Sacred Gardening: A Druid’s Spiritual Approach to Weeding and Clearing Plants

A shrine for the spirits of nature in a new outdoor kitchen area

Druids revere all nature as sacred–but what happens when you need to weed your garden? What happens when you need to clear a new area for a project where lots of things are growing? Is there a way to clear plants or trees honorably and with reverence? In fact, there certainly is! In today’s post, I’ll walk through some simple suggestions for how to weed and clear plants respectfully and with reverence. This is all part of my philosophy of Sacred Action, or bringing earth-honoring, care-oriented activities into our every day life (if you are interested in this concept, check out my Sacred Actions book!). This is part of what sacred gardening, creating a true Druid’s garden, is all about!

Our big project this year was starting to build an wood-fired, naturally built outdoor kitchen with…

View original post 1,721 more words

A 21st Century Wheel of the Year: Cultivating Receptivity at the Fall Equinox

The Druid's Garden

Nature Mandala

The Fall Equinox is traditionally about harvest, harvesting the fruits of your labor and the fruits of the land in preparation for the coming of winter. This model of the wheel of the year focuses on earned outcomes: you’ve planted your crops, you’ve tended them all season, you’ve invested the time, and now, you are able to receive the rewards of your efforts. And a lot of our own understanding of the celebration of these seasons works on that narrative: planning, planting, tending, harvesting, and the cycle of the seasons. This same cycle is expected, perhaps, anticipated, in our everyday lives. For example, if you put the effort into getting degrees and starting a career, or if you put in a ton of hard effort at your workplace, you will eventually be rewarded with a harvest, a payoff, and a sense of stability. There’s this large sense that…

View original post 2,724 more words

New Moon in Virgo Moonthly Lunar Report | Entering the Harvest Moon

The Harvest cycle represents the fruits of your labor so it’s important to take stock of what is happening and manifesting in your life. Are you proud of what is manifesting? Or would you like to shift it somehow? The best way to shift your energy into a higher frequency is gratitude. Begin to practice gratitude for the blessings that are already present in your life and you will expand your heart for more. The cards pull for the cycle show that there is an opportunity for renewal, support, and reconnection. Reconnect to your heart and take this cycle to ground yourself in your gratitude and allow the blessings to flow.

Mars is opposite Neptune on the 2nd. Be careful not to fool yourself or chase fantasies right now. This aspect has a sense of illusion and mystery around it. You might be feeling motivated towards a goal, but make sure it is aligned with your true intentions. It is also important not to rush things right now.

Read original article at: Spirit de la Lune ~ New Moon in Virgo Moonthly Report | Entering the Harvest Moon

Cultivating Resilience as a Physical and Spiritual Practice

The Druid's Garden

Staghorn Sumac: A tree that teaches us about resilience

Resilience is a term I first learned as a permaculture practitioner–resilient ecosystems are those that are able to withstand hardship, recover quickly when faced with difficulty, and had a capacity to endure. In other words, a resilient ecosystem can withstand drought, flooding, or other difficulties by being adaptable, flexible, and having redundancies. Which of course, is so critical in today’s ever-changing world fraught with climate change and instability. Resilient plants are the often-maligned weeds: those weeds who take every opportunity to grow: who find a crack in the sidewalk and take root, who immediately start to grow after disruption, or who outcompete less resilient plants. They are able to be like weeds or opportunistic species, taking advantage of new opportunities, finding niches, and gracefully adapting to change. Think of the dandelion here, growing up through cracks in the sidewalk. This same…

View original post 2,771 more words

Our Minds Limit Science

A Blue Moon Renewing Bath Ritual with Coast & Clearing

The Full Moon on the 22nd of August is a Seasonal Blue Moon.

A seasonal blue moon is third or fourth full moon in a season. They are a reminder of your fullness and your magnetic power, and they also give us a powerful opportunity for renewal and rebirth.

This Blue Moon also takes place on the last day of the Lion’s Gate, which helps give power to the intentions we made on the new moon. This Blue Moons gives us what feels like a second chance to clear away what no longer serves us so we can begin anew, and step into the life we are wanting to create.

We are on the last months of Summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. Right now is a potent time to step into your goals and take action on your intentions. Especially as the Sun moves into the earthy sign of Virgo on the 22nd. You might find that just like gardening, before you can see any new growth, you must clear away what is blocking the path or light.

One powerful but sometimes overlooked way to release energetic obstacles and to cleanse the auric field is to use water! Water helps cleanse and clear our energy field as well as our minds so that we can focus on the path ahead and receive insights to help guide us. When we add salts, herbs, oils and crystals to the water, we add even more power towards our intentions.

Read full article at: Spirit de la Lune ~ A Blue Moon Renewing Bath Ritual With Coast and Clearing

New Moon in Leo Moonthly Report | The Lion’s Gate and a Blue Moon

Happy New Moon!

Get ready! This new moon is a powerful one as it aligns with the 8/8 Lion’s Gate Portal. There is powerful energy beaming to earth right now in order to help humanity transcend to their next phase on a personal and global level.

This is a powerful portal for activation and manifestation.

The star Sirius (known as our Spiritual Sun) rises in the eastern sky midsummer between July 28th and August 12th, but the 8th is considered the most potent day as the Sun and Sirius move closest to the earth aligning with Origin’s belt on that day.

The Lion’s Gate Portal paired with the Leo New Moon makes for a very potent time to dream big and manifest a new reality for yourself! There is a powerful surge of energy coming to earth right now bringing in huge opportunities for your growth and expansion.

This cycle also holds a Blue Moon, which can bring in more powerful opportunities for change and transformation. Blue Moons offer us a chance for a rebirth and renewal.

New beginnings are often associated with new moons, but this blue moon is giving you a chance to either find closure, or begin again with some aspect of your life. This one takes place in Aquarius helping you dream big and reach for your dreams if you can find a new way of looking at things.

Read full article at: Spirit de la Lune ~ New Moon in Leo Moonthly Report | The Lion’s Gate and A Blue Moon

Greek Myths

Embracing the Wilds at Lughnasadh

The Druid's Garden

Wildlife

When you think of the term “wild”, what comes to mind? Perhaps wild can be defined by that which is its opposite: civilized, tame, domesticated, and controlled. Wild, on the other hand, is free, unrestricted, unbounded, and sovereign. And while I resist binaries, there does seem to be some truth in the difference between that which is wild and that which is tame–a manicured city street vs. an old-growth forest has a world of difference: in the smell, in the biodiversity present, and in the energy of the space. A wild place is hugely biodiverse and serves the needs of a wide variety of species. A wild space is in a place of ecological balance, where all resources are cycled and used. The human-tamed spaces are most frequently designed for human needs exclusively, and in the modern age, are also prime producers of pollution and waste. There’s, of course…

View original post 2,194 more words