Reconnaissance Mission
My roommate and I went for a little night time hike in the woods the other night. We are planning on holding vigil for Yuletide. We thought that a midnight picnic in our woods would be a nice addition to our vigil.
So, being good girl guides, we figured that a quick reconnaissance mission was in order. By the time Yule peaks at Soltice, the land will be covered with snow. Since we are still new to the area, we are still learning our way around the woods that are a short walk from our house. Better to get the lay of the land before the snow blankets everything. As it is now, there are small patches of snow and ice, but you can still see where you step.
So, once I got home from work we bundled up and packed a bag. First stop was the local pub for dinner, of course. It turns out that the local pub has a ugly sweater night for the holiday season and we happened upon it.
Once properly fortified, we walked down the road, down the hill, through the culvert and into the woods. Ottawa has tonnes of greenspace, including the wonderful… Continue reading
Concerning Wildcrafting
Concerning Wildcrafting
Hints & Tips
Also some common sense, and not so common sense, rules
Make sure you have all the tools and equipment you need before you head out.
Get to know as much as you can about your area, the weather, climate, the plant and animal life etc. It is very important you have intimate understanding of the land you gather from.
Take the time to learn about the area/land you will be gathering from, in all seasons. Also, get to know the plants at different phases of their lifecycle.
Start with only a few plants and learn them well before you begin to study and gather more.
Make sure you have the permission or the permits that might be needed for collecting at the site.
Keep a journal (and/or a map) and make sure to carefully note where you gathered each plant. Refer to this to ensure you do not gather too much from the same place. This also makes sure you can find again where you gathered a certain plant.
Taking pictures of each strand of plants before you harvest, and each time you revisit, can help you to keep track of how your gathering… Continue reading
Gathering in the City
Gathering in the City
So you live in the city and/or an apartment eh? Don’t despair!
It is harder to walk a nature path if you live in an urban area, or in an apartment, but there are options available to you. Waiting for the once a year chance to go to a campground takes a lot of patience. Let us also not forget most parks and campgrounds are nature reserves, national parks and the like, meaning you cannot gather there, not even ONE stick! If you are in the city, you will have to get quite creative in looking for places to gather or practice wort cunning and wildcrafting. Here are a few suggestions:
- Vacant lots. Do check for “No Trespassing” signs first!
- Ditches. I know, icky, but you will be amazed at what you can find growing in a ditch. Looking out the window of my RV, I see sunflowers & tansy growing tall in the ditch across the street, and that is just at first glance.
- Schoolyards, playgrounds, neighborhood parks. Some cities do not mind a certain amount of picking in such places, so check local bylaws.
- Do you have family or friends who hate to work… Continue reading
The First Thing You Need
The First Thing You Need
Basics of Identifying and Researching Plants
STOP! Before you do anything, before we go any further, before I wax poetic about the worship of Nature and reverence for the Earth, before we discuss meditations on plants, before we talk correspondences or magickal properties. Before any of that, there is one thing you need, and some skills you must learn. This is for your own and Nature’s safety. The thing you need is a field guide, and one of the skills is how to use a field guide. A field guide is often times the best first step towards the other skills you must learn; identifying and researching plants.
Sounds terribly boring, doesn’t it? It’s natural to want to jump right in, making incense, collecting plant totems, hugging trees, walking through the forest barefoot. But what if it turns out the incense irritates your lungs? What if the plant you cut to make your totem was not the plant you thought it was? What if the tree you hugged produces oil that irritates your skin? What if, while walking barefoot through the woods, you step on some poison ivy?
Before we talk the spirituality of a… Continue reading
To Fly By Night
Hoofprints in the Wildwood
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