Walking the Land: Airport Mesa, Solar Plexus Chakra – Sedona, Arizona

Copyright 2009 Eileen Nauman
All Rights Reserved

As I left our house at 7:30 am on April 2nd to meet Marty Rienstra. As I drove up the hill, I noticed a huge pile of rocks that someone had placed in the road! It was impossible to drive around, so I got out, parked and took the six huge rocks and tossed them back on a nearby rock wall. I figured that this mean, symbolically, that airport mesa where the solar plexus chakra was located, would be ‘blocked’ and that we would be able to remove the debris and catalyze the energy to start working again.

Yesterday, I had gone over the USGS topographical map for this area of airport mesa. I was looking at the lines and suddenly, a form congealed: a turtle! As I drew and followed the lines, sure enough, it was a land turtle. And so, at that moment, I began to call this area Grandmother Turtle instead of “Airport Mesa.” The reason it is called that is the Sedona airport is located up on Gram Turtle’s back. But, name changing is in the air! Better to call a formation what it really is than something it is not. Why? Because you can connect with the spirit guardian of that formation if you know who/what it is. There is no “airport mesa” spirit guardian. Once you know what you’re working with, you can mentally contact it and you’re off and running.

Here is the USGS topographical map of the Sedona area and in particular where the Sedona airport is located. This is locally known as “Airport Mesa” and is a well-known vortex. Now, you can see why. This stresses the importance, once more, of getting topo maps. You can see WHO you are working with energetically. In this case, the turtle energy!

I was excited to tell Marty about this because she loves turtles! And most of you have seen the turtle knapsack she carries. Along that same line, my guides told me to take two turtle fetishes to give to Grandmother. I chose a rose quartz and a pink jasper for her. I was going to let Marty choose which one she wanted to give to the spirit guardian of this two-hilled mesa.

I was also told to give Marty a new name. As we evolve and change and grow in our lives, our name changes accordingly. Marty has been named by me to be “Rainbow Woman.” I was informed by my guide to give her a naming ceremony. Her new name would be Rainbow Turtle Woman. I knew she would glory in this new name since she loved turtles so much. And, she was moving into turtle energy. It was no accident that today, Marty and I were going to ask Grandmother Turtle permission to come upon her body and go to the magnificent cedar tree that is found at the end of the airport runway on her hump.

Toward that end, I wanted to give Marty a meaningful name-changing gift. I had a gorgeous carved Jade mother turtle with a baby turtle on her back. At the cedar tree, I was going to give her the new name and the gift of the jade turtle. I was really looking forward to this day!

As I got on the highway, near Marty’s place, I saw hot air balloons descending. One was a yellow and green vertical stripes. Then, as I rounded the mountain to turn, another one was landing a hundred feet away! I saw four hot air balloons, total. Two were landing, to were in the air. I felt that was a good sign that we’d be able to help manifest some energy with Grandmother Turtle in this area.

As I drove to Marty’s home, a balloon was landing on the left of the highway 89A. And, the camera caught the ‘energy’ of Sedona on the right. I didn’t realize this until I opened up the file.

I showed Marty the turtle in the topo map and smiled and got very excited. I told her I felt drawn to go to the Cedar tree she’d talked about earlier. Marty agreed, saying in a meditation earlier this morning, she was directed to go to that spot to perform ceremony.

Here, on the left, is the ‘head’ of Grandma turtle. There are actually two knolls. The major one, the one in the front, is her head. Many people climb up on the red sandstone one that is behind her head/eye.

Sedona is known as vortex country. At “airport mesa” everyone thinks the rounded sandstone red hill between the turtle’s head and her hump, is “it”–the center of a vortex that is as big as the turtle is. I have found that the highest points on any hill, butte or mountain is where the energy is at –and you get as close to it as you can to mix with this energy. On the topo map the cedar tree was as 4,600 feet. The only taller place was the ‘eye’ in the head of Grandma Turtle–and that wasn’t a climb you could do without some hiking sticks and a lot of bushwhacking.

Then, you see her ‘neck’ and there is a red sandstone butte (where most people go to Airport Mesa to feel the vortex there) and then her long, green “hump” that also hold the Sedona airport. We were on the end of her “hump” where the cedar tree was located.

Besides, as we walked down the trail that goes completely around the larger hill that has the airport on the top of it, I told Marty that the ‘hump’ of any animal is where the action is at. In my upbringing, I was taught that the hump contained deeper archetypal energy and information. And, if the person was deserving and had grown spiritually and matured as a person, they might someday be able to be shown that extra medicine or skill by the animal or being that owned it.

In this case, it was the hump of the turtle where the cedar tree was located, at the rear of her shell between her rear legs. This was a fine location as far as I was concerned. And, any animal such as a bear, moose, turtle or buffalo that had the hump, were often desired by Native Americans. They were spirit guides with extra gifts and training if the person could grow responsibly in order to be prepared for what was in that hump. I told her that my spirit bear who taught me shamanism so long ago, had at one time, taken me inside her hump and revealed what was there. Once you are shown what it is, you never speak of it to anyone. It is a sacred pact between you and your spiritual guide. I did tell her that what my bear showed me blew me away. I would never have thought of what might be in there–and what I was shown was incredible. People who earn the right to receive this archetypal information are then trained with it, as well. It’s like going for a Ph.D.!

On the trail, there were lots of spring wildflowers blooming. And what got my attention was that there were so many gate guardians. These are two trees that sit close together and create a ‘door’ that you can go through. Or it can be one huge, old tree who sits near a trail. Their job is twofold. First, they tell you there is an INCREASE in energy if you got through this gate. Secondly, that is a sacred area–more so than the others. I instructed Marty as we met our first cedar gate guardian, to press her hand to her heart, bow her head in deference to the tree spirit guardian, give her name and ask permission to pass on through.

Here is a vortex located where this cedar tree has grown. You can see all the various trunks flung widely into a circular arc–a sure sign that a small vortex is there.

I’ve been to many places where I would see gate guardians and know that whatever lay on the other side was sacred. But it could get dicey, too. A gate can mean a portal to another parallel dimension because there is an androgynous vortex beyond it. And if you pass through the gate, you are entering another reality–quite literally. There might be a male or female vortex. There might be a ‘veil’ of energy that is higher vibration. Whatever the case, you ask permission. If you aren’t ready for whatever lays beyond that gate, you will be given a NO energy–and you’ll feel it. There’s a coldness with it. A slap of energy. Or a feeling of “don’t go any farther.” Or, if you are to go through, you may get a physical ‘pull’ in the direction to walk through the gates, or a sense of happiness, joy or welcoming. All these mean YES, walk through the gate.

We stop at each one (and there was a LOT on this circular trail! We always give a gift of cornmeal to each tree before we do anything else–a sign of respect and love toward the being. We place our hand over our heart, give our name, ask permission of the guardian’s to pass with their permission). You can always FEEL their response. If it is a “yes” there is a sense of lightness or joy that surrounds you since Nature does NOT speak English. They can send telepathic images and emotions and then one must interpret.

What got me was there were so many along this 1.5 hour trail! I told Marty I’d never seen so many. And yet, every time we went through a gate with permission, you could feel the energy amp up a little more.
In one place along this trail that gave us a magnificent view of every formation we’d visited on the eastern side of this formation, we would run into streams of energy pulsing down through ravines.

This cedar is probably around eight hundred years old. You can FEEL their age and maturity. Gate guardians can be one or two trees placed on either side of a path where you are walking. Just to get to work and share energy with a tree spirit like this–if you did nothing else–would be educational, uplifting and often, it is healing.

One place, I spotted something off the trail to the right. Curious, I slipped and slid until I got to this huge sandstone rock. On top of it was a black cross that contained many metal images. There was the head of a woman, her body, her breasts, a child, , fish, a man’s head and the symbol of infinity or spirit at the top of the cross. Below it was a gift of spring flowers with a stone on top of them to stop them from blowing away. At the top of the cross were eight coins arranged in an arc across the top. Marty and would never touch such a sacred object. I told her it had to be a goddess gift and she wholly agreed. I told her the coins, all dimes with one quarter in the middle, represented the quarters of the moon plus the full moon (the quarter). This gift was placed directly east where the rising sun would touch it shortly after coming over the horizon. And, the moon rises in the east as well, so this goddess offering had been carefully placed with knowledge and heart energy.

This is a sacred altar created by those who honor the path of the Great Mother Goddess. At no time did we touch it at all. Sacred things should be left intact the way they are. We know that someone had come by very recently to give a gift of the green shrub that is beneath the red rock. It is a beautiful testament to the diversity of beliefs we have in this world and should so be respected.

We then met a Canadian couple who happened by as we were down at the goddess rock. Nancy was the woman and her husband were tourists. We chatted awhile with them. They were very nice and very attuned to the energy around them. They moved on and we scrambled up the hill to get back on the trail again.

After 1.5 hours of hiking, we reached the grand cedar tree. Marty had come here often to meditate, especially in the early morning. This tree was incredible energy-wise and so beautifully. It literally was at the foot of the airport! Marty had a good laugh when she told me that everywhere we went, Eileen’s helicopters followed–which is true. But today, we’re AT the airport and nary a helicopter in sight. We roared with laughter over the cosmic humor of it all.

Can you see the profile of the man singing in the shape of the formations? Take a good look–it is there. The Yavapai creation myth always impressed that one sang when one arose from sleep to honor the spirits. Everything we’ve seen in the landscape around the Sedona area shows face profiles SINGING. The Yavapai saw this too. It is a natural consequence of reading the land and knowing that in this particular area, song and music are the KEYS to opening up the energy and successfully working with the spirits and energy. Which is why when Marty and I sang and drummed and fluted at Rainbow Bridge on that afternoon, that everything invisible opened up to us and invited on this magnificent and exciting and unfolding journey with them. What is in the landscape where you live? What clues are there for you to see? What is it that the local spirits are asking so they can connect with you as well? Each place is unique. All you need to do is start reading what is there and interpreting it in order to open the doors of communication with them and yourself.

Because this is the solar plexus chakra, I told Marty that it symbolized our five senses. It was about the physical pleasures, the joy of life and celebrating life for all that it is. Toward that end, I brought a fruitcake as a gift for Grandmother Turtle. And, we left other offerings, including the two turtle fetishes.

We got down to business. I began to drum, and Marty played the flute. Instantly, Bololokan came to me. She was her beautiful, radiant self. I asked her how we could help Grandmother Turtle. Bololokan smiled and said, “Watch what I do.” I watched the snake create a figure eight between the head of Grandmother turtle and the rest of her massive, shelled body.

And as the snake raced around, I could literally see Gram Turtle, who seemed covered with thick, whitish-gray energy, pull out of it. The more Bololokan created the rainbow infinity symbol around Grandmother Turtle, the more she pulled free of these webs and debris. Within a minute, she had come to life once more. She thanked us for coming to free her from hibernation.

Next, the rainbow snake went around and around clockwise on the turtle’s shell. As she did, it created the wonderful colors of all the chakras. Then, the snake stood on her tail in the center of the turtle’s hump and shot skyward. I watched as a red column of energy anchored down within the turtle’s hump and then moved skyward. the energy shooting out of the top of this red column reminded me of frizzy hair being shot in all direction. Out of that came an orange column, then a yellow, green, blue, purple and white/gold one. I watched as this rainbow column thundered skyward and once it hit the ceiling of the sky, it became a beautiful umbrella of pastel colors going around the entire planet. It was beautiful.

And then, the snake moved off to a distance and waited. Grandmother Turtle took over and she began to explains some things to me. She told me she was the ‘hub’ of an energy wheel in this immediate area. She was the main guardian of Sedona. The serpent was a higher energy with other responsibilities not only in Sedona, but a much larger framework around the world. Nevertheless, Grandmother told me, they worked together for the good of all. She said that there were seven colors that I needed to visualize from specific formation. And she asked if I would do that for her. I told her I would try my best.

I went very deep into the journey at this point. I was beating my beautiful Tibetan drum and Marty was fluting in the background. Grandmother told me to bring the white-gold color of the crown chakra from El Shaddai. This is a volcanic vent near where Marty lives. There is the horned serpent in the area along with powerful red buttes that Marty calls “The Singers.” I brought the light and attached it to her shell. Immediately, the color began to circulate around and around within her shell.

Next, she told me to go to Rainbow Bridge and bring the color purple from there and attached it to her shell. This, I did. Then, she sent me to Isis Rock (The grandmother, mother and child) to bring back the blue color. From Pyramid Peak, we brought the color green. And the color yellow was brought from “Sugar loaf” Mountain a little northeast of Pyramid Peak. From Grandmother Komida’s kitchen, the navel/sacral chakra, I brought the color orange. And from Grandmother Bell Rock, the color red.
Once these were all circulating within the turtle’s shell, I watched the color became very vibrant and beautiful. Then, half the colors shot up the column on her shell into the sky, feeding it with a pulsing energy. The sky immediately became brilliant with the seven colors instead of the pale pastels I’d seen earlier.

The other half of the colors that were being brought into this hub on the turtle’ shell, were sent into mother earth in huge, pulsating waves that spread outward like throwing a pebble into a quiet pond of water and watching the ripples result from it.
I sat there, amazed at all of this. Grandmother Turtle said that because we had come and awakened her from her deep hibernation sleep that had been caused because people stopped connecting with her and sharing with her, that now, the energy was coming online for the entire Sedona area. I believed it. I could see each formation sending pulses of color into her shell where she transformed it and then was responsible for sending them to the right place.

She said she was the ‘hub’ of a greater color wheel of energy. Each geological formation was sending a specific color of energy. That in the past, a long time ago, this all happened without interruption. Because white people settled here and killed or chased the Native Americans who had kept this energy grid going out, Grandmother Turtle had gone dormant and none of this was working.

Now, it is working.

I shared all this with Marty afterward. We had some phenomenal ‘hits’ between us. But I’ll let Marty tell you what she saw and what happened to her in her report.

As we came to the other side of the trail which paralleled the airport runway for a bit, we came down the other side and found a cairn of rocks. But it was no ordinary hiking cairn. It was a mystical one. And if you knew how to read it, it showed the SAME energy and understanding that we had just been shown. It proves once more that other people are just as open and communicating with the spirits as we are.

We left our gifts and started down the other side of the hill–another 1.5 hour hike. Along the way, we met two cairns that were obviously placed by knowledgeable people who knew the energy of this area.

On our way round the other half of Grandma Turtle’s hump (it paralleled the airport for part of the way, we kept seeing so many WHITE butterflies. They were always flitting along the trail in front of us–as if celebrating what we had done. What we had communicated and connected with energy-wise with this wonderful turtle spirit. It was, to us, as if all creation in this area, was celebrating with us.

After getting back to our car, we went to the Airport Restaurant and ate. We celebrated by ordering prickly pear margaritas! We talked and shared all of this amazing information and mystic adventure.

I told Marty that her naming gift would be a rainbow quilt that I would make for her by the end of the year. I took her down to Quilting store in west Sedona where she picked out some beautiful fat quarters of colors. What an incredibly wonderful day! We were thrilled to be part of helping Grandmother Turtle awakened and once more, move the energy. We wonder how the Sedona area is going to react. When we know, you’ll know!

Here is a look at Sugar Loaf which Nicholas Mann calls the “heart chakra” of Sedona. It is the small red sandstone in front of our “dragon” but also known as Coffee Pot Rock. That is where we’ll go after exploring the solar plexus chakra located on Grandmother Turtle aka Airport mesa.

As we hiked down toward the parking lot where we had our car, Marty saw a ‘glow’ around my Tibetan drum. I don’t see it in the photo, but maybe you will. She was clairvoyantly (I think) seeing the energy that always emanates from this powerful 200 year old Bon po shaman drum.