Springs

For a while now, I have wanted to write something about desert springs (actually, I already have—in my story, “The Turned Into’s,” there is a description of a spring.)  I am thinking specifically of places like Rattlesnake Springs near Carlsbad Caverns, or Manzanita Springs in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  These are true oases in the desert, places that attract great numbers of trees and birds and fish and reeds that you would never expect to find in an arid region.  Their beauty seems almost magical.  Of course, before the advent of modern “civilization,” they were also sources of survival for human beings (not to mention their animals).  It is not surprising that they took on a sacred character, earning the maxim “numen inest.”  For one who seeks water in the desert, the spring is a paradise. 

     Many peoples and religions honor the spring, especially those born in the deserts of the world.  For Native Peoples of the Americas, many springs are considered sacred, from karst springs like the so-called Montezuma well in Arizona and the sacred well at Chichen Itza, to the sacred hot springs near Jemez Pueblo or those in Tonopah, Arizona, to the Serra Springs and those on Mt. Shasta in California that were also used as drinking water sources.  Of course, there are thousands of other sacred springs throughout the Americas, but one needs only to look at how disrespectfully those that I have mentioned have been treated to understand why the locations of most are kept hidden.

     In the scriptures of the Judeo-Christian tradition, one also finds a reverence for springs.  Throughout the Bible there are references to springs: as places of refuge and renewal (Is 49:10), as signs of God’s presence and providence (Zec 14:8), (Jer 31:9), (Jn 4:13-14), (Rev 21:6), and of course those famous lines from the Psalms: He is like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves never fade (Ps 1), and, Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit. (Ps 23) (tr. The Jerusalem Bible)

     In the Qur’ān there are a number of references to springs, none more beautiful than verse 54:12, وَفَجَّرْنَا الْأَرْضَ عُيُونًا فَالْتَقَى الْمَاءُ عَلَىٰ أَمْرٍ قَدْ قُدِرَ, with the spring given as a symbol of Allah’s providence to His servant, or verse 55:66, where the two springs are promised to His faithful.

    Many pre-Christian European religions saw springs as sacred, abodes of gods or spirits.  Nearly all religions have ritual bathing practices, that, in the desert, would undoubtedly be practiced using spring water under most circumstances.  Water flowing wholesome and clean from the bosom of the earth is the embodiment of purification.

     For me, the sight of a desert spring is always refreshing and renewing.  I feel joy and fullness well up inside of me, and a deep love and reverence for the water and all living creatures that depend on it.  It is important to respect these places, and remember that they are part of a living ecosystem.  They need to be valued and protected as well as enjoyed.