Since I returned to Norway and began ‘rising rooted’ I often experience visits from the Spirit Animals of the land. I have been raised on moose meat, as me grandfather was a hunter ~ and although I have transitioned to more non-violent ways, the powers are alive in me.

I have danced with the elegant tact and curiousity of the Fox. Later, the gracefulness and open heart of the Lynx. Heading into winter, I can feel the towering strength of the bear rising in my spine and body.

My family comes from a farm called Bjørnerud in Vestre Ådal ~ meaning ‘the clearing of the bear’, and I have memories of my grandparents telling stories and folk tales about these majestic creatures, leaving me in wife-eyed awe.

There is a deep roar waiting to be let out and a new source of courage awaiting to be imbibed. Like a bear wading out of a river and shaking her fur free from the muddy water, I am also shedding layers of fear and calling in the Mama and Papa bear to support the next phase of my journey.

Strength. Endurance. Softness. Care. Embraces. Wildness. Bring it on. And bear with me as I rise. Bear with me as I fall. Bear with me as I stumble forward on my path. Bear with me in all.

🐻 Call on BEAR with me? Use the hashtag #bearwithme and share something you have been scared to let go of or put out into the world. A truth. An art. A song. A secret..

lllustration: Eventyrhuset, adapted from Th. Kittelsen