After 5 years of being off of social media, I’m back on again, as I started some business endeavors and was finding it very difficult to do things solely through postering and word of mouth. It’s also been really nice getting back in touch with acquaintances, knowing about events that are happening, and staying connected with new acquaintances.
I’d really rather be living in the forest somewhere writing snail mail letters, growing zucchinis and hailing the moon and the stars every night - but that just isn’t my fate at the present time. And I must have gratitude for all my blessings – like fresh air, clear water and a safe place to sleep every night.
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I saw an incredibly awesome Grindcore show this week, including a band from Switzerland called Exorbitant Prices Must Diminish. Definitely my new favourite grind band (this isn't the show I saw, but you get the idea):
I also saw Hedonist play again, who just released a new album and are gong on tour with Carcass!:
Recently, there were some hot summery days, then a fog rolled in, and the rain started; which seemed perfectly fitting. When the weather shifted my sleep was fragmented and filled with strange, expansive, confusing and empowering dreams. I had a long afternoon nap, and as I emerged from my slumber I felt myself adapting to the energetic shift.
Tonight I checked out a very cool event honouring the Sisiyutl, a double-headed serpent that embodies the balance between light and darkness. As I walked over to the event, the rain was so refreshing and I wore my flip flops so I could get mud in my toes and wash my feet through giant puddles in the road..
The event was dubbed “A Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw Cabaret”, and started with a beautiful introduction by Brianna Bear who spoke about how we are all welcome on the lands of Lekwungen (Place to Smoke Herring) yet are asked to honour the “Na'tsa'maht”.
The event was curated and MC’d by Alex-Taylor Mcallum and he brought 4 generations of his extended famaily out for a an evening of live music and spoken word. The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw (sometimes referred to as Kwakiutl) peoples are represented by over 12 First Nations, and their territories extend from the North Island to the Sunshine Coast. Probably the most well-known community to Alert Bay. Probably the most well-known underground artist from the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw Nations is comic book artist Gord Hill.
The first performer was called Zero and they did a mix of original acoustic songs and covers. Their version of “Old Man” by Neil Young was one of the most beautiful I’ve ever heard, and it brought tears to my eyes.
Next up was Ne’nagwas, who mixed together traditional singing and drumming with soulful pop music, and spoke about heartbreak, healing, ancestors and community.
After Ne’nagwas, Alex’s Aunty Krystal Cook came up and read some of her poetry, which began with us incanting the spirit of a Kwakkwakwak wild woman. She also read a stand out piece about processing salmon with her parents, and told us that this year was a really good year for the sockeye.
The evening ended with Alex’s band, the Nation of Creation, who are a unique blend of rock, funk, jazz and hip hop. For his final song, Marilyn, he brought out his cousin Ne’nagwas who sang along as they honoured their grandmother. It’s a tragic and powerful song, and we were all chanting her name along with him, honouring her beautiful spirit.
Coming together in spaces like this is deep healing for a world that’s in crisis, and I feel so honoured to live in the part of the world that I live in, on these most sacred lands.
I was also vibing on Emma Restall Orr’s “Living Druidry” book, and it was highly synchronous that I left off at this passage as the show began:
“In our Western culture, both our society and our English language are weighted with bias towards an attitude of dualism: we jump to clarify opposites, opponents, left or right, needing the certainty of black or white, good or bad, in or out. Either with us or against us, there is no middle ground but that which provokes the threat of weakness or mistrust; our culture is always looking for it’s adversary, and at the source of this is the distinction between body and mind that is dualism. Physicality and spirit (here synonymous with soul or mind) in dualistic thought are considered to be made of discrete or dissimilr constituents. This is a Christian or monotheistic perspective.”
“The Druid speaks of spirit simply as life energy; the soul is that energy flowing through time and space along a current of intention.. the morality emerges naturally from the increasingly profound relationships that are forged between each individual and the spirits and forces of nature.”
Through the aforementioned book I’m learning about sacred forest altars called nemetons, which were an important part of Celtic culture. So many of them were destroyed by the Romans, who saw the Celtic and Germanic people as savages, as they brutally colonized so much of Greater Europe. And eventually the Romans adopted Christianity, not for spiritual reasons, but for political gain; which wreaked further havoc upon the collective spirit of the animistic peoples of Europe and beyond.
At the core of every human on this planet is a soul, which is connected to all other souls and to every rock, tree, flower and star around us. We’re not meant to seek the clouds of heaven and false light, or being “good” and “holy”; subsequently repressing our darkness until it lashes out and does terrible things. We are meant to live in balance, and we are meant to be a part of the earth, not above her or beyond her <3