Katherine Josten, founder of the Global Art Project, danced the role of Sedna in a ritual theatre event called RESTORING THE BALANCE in Tucson, Arizona, in 2004. Cast members were amazed to learn, during rehearsals, that a new planet beyond Pluto had just been discovered, and astronomers chose to name it Sedna. As Katherine prepared, she observed that the myth of Sedna is profoundly relevant to the transformation in human understanding that is occuring as we evolve into a global humanity:
"The integration of male and female must occur in order to bring balance to the earth and human consciousness. The two aren't apart. It is necessary for a dialogue to occur so the pain of both male and female may be brought to light and transmuted. Raven and Sedna’s father were acting out of fear, which means out of their own pain. Both their pain and Sedna’s pain must be brought to light for true transmutation to occur."
Transmutation is an alchemical word that concerns the process by which the old "dense matter", the "materia" is burned way, changed, dissolved, in order to create something new and more refined - lead into gold.
To the Inuit, like most indigenous people, the Earth is alive, and we are all interconnected with the Earth/Ocean Mother, each other, and with all of our non-human "relations". Their cosmology does not include dominion over nature - rather, we are, to them, in an intricate web of inmmanent relationships, and rites that renew the balance toward harmonious, and empathic, relationship must be continually renewed.
"We have heard this sacred story together", Grey Eagle wrote. "And now we can close with: That’s the way it was, and that’s the way it is."
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