"When the earth is ravaged and the aninals are dying,

there will come a tribe of all colours, creeds & classes,

who will be known for their deeds, not their words.

They will make the earth whole again.

They will be known as Warriors of the Rainbow."

Native American legend

"Environmentalists, from ecologists to rainbow gatherers, have learnt from ancient teachings and are using this knowledge to save the planet... The fifth world is fast becoming a spiritual-political reality for...the family of Rainbow Warriors," writes Alberto Ruz Buenfil. So who are these warriors, and what are they up to?

red earth

The rainbow is a symbol of hope throughout indigenous cultures. It exemplifies the intangible, spectacular nature of reality. Red refers to Native Americans, and to all root races - tribal cultures of earth; their closeness to nature, and the blood that was shed in their slaughter. A tribe is bound together by love, so it has a special fascination in a separated society. The rebellious artists of the postwar Beat Generation, tired of walking the lonely ghettos of New York, crossed into New Mexico. "The ’dharma bums’ began walking the paths of Hopi, Navajo, Lakota," becoming the new ’white indians’. Thus the ancient cultures of the maternal round met the children of patriarchy. A conception occured in the collective consciousness. The legend of the Warriors of the Rainbow is becoming an everyday reality.

orange people

What began as a small group of rebellious artisits, became an extensive underground movement, and finally, a full-scale international youth (r)evolution. Orange conjures images of monks, sanyassins, incense, and all things eastern. Our collective sacral chakra opened, allowing us to be in love - with each other and mother earth. The 60’s spiritual psychonauts set the world afire, with the unprecedented awakening of an entire generation. Tribes of flowerchildren coalesced into the "Human Be-In" Summer of Love in San Francisco 1967. Woodstock (1969) was the finale. The tide of idealism ebbed, and it was time to walk the talk. Those who had "achieved rainbow consciousness began living according to their hearts, and the movement of their collective thoughts, visions, words and actions generated social change."

yellow insight

The 70’s was the time to do all the beautiful dreams of the 60’s. Yellow intelligence and inspiration birthed the Alternative Lifestyle; "the challenge of linking the spiritual and political - change in consciousness to change in how we live, act and shape society," says Starhawk. Those who came through the initiation were now grounding their visions, bifurcating into back-to-landers, spiritual travellers, social change collectives, and rock’n’rollers. Greenpeace was founded in 1971, the first Rainbow Gathering (a world-wide happening of living in harmony) was held in 1972, and communes, all colours of the rainbow, experimented in alternative living. Intentional community was intuited as a solution to social and environmental problems perceived with this new awareness. The new consciousness made sense... perhaps the hippies were onto something?

greening of gaia

The nascent rainbow movement opened our collective heart chakra. Being true to our hearts, we could no longer ignore Green issues. The 1975 fiction Ecotopia describes a culture of "natural food and medicine, organic farming, recycled wastes, nonpolluting transport, an economy based on co-operation not competition, and education creating a nonviolent ecological consciousness." Hmmm...sound familiar? The literature of inspired people often fortells real change. Green culture, from Goddess worship to politics, is becoming mainstream. In the passage through the heart chakra, rainbow consciousness is challenged by economic rationalism. Alternative communities, once vibrant, are now missing the younger generations. As residents return to the city, homes become baches. Available community land falls short of the expanding awareness, and falls prey to exploded land prices. Another step is needed to truly ground the rainbow vision.

blue youth

Our Blue throat chakra awakens in adolescence. We want to express ourselves, our individuality. We are potential. The "powers-that-be" learnt much from the 60’s youthful revolution, and today’s young are mass-marketed materialism. Alternative technologies are silenced. Society is polarised, and poised to protect the status quo. Education remains competitive, and youth suicide is higher than ever. It is "normal" for children to play violent computer games. As the dissonance peaks, we still await true rainbow consciousness, wondering - will the new age arrive?

indigo children

"The eternal return is a mythical ritual that is symbolic of the periodic renovation of the world...While helping to renew the world, it is natural for us to proclaim a New Age, as we are inspired by past Golden Ages." Rainbow consciousness opened the portal for Indigos’ evolving psychic-spiritual envisioning. I know - I’m one. Truly there is rapidly evolving consciousness now. Definitely our thoughts are more powerful. We learn to focus our love on the new creation (rather than what George or Kate are up to). Extracting our psychic attention from the old world and channelling power into heaven on earth is where it’s at today. Rainbow children know how to play. The realisation is that this grassroots movement is spreading wide, affecting everyone with love and light!

violet flame

"Rainbow consciousness is alchemical gold...this luminous spectrum is the bridge." A collective planetary movement is being actualised by tribes of Rainbow Warriors - this time the "messiah" is ourselves. You won’t hear it on the news. You’ll hear it in cyberspace. We are burning a Violet flame to cleanse the world. Quetzacoatl, feathered rainbow serpent, emphasised the essential role humanity plays in maintaining cosmic harmony through spiritual regeneration. We are participating in another awakening. The coming "fifth sun" evolves us into "luminous beings" who are liberated from duality betwixt ourselves and nature. We are doing this in peace, rather than cataclysm, when we chose the way of the Rainbow Warrior. As Buenfil says, "the New Age...is truly an international movement fueled by the energies of millions of people."

rainbow nation without borders

is the ecotopian vision, summed up in the book of the same name by Buenfil. The realisation of Peace On Earth means peace within ourselves, harmony with our environment, with all sentient beings, and the spiritual realms. It takes all our strength, love and vision to walk our talk because of the polarities currently manifesting on earth. When it comes to the crunch, rainbow warriors always choose love and light. We shine through the mists of Babylon, we can see that we are joined by millions of kindred spirits on the rainbow bridge to planetary healing. By embracing a whole-earth awareness we are on our way to becoming galactic humans... so cross the rainbow bridge with me...

O’mta ku oyasin

(to all our relations)

Sources of Inspiration:

Rainbow Nation Without Borders, Alberto Ruz Buenfil, Bear & Co 1991, The Fifth Sacred Thing, Starhawk, Earth Ascending, Jose Arguelles, Bear & Co 1988, The Aquarian Conspiracy, Marilyn Ferguson, JP Tarcher 1980, The Dispossessed, Ursula Le Guin, Harper & Row 1974, Island, Aldous Huxley, Harper & Row 1961.

Rainbow Gatherings:

www.welcomehome.org, www.rainbow-aotearoa.info, www.timeofthesixthsun.com

*All quotes from Buenfil unless otherwise indicated.

Kiri Sta* is an artist and rainbow warrior, with a degree in politics & diploma in environmental management. She welcomes all who wish to connect in crossing the rainbow bridge. She collects inspiring stuff at www.myspace.com/kiri_sta.... Her art book and cards are available thru her website: www.stareartheart.org.nz