Sparrows are sometimes seen as symbols of love, joy, community, protection. Some cultures revere them as harbingers of good fortune and birth. Some say they carry and keep the souls of the dead, and Celtic lore says they are keepers of ancestral knowledge or wisdom. These all seem very attuned to the deeply transformative, intuitive and tender time that is pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Sparrows are adaptive and thrive in community with one another, much like new parents.
Twee ringmussen in de regen, Ohara Koson, 1900 - 1930
color woodcut, h 334mm × w 183mm
Oak trees are seen as a symbol of strength and resilience with their imposing height and hardy, expansive root networks. There is much research supporting that trees can communicate with one another through mycelial networks, even alerting their communities to drought, disease, and fire. I don’t know about you, but I believe there is a lesson or two to be gleaned from seemingly solitary giants relying on each other in community. They provide shelter and nourishment to many smaller animals, and are seen as representing refuge and safety. Their age marks their inherent generational wisdom.
Boomstudie, George Andries Roth, 1819 - 1887
brush, h 404mm × w 545mm
When it came time to think of a name for my practice, these symbols seemed apt; they also seemed inexplicably linked in my mind. New parents’ limits are constantly tested. They are resilient, but they also come face to face with a sense of vulnerability that needs gentle, non-judgmental support. The interconnectedness of roots (and all of nature) mirror our communities. We rely on each other, and growing families need these networks more than ever.
I wanted a name that would encapsulate the growth, hope, and transformation of welcoming a new family member, while being grounded in the deep intuition and interconnectedness of nature. The reality that with light there sometimes comes a heavy darkness. Nature has always highlighted the delicate balance of life’s paradoxes to me, and the acknowledgment of the pains that come from growth is something I feel very passionate about in the birthwork space.
Oaks- and the small birds that make homes within them- weather storms. Transition and transformation are often marked by struggle and adversity, and one of the many things I find so beautiful and magical about birth is the strength that so many new parents find was within them all along.
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