Fire Beneath the Frost: How a Little Bird Outsmarted Winter and Woke the World

Singebis is an ancient Ojibwe winter folktale about a beloved folk hero and wild grebe whose perseverance, courage, resilience, and loyalty in the face of Kabibona'kan, Winter Maker, shows us we can do the same in the face of adversity. This story asks us to reflect on what kinds of Kabibona'kans do we face in our lives today that threaten to divide us from others who might be our friends? This folktale reminds us we all have the capacity to tap into our inner Singebis, find our inner trickster, and remind ourselves that even a little wild bird can outsmart the Winter Maker!

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Between the Dragon and the Crane: Hatching the Vital Bothness into Being

There is a heartwarming folktale indigenous to Vietnam involving an unexpected romantic coupling between a dragon and a crane that is one of many endearing folktales that make up Vietnam’s rich heritage of maritime folklore. Since the beginning of time storied landscapes have included in-between, magical places like coastlines or intertidal areas between land and sea, and these are often sites of transformation, thresholds between worlds, and are infused with magic. The enduring wisdom of this story is about finding the hidden treasure that is birthed from unexpected connections, and when we choose to come together despite our differences.

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Buzzard Dances & Pokeberry Spells: Feathers, Folklore & Fugitive Fires

A reflection on the folk wisdom offered in The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl by Virginia Hamilton filled with beloved characters from African American folklore. How folklore and folk tradition bring a small community fugitives into deep relationship with the wild, and how enchantment and magic serve as a source of psychological resilience and practical survival in the face of unimaginable hardship.

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Owl Eyes Goddess Sight: Where Wisdom Holds Intellect and Creaturely Intuition in Sacred Balance

What sacred knowing might we remember if the human mind dared to meet the wild gaze of nature, not in conquest, but in kinship? In this exploration, we turn to the myth of Athena and her owl, a symbol of wisdom born from two intertwined perspectives, inviting us to reconsider the nature of knowledge itself. By acknowledging both the rational and the mysterious, the human and the more-than-human, we open ourselves to a deeper, more holistic understanding of the world. This myth calls us to honor the ancient wisdom of balance, urging us to seek insight through relationship rather than dominance, and to remember that true wisdom is always a dance between worlds.

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