My ritual this morning involved going with my partner, who represents the masculine and myself as the feminine, to our local Koksilah River, where the Quw’utsun people had gathered for ceremony for many years previously. After beholding her beauty and noticing changes from when I last saw her, I offered a small gift of tobacco as reciprocity for her generosity. Then, I asked permission for us to enter. She welcomed us and invited us into her cold, flowing, clean waters to bathe and cleanse and wash away those things that no longer serve me as we enter Equinox. Never turning my back to her, I emerged onto her rocky embankment and thanked her graciously before being encircled by “fire” and warmth provided by my partner as we embraced.