As we quickly approach Samhain, it is a useful practice to spend some time with rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and build her into your Samhain practices. In this post, we look into some of the magic and medicine of Rosemary, and …
Harvest
Sacred Tree Profile: Chestnut’s Magic, Medicine, Mythology and Meaning (Castanea dentata)
Just a few weeks ago, I went and checked the local chestnut trees that are in a field near where I live. Ever since I moved to the new homestead, I have been eagerly visiting these trees. Last year, they …
A Druid’s Primer on Land Healing: Ecosystems, Interconnectivity, and Planting Guilds
I had a recent conversation with a friend who lives in the town where I work (and where I used to rent a house). I had commented on how “nice” her lawn looked, as it was growing tall full of …
Sacred Tree Profile: Cherry (Prunus Serotina)’s Magic, Mythology, Medicine and Meaning
When most people think of cherry trees, they think about plump, juicy, red or purple cherries from cultivated cherry trees. However, here in the USA, we have a variety of wild cherries that are an interwoven and rich part of …
Wine Cap Mushroom Cultivation: Wood Chips, Garden Beds, Recipes, and More
How many times have you seen your neighbors getting tree work done or had tree work done yourself? The landscape company often comes with the big wood chipper and truck and then, after cutting up the wood, hauls that beautiful …
The Druid’s Garden: Principles of Sacred Gardening
One of the greatest blessings of gardening and growing things is the deep energetic connections that you can develop with plants. When I grow a pepper in my garden, I have developed a relationship with that plant from the time …
Recipe: Wildcrafted Herbal Blessing Oil
A herbal blessing oil is a simple magical tool that you can make that directly comes from the living earth. The herbal blessing oil can be used to bless tools, seed balls, trees, yourself, other people, or anything else you …
Wildcrafted Yule Tree Ornaments – Painted Wood, Wreaths, Awens, and Pentacles
As the Winter Solstice is coming up quickly and the tree just went up this past week, I’ve been busy in my art studio and out on the land looking for great things to add to the Yule tree. As …
Medicine of the Spirit: Plant and Flower Essences – A Druid’s Guide to Herbalism, Part III
A flower floats in a bowl of spring water under the sun. The drops of the resulting water contain the energetic signature of the flower; a bit of its essence and spirit. A few drops of this medicine, taken with …
The Samhain of our Lives
Just last week, we had our first hard frost. After homesteading for a number of years, you grow to be vigilant for the signs of the first frost. The air smells different somehow in the two or so weeks leading …
A Druid’s Guide to Herbalism, Part II: Preserving and Preparing Sacred Plant Medicine
The moonlight shines through the window in my kitchen as I carefully use a mortar and pestle to grind dried herbs for making tea. Candlelight softly illuminates the space, and I have my recipe book with me, ensuring that I …
A Druid’s Guide to Herbalism, Part I:Harvesting by the Sun, Moon, and Stars, and Sacred Intent
A field of goldenrod, nettle, and aster greet me on this warm post- Fall Equinox day. As the moon comes up with a sliver in the afternoon sky, I joyfully take my basket and harvest knife into the field for …
Sacred Tree Profile: Apple’s Medicine, Magic, Mythology, and Meanings
“Nothing gives more yet asks for less in return, than a tree: particularly, the apple” –Johnny Appleseed “As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my loved one among the sons. I took my rest under his …
Building Soil Fertility with Fall Gardening at the Equinox
In the druid wheel of the year, we have three “harvest” festivals. Lughnasadh, the first harvest. So much of the garden produce starts to be ready at this time–and also at this time, the garden is still at its peak, …
Building Deep Plant Relationships at Lughnassadh
Last weekend, some druid friends came over for a retreat with a focus on land healing. As part of the ritual we collaboratively developed, we wanted to make an offering to the spirits of the land. I went to my …
Tree Alchemy: Hydrosols and Essential Oils from Sacred Trees
Nature can provide tremendous wisdom and healing, especially when we work with our local ecosystems and ecologies. One of the most powerful ways of working healing with nature, I believe, is to combine the innate healing properties of plants with …
Wild Food Profile: Eat Your Hostas!
Often, when you are interested in unusual and wild foods, a season for a delectable treat may only last for a few short days or weeks. A fun early spring food that is usually popping up around or before Beltane …
Druid Tree Workings: Nywfre, Telluric Energy, and Sap Flows
Last week, I wrote about the many flows of the month of February: the flowing of the springs from the hillside, the flowing of the river, the flowing of deep emotions, and the flowing of the sap from the trees. …
Urban Food Profile: Cornelian Cherry Harvest and Recipe for Soda Syrup, Jam, Pickles, and More
I really enjoy foraging for foods in urban environments, you just never know what you are going to find. In the spring, keep a good eye out for various kinds of flowering trees in an urban or suburban setting–any tree …
Wild Food and Wild Medicine Profile: Wild Strawberry (Fragaria Vesca)
The delicious and delightful wild strawberry just came into season here in Western PA, and I thought I’d share a bit about how to find this plant and why it is worth seeking out both as a wild food and …
Ethical Sourcing of Medicinal Plants: The Case for American Ginseng
Stalking the Wild Ginseng When I was a child, my grandfather picked wild American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). I remember him talking about it, and seeing it, and him sharing with me what it looked like. To him, ginseng wasn’t a …