May it be before me.
May it be beautiful behind me.
May it be beautiful below me.
May it be beautiful above me.
May it be beautiful all around me.
In beauty it is finished.”
~ Navajo Night Chant
The Navajo, known as the Diné (“The People”), are the second-largest Native tribe in the
United States. Their homeland covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, a place where
story, ceremony, and life rest on harmony.
“Before me peaceful, behind me peaceful, under me peaceful, over me peaceful, all around me peaceful,” echoes a Navajo proverb shaped by joy. The Night Chant, one of the most sacred Diné ceremonies, honors this harmony.
For the Navajo, chanting is a living expression of balance and healing. Like a steady heartbeat, the songs have carried the culture through generations. Through ritual, sand painting, story, and ceremony, medicine men and women help restore what illness or imbalance has disturbed. This is a return to hózhǫ́ — beauty, harmony, and wholeness.
Another chant teaches:
“The first woman holds it in her hands.
She holds the moon in her hands.
In the center of the sky, she holds it in her hands.
As she holds it in her hands, it starts upward.”
Let harmony return to your spirit. 🌙✨