The "Council of All Species" is a ritual that we perform yearly as a celebration of our origins... all the way back to the big bang. It is loosly borrowed from the work of Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry in "The Universe Story" [Harper Collins, 1992.] We utilize "The Great Story" that serves as their prologue to chart 15 billion years of our universe's
history.

I believe that Joanna Macy was the first to coin the phrase "Council of All Beings." She is an engaged Buddhist involved in planetary guardianship.You can visit her website here: http://www.joannamacy.net/

I have heard Swimme, Berry and Macy all speak on different occasions. All feel that one of the major problems we face today is a lack of mythology that can tell us how to behave in light of what science has revealed. In some small way, EarthSpirit tries to help folks get in
touch with that myth: "The Great Story," if you will, that demonstrates for us our place in the universe..... not as stewards, not as rulers, but as one small part of the interdependent web of all existence.

Winter Solstice seems the ideal time to do this because it is at that time that we can most clearly see how vulnerable we are to the elements, and how much our ancestors must have worshipped this great being called "the Sun." Without it's yearly return they would have been doomed! (And so would we, of course,but we are less aware of that because we have electricity etc.)

EarthSpirit gathers at the Solstice to "speak for" the various species. Everyone is invited to wear a costume that represents a species they wish to speak for. Species include the elements, the planets, the stars, mammels, birds, etc. We don't discriminate! This year, we will line up according to our ages, and the oldest and wisest (stars and elements) will lead us out to the fire where we celebrate the big bang by throwing pine cones (and a little gun powder) into the fire. The drummers will drum, the species will dance the spiral dance (as the stars did 15 billion years ago) and then, we'll all go in for some hot cocoa, music
and fun!

Contact us with questions by e-mail at EarthSpirit@stjohnsuu.org.
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