Diary of a Land Healer: January

The Druid's Garden

It is late January. We had a very bout of cold weather these last few weeks, as I’m writing this, the weather broke and I’m out in the land for a longer stay since since the sub-zero temperatures hit. When I came to my new home and new land in the fall, there was so much to do, just moving in and getting ready for winter, stacking wood, unpacking, painting, fixing things, building a greenhouse, and settling in that I didn’t have the time I wanted to spend with the land. But winter is good for such quiet communion, and so, I’ve been seeing what there is to discover.

A snow spiral, one of many I walk while the snows fall! A snow spiral/labyrinth, one of many I walk during the winter months.

As I’ve mentioned previously on this blog, in purchasing this land, I knew that part of my work here would be in documenting the regrowth of this land…

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Ozark Encyclopedia – P – Paper

Wind Horse, Lightning Horse, Water Horse and the Mari Lawd Horse

Ozark Encyclopedia – O – Onion

Ozark Encyclopedia – N – Needles

Reparation and Healing the Land as part of American Druidry

I also live in an area of mining, paper mills, and farms, so I understand working with timbering and strip mine areas.
We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors, so we can only move forward with what was left behind.

The Druid's Garden

Sunrise over the land

Two weeks ago, I talked about what American Druidry looks like. One of the big issues that came up in conversations here on the blog in the comments and also in the comments on the Druid’s Garden Facebook page was guilt from those of non-indigenous heritage. Guilt about the legacy of abuses against Native Americans in this country–a legacy that continues to this day. Guilt of being here on this land, knowing that many of us who are here now are here because of three centuries of genocide. Guilt about knowing that despite all that we may do now, this past bloodshed colors the way that we interact with the land, our relationships with the spirits of the land, and everything else we try to do to connect with the land and build sacredness. In the last two weeks, I’ve heard how people feel the spirits…

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Artist of the Month GLORIA OJULARI plus Amazing ideas for Christmas 2017.

As We Approach the Winter Solstice

Good Witches Homestead

If you are like me, December can be overwhelming…. As we approach the Winter Solstice, the gift of sunlight is hard to come by, causing light deprivation, circadian disturbances, and shifts in melatonin regulation. The subsequent effects on mood, behavior and health can be difficult to deal with, especially since the reins of life’s expectations don’t loosen to accommodate these seasonal shifts. Instead, the holidays bring their own unique stresses and can add to a sense of depletion and anxiety.

In my case, it’s the same each year. The effects of light deprivation sneak up on me, much in the way that seasonal allergies seem to. I start feeling sluggish and apathetic. My eyes take on a dull ache and my skin and hair feel like straw. My sleep is less rejuvenating and I feel starved for more of it. When the morning alarm rings, it takes me by surprise…

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Ozark Encyclopedia – N – Nails

A Druid’s Anchor Spot

The Druid's Garden

Current statistics from the United States EPA suggest that Americans spend almost not amount of time outside: the average American now spends 93% of their total time enclosed (including 87% of their lives indoors and 6% enclosed in automobiles). A UK-based survey indicated that children now spend less than 30 minutes or less outside and 20% of children don’t spend any time outdoors on an average day (which is less time than prisoners spend outside per day). I think that the reason that a lot of people find druidry is because of statistics like these: increasing work and life demands make it harder to get outside, increased urban sprawl makes it harder to find “wild spaces”, and our relationship with nature is at a deficit that has implications for our health, happiness, and well being.

If (re)connection with nature is a clear goal for those on the druid path…

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