The Threaded Forest Livestream Series Chapter 2: The Seven Ravens

Daniela Sales
18 minutes ago
4 min read

There are nights when stories knock instead of whisper.

They arrive like ravens on a bare branch, dark wings against a pale sky, announcing themselves, unafraid of being heard. Last night, our circle stepped once more into the old forest, not through gold and glow, but through nettles and shadow, through the brave, quiet work of a girl who chose repair and healing restoration over anger.

That was the second chapter of our year-long spiral of fairy tales.

When Winter Sharpens the Sight

Winter, in the old ways, was a season of clarity. Cold air strips the world of softness. Leaves fall away. Branches show their true shape. What remains is honest. Bare. Unadorned.

The fairy tale of The Seven Ravens begins, as so many human stories do, with a moment of careless speech, an outburst, a string of words spoken without tenderness. Seven brothers were turned into ravens, and a family was split by what was said and could not be unsaid. But the heart of this story does not live in the curse.

It lives in the repair, healing, dedication, unconditional love, and perseverance.

Bogdanka and the Work of Mending

Bogdanka, the sister who grew up in the long shadow of a secret, meets it with a heart full of love and determination to heal what was broken in her family and restore joy.

She walks beyond the houses of the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. She climbs the Glass Mountain where her brothers circle in winged forms, caught between worlds. And there, she learns what breaking the spell will cost. Not a battle. Not a clever trick.

Work, Silence, and Perseverance.

She must gather nettles with her own hands. Spin them into thread. Weave them into cloth, and stitch seven shirts. And she must do it in silence. Once the shirts are done, they will be given to the seven ravens to restore her brothers to their true form and heal her family.

Her hands blister. Her skin burns. And still, she keeps working. There is something ancient and quietly empowering in this image. That healing is not loud. That repair is not rushed. That devotion is not submission, but a choice.

Ravens and Nettles: The Old Teachers

Across cultures, ravens often appear where truth needs a voice. In the North, Odin sent two ravens to gather thought and memory from the edges of the world and bring them back to him. In Celtic lands, they walk with fierce protectors who do not look away from what must be seen. In Slavic forests, they guide the lost and carry the echoes of the kin cursed and the blessed alike. Ravens do not soften their messages. They tear the veil.

And at the edges of the forest grow the nettles. Stinging. Guarding. Clearing.

In various places of long ago, Nettles were hung in doorways to keep out harmful enchantment. They are still brewed into spring tonics to 'awaken the blood', strengthen the body, and 'clear' the mind. Used in fiber work, not because they are gentle, but because they are strong, nettles give cloth for garments that protect and restore, and strengthen. In the story we explored last night, ravens and nettles teach that

What stings may also protect. What burns may also clear. What wounds may also become a source of strength.

The Glass Mountain Within

In our circle during the livestream, we paused at the foot of the mountain.

We imagined the ravens above us. The nettles at our hands.

And we asked, quietly: What confusion am I ready to clear away and work my way through?

It is a question for the patient. For the hands that are willing to keep weaving even when the thread is rough.

The Thread That Connects Us

Before we closed, we remembered a simple old ritual of braiding three strands of natural fiber (if at all possible, nettles stalks or thread) during which the strands and the braids are given the energy of something that we may need to release, free ourselves from, or release the fear around. Braiding with a whisper:

Raven’s wing and nettle’s sting, I weave protection into this thing.

The braid is taken outside to the flames of a fire and burned back to ashes that are given back to Earth releaseing, removing, and burning away what was braided into the strands.

A Living Archive of Enchantment

This year, each month, we gather in this way through a YouTube livestream; entering one fairy tale deeply, not to analyze it into dust, but to live inside its magick for a while.

All of these livestreams remain on replay on our YouTube channel, our growing library of magickal stories, enchanting fiber work, and quiet rituals. They are meant to be shared and passed along like a well-loved book. Sent to a friend who needs a reminder that magick is strong and alive in the world.

If the Thread Is Still Warm in Your Hands

If this story stirred something in you,

You are warmly invited to:

Visit the YouTube channel and revisit and share the videos.
Join the email circle here at theroseandthebee.org for invitations that live beyond the scroll.
Stay close to the Pathways in-person gatherings, where these tales step off the screen and into shared space, spoken aloud the way they were always meant to be.