The Counsel of Animal Spirit Guides

Sage made his dream catcher the very next day. Using vines and wet grasses he created his magic web. In the center, he placed a shiny piece of black obsidian. He called on his friend, Raven, who gave him three lustrous black feathers. And he tied those on. Before nightfall, Sage gave thanks to the Animal Spirits: Bear, Snake, Raven, Quail, Scorpion, Rabbit, and asked for their guidance to find his friend Luna again.

When he went to sleep that night, Sage hung his dream catcher right above his sleeping mat. He fell into a deep sleep and in his dreams he met the Counsel of Spirit Guides. Twelve Animal Spirits sat upon thrones of glass in a perfect circle. The Spirit of Bear spoke:

"We are here to guide you, as you requested. Please listen carefully. If you are to find your friend Luna again, you must trust in every word we say and follow our instructions to the letter. You have Three Tasks to undertake before you can call Luna back to Poppy Mountain," said Bear Spirit. "She is trapped in a timeless space and needs your help to unlock the stone door that keeps her from returning."

"Tell me what I must do. I will take on anything," said Sage.

Bear Spirit gave him the Three Tasks...

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Today after story telling, we got right to work. It was bread baking day. In the wood-fired outdoor oven. In terra cotta pots. My husband, Hans, started a huge, hot fire for us, and built it up for about two hours. Meanwhile, our sourdough fermented in the terra cotta pots I had seasoned the day before. Read how here: http://www.livestrong.com/article/443734-how-to-bake-bread-or-cake-in-terra-cotta-pots/

Baking in our wood-fired oven, I often say, is an art. Each experience is different, every outcome unpredictable. Today we had the added variable of the pots, which we had never used before. I will say, it was a success. The loaves got slightly charred on the outside, on the side closest to the wood. In hindsight, if we had rotated the pots, it would've been better. But underneath the blackened crust was some very soft and delicious bread! I loved the idea of baking in a pot, and it was a super fun thing for the children to bring home.

While the fire heated up the stone oven and the dough was rising, the children did what we call in Waldorf circles "free rendering." Free rendering means a child constructs something completely up to them, in freedom of execution, and based on their imagination of an experience, a story, a lesson, etc. In our case today, the children made a creation from our story of the Animal Spirit Guides. They could make anything they wanted. The materials they had to work with included clay, beeswax,wool, paper, pencils, glue, glitter, pipe cleaners, and other crafts. The two photos below show Bear Spirit and Bird Spirit.