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Ashley Barnes | “Trickster Coyote Under the Full Scorpio Moon”

This media file is attached to: Basic Design / Calligraphy

This piece pays homage to the Navajo Nation who encountered great loss during COVID, including many elders who were the tribe’s storytellers. Archetypal Trickster Coyote appears in many of their folktales, including one where she steals fire from powerful spirits to bring light to our human world - a metaphor for the brighter days ahead. While painting this, my cat went missing for three days, with several people warning me he may have been killed by a coyote. Thankfully, and I believe with help from Trickster Coyote spirit herself, my cat rematerialized on the third night under the full moon.