Spiritual journeys in tending the living earth, permaculture, and nature-inspired arts
I love celebrating the druid wheel of the year. Its just an amazing experience to dedicate eight days to magic, ritual, being outdoors, studying, reading, meditation, gardening, and other sacred activity. I had the most wonderful day today making so …
In my post last week on herbalism, I discussed the intersections of herbalism to druidic spiritual practice and sustainable thinking. In this week’s post, I’ll share my own story about my path into herbalism. This series of posts on herbalism …
Because of my ongoing study of Traditional Western Herbalism as a student of the amazingly awesome Michigan herbalist Jim McDonald. I wanted to take some time today to discuss the potential of herbalism as an essential quality of druid practice. …
One of the primary methods of extracting and preserving the medicine of the plants is by creating healing tinctures, either magical or mundane. This involves maceration (soaking) herbs in alcohol, pressing the alcohol out, and depending on the purpose that …
A metaphor for mindful living can be found through the understanding and application of the principles of the garden. The more you spend time in a garden, the more you’ll understand the power of this metaphor (and I suggest that …
Last weekend, I came down with some kind of nasal bug; it was exasperated by the presence of a dog which I turned out to have a pretty bad allergic reaction to. For this kind of ailment, a home remedy …
The common bond that unites druids, and other earth-centered spiritual paths, is a deep respect and reverence for the living earth. We celebrate the turning wheel of the seasons, we revere the plants, and we speak to the forest spirits. …
What is a hydrosol? A hydrosol, also known as a floral water, distillate, or hydroflorate, is water that has been imbued with the essence of the plant through a distillation process. They are similar to essential oils (in that they …
Samhuinn is the final holiday that is connected to harvests in the Druidic Wheel of the Year, and this is a time of apples, pumpkins, hawthorn berries (haws), nannyberries, rose hips, and rowan berries. I always like to do some …
There is an old magical adage, first written by Hermes Trismegistus, that goes “As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul…” I’ve spent a long time in trying to understand this statement, see it …
A few months back, I was able to visit herbalist Jim McDonald for an herbal consultation, and we spent a lot of time talking about bitters, specifically, digestive bitters. Jim suggested to me that part of the reason that so …
In a post I wrote about over a year ago, I told the story of the “mystery of the stumps” where I described my relationship to the forest where I grew up, the forest to which I belong. I told …
In America and many other industrialized nations, one feature dominates the landscape, especially in the suburban areas of the great cities–the green, pristine, velvety lawn. The lawn is so ubiquitous in American culture that a huge industry of chemicals, tools, …
I’ve written on this blog before about land healing, specifically in relation to healing the land here at my property that we purchased 2 and a half years ago. Yesterday, my grove celebrated Imbolc, and as part of that we …
Alignment is a concept of spiritual significance that I’ve been working with for a long time and I thought that I’d share this concept here. Alignment is when you fit with someone else–spiritually, physically, socially, intellectually, temperamentally, emotionally, mentally–in all …
Incenses for Ovates The following recopies are most appropriate for ovate work, or those engaging in divination, mysteries, and other spiritual pursuits. I also have posted an introduction to incense making as well as recipes for bards and druids. I …
As we quickly approach the most consumptive season of the year, I wanted to post about ways that you can reduce your overall impact on the planet. I think its critically important that we, as druids and other earth-centered spiritual …
Each of us has a story–a story of how we ended up doing what we do, believing what we believe, walking the path that we travel. These stories are often like richly woven tapestries, and I believe that there is …