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pictures and film to a bonnie tune. Wakan Tanka to the Dakota nations means The Great Mystery, Wakan Tanka (the Great Mystery)Often designated by non-Native Americans as “the Great Spirit“. In a certain sense, the supreme power of the Lakota universe. Every object in the world whether it be of the earth, the air, the fire or the water has a spirit and that spirit is Wakan. Thus the spirit of the tree or beings of that kind, while not like the spirit of man, are also Wakan. “Wakan Not a divinity, or even a spirit, as such, the concept of wakan is a very central one and should be commented upon. Wakan means “mystery“, “something marvellous“, “a sacred essence“. It is an impersonal force within all things, animate and inanimate alike. Some things have more of it than others, though - language is wakan, food is wakan, medicine (magick) is wakan, birth and death are wakan. To be a Wicasa Wakan (a shaman or “medicine man“) is to develop a great deal of wakan within oneself, and to utilize it “ “The term has a double meaning - technically it refers to all the spiritual powers of the universe, as if assembled together around a council fire. As imagined though, the “council“ of the spirits becomes a single entity, and this is the second meaning of the term - the collective power of all the Gods, considered as a specific entity. This entity informs all space and time, and is present in all things animate and inanimate. The spirit underlying Wakan Tanka itself is Inyan, who caused all things to be by sacrificing His own nature, and thereby infusing all things with His nature. Wakan Tanka can be addressed directly in prayer and ritual, but His influence within the world is diffused through His elements and aspects. “
