What if the wisdom we fear the most—dark, wild, and unpredictable—is exactly what we need to find our way through the ruins? Here we follow the forest path of Baba Yaga, the wild crone of Slavic folklore, whose kinship with the birch tree teaches us that destruction can be a beginning, not just an end. In a world unraveling—ecologically, spiritually, and politically—her fierce, untamed wisdom calls us to root ourselves in cycles of death and rebirth, and to remember that becoming who we truly are often begins in the ashes.

What if creation wasn’t just something that happened once, long ago—but something we’re still a part of? In this reflection on the Haudenosaunee story of Sky Woman, I explore themes of reciprocity, balance, and the quiet power of tending what we love. With insights from Robin Wall Kimmerer and Ilarion Merculieff, this piece is a love letter to the enduring relevance of ancient myth for our contemporary moment.