There is nothing quite as majestic as an oak, which is likely why ancient druids met in groves of them to perform their ceremonies. As I write this, I look at my glorious black oaks, white oaks, and burr oaks …
Fall
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 …
Weather Prognostication and the Wooly Bear Caterpillar
In the last week, I’ve seen almost 50 wooly bear caterpillars. These caterpillars are also known as “wooly caterpillar”, “bear caterpillars” and “wooly worms” (latin: phyrrhartica isabella). These fuzzy, brown, and black caterpillars come out just as the weather grows …
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, …
Wild Food Profile: Milkweed + Fried Milkweed Pod Recipe
I love the summer months for foraging wild foods. One of my very favorite wild foods is Common Milkweed (asclepias syriaca). Around here, the pods are just beginning to form–and it’s a great time to explore this delightful wild food. …
Honoring the Ancestors of Land, Tradition, and Blood
As the world (where I am at, at least!) gets bathed in frost, as the plants wither and die, as the trees bathe themselves in color and then drop their leaves, as the cold wind blows and as the darkness …
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 …
Ecoregional Druidry: A Druid’s Wheel of the Year
In the 1990’s, now Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America, Gordon Cooper, developed the idea of “wildcrafting your own druidry”; this practice is defined as rooted one’s druid practice in one’s local ecology, history, legends and …
Druid Tree Workings: A Seasonal Approach and the Breath of the Earth
During a recent big snowstorm, I took an amazing ritual walk through the town where I live. We were getting our first substantial snow of the year, and it was a full moon to boot. And so, I spent a …
Wild Food Recipe: Autumn Olive Fruit Leather at the Equinox
I can’t get enough of autumn olives. I wrote about them, honoring them, around this time last year and shared my autumn olive jelly recipe. In my area, the sacred time of the equinox is the sacred time to go …
Balance at the Equinox: Magical Crafting a Balancing Mobile
When I was a new druid, many moons ago, I celebrated my first holiday with another person at the Fall Equinox. During that celebration, my friend had the idea that we could do a holiday craft, what we ended up …
Chickweed (Stellaria Media) as a Healing Food, Medicine, and Magical Plant Ally
After a long bout of cold weather, things are quickly warming up. This means we are about at the end of our spring emphemerals and summer is quickly approaching. I would be remiss if I didn’t post about at least …
The Druid’s Garden Refugia Project – Site Preparation & Garden Map
In my last two posts, I shared the philosophy of wildtending–the idea that we can nurture and regenerate the lands around us as a spiritual practice. In this post, I wanted to share the start of a new garden–a refugia …
Backyard Healing Salve Recipe with Plantain, Chickweed, and Ground Ivy
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 …
Cycles of the Sun and the Moon in Our Lives
Humans evolved in alignment with the movement of the sun and the moon. As the sun moved, so did human camps of hunters and gathers. As the sun moved, so still move many birds, fish, and mammals as they migrate …
The Silence of the Hive
What you quickly learn as a beekeeper is that the sound of the hive matters. When you first get into a hive, if the hive is in good health and has all of its needs met, the hive is generally …
The Wheel of the Year: Sustainable and Spiritual Activities for the Fall Equinox
Note: This post is directed at those who live in the northern hemisphere; for my readers in the southern hemisphere, you can see my post on the Spring Equinox for activities appropriate to you! As the days shorten and we …
Soil Regeneration & Lawn Reclamation: Creating a Sheet Mulch Bed from Seedy Garden Weeds
As I’ve discussed recently on this blog, one way of rebuilding and deepening our relationship with the land is through the intentional act of regeneration. This regeneration work, in many cases, starts with the soil. The soil is the web …
Converting Lawns to Gardens: Nature’s Harvest Permaculture Urban Farm
Over the years, I’ve done quite a bit of coverage about lawn issues, as I really do believe that the lawn can be one of the primary sites of transformation and change for ordinary Americans and others in the Western …
Making Smudge Sticks from Homegrown Plants and Wildharvested Materials: Step by Step Instructions with Cedar, Rosemary, Sage, Mugwort, and More!
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 …