Spring Solstice Ceremony

You Are the Medicine

You are the medicine.

My friend Asha has a new book out this week, and believe me when I say it can help you heal if you let it.

I spoke with Asha on Instagram the other day (you can watch it here), and we chatted about her beautiful book, about the coming of Spring, about healing, and Indigenous representation.

The Spring Solstice (on Sunday, March 20th this year, specifically at 11:33 AM) is like New Years for Anishinaabe people. For me, this is a time of asking what the coming spring will be like. We’ve just come out of a long season of quiet, of stillness, of storytelling and listening to our own internal stories.

We remember that the plants and non-human kin around us have not died or disappeared, but they have been quietly waiting in the ground, in caves, in warm places to come back to the light of the sun again. So it is with us, as we return back to the “world” again and ask what’s next.

So, along with help from Asha’s book, this is a little ceremony outline—you can pick and choose which aspects you want to use, what you’d like to read—whatever works best for your community/family/space/preferences.

First, light four candles, or, if you have the space, light an outdoor fire.

Enjoy a meal, maybe pancakes and eggs or this wild rice dish that features berries and maple syrup. Whatever the dish, create it with a celebratory spirit.

Think of the next year beginning with Spring, not in a linear way, but cycling, moving with the seasons. What are your dreams for Spring, Summer, Fall, next Winter? Do not make resolutions, but ask yourself what has been buried deep that is waiting. Maybe in the summer you want to get outside more, and in the Fall you want to ask what healthy boundaries mean to you. Maybe next winter you want to spend more time in quiet to honor your own soul. Write these down on 4 pieces of paper.

I’m sharing a beautiful reading from Asha’s book with you here, and it’s perfect for our Sugar Moon, our Maple Season. This is the Legend of How the Maple Tree Found Its Medicine. Read it out loud as you sit with the fire, with the candles, with the flame.

In the beginning, the Trees started as tiny seeds. In their seed state, they began to dream of what they could be one day. Pine shared that they wanted to offer a beautiful fragrance to the forest so that all who walked there would remember them. Birch spoke about traveling on the Water and dreamed of being transformed into material for a canoe. Oak was a hopeful being, believing that anything was possible, and they wanted to share that with all who found their acorns. When it came time for Maple to share, they found that they didn’t have a vision of their future.

The other Trees taunted Maple. “Without a dream for who you are becoming, you are worthless and insignificant.” Maple felt their heart sink; they felt lost and directionless. They wondered what was wrong with them. Why were they devoid of dream and vision? Were they even good enough to be a Tree? They felt like a fraud.

Of course, the cycles of nature continued, as they do, and Maple was watered by the rain and fed by the Sun. As they grew into a sapling and then a young tree, the birds watched Maple with curiosity. They could see the beauty that Maple carried and the potential they held. Every day they would come and try to uplift Maple. They surrounded the tree with love, friendship, and support. The birds tried to come up with some ideas for the vision of Maple’s becoming:

“Maybe you could bear fruit for the Animals,” said Cardinal. “Or perhaps you could provide shade for all our Kin,” offered Blue Jay. Maple wasn’t convinced. They had taken the criticism of their fellow trees deeply into their heart, and they simply couldn’t see beyond that. They thanked their bird friends for trying so hard to uplift them, but alas, their inner critic took over, and they felt stuck as an imposter.

The birds would continue to visit Maple daily, offering encouragement and support. One day, it was stormy, and a great wind swept into the Forest. It was so strong it carried the birds in its vortex, swirling them all around, lifting them, and then dropping them to the ground. Maple gasped as all of their beautiful bird friends fell to the Earth unconscious. Immediately, they scooped all the birds up with their loving branches and comforting leaves. Wrapping deep compassion around the birds, Maple began to weep. Maple cried tears of pain that had been stuck in their heart since they were a seedling. They shook with grief about all of the times the birds tried to tell them how beautiful they were, and they didn’t listen. Maple cried and cried and cried, their tears washing over the bodies of the birds.

Just when they thought they couldn’t cry any longer, something magical started to happen, the birds, soaked with the tears of the Maple Tree, started to come back to life.

They opened their eyes and began to sing the most beautiful songs. “You healed us with your tears, dear Maple!” They cried. “The Water that flows through your veins is magical! It’s sweet and nourishing nectar that can heal bodies and hearts. You are a Healer!”

Maple couldn’t believe it! The vision and dream of who they were meant to be finally manifested. Through the release of their pain and grief, they could finally see their gifts and worth. The fellow Trees, witnessing what had happened, gathered around Maple in awe. “We are deeply sorry that we harmed you with our words, dear sibling, we see you, we honor you.” From that day forward, the sap that flowed through Maple’s body would be Medicine for all that tasted it, and the Maple Tree stood in complete confidence, seeing that it was sweetness, not harshness, that would heal.

After finishing this story, take a spoonful of maple syrup (or honey) to represent that sweetness, that kindness seeping into your body and spirit (Asha shares about this beautiful piece in our Instagram chat). Speak kind words to yourself.

If you’re with others, read out loud those dreams you wrote on the paper, and if you’re alone, do the same. Name these things out loud. If you have a fire, you can throw the papers in, otherwise keep them in a safe place where you can return to them, return to your brightness and love.

Above all, there are a few things I hope you’ll do this Spring:

1. Please buy Asha’s book for yourself, or multiple copies for friends and family— create a book club, go on a journey with this incredible teacher.

2. Don’t rush out of this moment. Let the coming of Spring teach you, encourage you, and pull you forward.

3. Share the love with someone else. Who needs the messages of Spring? Who needs to be reminded that they are loved and held? Send them that message.

I am so grateful to journey with all of you here at The Liminality Journal. Onward.

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