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The Columbia River Chinook Salmon & The High Priestess

             


             
https://tinyurl.com/rivsal

                   As the keeper of thresholds, the High Priestess moves between worlds, guarding what flows beneath the surface. Teaching us that knowledge is not only found in books or words, but in the patient rhythm of the tides, the moon, and the migrations that continue even when unseen. The Chinook Salmon reflects this movement of travel between realms, their journey is one of initiation, from the fresh waters of birth to the vast salt expanse and finally home again, to the very gravel beds that once cradled their beginnings. Each moment of this cycle is a sacred passage, echoing the High Priestess’s teaching that wisdom is cyclical, not linear. Endings and beginnings are not separate, but reflections in the same current. The High Priestess asks us to listen, not to the noise of certainty, but to the quiet pulse below, to move in rhythm with the more-than-human wisdom that sustains us. When we honor the salmon’s migration, we honor the sacred continuity of all life. To protect their passage is to protect our own capacity to feel, to know, to return. Support Indigenous-led and local watershed restoration efforts such as the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (critfc.org) and the ColumbiaRiverkeeper.org, who work to restore salmon runs and advocate for dam removal and clean water. Conserve water at home, reduce chemical runoff from gardens, and consider ways of consumption that lessen pressure on wild populations. Share and witness the stories of the Chinook Salmon, their endurance and their return so that awareness itself becomes a current of restoration. Using misprints I've collected from the past two years, I blended a paper clay to sculpt into a culvert of a dam, representative of the crumbling of the dams along the Klamath river that we witnessed in 2024. At the center is a hanging etched copper plate with a vinegar patina. Using copper as a metaphor for power, the power of the water flowing, the power of the fish swimming. The Salmon can now run free through these waters.

Send all inquiries to AmberCapwell@pm.me