The Lineage Vision Quest - Intention to Quest
Traditionally, the quest was scheduled a year in advance to give time for preparation. Preparation includes the process of gathering the Quest articles, building connections and support, purifying, and clarifying your intention.
Lineage Quests:
After being introduced to the Woptura lineage and moving to their ancestral home, I was introduced to their powerful version of the Vision Quest. This specific lineage has developed and refined the Vision Quest over generations. Various layers have been added as generation after generation received spiritual guidance in creating a more effective ritual. A Vision Quest's effectiveness can be measured in what connections are accessed and what layers of protection are activated. The Vision Quest of this lineage has developed into a powerful means to access spiritual guidance safely. The lineage Vision Quest has a complexity level that I have not seen in other versions.
The processes of preparing for the quest includes:
- Setting the intention of the quest
- Going on a journey to acquire various articles from nature and human sources
- Seeking guidance and support from mentors, elders, family, and friends
Setting Intention:
The first step in the Vision Quest process is to set an intention. The Vision Quest is often mandated by spiritual guidance. This can occur through dreams, guidance from spiritual mentors, or direct spiritual communication from nature.
Once the commitment has been made to Vision Quest, the quest has already begun. The quester and their mentor should select a date for the quest to occur. Ideally, quests are completed between the months of late spring to early fall, when the trees have their leaves and are "awake,"; and during the new moon cycle when the nights are the darkest.
After the intention has been set, then a clarifying procedure begins. It is not enough to have just the surface-level understanding of the reason for the quest. Questers may start with the simple intention, but then through the unfolding of the preparations, the intent is brought into greater clarity and deeper understanding.
The quester must engage understanding their meaning of why they are questing from their heart, mind, body, and spirit repeatedly in the months and days leading up to the quest. The initial intention guides them to deeper introspection through questions posed around the original intent. The intent becomes a vehicle that leads the quester to examine themselves and their goals thoroughly.
There is a power in questions that is overlooked in the modern world. The ability to question is a magical gift that has been given to humanity, a gift that can be taken for granted. Many indigenous philosophies and wisdom hold that questions as "sacred."
Questions are like doorways that open the possibility of answers by direct experience. There can be many answers for any problem, depending on the level of refinement of the question. Through questioning and grace, doorways open into new experiences, knowledge, understanding - and even wisdom.
By setting the intention to Vision Quest, all possible experiences and outcomes become potential. As the quester refines the meaning of the quest through introspection, questions, and reflection time in nature, the possible experiences are reduced to meet the quester's needs. In this way, the Vision Quest experience is co-created by both the quester and nature.
Clarifying Intention:
Two ways that consistently help clarify the quest's intent are sharing stories and journaling.
Sharing the Vision Quest's intention and processing the story that occurs during preparation with elders, mentors, and peers are great ways to gain guidance and clarity. People with whom the stories are shared must be able to listen to the stories deeply - they should be honored for doing so with some form of a gift from the quester.
Journaling is also a way to create a time for personal reflection. Journaling stories and then reviewing the reports later will guide a person towards more profound questions and clarity.
