Words as Moã,
'Medicine'
Maddox Lightning is a polymath and linguaphile, who's storytelling imperative is to 'help make the world a more beautiful place'. She is the recipient of multiple awards, and diverse accolades.
Lightning composed her first book at the age of two, and when ten, her debut, adult-length novel; she fondly remembers reading books on one knee, with her preferred dictionary lain upon the other.
Lightning has scribed over a million words, becoming a recognized "master of her craft" in both poetic prose, and languorously sumptuous storytelling.
In 2024, a year after deciding to aspire to authorship, the Evergreen State College, and local tribal elders, sent Lightning abroad to Brazil, as a storyteller—to study her ancestry, imbibe ancestral wisdom teachings, and seek global healing for what Lightning sees as an "Identity Crisis". Lightning's poetics have been read for World Village, and spoken for colleges throughout the Pacific Northwest. She has become a sought after educator, orator, and inspirational speaker. Currently, Lightning is constructing a publishing company dubbed Sacrosanct Stories, dedicated to promulgating 'healing narratives' for all.
Elisabeth Sharp McKetta
“Maddox Lightning has a poet's heart and a wise woman's respect for the earth and all its people. These qualities shine through in her work." - author of She Never Told Me about the Ocean
Silence McCreedy
"Moddox's voice sings off the page, lifting the reader up into a story of immense power... In [her writings] you may find humor, wisdom, and the sacred.” - author of Embracing the Goddess
Shadoe Rayne
“A saying from my tribe comes to mind: Htla ksig‐wantga giamg. This carries a double meaning... “It is sunrise,” and “It is touching the sun.” - Tsimshian musician
Mindful Reading.
Ancient Inspiration.
A Note from the Author:
"Sacrosanct Stories is an amalgamation of dreams. My lifelong passion of writing, immeasurable solace in nature, and yearning to help others, especially utilizing ancient knowledge we stem from.
When we follow our gifts and inclinations, and nurture them deeply as friends, wonderous things unfurl. I have known, since I was little, I am meant to tell stories (though I hold many passions). On this path, I have seen, when we lean into what makes our hearts sing, we touch the world in an exceptional way.
I vividly remember my first one-on-one writing instructor, author Tara Hardy, confiding in me, 'Maddox, your writing is the cream of the cream of the crop... You live in the house of words... They would be lucky to have you!' We both knew I was in the right place.
In our ancestors' past, a premier arrowsmith knapped many people's arrowheads. A consummate shoemaker was cherished deeply, gone to, and not likely convinced to pursue fashioning projectiles... While we all hold multiple skills, today, many arrowsmiths are being shoemakers, because other voices spoke over their heart.
My advice would be: 'Do what you must do to survive, however, also do what you must do to thrive.' If you listen, thriving will find a way.
And, if you seek refuge and transformation... these novels are worked from the healing cloth of happiness, and the seeking of it, of patterns of beauty, continuance, and belonging. I offer you these as a cloak to don, so cold winds might refresh you without freezing you.
You are everything you were meant to be. And you're not done yet..."
- Maddox Lightning
About
Ixé Maddox Lightning.
(My name is Maddox Lightning.)
Lightning is a polymath and linguaphile, currently finishing her degree in anthropology, indigenous arts and life ways, ecology, and novel creation. Last summer, Lightning was sent to Brazil on a highly competitive scholarship, as a storyteller, to learn from her Guaraní heritage. Her anthology, Mbyá Dreams, will be released in 2025. Her debut anthology, A Shrine of Words (a Year Learning from Haiku), can be found on Amazon.
Spinning a Dream...
An excerpt from Maddox Lightning's Words as Medicine, a free treatise in support of those observing the language of the heart.
"For over 75,000 years, human beings and our close relatives have been unfurling artistry... This is 'sacrosanct', meaning: 'too sacred to be messed with'. In visual art, imagine a pictograph (painted) or petroglyph (carved), when specific body parts and purposeful colors are emphasized, and chosen... through the artisan... we are receiving a story. We must listen, If we listen, deeply, closely, we hear through time. One would not change the art of our ancestors. We watch, listen. We want to learn what they had to say, to show. The modern, is often, what we judge. Yet art is at the root of our ancestral cultures. And what is raw, from the past, inspires awe. When we look at this ancient heritage, this gift, made for others to see, and do the same with the present, we observe a very important communication device. With shells, ocher, bones and stones, teeth, claw, wood, and clay... we wove and carved and painted... expressing. Even today, that fascinates us. We are nearly the same people, biologically. As with books, insisting to myself that I write what is worth the trees it is printed on, I, too, look at the stories I am telling, and ask myself if they are good medicine to pass down... What stories were worth painting on, and engraving into, stone? You have some of those in you... and I have some of them in me..."
