The Dynamic Forces of Te Wānanga and Ātea

Holding space for someone else is one of the most impactful ways to support deep healing and transformation. It requires a gentle, compassionate presence. It asks for patience and the willingness to listen without judgment.

Whether it’s in the quiet of a meditation room, the supportive circle of a therapy group, or the comforting embrace of a loved one, creating a safe environment is crucial.

In Te Ao Māori, the space is known as Ātea. It is the mauri or essence and acts like a container or space in that it holds you to enable a wānanga or insights to occur. It can be very tapu depending on the level of presence one honours the space. You, being one with the mauri will also become tapu.

Te Wānanga and Ātea

Te Wānanga is the mauri where insights are generated. They are sparks of light that ignite when engaged by a purposeful kaupapa. A kaupapa can build the mauri and attract and enhance more of the same codes of light for a wānanga to occur. These sparks of light are all around us ready to be ignited. Once ignited they become like aka or threads to ascend. The weight of the aka can be perceived and a quick peek to determine if the codes align with your kaupapa or not. If it does not align or ‘‘feel right’ we can let go of the thread and find another one that does align. This can be done quite quickly when you know your body and have high sensory perception.

Ātea is the space where wānanga occurs. Ātea and Te Wānanga are both dynamic forces and work together. Te Wānanga is the tuakana of Ātea in that it comes first in the whakapapa of Te Ao Māori. Ātea supports the wānanga by being a vessel to hold the mātauranga. Within Ātea, insights will flow and are enriched with intricate codes to connect with. You may just choose to be held in the healing forces of Ātea without the wānanga. This is a quiet, timeless space where the hinengaro can rest and regain clarity.

As a Kairongoā or Māori healer, I tend to spend a great deal of time in Ātea. It’s a space I know well and find comfort there. Most people have a special infinity with an Atua or two, mine is Ātea. I have strengthened whanaungatanga with it over the years and honour it deeply.

Time is irrelevant in Ātea. Time is slowed right down to a standstill. It’s timeless and weightless and fully charged with codes of potential.

Liminal space of a corridor

Liminal Space

Every moment in Ātea is vivid, and the physical senses are heightened. It’s like a liminal space and has a similar mauri. A liminal space is a space of transition. It’s like a waiting room. Liminal spaces can be hallways or passages, hospitals or airports, empty or abandoned buildings. Places of transition or between places are liminal.

Healing in Ātea

We can hold space for others by entering the mauri of Ātea. This works well in a healing space for an individual We become like a container that holds the ‘empty’ space for others, offering a respite from the chaos of the mind. It provides a supportive environment for an individual to have a sense of peace.

This sanctuary of calm can lead to profound personal insights and a deeper connection to one's own emotions and experiences. As we hold this space with empathy and compassion, we enable a transformative process where individuals can release burdens, find solace, and unlock pathways to healing and growth.

Threads of Wānanga or Light

Threads of Light

I know the profound sense of well-being one can receive in the space. I am also aware of the level of tapu one becomes after long periods of time have been spent there.

Being able to observe the body and what state it is in is an important skill to learn in all areas of life. In Ātea, I need to know the level of tapu I am entering as I progress, especially if I engage in wānanga. The threads of wānanga will always present themselves in Ātea. At times I will engage in a thread and sometimes I will just allow myself to be charged and enable others to enter the space.

By drawing on the mauri of Ātea, one can direct a wānanga thread to engage in. This works well in an environment where there is a group. Everyone ignites a spark in each other and the wānanga flows with mātauranga. As a facilitator of wānanga, I must be able to see the many threads to follow and engage in. When I see them, I become ignited. I then observe my body to feel the fullness of the wānanga and if I have permission to enter.

I ‘check in’ with my being by asking questions. Here are some questions I might ask:

• Do I have permission to enter?

• Do I have enough space in my being to hold the light?

• Does the roopū?

• How does this thread feel?

When I ask these questions from within is when I feel the tapu. I will proceed cautiously, always observing the state of my being. I make sure my kaitiaki are with me by feeling their support, guiding me.

To receive mātauranga, we must be in a clear state to hold the light. If we have not done our personal work beforehand by clearing ourselves of raru and toxicity, we will not receive the wānanga. We simply will repel it and fall off the thread and out of the space. I will see this by the ahua in the groups faces. The spark of light will simply be gone or fading fast. This keeps them safe as too much light, when one is not ready, can have a negative effect.

Reading Places and People

One can perceive information about a specific place or people. One can feel the codes of light and engage with them to learn more about that place or person. Make sure you have permission first and read the signs whether you are allowed to advance or not. I can’t stress this enough. It’s rude to ‘read’ a place or person without their consent. The tapu of a person and place knows when it’s being violated. If you’re not meant to go any further you must be able to sense that and stop immediately.

If you do have permission everything will feel light and warm.

Waterfall in The Caitlins Forest

Rongoā Wānanga - Reading Plants and Trees

Whenever I want to learn about a specific rākau and its role for Papatūānuku I will enter Ātea. I will create the container (Ātea) to hold the wānanga. This is a timeless space filled with potential codes of light. I can sit in this space, going in and out, for days, weeks, months or years tuning in to the many threads of just one plant. Learning is constant, with information continuously expanding and evolving. The mātauranga deepens the more we purify ourselves.

When I am facilitating a Rongoā Wānanga I wait for the kaupapa to reveal itself. The place of the wānanga and people attending will determine the kaupapa and wairua brings it all together. The ngahere will call. There will be specific rākau, kaitiaki or spaces within the ngahere that want to share. They may have a message to impart individually or collectively. Always deep healing will occur that only that space can provide.

I am facilitating a Rongoā Mauri Wānanga at The Caitlins at the bottom of the South Island for the first time next month. It’s an ancient ngahere that I have always wanted to visit. When I received the karanga I felt the whenua first, then I saw the rākau. The rākau seem unfamiliar to me but they have something to share. I perceive this message in the form of a sound vibration. I build the wānanga on that sound vibration. That sound vibration gets ‘picked up’ by people who can hold that sound vibration. This is the Atua known as Te Whē. I will write about this Atua soon.

I prepare for the pōwhiri months in advance. I open the wānanga space and the karanga goes out and reaches those who will align with the kaupapa. The people attending will play a big part in the wānanga as they bring their own codes of light to share and spark off one another. It’s a beautiful symphony of light shared with one another. Healing for the people. Healing for Papatūānuku because she is being heard.

The information I have shared here has been retrieved within Ātea engaged with Te Wānanga. These are Atua in the whakapapa of Te Ao Māori. They are not personified beings outside of us, they reside within us. They are mauri or essences of dynamic forces that we can draw on. We can apply their teachings by understanding who they are and where they sit in the whakapapa realm.

Written by Joanne Hakaraia-Olson

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