The Monarch butterflies migrate vast distances and they arrive at their destination EXACTLY when they do The Day of the Dead. The locals say that the souls of the dead arrive with the butterflies for the festival. By naming the burn: The Arrival of the Monarchs, you elegantly can celebrate a festival for the dark, a festival for the light, a festival for death AND a festival for life at the same time. People who do not want to immerse themselves in to death too much, could seek the LIGHT part of the burn and people who want to be a bit dark and solemn, can seek the DARK parts.

The sound of the wind on the playa can be so beautiful and haunting and mysterious; at the end of last year's October Burn2, I stood with a couple of friends listening to the wind and it carried the spirit of the Burn within it. Recently I came across this song by Norwegian Samí woman Mari Boine who sings beautifully from her own place of indigenous origination, but also for indigenous cultures round the world. This is in no way meant as a co opting (appropriating) culture and traditions, but rather, I believe, to illustrate that originally we all do come from some indigenous background whether Celtic/Druid, Inuit, Mayan, or other first peoples. The song and the idea of "Asking the Wind" strikes me as a place we may begin to find our connections, and perhaps, a theme for Burn 2 this year wherein maybe we can ourselves individually from our own original roots, to how perhaps we may recognize those roots all do go back to the same place. Here is the YouTube link for the song: Mari Boine: Jearratt Biekkas / Asking the Wind

Globally we are seeing more and more polarity between individuals, groups and cultures- this theme seeks to dissolve barriers, bring us closer together to seek a healthy balance and tolerance of our unique differences.

Building on the theme of Muerte De Dios without the muerte. 🙂

We are still connected to people with whom we are no longer in physical contact, but who continue to impact our lives.

Almost every culture on Earth looks up at the Stars with a sense of awe and mystery, and no matter where they are on the planet, humans have developed ways of looking at the sky and organizing the Stars into Constellations. There are quite a few cultures who have created Constellations based on the dark areas around the Stars, and this is thought to indicate absence. Thus the theme of "Between the Stars" would be a lovely way to remember our loved ones and ancestors who may now dwell in the Great Rift of the Milky Way, surrounded by the beauty of many suns.