My real name is Stuart. It means "the caretaker". My mother named me well,as I have tried to live up to that title all of my 30 , going on 31 years experience. My chosen name is Spyder,with added nouns depending on my life at the moment.
At A Glance Author SpyderShaman Contact SpyderShaman@bme.anon When Ten years ago or more Artist Creator Being a true American ,and having the blood of almost every major race on planet Earth , I became interested at a young age in all things termed tribal,primitive,or pagan. Looking at National Geographic magazines at the age of 8, and seeing the magnificent warriors of tribes that practice body modification ,made my young mind wonder to what extent I too could take my appearance and spiritual life through the use of the same techniques.
At 14 for my birthday I talked my mom into letting me go and get my ear pierced at the local mall . Yes , I know ,those guns are extremely nasty little devices and should never be used on any body part . At the time do you think I cared ? I was exerting a control over my body,and at that age it is a thrill to do something that was considered taboo . They placed a little gold stud in it and that was it . But I took it out ,because it wasn't fitting to me . A few months later I talked my mom to take me again , and this time they placed a silver hoop in it . Now I was satisfied , for I figured if nothing else I could tie little feathers or bones to the hoop. One day at school my best friend showed me something that was to change everything I had ever known about my body . He had gotten bored one night and placed two earring hoops through his lobe . I was fascinated and proceeded to do the same thing . This led to my adding even more , and at one point I do believe I had 7 or 8 hoops inside of my ear . Since those years are a great time of experamentation and exploration of who we are, I was also playing with my hairstyles and clothing , adopting the mohawk and the dreadlock styles as my favorites , not only for their looks , but also for all the cultural signifigances attached to them . I was on my way to creating what I thought was my own unique tribal identity.
Flash forward to 1991. I was 18 and very much into what was then termed the "alternative music" scene . This was the first year of the festival known as Lollapolooza . I had seen on the cable coverage of it that there was an act called the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow , and in this group there were numerous heavily modified individuals . I was fascinated by Mr.Lifto and the Enigma from the get-go . There was a booth there also that was doing nostril piercings and of course I went and got it done . Now that i have researched what these piercings mean (stretching of the lobes and piercing of the nostrils)to the cultures where they originated ,in retrospect I realize I was seeking enlightenment and awareness of all it is to be a human being . Also around this time I got my hands on a copy of "Modern Primitives". Seeing what Fakir and Jim Ward had done to themselves encouraged me to do alot more to my body and mind . It also opened me up to the fact that there is a spiritual reas oning for why those warriors I saw in National Geographic had their septums pierced with large pieces of ivory and bone .
I began to learn how to pierce , on my own and not always in the best manner . Fortunately I did not permanently injure any of my "guinea pigs", and my knowledge grew . At the time too , I was involved very heavily in Native American Pow-Wow culture , and I began to study shamanism . During my trances and meditations I had an epiphany . In one vision I saw myself as an old grizzled man , who belonged to a tribe that resided in a very old growth forest , take a sharpened stick and puncture the septum of a young man on the dirt floor of a hut . I realized that this man was me in another time and place and what anthropologists would have called him was a shaman . I was fascinated yet again.
As piercing gained in popularity , and shops spread all over America , I knew it was our society's youth's way of reclaiming all of our heritage as a tribal culture . Initiation has always been a part of the human experience . Without it , children cannot cross the threshold into adulthood , and become contributing members to society. As Americans , we have the unique opportunity to have all the worlds tribes represented here. In my mods I have chosen only to do that which has a few hundred years history at the least . Each and everyone of them was a chance to mold myself to look and feel the way I wanted to . When I got my septum I had become a warrior . Then my labret was a show of my new found responsibilities to my"tribe".
My ear stretchings were to me a sign of my enlightenment and they would allow me to wear the bones of animals . I first place a coyote tooth thru my lobe . Coyote is an ancient archetype in native culture . He is the trickster , as is Raven ,and Spider , and is thus considered holy and sacred . The tricksters teach us to laugh at ourselves and that through mistakes and a sense of humor one can have growth and success . This I found to be true when I placed a representative of the Coyote thru my earlobe. Next to go into my skin was an alligator tooth I had found . Alligator is the symbol for integration , to learn how to take the good with the bad in life and accept it all as part of Creators plan . I thank my spirit animals for the growth they have allowed me and the lessons I have learned by having their bones in my skin . It has allowed me to see and feel new things .
Warriors and hunters of some tribes in the South Pacific Islands place the tusks of wild boars in their upper cartilage and septums to show their fierceness , some African tribes file their teeth down to give a more animal appearance . I could go on and on,but that knowledge is out there for you to find . You can spend a whole lifetime researching just the facial mokos of the Maoris , or the body modifications of the Aboriginals of Australia . What I am concerned with is not the specifics or differences of all these groups of people , but the similarities in the human condition , and the one thing that is the same is the use of body modification as a means to create an identity and mindset . I have strived to do the same in all that I do , as I commit myself to the practice and teaching of tribal culture and its connection to bod mod.
I have heard before the argument that the youth culture of America has taken alot of mods out of context and offended alot of cultures and tribes , but if you look at what America has become , you would understand why we have embraced a more simplistic , primal lifestyle . As technology advances , and the government here tries more and more to be the cop of the rest of the world , is it any wonder the view of us in the world community has taken a down turn ? I see our embracement of other cultures a step in the right direction in some ways , in others an offensive affront to some . That is why as seekers of enlightenment those of us who call or identify ourselves as shamen and womyn must own our mods and be responsible for what they may mean to others . So yes that South American's style of wearing feathers in his ear may seem like a really cool way to freak your friends and family out , but take a moment and think what it may mean to him . I know why I do everyt hing I do,and at no time do I try to steal from any people whose beliefs and life I respect . I always strive to make the experience my own and to pay proper respects .
I just realized that I may have just rambled for a long time and maybe lost some of you along the way , but then I pray I haven't and maybe given you some insight into what bod mod means to the planet Gaiea and her peoples . As for me , I plan on continuing this quest on this planet and in this life and beyond . Once I have done every body ritual at least once, I hope the Universe deems me worthy enough to transcend and continue my studies on other planets . Imagine what a tribe of four-armed people with 3 eyes would deem worthy of pain and blood and sacrifice . I do all the time. I am gonna wind down now and end this little diatribe for the sake of posterity . I hope this has been deemed worthy enough to be included in the collection of BME's essays and I hope to write alot more for you guys.
Thank you for the chance to explain myself and be a part of this community. till then , may whatever you believe in deem you worthy to ascend on your quest to heal yourself of the condition known as humanity . As for me , im going to go get ready to suspend myself , and dream of my home world , where my back has wings and a tail , my head has extra eyes and horns , and my torso has my extra arms .
I will leave you with one more thing before I go . That which does not kill me , only makes me stronger . You are not responsible for the actions of others , only yourself . Carpe Diem . Hoka Hey..........and a big thanks to Mitakuye Oyasin . For more about me go to http://pittbullchainsaw.iuma.com MERRY MEET AND MERRY PART AND MERRY MEET AGAIN SPYDERGOD AKA SPYDERSHAMAN AKA SPYDEREYES WEBWING AKA John Stuart Sponseller