In Hopi mythology, Spider Grandmother appears as either an old woman or a common spider. She is appreciated for her wisdom, medicinal remedies and plain-spoken advice. The following conveys her earthiness and spiritual pungency: “Don’t go around hurting people. And try to understand things.”
A man does not become a man on his statutory birthday. But that is pretty much all we can muster for boys today—some date on a wall calendar. Why so thin and superficial, so uninspired and desultory? Mainly, our connection to initiatory cultures is utterly broken. We don’t know why why it would be important to introduce boys on the cusp to the other world, to the dimension of being. We think cake and candles is roughly good enough. The thing is, young men need to be initiated. That’s why so many of them die at frat parties.
Men's Work 