As celebrants, we often talk about the invisible threads that bind us to the past. We craft ceremonies that honour transition, nature, and legacy, believing that the rituals we create help people anchor themselves to their own stories. But recently, a breakthrough in my own family-tree research revealed a thread so profound it left me breathless.

I discovered that when I step out into the fresh air to lead a modern seasonal ceremony or a baby name-giving ritual, I’m not just creating something new. I am walking a path that my own grandparents were actively paving generations ago in the maritime city of Wismar, Germany.

Uncovering a Hidden Heritage
For years, parts of my family’s 1940s history were locked behind administrative privacy walls. When the archival records finally opened, I expected a quiet list of cold dates and formal locations. Instead, I found a living, breathing worldview.

Looking at the chronological timeline of my mother’s siblings, you can actually see the moment my grandparents’ perspective shifted. Their eldest child, my Uncle Peter, was born just before the war in 1938, given a traditional, standard European name. But shortly after, my grandparents made a conscious choice to step away from the orthodox church system. In a time dominated by rigid institutional thinking, they chose a path known as deutsche Gotterkenntnis (German God-Knowledge)—a nature-centric, pantheistic philosophy that viewed the entire universe, the soil, the trees, and the stars as a single, interconnected divine force.

When my mother arrived next in May 1939, they chose a name that perfectly captured this new alignment: Dagmar, which beautifully translates to “Joy of the Land”. They didn’t look for meaning inside stone cathedrals anymore; they looked for it in the earth beneath their feet.

The Ceremonies of the Earth
Reading through their history felt like looking into a spiritual mirror. Because they had stepped away from traditional religious structures, they completely bypassed orthodox baptisms and conventional holidays. Instead, they celebrated life using the exact same archetypes that call to me today:
• The Solar Festivals: They gathered under the open skies of northern Germany to mark the turning points of the Earth—the wild bonfires of the Summer Solstice and the quiet, evergreen introspection of the Winter Solstice.
• The Name-Givings: When their children were born, they held outdoor Namensweihe (Name-Giving Ceremonies), presenting their babies to the community and the natural elements, pledging to raise them in harmony with natural laws.
Even the names of the babies who followed my mother—like Helga (“holy and in harmony with the divine”), Volkmar, Rainer-Gerwin, and Ute Bärbel—were deeply deliberate, rooted in ancient regional heritage and the protective strength of the natural world.

Officiating Douglas and Pamela’s Handfasting Ceremony on the Summer Solstice at the Callanish Stones, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides.

A Sacred Echo
History is complex, and the eras our ancestors lived through were heavy and turbulent. Yet, when you strip away the fleeting politics of the mid-20th century, the core human desire my grandparents held remains pure: a longing to align the human soul with the cosmic rhythm of the Earth.

Discovering this backstory has completely transformed how I view my own naturally Pagan views and my work as a celebrant. It’s a reminder that our passions are rarely accidental. The love I have for the Earth, the reverence I feel for the Solstices, and the joy I find in welcoming a new child to the world without rigid dogma—these are not just my choices or calling. They’re a sacred echo.

To anyone researching their roots, I encourage you to look beyond the numbers. Look at the choices they made, the names they gave, and the beliefs they held close. You might just find that the path you are walking today was cleared for you generations ago.


Veronika Sophia Robinson
Author, Novelist, & Weaver of Word Medicine
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You are warmly invited to step further into my literary sanctuary. Explore the complete collection of fiction and non-fiction books at Starflower Press, or discover the living map of your soul with a personal astrology reading at The Oracle. My celebrant training and celebrant masterclasses can be found at Heart-led Celebrants.