With a long standing fascination with origami and Japanese culture, I came across the practice of folding a senbazuru – a Japanese tradition of folding one thousand paper cranes. Initially this was done as a wish for longevity, as the Crane was a sacred symbol of this as it was said to live for a thousand years, however over the years the intention behind the folding has evolved to include prayers for peace, good luck in marriage and health, and success in life. Once a thousand cranes are folded they are strung together and anointed with a single wish from the folder.

Following this initial senbazuru I continued to fold a few thousand more wherever I went and they have been left in various places on the planet – some with secret messages written inside while others were so tiny that I’m not sure if anyone would have ever found them. Some of them were strung with beads – sold and given as gifts over the years. This practice eventually culminated with folding a final thousand to take with me to Japan in 2019, where I hung them in the Hiroshima Peace Park amongst thousands upon thousands of cranes that have been folded by people from all over the world.

It was also during this folding time that I discovered the Persian poem by Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar – The Canticle of the Birds. It tells of the alchemical pilgrimage that the soul embarks on in order to find its way back to Source: through the trials and tests of life we are guided to the Truth of our own inherent divinity which was there within us all along.

I still have plenty of origami paper and beads, and so should you wish for a crane – a symbol of your own sacred evolutionary journey and intention – I’d be happy to string one up for you, please get in touch with me directly.