grieving the fourth
& things can change, even now
hello hello,
this week is america’s national holiday and wow is that a bummer.
its high summer here in these hollers, the land is exploding in color and vibrancy, its time for play and fun and frolicking like the animals we are, its time for community connection with all, life abounds, we are alive together - and then this.
a celebration of empire, colonialism, and cultures of domination.
in this political moment, there is so little of this country & its history worth celebrating. in my body, the threads are more grieving and raging, rather than celebration. like many of you, my peoples came to these lands ‘for a better life’. this doesnt feel like the better that my ancestors hoped for. this is violence, land destruction, genocide of indigenous people, white supremacy enshrined, and my peoples were (and are) a part of this american history. this american legacy.
that oppression is still unfolding, still encoded and enshrined, still enforced at the point of a gun - and now celebrated as something glorious and righteous and fun this weekend.
no thanks.
my heart is heavy, so much grief for what is and what could have been instead. so much anger and so much sadness. i’m mourning honestly, and it can feel really isolating when looking around my small rural village decorated with flags and banners.
and yet - there are threads here worth uplifting in the history of these lands.
if there is any sense of celebration in me, its celebrating the resilience of life, the land, and oppressed peoples everywhere underneath the thumb of systemic violence. wow wow that people everywhere are still resisting erasure, genocide, dominance and control. people are refusing to be cowed, refusing to give up, refusing to participate in their own destruction and the worlds.
this is the only celebration i want to connect to this week. this season. this year. that this deep resiliency has endured, been constant for the past 250 years. i’m in awe at the power in this. what a fucking committment to radical hope and a future of justice. and i know in my bones this resiliency in people will continue until things are different, culture is different, community is different here on these lands.
yes, things can still change, even now.
yes empire is trying to swallow us all, AND we get to be a part of saying fuck no. for the sake of the land, for our communities, for marginalized people everywhere, for your own ancestors, we get to refuse to participate in violent domination of culture and life.
today, this weekend, and every day moving forward, you get to decide which legacies of your lineages stop with you, and you get to decide to plant your feet, plant those seeds for the future and do something different.
may justice flourish this weekend and for always,
rowan
PS - wellspring begins today at 2pm ET, right in time for the american holiday that contributes to upholding white supremacist culture on these lands. join us for antiracist embodiment practice within an ancestral framework!
summer szn embodied practice begins today
Join us in wellspring!
wellspring: exploring the 3 cauldrons and embodied white supremacy is a 6-week online series exploring antiracist embodiment within ancestral story. Think: weekly live practice; personal reflection and community wisdom sharing; at home practice suggestions in between sessions; and deep woven webs of support throughout as well as after the program ends. This space is for folks who have participated in Attune or Foundations programs, or who have a solid foundation of reweaving connection with ancestors within a politicized framework. Thursdays at 2pm ET // 11am PT beginning TODAY July 2, 2026. $200. join us!
Morning Poem
Mary Oliver
Every morning
the world
is created.
Under the orangesticks of the sun
the heaped
ashes of the night
turn into leaves againand fasten themselves to the high branches —
and the ponds appear
like black cloth
on which are painted islandsof summer lilies.
If it is your nature
to be happy
you will swim away along the soft trailsfor hours, your imagination
alighting everywhere.
And if your spirit
carries within itthe thorn
that is heavier than lead —
if it’s all you can do
to keep on trudging —there is still
somewhere deep within you
a beast shouting that the earth
is exactly what it wanted —each pond with its blazing lilies
is a prayer heard and answered
lavishly,
every morning,whether or not
you have ever dared to be happy,
whether or not
you have ever dared to pray.
work with me & stay connected
Hi, I’m rowan.
I’m a faciltator, herbalist, folklorist, writer, researcher and somatic bodyworker. I run two tiny businesses for queer healing, cultural reconnection & collective transformation.
of hawthorn and yew is the cauldron of my antiracist culture work. I facilitate classes & longer programs on politicized ancestral reconnection, Celtic Isles diasporic work, and reweaving anticolonial cultural herbalisms on n america. together we connect to our european-descended ancestors, reweave culture lost from assimiliation into whiteness, and embody our values more deeply. I offer 1:1 mentorship for folks ready to deepen in this work.
wild aliveness apothecary is the heart of my healing arts practice. seeking queercare? I see clients 1:1 as well as offer small group programs on herbalism, writing & somatics. gather in queer space, connect with plants, self, and community, and be held.
Learn more: wild aliveness apothecary + of hawthorn and yew.
email to connect: ofhawthornandyew@protonmail.com
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