A Ceremony for Hope

We walked down to the Medomak River behind our house. 

 

WATER: There is a bend in the river- I knew our ceremony needed to go to this place but I didn't know why. The river takes a 90 degree turn and is surrounded by a flat flood plain area. We began a scavenger hunt to put together tiny rafts to float down the river.
Hope's Aunt Liv got scared by a spider and squealed like a little girl

AIR: Each person launched their raft with a burning bundle of sage, rosemary, and hemp incense. Afterwards, I read the story of why we gave Hope her name.

FIRE: We walked back to our house to start a fire inside a hole, in which we burned things from nature that each person brought from their homes- winterberry, sage from Idaho, grass from the Field, pine cones, and so on. Then we each wrote notes to Hope and tossed them into the flames. Some people spoke or shared readings. 

EARTH: We smothered the fire and planted a serviceberry, which will some day provide fruit to our family and birds, in effect sending our love for Hope far beyond this ceremony.