Mushroom Colors & The Surprising Stories They Tell (new video!)

Anyone who has ever walked through the forest knows how colorful mushrooms can be.

Red, purple, blue, green, yellow, black, white… it seems that just about every color is represented in the fungal kingdom.

But have you ever asked yourself “Why?”

Why are mushrooms so colorful? What’s the reasoning behind coloration within the fungal kingdom? Why are some mushrooms highly pigmented while others are seemingly drab?

Fortunately, a new study has given us some answers based on trends spanning 40 years and over 3 million observations of mushrooms.

Needless to say, the results of this study are quite fascinating!

If you’re interested in hearing some surprising stories that the colors of mushrooms can tell, check out the brand new video!

I was a recent guest on the Awake Aware Alive⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Podcast hosted by Jacob Gossel. In this interview, we discuss foraging for food, nature connection, my thoughts on hunting, and lots more!

You can listen to the podcast here.

Lastly (and this may pertain more to PA folks, though anyone can certainly help!), you can support a fantastic organization in Pennsylvania by voting for Pennsylvania’s River Of The Year and selecting “Buffalo Creek.” This waterway is stewarded in part by the Audubon Society Of Western Pennsylvania and is designated an Important Bird Area due to species of concern that inhabit the area. If Buffalo Creek receives the most votes, the Audubon Society will be awarded a grant to expand their conservation impact in this high-quality watershed. To show your support, click this link and select “Buffalo Creek.” It only takes a few seconds!

Thanks for reading and watching (and casting a vote if you did!), and as always, thank you for your continued support.

-Adam Haritan

Raspberry, Herb of the Year and Herb of the Month: History and Lore

The Herb Society of America Blog

HOM Brambles

By Pat Greathead

Raspberry, Rubus spp., is the International Herb Association’s Herb of the Year^TM for 2020 and The Herb Society of America’s Herb of the Month for January (Brambles). The genus Rubus includes both the red and black raspberry and the blackberry as well as almost 700 other species. Rubus is in the Rosacea family.

My Wisconsin Unit of The Herb Society each year examines the IHA Herb of the Year.^TM In this blog post, I have mainly focused on red raspberry leaf and have used information from many websites in writing this article. I hope you enjoy reading it as this is the year of the raspberry!

Raspberry leaves are among the most pleasant tasting of all the herbal remedies, with a taste much like black tea, without the caffeine. Raspberries are native to Asia and arrived in North America via prehistoric people, with the first…

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A Tree for Year Challenge

The Druid's Garden

Into the trees

One of the most common questions that people ask when they start down a druid or other nature-based spiritual path is: how do I connect deeply with nature? Connecting to nature can happen in such a wide variety of ways. It can happen through connecting with our heads, through learning, study, and engaging with books or classes. It can happen through our hearts, where we emotionally connect with nature and places. It can also happen through our bodies when we physically experience the natural world. It can be through our spirits when we connect with the spirit of the tree. But regardless of which of our selves and methods we use, it requires an investment of ourselves, our time, and building a relationship.

A while back, I wrote about the Druid’s Anchor Spot, which is a spot that you can use to regularly engage and observe…

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Inner Harmony; Full Moon in Cancer

Good Witches Homestead

We are moving into a new decade and there is a freshness in these cool, crisp days that clears mind and heart and gives us a new perspective on our lives.

Today at 11:21 am PST (2:21 pm EST) we have a full moon in Cancer and at 11:10 am PST (2:10 pm EST) the peak of the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. Eclipses are not times to place intentions, although the energies can create emotional responses, so be acutely aware as to where you are and how you are responding.

Many of you may have already worked with your New Year Intentions, however, with the Full Moon and Penumbral Lunar Eclipse tomorrow along with the movement and conjunction of Saturn and Pluto on Sunday you may want to open space to nurture them ~ or for those of you who have not finalized or created your yearly intentions…

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Using a Manifestation Box to Supercharge Your Desires

This Lunar Eclipse is a big one. You will find it will have some personal impacts in your own life, and you might notice some big things going on in the world this weekend.

This full moon in Cancer is the Wolf Moon. This is a pretty intense Eclipse! The full moon is opposite the sun, Mercury, Saturn, and Pluto in Capricorn. This is especially intense as we are building up for Saturn-Pluto conjunction taking place on the 12th of January.

We’ve likely all been feeling the Saturn Pluto conjunction building for a few weeks now … On a global level, we are likely to see some big shifts within our governments, the economy and other surprising political news.

On a personal level, you might find out some unexpected news, or feel a call to get real with yourself so you can reach some of your long term goals. This Lunar Eclipse is a very powerful one when it comes to setting intentions and making your dreams come true.

For tonight’s Full Moon Eclipse Ritual we are featuring a DIY on creating your own manifestation box.

Read complete article at: Spirit de la Lune ~ Using a Manifestation Box to supercharge your desires

Garnet Information – Much more to it than flaming reds

Good Witches Homestead

“The garnet is a red gem, but not like the ruby, its red is much more like that of a flame … It forms far in the east … If correctly cut and polished it will reveal all its beauty and perfection.”

Aristotle wrote this about garnets over 2000 years ago but our love and admiration for this gemstone continue to this day and we have discovered there are more to this gem than just a flaming red.

Garnets are the ‘modern family’ in the gemstone world. Not for them a simple chemical formation with one or two impurities to give a bit of color, no this is the gem family with lots of chemical half-brothers, mineral step-sisters, long lost crystal cousins and strange geologic uncles.

This group of closely related minerals has given us a variety of gemstones that appear in almost every color, most often and most famously…

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Gemstone Gem Notes: Garnet Meaning and Properties

Good Witches Homestead

The deep, glossy red color of garnet resembles the juicy seeds of a pomegranate, which is perhaps why its name is derived from the Latin word granatum, meaning pomegranate seed. In Greek mythology, a pomegranate was often given as a gift of passion and associated with eternal love. In ancient history, travelers wore garnet gemstones because they were believed to light up the night and provide protection from nightmares and accidents.

Garnets were used in burial jewelry and carved signet rings to proclaim royalty during the Bronze Age (300 BC). Garnets were one of the most popular gemstones of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons, as revealed in the stunning jewelry and sword fittings in the Staffordshire Hoard because they believed the blood-red stone improved their fighting prowess.

In the middle ages, garnet was commonly believed to guard against poison. Royals would often drop a garnet gemstone into a glass of…

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Who is the Best Guru?

Ritual for the Burning of the World

The Druid's Garden

As I write these words, fires are ravaging Australia. It’s a bleak situation, ecologically and politically. The firest at this point are about the combined size of the entire state of West Virginia and are all through the entire continent, particularly along the coasts. Ecologically, this is a disaster with severe and long-ranging consequences for Australia and the world. While billions of lives have been consumed in the fires (animal, insect, bird, fish, reptile, amphibian, plant and fungi), the Guardian reports that it is likely that numerous species will go extinct from the fires because sites that house critically endangered species are all burning—in some cases, all of the protected habitats of these species are on fire. The situation in Australia is being made worse by current Australian leadership, who, rather taking a firm stance on climate change and human causes, instead are digging in their heels and pandering to…

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