support the circle
of life.
Dakini Transmission
With my axe
I cleave the way
Cutting through
All obscuration
With my broom
I sweep all clean
Clearing the mind
For revelation
Affirmations
I am able to survive
Under any situation
I can rise to any occasion
I recognize and respect
The spirit in all things
I know how to ask for and receive
Help from invisible sources
I am part of
The circle of life
64DakiniOracle.org © Penny Slinger 2010