The Coyote on the Hollywood Hills
When I packed for my trip to L.A. I brought heels, dresses and make-up. I was going to a film festival in Hollywood after all, and life as an Actress means getting dolled up from time to time.
One afternoon we walked up the Hollywood Hills. As I said I only brought nice clothes and make up so I was dressed in an Aritzia jumpsuit and fedora. Not really ideal, I realized, once we started the long hike up the windy hill and I needed to use the bushes as a washroom. Well, anyway, this is not the blog post about that.
We took rest on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the city shadowed by a big grey sky. We talked about Witches and Spirituality. Sabina and Julie are interested in the legends and myths of the women from long ago, and I study the politics of The Great European Witch-Hunts. Together we bonded over what we knew, what we did not know, and the mysteries that we will never understand. At least we could all agree that on that hill we felt a presence more powerful and old than any building or entertainment hub on Hollywood Blvd.
It grew dark and we descended back down to the parking lot. By this point floods of people were heading in our same direction. We had gone to the Griffith Observatory. Just before reaching the parking lot, a modest and grassy opening stood relatively flat besides steep hills and bush. And that's where we spotted the pack of coyotes, barely bothered by our presence. They stood still and serious, almost as if they were gathering for a town meeting. Behind them a herd of deer grazed the grass in silence. What was this animal party?
I looked back at the groups of tourists, but they were not seeing it, maybe because they were too focused on getting to their cars and beating the exodus traffic. In any case Julie did and she walked up so close to one of the coyotes that I thought they were going to whisper secrets into each others ears.
When we got back to our air bnb we looked up the symbolism of the Coyote. We learnt that they are shape shifting pranksters that unveil the truth behind illusion. We felt a sense of balance in the universe to be surrounded by the materialism of la la land on one side, and a primal connections to the wild on the other. And I realize that as an Actress I am also a shape-shifter, morphing from one character to another. The coyote taught me to never allow myself to fully get lost in the all consuming empire of capitalism. Now when I lose my way and get wrapped up in the City, I look in the mirror and gaze into my eyes to remember the childlike wisdom of the Coyotes on the Hollywood Hills.
