Excerpt from Our Love Is Our Power

 Bear had been coming in my dreams so I went to him to find out why.

"Bear," I asked, "why have you been coming in my dreams?"  He lifted his nose, sniffed the air intently, and growled, "Evil is brewing."  This sobered me and I gasped, taking in a breath.  "If this is what's happening, Bear," I said, "if evil is brewing, show me what we can do.  Tell me," I said, my voice catching.  "Evil is gathering there," he pointed to banners blowing in a dry wind on what looked like the steppes of what might be Mongolia, Russia or China ---somewhere in the east.  "Watch!" he said, and turning slightly to the right, he gestured to a vast plain that stretched before us.

I glued my eyes to the multi-colored grasses that were swaying in the wind and watched.  The swaying became more pronounced and then the grasses parted.  "Horses," I whispered as herds of them poured onto the plain, running in our directions.  Reds, blacks, tans, pintos, browns, and whites raced toward us.  They whinnied and called to one another as they came on and the drumming of their hooves filled my ears.  Onward they surged, throwing up a great dust cloud that hung in the air above them.

The horses advanced, racing along a diagonal, row after row galloping across the land.  A group raced in from the left and was met by a cross current from the right.  No sooner did one herd thunder toward us than another pounded forth. Wave after wave washed over the plain, overlapping as they came together.  I watched the patterns they created as they ran, struck dumb by their majesty.  Then my eyes fastened on a herd of white ones charging in our direction and suddenly I recalled the great medicine man, Black Elk's vision and remembered the significance of "horse."

"Horse is the symbol of power," I said, and turned to Bear and asked.  "Why are horses appearing in this place?"  Bear made a deep rumbling sound, thumped his chest and said, "You must take power --- now!  You must step forward and be willing to hold more power. ... Yes," said Bear, "it is time to stand in the light." And facing me straight on, he locked his eyes on mine and roared, "Stand in the light!"

Chapter 5, P. 56-57, Our Love Is Our Power, by Sharon McErlane