Herbal greetings, my fellow plant lovers, Are you as delighted as I am to see Herbalism blossoming so beautifully and abundantly throughout the country? Populations of people who have a long but often forgotten history of herbal use are rediscovering and reclaiming their ancient traditions. There is at least one herb school, herb class or herb … Continue reading The Science and Art of Herbalism | Rosemary Gladstar’s Online Herbal Course
Month: November 2019
The Bee and the Machine: Moving Beyond Efficiency and towards Nature-Centeredness
Over the course of the last four centuries, the Western World has created a set of “unshakable” principles concerning the natural world: that nature is just another machine, that animals don’t feel and do not have souls, that plants and animals aren’t sentient. Descartes, writing in the 1600s during the early rise of mechanization, was one of the first to make this claim. He posited that animals are mechanical automata, that is, they are beings without souls, feelings, or pain. These same ideas were not limited to non-human life; we see the same kind of thinking being applied to justify slavery, genocide, colonialization, and a list of other atrocities. When we combine this kind of thinking with the economic ideas of “growth at all costs” and “efficiency”, we end up in the dystopian fiction we find ourselves living in right now. I want to take some time…
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Herbal Recipes for Thanksgiving – Urban Moonshine
It's the time of year when many of the simple joys of life become the heart and center of this season; spending time with family and friends, the coziness of winter, warm fires, mugs of mulled wine, and lovingly prepared meals. So much of herbalism is about celebrating the life and benefits of the plants, … Continue reading Herbal Recipes for Thanksgiving – Urban Moonshine
Natural Herbal Cough Remedies
When the temperatures drop to freezing, persistent coughing can be an inevitable, disruptive side effect. A variety of herbs and herb formulas that suppress the hacking and soothe the throat can help you get ahead of the cold - and cough - season this year. 'Tis the season! Cold, dry temperatures, low vitamin D levels, … Continue reading Natural Herbal Cough Remedies
Sacred Tree Profile: Black Locust’s Medicine, Magic, Mythology and Meanings
Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a spiny, scraggly tree that is found abundantly along the US East Coast. Very little is written about this tree from a magical or mythological perspective, although certainly, anyone who works wood or practices permaculture is aware of the more tangible benefits this tree provides. In today’s post, we explore this amazing tree and start building some more specific magical knowledge to incorporate this tree into local druidic or nature-spirituality practices.
My parents’ land in Western PA, land where I grew up, consisted primarily of old potato fields. We had two sets of tree lines where the farmers had let the trees grow; these lines were full of huge cherry and maple trees grew. In between those tree lines as the land sloped down the mountain were open areas populated with blackberry bushes, hawthorn, and black locusts–several acres of them…
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Full Crone Moon | Heart Opening Cacao Ceremony — Spirit de la Lune
November is providing us with so many astrological and cosmic lessons! On 11/11 this month there is what is known as a “gateway” or cosmic portal opening up. This 11/11 gateway is meant to expand consciousness, upgrade our intuition, heighten our abilities, bring about self-healing and gives us access to new spiritual wisdom. On the … Continue reading Full Crone Moon | Heart Opening Cacao Ceremony — Spirit de la Lune
The Energies of November 2019
The last couple of months have brought forward some decidedly intense, transformational currents of energy for us all to negotiate. Hopefully, you are now becoming skilled at riding the waves of change that these energies tend to promote because November’s energy flow seems to have a focus on promoting further evolutionary growth. This is a … Continue reading The Energies of November 2019
Baneful Herbs in Magical Practice | Coby Michael Ward
Using Baneful Herbs in Magic With their infamous reputations and prominent place in myth and folklore, the Baneful herbs begin to seem more like mischievous magical creatures appearing throughout history in folktales and first-hand accounts. They are powerful in their chemistry and in their occult power, but they are still plants. The deadly nightshade grows … Continue reading Baneful Herbs in Magical Practice | Coby Michael Ward
Fixed Stars Introduction
The Fixed Stars represent an important and exciting ancient resource of knowledge for astrology on which much solid work has been done in the past and into our own times. But this is not currently a widely known field of astrology and the present work aims to greater clarity and organization of what knowledge is … Continue reading Fixed Stars Introduction
Constellations of Words
Explore the Etymology and Symbolism of the Constellations On each of the constellation pages under the subheading "Clues to the meaning of this celestial feature" the symbolism and etymology of the name of the constellation are explored. This study is based on the belief that each constellation has its own unique clusters of related concepts, … Continue reading Constellations of Words
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