Spiritual journeys in tending the living earth, permaculture, and nature-inspired arts
As I’ve mentioned throughout this series, the energetic land healing work that you do is largely based on the situation at hand–what is occurring, what has occurred, or what will occur. Sometimes, you are aware in advance that the land …
The last time I wrote about bees on my blog, I wrote about the loss of my hives from Colony Collapse Disorder back in October. The loss of both of the colonies of bees caused a great deal of sadness …
Calling all land regenerators, earth walkers, and friends of the weeds! You can help heal our lands, today, with the resources you have and the love you have to give. What if, instead of doing less harm or less bad, …
Weeds. The term conjures up images of plants that are unwanted and unloved, the bane of the township “noxious weed ordinances” and suburbanites, and the quiet recipient of so many unfounded assumptions. Yet these are the plants that are the …
One of the great things about fall is that so many of our spring ephemeral plants, those who dominate the springtime, come back to us again before the snows set in. This is the case this year with chickweed, one …
In honor of Samhuinn, a festival of beginnings and endings, today we’ll explore the most sacred of trees–the hawthorn. This is the 6th post in my “Sacred Trees in the Americas” series where I examine abundant trees in the Eastern …
Most plants are fairly easy to prepare in terms of medicine–you can either tincture them, use them fresh, or create a tea or something similar. Reishi, the most incredible healing mushroom, requires a bit more preparation than a standard tincture …
When I was a child, my grandfather would often take me and my cousins into the woods to learn about plants, animals, and trees. He had a place he would take us on the edge of an old field and …
Elderflowers (flowers from the Sambucus nigra plant) are in bloom right around the Summer Solstice (at least where I live), and this is a perfect time to create delightful healing recipes. One of these recipes uses raw honey (from my hives, …
I’ve posted on Dandelion wine before on this blog, and I wanted to follow up on my previous posts on dandelion wine – making the wine and racking/bottling. I’ve also written more generally about the dandelion as a beneficial plant–so …
I have been doing an ongoing series of posts about herbalism: herbalism as a druidic practice, my path into herbalism, and medicine making during sacred times of the year. Given the fact that its early spring, and the herbs are …
Sometimes the trees themselves share lessons with us about how to work with them, talk with them, and heal with them. These are often presented to me as mystery teachings from the trees themselves–and I’ll be sharing some of these …
This is my second in a two-part series on how to wildcraft and forage successfully. The first post dealt with supplies for foraging, resources and how to learn the skills, and understanding timing. This post will talk about places to …
I’ve been spending a lot of time talking about various wild foods and other kinds of wildcrafting and foraging on this blog, and I wanted to talk today about the principles of wildcrafting and ethical foraging more broadly. This post …
Smoke clearing sticks (smudge sticks) are bundles of herbs that are dried and burned for purification and ceremonial uses. They are broadly used by many for their purification purposes in a variety of different cultures, where the terms may be …
This is a post in my ongoing series of “Sacred Trees in the Americas” where I examine the magical qualities of trees in the Midwest/Eastern/Great Lakes regions of the US. My previous posts have covered the Eastern Hemlock, Hickory, and …
It is that delightful time of year again, when the berries of the fall ripen, when the pumpkins grow orange on their vines, and when the elders are literally loaded with berries. The elderberry tree is a fascinating plant, rich …
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 …