Crossing Thresholds: The Water Ritual
Water is the source of life. We emerge from the watery womb. Water has regenerative powers that cleanses and renews. It holds the power of life, death and renewal. Ritual celebration is one way to center and ground major life events in order to gain a sense of meaning and well-being. Over a period of several months, beginning in the Autumn of 2015, I spent countless hours reflecting on how best to create a personal ritual to mark a big life transition that was occurring for me. This moment in my life felt like a monumental rite of passage worthy of a special ceremony, created by me and for me…
Introduction to the Bear’s Way Calendar Year
Each of us are indigenous to somewhere; each of us can claim indigenous roots to one or more places on this Earth that connect us to our ancestral origins. My indigenous roots are Northern and Western European. European Americans are a displaced people and most have lost their connections with their ancestors and the land. We long to rediscover the indigenous knowledge that characterized the lives of our ancestors. There is a yearning to connect with those cultural and spiritual practices that enrich our lives with deeper meaning and purpose. My maternal ancestors are French, and my paternal ancestors are Irish, English, Scottish and African American. I was born in Thierville-sur-Meuse in 1956, located in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France. My mother, Lucette Henriette Langard, was working at a U.S. military base where she met my father, Charles Jacob William Little. Part of my growing up years were spent living with my family in France but for most of my life I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest. Reaching for my European indigenous roots I learned about pre-Christian traditions that connect us with the land and our ancestral ways. The Bear’s Way Calendar Year is my way of sharing this spiritual tradition for practical use today.
