PBP: Bioregional Witchery

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2014pbp, bioregionalism, pagan blog project, witchcraft

I tend to talk a lot around here about loving where you live…in fact, last year for the letter B, I had yet another post on that very subject (also for the letter P, the letter L, the letter F…heck, even some of the letters I *didn’t* get to were going to be on that subject!).  So, it should be of absolutely no surprise what-so-ever to my regular readers to greet this topic again.

A bit of a crash course (in case you declined to follow the links):

Bioregion: An area with similar natural characteristics, including plant and animal life, human culture, climate, and continuous geographic terrain.  Varies by scale, from a larger ecoregion (akin to a biome), to a very localized bioregion, depending on the features being considered–smaller bioregions nest into one another, and into larger ecoregions, and can overlap as well.

Bioregionalism:  Emphasizes the bioregion as the basis for a healthier co-existence between human culture and the natural environment and sees humanity and its culture as a part of nature, and calls upon people to build positive, sustainable relationships with their bioregion.

Spiritual Bioregionalism: Considers the bioregion, and its inhabitants (including people, past and present) as the originating inspiration for religious and spiritual beliefs.  Uses both the ideas of human cultures and ecology as the framework for a personal (though share-able) and organic religious tradition.  Is firmly rooted in the idea of “spirit of place” and celebrates the cycles of nature in relevance to individual bioregions, as well as those personally relevant in an individual’s culture.

Spiritual Bioregionalism (as I conceive it) is bound to a single idea–showing responsibility towards the environment and ALL of its inhabitants (including fellow humans) and respecting their capacity for self-determination.  It is centered in the notion that the bioregion can take the place of a central deity (without being a deity, unless you wanted it to be one), and be interacted with and celebrated using traditional human ideas of godhood.  This interaction may (or may not) include belief in gods–whether it be one god, shit tons of gods, or no gods at all, and whether the nature of belief in said gods is literal, symbolic, or non-existent, whether said gods are a historical or created pantheon (or are the natural features of the bioregion themselves).  Spiritual  Bioregionalism calls upon us to worship (or not) in any way that  brings  ecstasy  and  reverence  while  honoring  the cycles and stages of the bioregion and its inhabitants, and may or may not include the practice of magic (however one chooses to believe in it).

So, when it comes to being a witch, it may come as no surprise that one of my most sacred ideas is that “witchery starts where you live”.  It starts with rooting yourself where you live, and learning to love it–as an act of devotion.  It calls means  grounding yourself in the energies of your locus–your landbase, your bit’o’land, whatever you want to call it (and wherever it may be located–your backyard, a shady spot in a local park, a tree in a courtyard).  It calls upon is to make peace with the history of our locus–in this area of Virginia, that includes the displacement of the native people, two wars fought in this area specifically, and the bondage of thousands of human beings.  It includes reconciling the disparate origins and cultures (new, and old) of the people that share one’s locus–they (and the structures they have erected–buildings, statues, even parking lots and strip malls) are as much a part of its energy as plants and animals and rocks and things.

And speaking of rocks and trees and river otters and horseshoe crabs…  Part of bioregional witchery is knowing your own flora and fauna, and the distinctive energies and feel of your local species.  It is finding the place where you can forage for peppergrass (I just used my last bit up) and where the mulberry trees are (I’m running low on those too), knowing which tree on the drive in to work has the bald eagle nest and where the deer like to hang out in the early morning.  Its is knowing your land well enough to grok where to put that protection charm, or dispose of an old spell, or where to make an offering to…whom ever you are making an offering to.  Its knowing which plants are invasive to the native ecosystem and getting rid of them, even if they are pretty…and even if they have a “traditional” correspondence that is useful.  It is finding new correspondences using native species (ethically and legally sourced, of course) and using traditional correspondences obtained from local sources when possible–knowing where to shop is just as important as knowing where to forage!

Bioregional witchery is about making magic with the immediate energy of the world around you, and co-creating relationships with the entirety of one’s surroundings.

A post for the letter B, click here to check out more!

a short thought on magic and spells…

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magic, spells

This morning, I was reminded of something my old neighbor said to me (I was on PaganForum and an old thread popped up) last fall:

Words are a magic wand, casting pieces of yourself out into the universe. Be careful what you say. the chances are good that they will come back to you.

When I was younger, both in years and on my path, I thought that magic was a *something else*, something mysterious or supernatural, some woo-woo power or force to tap into, to use. But the longer I go along, I’ve realized that I’ve been wrong. Magic isn’t a power you tap into, or some special thing you do to make things happen…magic is everything you do because magic is the underlying fabric of Divinity that the Universe is based upon.

(cue the misquoted 80’s pop) …every little thing you do is magic…

And the best magic is that which you do with a clear intention and purpose.

But every little thing you do is not necessarily a spell. A spell is an (IMO) intentionally ritualized* piece of magic that “attaches” an intention and purpose to an otherwise mundane act or item–brushing your teeth with intent (for clear speaking, or for honesty, or to clean up the potty mouth, etc) can be a spell just as much as mucking around with herbs to make a potion (example: adding some relaxing vibes to a relaxing mix of herbs for tea) or enchanting a necklace or charm for confidence or luck before taking a test or going to court.

Often, I have heard people with the problem of when or whether to do magic.  I used to be one of them–don’t do magic if you are angry, don’t do magic if it will cause “harm” (such an ambiguous term anyhow), don’t do magic except as a last result.  If that is what your ethics demand, good on you…but don’t expect or condemn others for doing what their ethics demand.**

Honestly, the ethics involved in choosing to use magic isn’t any different than choosing not to use magic and using a hammer or a scissor or a paintbrush instead. At the end of the day, magic is just a tool like a hammer, or a scissor, or a paintbrush.  If it works, and we are willing to accept the consequences of using it, we should choose to do so or not in accordance with the same morality (or lack thereof) that we display mundanely.

But whatever your ethics dictate, magic is a tool, and tools don’t get the job done sitting in the toolbox.  If you just sit on your arse and wait for shit to happen, you will be in for a rude awakening.  To misquote Ben Franklin once said “the gods help those who help themselves”…and so does everything else.

*A spell is a type of ritual, but a ritual is not always a spell.

**This is particularly true concerning the idea of “harm none” that often gets bandied about. First off, its not even the entirety of the Wiccan rede (‘An it harm none, do as ye will). Second of all, if someone isn’t Wiccan, why would they be expected to follow the Wiccan rede as if it were a universal Pagan law (as if there were any of those anyhow!)? And third, the Wiccan rede isn’t even interpreted as literally or simplistically as “harm none” by a good number of Wiccans anyhow.

Pagan Blog Project: Magic is Mystery

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2013PBP, magic is mystery, pagan blog project

Magic is the Mystery of our interaction with Nature and with the Cosmos to coax the manifestation of what is in our heart with the will of our minds and the actions of our bodies.

~yours truly

Magic is a mystery.

Think about it for a second. Let it roll off your tongue and rattle around in your brain for a minute or two. Magic is a mystery.

There are several definitions for the word mystery, and most of them somehow describe what magic *is* (however it is that one might define magic, which is what makes this phrase so apt). Mystery can alternately mean “an unexplained or inexplicable event, phenomenon, etc”, “ skills, lore, or practices that are peculiar to a particular activity or group and are regarded as the special province of initiates”, “a religious truth that is incomprehensible to reason and knowable only through divine revelation” and (though it is no longer used in this way) as a trade, occupation, craft of guild of such persons.

…forget the ‘a’ this time, and capitalize the M in ‘mystery’ in your head this time.  Say it again, but first close your eyes and take a deep breath.  Exhale.  Feel the words.

Magic is Mystery.

When you do a spell–when you release a tendril of energy out into the universe to manifest your will, does the exact mechanism of how it works really matter?  Whether it was brought to you by divine will, or by the power of nature tilted towards your desires, or by sheer dumb luck coaxed in your direction, or random coincidence, or the machinations of a quantum universe, or pure psychological placebo?  I mean really, does it matter?

YMMV, but I tend to say “No, not really.”  I care, at the end of the day, that I can drift away into blissful slumber instead of worrying away into the wee hours about something out of my control.  I care, at the end of the day, that I have done something–I have used the tools at my disposal to take an action.  Magic is a toolbox full of tools with which we can achieve agency* in those instances where agency could not ordinarily and mundanely be achieved (or when ordinary and mundane need some help).

I care, at the end of the day (or maybe a week or so later) that it worked*.

I think, what is more important, is the Mystery of magic.  I’m a big fan of knowing how things work, of dissecting the mechanisms that makes things function in the world around me.  Its a big part of why I have a degree in biology.  But…but.  There are sometimes when the end result is more important than the mechanism.  There are times when we cannot concretely observe a phenomenon.  I’ve been a witch for too long to doubt the veracity of my experiences just because I can’t explain them.  And, to be quite honest, I don’t think that I need an explanation for the mechanism of my experiences for them to have value.**

It is the Mystery of magic that makes it…well, magical.  I think, in this world of technology, information, knowledge, the idea of controlling and precision of everything we think or do or say, in this world of politically correct niceties, we are too bound to the idea that there are things we can’t know, that we can’t explain, and that that is okay.  It is okay to do things without proof, to do things that can’t be explained, to do things that others think are silly or superfluous or downright crazy/stupid/whatever!

I believe in Mystery, because I have experienced it through magic.  I don’t know how it works, I don’t know (or care) if its all in my head or guided by outside influences, and I don’t care if other people think its foolish.  

Magic is Mystery!

Notes:

*And maybe it didn’t work (but usually it does).
**I’m not saying that there is no value, intellectually, or in developing one’s practice, into exploring the possibilities of mechanisms for magic (or for that matter, what gods are/are not, etc)…just that, ultimately, what matters is that magic is working for you (or that your gods are fine with how you worship them, etc)
…I borrowed some bits from the following old posts of mine: Thoughts on Correspondences, Scientific Prag-Magic-tism, and Defining Magic

this has been a post for the Pagan Blog Project

Silent Spreads: Transparent Tarot 3×3

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tarot, transparent tarot reading

the querent

option 1

option 2

June Forage: Japanese Honeysuckle

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bioregionalism, edible plants, forage, herbs, honeysuckle, invasive species, know your flora, magical herbs, medicinal herbs, wildcrafting

Not long ago, when most people were still fairly attuned to nature, it was commonly noted that her flowers resembled lovers entwined, thereby making “Love Bind,” as she was sometimes called, a symbol of devotion and love. In Victorian times, it was said that if one brought a Honeysuckle bouquet into the house, a wedding would follow within the year. Prudence being the operative theme in those days, perhaps marriage was the only possible option for release of wanton desires, for it was well-known that the perfume that spills from her honey-lipped blossoms would spark dreams of passion and desire.

(source)

If there is any plant that I have a love-hate relationship with…its honeysuckle.  On one hand, its fragrant and tasty and medicinal.  On the other hand, its a pervasively invasive species that does an incredible amount of damage to native ecosystems. When it comes to plants like these (kudzu, garlic mustard, mimosa, etc), I’m particularly bloodthirsty (sapthirsty?) and more than happy to pick ’em til they’re gone (a number of parks are more than happy to let you rid them of invasive species, if you ask the persons in charge of them).

There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, most native to the northern hemisphere. The greatest number of species is in China with over 100. North America and Europe have only about 20 native species each, and the ones in Europe are usually toxic.  Taste is not a measure of toxicity. Some Lonicera have delicious berries that are quite toxic and some have unpalatable berries that are not toxic at all. This is one plant on which taste is not a measure of edibility. Properly identify the species.

(from one of my fave wild edible sites, Eat the weeds)

Our favorite way to enjoy honeysuckle, of course, is sucking the nectar out of the bottom of the freshly picked flower…but we also dry the flower buds and fresh blooms to use in teas and salves.  I’m more then happy to pick as many of the flowers as possible, because less flowers mean less berries, and less berries mean less seeds, and less seeds, mean less honeysuckle plants taking over and smothering native plants.  Unfortunately, honeysuckle is a difficult plant to control the growth and spread of.

General Description: 

Japanese honeysuckle is a perennial vine that climbs by twisting its stems around vertical structures, including limbs and trunks of shrubs and small trees. Leaves are oblong to oval, sometimes lobed, have short stalks, and occur in pairs along the stem. In southern and mid-Atlantic states, Japanese honeysuckle often remains evergreen – its leaves remain attached through the winter. In colder northern climates, the leaves may fall off after exposure to prolonged winter temperatures. Flowers are tubular, with five fused petals, white to pink, turning yellow with age, very fragrant, and occur in pairs along the stem at leaf junctures. Stems and leaves are sometimes covered with fine, soft hairs. Japanese honeysuckle blooms from late April through July and sometimes into October. Small black fruits (photo) are produced in autumn, each containing 2-3 oval to oblong, dark brown seeds about 1/4 inch across.

(from the National Park Service’s “Least Wanted” list)

Parts of interest:   Harvest the unopened blooms early in the morning for infusions or tinctures.  Open blooms can also be harvested for tea and for culinary preparations (honey suckle flowers are tasty in salads).  The young leaves and vine tips of Japanese honeysuckle are edible after boiling (I haven’t tried this myself yet)–the big thing to remember here is the “after boiling”–the leaves are said to have high levels of saponins, which can make you sick to your tummy, but are mostly removed through parboiling, and not readily absorbed through the human digestive tract anyhow. Additionally, it is reported that the vines themselves can be used for basketry. DO NOT INGEST THE BERRIES!  Reports of toxicity vary, but honeysuckle berries are generally agreed to be mildly poisonous in  most species.

How to prepare flowers:  There are a number of ways to use honeysuckle blooms.  First, consider drying them for later use in infusions.  Honeysuckle makes an excellent additive in salves, and a lovely and fragrant infusion.  The unopened blooms are best for drying, but the opened blossoms are suitable for using fresh.  Flowers can be candied, used to make a simple syrup (which can even be used in adult beverages), infused in honey, or turned into jelly.

What its good for:  Medicinally, honeysuckle has been traditionally recommended to combat inflammation, fever, infection, and skin conditions.  Magically, it is said to attract friends, love, prosperity, fidelity, and clear thinking.

Errata:  Honeysuckle is a plant that has quite a bit of disagreement about its use–which species and which parts of a particular species should be used for which ailments, which parts of the plants from which species are safe, etc.  If you choose to forage for honeysuckle as a food or medicine, please do so with caution.