#sweetgrass spiritual uses

[asanee44]

10 Powerful Sacred Herbs for Spiritual Cleansing and Protection

In spiritual practices around the world, sacred herbs have long been revered for their powerful spiritual cleansing and protective abilities. These herbs offer physical benefits and carry metaphysical properties that can aid in many functions. As such, they can impact our overall well-being.  Whether you’re looking to clear your space, purify your aura, or protect yourself from negativity, these…

[witch-in-the-dirt]

My Honest Review of ‘Slavic Witchcraft; Old world Conjuring Spells and Folklore’ , By Natasha Helvin

Before I start, I am not here to question Natasha’s heritage or place in the Caribbean African diaspora spirituality’s. If you have comments on that, that’s up to you. I neither have the background or place to discuss that.

My review is also on my Goodreads,

Review

Natasha Helvin, as described in her own words, is an occultist, hereditary witch, and priestess of Voodoo. Born in the Soviet Union and later moving away at 18. She claims to have learned from her mother and grandparents, the traditions of old world Slavic paganism.

All this and yet, she cannot source anything she says, save a very unfounded “Just trust me.”

The book is separated into 10 chapters, the first two and introduction focusing on ‘The traditions,’ and other folklore information as well as history. The later 8 sections are all about Spells and spell work, and superstition.

Introduction; Sorcery as a Living Tradition.

Slavic Witchcraft was published in 2019, deep into the popularization and hype of witchcraft and paganism in the 21st century. And yet, Natasha chooses to open her book with a Cautionary Note, which warns the reader that what is inside is ‘taboo’ and ‘forbidden.’ Which is what initially made me raise an eyebrow at what I was reading.

The majority of this section was just discussing her childhood, and experiences to solidify her position as the teacher in this book. Nothing too unusual, and nothing of note. I won’t comment on someone’s life experiences as a point of note. But it’s hard to see the point in bringing it up, when it just loops over itself, as if to philosophize on it rather then make a point. Nostalgia is a valid place to write from, even in Spirituality and Nonfiction, but there are ways to go about it, to make a point. As an example; Braiding Sweetgrass, By Robin Wall K. She makes many points of talking about her life, that ultimately ends with her informing the reader of a life lesson. In Slavic Witchcraft, this just becomes a loop, that is hard to read.

1, Pagan Christianity or Christian Paganism

This Chapter highlights the most glaring issue in the entire book. There are NO SOURCES. Throughout this chapter Natasha Heavily references historical events and real life situations that do have the history to back them up. The Indoctrination into Orthodox Christianity, and the way they amalgamated pagan practices into their religion, are true historical facts. The way paganism out beat Christianity in Russia multiple times, are facts. However, the author refuses to use references and build a bibliography which makes everything she says feel less credible.

Here I will also address the 4 Elements. This isn’t the first and won’t be the last time I bring it up in a Spirituality book review.

Where is your information on the four elements as the building blocks of the universe coming from. It’s not a universal idea? Multiple other cultures have elements ranging from 3-5 or six. I would love genuinely a reference from where Natasha has the Ancient Slavs using these elements as a structure of their beliefs.

2, Slavic Magic Power and Sorcery

There’s a lot of things in this section that just require the reader to trust that Natasha is telling the truth without any resources to reference. Once again a lot of this book would have benefited from sources but because there are none, you just have to trust her.

An example is the Sorcerers Song. She dedicates quite a bit of this chapter to ‘folklore’ and often references this thing called the sorceresses/sorcerers song. The song in question is the dying sorcerers last words, before they transfer magic to someone else. A lot of the stuff in here is very fantastical, and there is a level of difficulty in understanding what is just fun storytelling on the authors part and what is to be believed as fact.

Here she also contradicts herself on the facts of who can and cannot be a witch.

What a witch is according to folklore, where the unfortunate use of a Romani slur is used, in a sentence that is just a repetition of really old racism. How can you write the sentence that describes witches as “ugly iron toothed and (racial stereotypes)” without also clarifying that these are all descriptions from a post orthodox and heavily antagonistic mindset?

These chapters really clarified for me that this book is not about Slavic paganism as a religion but rather, Ms Helvins Experience as a pagan with a post Christian Russian heritage. Everything is still very Christian. Which isn’t bad and not wrong, most folk magics we see today come from a Christian background because that is the most common religion of all our ancestors. This book isn’t a reconstruction of Slavic paganism, or Slavic pagan as a broad term regardless. It’s Natasha’s paganism.

The rest of the book focuses on Spells, which are for the most part fine.

I have personal issues with her opening comments on All people were made by god as man and woman and our true desires are to find our other halves. Okay, no.

I have issues with the amount of times she references everything and everyone around us as “manipulatable” that all things fall under our whims. Which is morally uncomfortable. I don’t think our ancestors who worked alongside animals and plants always saw them as lower, as seen in, still Alive and well, Indigenous American beliefs.

In the end, this book isn’t for beginners, it’s not for Slavic pagans, it’s for Natasha. And that’s fine.

[vitagraphia]

“Joanna Macy writes that until we can grieve for our planet we cannot love it—grieving is a sign of spiritual health. But it is not enough to weep for our lost landscapes; we have to put our hands in the earth to make ourselves whole again. Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.”

— Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

[rezcowgirl]

On: The Serviceberry (AKA my beloved saskatoons)

Braiding Sweetgrass is one of my favourite books of all time. There were several instances where I sat weeping. It was one of the most beautiful and consequential reads of my life. I push it into the hands of others whenever I can. This is to say: Robin Wall Kimmerer is an incredible author that deserves every bit of recognition and accolade that she gets.

However, The Serviceberry was a sweet, short book that didn’t really offer anything new to me. But I see its value to settlers and maybe people reconnecting. Although I’d argue that if you’re reconnecting, finding an Elder will always be more meaningful than a 100 page book. It can be supplementary, I guess.

As we’re likely hurtling our way towards another conservative government headed by a slimy little nitwit that’s probably going to be the worst we’ve seen yet (at least in my life - obviously my grandparents-of-now and of varying great-ness would have things to say to me…), the book actually left me feeling very cynical.

There’s one line on page 96 where she’s talking about how wonderful it is that Kate Raworth teaches Honourable Harvest at Oxford and that “change is coming”.

Oh please.

No, I really mean that. Please. PLEASE.

But I’m also being sarcastic about it.

Every solstice and birthday, an oversized, expedited parcel is hauled my way over the mountains, sent by my parents bearing frybread (seriously), at least one piece of beadwork, one book, and always, always something with saskatoons in it.

Chokecherries and saskatoons - food from both sides of me if you break me into parts. Even though my Cree and Métis family obviously eat the same foods at the same tables, chokecherries were my Michif granny. Saskatoons are Cree. That’s how it is (for me).

My late Michif granny used to do workshops with kids where they would pick, de-pit/crush and jammify them. It would usually be the kids’ first time eating chokecherries AND hearing Michif. On the other hand, most people in Saskatchewan grow up on saskatoons (and um, statistically, grow up IN Saskatoon. Lmao).

I remember listening to an Elder talk about picking berries and realizing there was a bear right behind her, also eating from the flush. She greeted it and left the shebear to eat - that was the right thing to do. 

I grew up with a murky mixture of Catholic guilt and wahkohtowin, but I would say that the piece at the centre of that common Indigenous spiritual jumble is the practice of open handed giving. Always. (Or most of the time, at least. There’s also lots of jokes about not sharing your berry haunts.)

Because what you give, you give to yourself, too. The bear will eat the berries there. The bear will be our food if she is generous. Sometimes, we’ll be her food, too. But like, try to avoid that.

Maybe it’s because it’s December and I’m In A Mood, but I feel like a future where my teachings aren’t seen as just a noble, twee thing that is nice to think about, but not realistic in practice, is nowhere in sight. Not even on a distant horizon.

Sometimes, I feel like we’re genuinely all going to die before anything good comes of Us (<- Us loosely, as in humanity, recognizing that Us as in Indig people are not the problem here.)

Going back to my grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, and So On, they did, in fact, live through the end of the world. More than once. The arrival of new monsters. Smallpox. Forced displacement. Residential Schools.

What they endured got me here, so I have no choice, do I? I’m here for it, even if I hate it.

Here is one line that did get to me: “We have joy and justice on our side. And berries.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Sasha García monitors the candles that she is burning for a limpia, a spiritual cleanse. :: [NY Times]

* * * *

" [...] and as far as erasing emotions are concerned... Because emotions are magnetic fields, you can erase them with stronger magnetic fields."

[Dr Jerry Tennant]

+

“Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.” ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

+

“The brain-disease model overlooks four fundamental truths: (1) our capacity to destroy one another is matched by our capacity to heal one another. Restoring relationships and community is central to restoring well-being; (2) language gives us the power to change ourselves and others by communicating our experiences, helping us to define what we know, and finding a common sense of meaning; (3) we have the ability to regulate our own physiology, including some of the so-called involuntary functions of the body and brain, through such basic activities as breathing, moving, and touching; and (4) we can change social conditions to create environments in which children and adults can feel safe and where they can thrive.

When we ignore these quintessential dimensions of humanity, we deprive people of ways to heal from trauma and restore their autonomy. Being a patient, rather than a participant in one’s healing process, separates suffering people from their community and alienates them from an inner sense of self.” ― Bessel A. van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

[barncultus]

Developing Local Cultus: A Companion Library

In preparation for the revamping of my Local Cultus series over on wordpress, I have begun to gather this small reference library for anyone who may be interested. Containing mostly works which inspired me to set out on the path of developing a localized religious practice, as well as some of my research materials. For those interested in the series, and the topic which it covers, I absolutely recommend giving these titles a flip through.

The first of this series, an introduction and mapping out of what is to come, will be up on the Barn Cultus website by the end of July.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Indispensable knowledge of ecological relationships as written by an indigenous woman and professor of environmental biology.

The Green Mysteries by Daniel Schulke An encyclopedia of the spiritual, magical, and folkloric qualities of plants. Written by the Magister of the Sabbatic tradition.

The Golden Bough by James George Frazer Frazer tracks the role of religion and magic up until the modern day, introducing along the way some of the key ideas behind my style of cultus developing (such as re-enchantment). This book is always on my reference shelf, close at hand, and while the anthropology is at times laughably outdated, it is a beautiful read with some interesting groundwork.

Viridarium Umbris by Daniel Schulke I'd be remiss to not include this in my list. Another Schulke work and a comprehensive grimoire of verdant magics. I personally view this book as overhyped, though a should-read, perhaps not a must.

Demons & Spirits of the Land: Ancestral Lore and Practices A foundational text of folkloric land spirits and the operations used by Pre-Modern Europe to interact with them.

Roman Cult Images: The Lives and Worship of Idols from the Iron Age to Late Antiquity In my own eyes, the finding of localized images. Images references the faces, attributes, and fauna of the region in which each divinity of the cultus is depicted. The crafting of cult images, in the forms of eikons and idols, is another aspect of this.

Idolatry Restor'd by Daniel Schulke Schulke speaks to the ensouled fetish, which connects greatly to the idea of the Living Statue and the cultic image. More of a sorcerous read, but worth it nontheless.

We Are In The Middle of Forever: Indigenous Voices of Turtle Island on the Changing Earth I hold the strong conviction that those of us in America who find our bloodlines here through the powers of colonialism absolutely must be listening to indigenous wisdom- full stop. Publications like this one are a huge boon to the mending of the rift between the descendants of colonialism and the land which they inhabit. I think this becomes doubly important to those practices land-based religions.

The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade I come with the bias of studying the anthropology of religion full time. This book has in many ways aided in bridging the gap between my academic studies and the building of my theologies, and is a profound read by an author with a storied collection of publications within the field.

Mystai: Dancing out the Mysteries of Dionysus An interesting look into the mystery cult of Dionysus during late antiquity. Mystery cults often operated regionally and with localized aspects to their mysteries.

Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites by Dudley Wright All literature on the Eleusinian mysteries is a boon- this is my recommendation. Following the ritual life of the local agriculture cult which has gone down in history as one of the largest surviving cults into the Christianization of Greece.

Walking the Worlds: Building Regional Cultus Less of an academic read than the others on this list, but one I found equally as inspiring. The articles speak to diaspora and tensions of modern polytheism, and I think without some kind of academic pre-knowledge of these topics the articles themselves would fall a little flat, but a worthy read for the genuine pursuant.

Mystery Cults in the Greek and Roman World by the MET

Kongo in Haiti: A New Approach to Religious Syncretism by Luc de Heusch This article explores religious syncretism through the lens of Vodou, an African traditional religion known for its syncretic relationship with Christianity here in the US and Haiti. De Heusch explores a little bit of the roots in West Africa, and how the religion operates in both syncretic and nonsyncretic ways across the African diaspora.

Why Cecropian Minerva?: Hellenic Syncretism as System by Luther H. Martin This article explores syncretism in a western context, from the other side of the isle. This is not syncretism brought on by oppression and colonialism, instead highlighting syncretism theologically proposed by the oppressors, a favorite of the Romans. Martin explores the theology of this, the politics of this, and offers interesting analysis of the historical evidence.

Epithets in the Orphic Hymns by W. K. C. Guthrie There's powers in names. You know it, I know it, Guthrie certainly knows it. Behind that power is meaning. While Guthrie does not particularly touch on regionalized epithets, I still find this to a be a great read to get one thinking about cult specific poetic titles.

[shamandrummer]

Honoring the Spirits of the Home

Shamanism is a way of perceiving the nature of the universe in a way that incorporates the normally invisible world where the spirits of all material things dwell. Shamans have different terms and phrases for the unseen world, but most of them clearly imply that it is the realm where the spirits of the land, animals, ancestors, and other spiritual entities dwell. Spirit encompasses all the immaterial forms of life energy that surround us. We are woven together into a net of life energies that are all around us. These energies can appear to us in different forms, such as spirits of the land or spirits of the home. Spirits of the home are the spirits that inhabit our place of refuge: where we live, where we work and where we play. These kinds of spirits share our homes with us and help us in our times of need.

Honoring the spirits that share our homes is important for our well-being. House spirits in many ways are the heart of the house itself and can affect the home's atmosphere as well as influencing the occupant’s moods and physical health. All homes have spirits, and in many cases there are layers of spirits. Spirits of the home are the echoes of people, of events, of ideas which have become imprinted upon a location, for better or for worse. House spirits may manifest as vague feelings or impressions associated with an area, but more often they appear with a clear physical form. Spirits of the home may be the manifestation of a home's spirit or they may be a spirit that is strongly tied to a home, but either way they have the ability to influence a person or family's luck, health, and mood. Most homes will have several different spirits associated with them, usually at least one with the home itself and in homes with an attached yard possibly more.

Honoring the spirits of a home is much easier than most people realize. It requires being open and aware of their presence without judgment or expectation. Know that the spirits are there and acknowledge their presence. Be respectful of them in word and action. Here are some good ways to honor the spirits of your home:

Cleanse Your Home

Honoring the spirits of your home begins with cleansing your abode. Your house holds the energies of all your emotional ups and downs. It collects the energies of all of your houseguests, domestic disputes, family emergencies, holidays, and so on. Picking up negative energy that is not ours can make us less balanced and can cause blockages to the natural flow of energy in our body. We may feel tired, unbalanced, anxious, depressed or even sick. The most important thing you can do is to smudge yourself and your home each day. Smudging is a method of using smoke from burning herbs to dispel negative energy. Sage, cedar and sweetgrass are traditionally used for smudging. To smudge, light the dried herbs in a fire-resistant receptacle, and then blow out the flames. Then use a feather or your hands to fan the smoke around your body and home. I recommend cracking a window or door for ventilation and for releasing unwanted energies.

Bless Your Home

Blessing a home, similar to cleansing one, is merely working to keep certain energies flowing within the house. We perform blessings on our homes to attract harmony, happiness, and prosperity to our dwelling and that can be done as often as we feel the need to. Many shamanic practitioners recommend the use of holy or consecrated water for blessing a home. The practice of charging water with intention, words, and sound is widely practiced in indigenous cultures throughout the world. In fact, people have believed in our ability to influence water since the days of antiquity. The Christian tradition is the obvious example, with the ongoing performing of rituals that turn regular water into holy water. Essentially, holy water is water with salt added during a rite of blessing. Learn how to make your own consecrated water, and use it for cleansing, protection and blessing. Pour some holy water into a spray bottle. To bless and protect your home, spray holy water around the perimeter of your dwelling and yard. You can also incorporate an incantation or spoken prayer into your blessing. This can be as simple as saying, "I bless this home with happiness. I bless this home with love. I bless this home with prosperity…"

Make Offerings to the Spirits

Offerings are a beautiful way to acknowledge and honor your household spirits. Giving and receiving are an essential part of any relationship. Anything can be used as an offering, but food is common in many cultures across the world. A simple way to incorporate food as an offering is to simply leave a portion of your meal for the spirits near the hearth or on an altar. An altar is any structure upon which we place offerings and sacred objects that have spiritual or cosmological significance. It represents the center and axis of your sacred space. A simple altar can be created with a cloth, a candle and other symbols that mean something to you. Offerings can be made weekly, monthly or annually and might include fresh flowers, herbs, incense, fruits, milk, or wine. The offerings serve as an acknowledgement and sign of gratitude for the spirits presence and beneficial activity.

Listen to the Spirits

Developing a relationship with your house and its spirit is very important for your home is your sanctuary; it keeps you safe and warm and protected from the elements. Let your home speak to you. As shamanic practitioners, we are often able to hear things that others cannot. And we know that it is not uncommon for spirits to speak up when they want something specific. Our houses can be the same way. Take some time to sit quietly in your house and listen to it. Be open to communication and let it tell you what color walls it was happiest with, what kind of music it prefers, or what holiday traditions it was fondest of; and let these messages guide your offerings.

As with any relationship it takes time and effort to build a connection with your house spirit, but it is worthwhile. Most home spirits are more open to human connection than the spirits of the land. Keep in mind that spirits choose to come into relationship with the person seeking. You can seek a connection, but the spirits must choose. Respect and connection to spirits is what makes for an authentic relationship, which is what the shamanic practitioner yearns for in a society that has severed itself from nature and spirit. Humans have lost touch with the spirit world and the wisdom of inner knowing. The spirits, however, have not forgotten us. They are calling us to a path of environmental sanity, to rejoining the miraculous cycle of nature.

[missbookiverse]

Despair is paralysis. It robs us of agency. It blinds us to our own power and the power of the earth. Environmental despair is a poison every bit as destructive as the methylated mercury in the bottom of Onondaga Lake. But how can we submit to despair while the land is saying “Help”? Restoration is a powerful antidote to despair. Restoration offers concrete means by which humans can once again enter into positive, creative relationship with the more-than-human world, meeting responsibilities that are simultaneously material and spiritual. It’s not enough to grieve. It's not enough to just stop doing bad things. We have enjoyed the feast generously laid out for us by Mother Earth, but now the plates are empty and the dining room is a mess. It’s time we started doing the dishes in Mother Earth’s kitchen. Doing dishes has gotten a bad rap, but everyone who migrates to the kitchen after a meal knows that that’s where the laughter happens, the good conversations, the friendships. Doing dishes, like doing restoration, forms relationships.

ROBIN WALL KIMMERER: BRAIDING SWEETGRASS (P. 328)

[gisellelx]

By any other name (literally, ANY other)

I was reading Braiding Sweetgrass for pleasure and for work and there's a chapter which reminded me of something I knew but had not truly ever reconsidered--"Carlisle" is a place name. It's a city in England, and gave rise to the same name across several towns in the U.S. Most famously in the U.S., Carlisle, PA is home to the US Army War College, which sits on the former grounds of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, the main boarding school (though there were many) where Indigenous American children were sent to be stripped of their languages, tribal identities, spiritual beliefs, and not too infrequently, their lives. It is the place of origin of the phrase "Kill the Indian in him and save the man" and served as the model for the many other schools across the United States where this took place in the early 1900s. And like...I'm sure it was technically unintentional and yet at the same time, SM and I aren't that far apart in age. This same fact was rattling around in the far reaches of her brain and when she went searching for the name of the patriarch (who by all accounts, in 1640s England, should be "John" or "William" or "Thomas" which is why I hold my hc that he's just basically forgotten his own first name) she came up with Carlisle. Because that name was ringing some bells as she thought about writing a book about vampires and Native humans.

What in the fresh hell, Stephenie.

[secondspookyseason]

At some point I’m going to post about my personal practice bc it’s really solidified within the past year. It started as grounding rituals to maintain my day-to-day sanity, and now it is both more profound and more connected to community.

A short version:

- The Orphic Hymns Grimoire by Sara L. Mastros is pretty damn cool! I appreciate her approach to modernizing language so modern practitioners can use it and make it their own. The poems are fun to read aloud! The whole thing is a devotional to Hermes! And it’s got simplified suggested spells from the PGM. Love that. I have picked up lots of books but this one grabbed me with its writing style, which is important to me as a words person.

- I am a little bit involved with the Temple of Dionysus in RI. They seem like like-minded nerds.

- I read a book* that laid out the difference between Indigenous & colonialist relationships to the natural world and finally started to comprehend the scope of what we’ve lost by thinking of humans as separate from nature (and how that leads to, yknow, huge scale environmental destruction). I believe more completely and profoundly that magical practice is about knowing and understanding local ecology and tending garden and building relationships. It is not about shopping. I want to keep a closer eye on making all of my personal doings produce less waste.

- I’m very attached to the idea that paganism isn’t about ‘belief’ but about doing and sharing. It is not central to my practice that I feel that gods hear me, or that I hear them. My idea of what a god is is probably a bit more lax than other practitioners. But last week something in life knocked me for a loop, and felt like an answer. I did some divination (tarot) with a deck I had set aside for spiritual use, and in asking questions I believe that in this instance I got answers from someone other than me (and that I know who it is). This is new, and rare. I genuinely hope it stays rare, because it’s A Lot.

*The book is Braiding Sweetgrass. You’ve probably heard of it.

[nightjasmine]

I'm not one for new years resolutions, but into 2023 I've set myself the incredibly lofty goal of reading one occult or otherwise spiritually useful book a month. It's not much, but I'm doing an intensive course of study for the next 18 months and I needed a way to balance my spiritual life - and working off the bookpile of shame - with my considerable lack of free time and energy.

So far on the list is:

Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer. I'm about 3/4 of the way through this already, but it's like being very, very gently punched in the face with spiritual wisdom every chapter, so it's taking a while to digest

Magic in the Middle Ages - Richard Kieckhefer. My copy is in German

Ascendant: Modern Essays on Polytheism and Theology - edited by Michael Hardy

The Hidden Lives of Trees - Peter Wohlleben (de)

A mystery book on local German witchcraft in the early modern era which I picked up from a second hand shop for a couple of euros.

+1 pop sci book I picked up which might be a dud

Other likely additions (currently sitting in my shopping cart) are:

The History of Astrology - Kocku Stuckrad (de)

Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses and Traditions of Ancient Egypt - Geraldine Pinch

The Greatness of Saturn: A Therapeutic Myth - Robert E. Svoboda. Should probably have picked this one up before Saturn started kicking my ass.

I'm also looking for (more) books on Greco-Egyptian religion and magic which don't have too much of a textbook/manual style.

Mostly I'm posting (and pinning) this to force myself into actually doing the reading and not just buying the books, because if I'm not posting book quotes on the regular, you'll know I'm not doing it 🤷‍♀️

[overwitchiever]

7 Spiritual Benefits of Sweet Grass

The main use of sweetgrass is smudging as it is belied to cleanse and purify a space, as well as invite in positive energies. However, it also has numerous other benefits including protection, as well as a number of medicinal uses. Below are 7 ways you can use the powerful properties of sweetgrass in your own life:

1. Keep sweetgrass under pillow/mattress for sweet dreams

In Native American tribes, sweetgrass is believed to be distasteful to evil spirits and is even thought to lessen their powers. So, it is a great herb to place under your pillow at night to protect against nightmares that can be caused by restless spirits.

Its revered calming properties can also help you to de-stress as it can aid the removal of the stress hormone cortisol. This will help you fall into a deep, restful sleep, especially if you are prone to tossing and turning at night.

2. Smudge/Burn sweetgrass for positive energy & cleansing

Smudging has been the most popular use of this herb throughout history. Usually, the grass is braided (to represent Mother Earth) and then left to dry as this intensifies its sweet scent. Sweetgrass is believed to be incredibly efficient at removing negative energies so is the perfect smudging tool if you have just moved into a new house or just after an argument.

In addition, sweetgrass is an excellent aid for meditation as it instills a sense of calm and will cleanse your aura of any stagnant energies or negativity. Meditating whilst burning sweetgrass is also believed to bring forth your dreams from past lives.

3. Use sweetgrass essential oil for relaxation

Sweetgrass oil is commonly used as a massage oil because its calming scent is believed to help with concentration, relaxation, serenity, and mindfulness. When used on the skin it can help with rejuvenating cells and increasing blood circulation, which leaves your skin feeling nourished. The unique scent of sweetgrass is caused by the presence of coumarin which has blood-thinning, anti-fungicidal, and pain relief qualities however, it should not be used continuously as it can be toxic if used in large amounts.

4. Drink sweetgrass tea for cleansing your aura

Herbal tea made from the leaves of sweetgrass was commonly used by Native Americans to treat sore throats, fevers, and venereal diseases. When drunk, it is also thought to be able to cleanse the aura and invite in a sense of serenity.

Although, it must be noted that Sweetgrass contains a substance called coumarin which can cause liver damage if taken in large doses. For this reason, it is recommended that you speak to a trained herbalist before ingesting this herb. Luckily, there are no known dangers associated with inhaling sweetgrass through smudging.

5. Carry sweetgrass as a protective totem

As sweetgrass is believed to repel negative spirits, it can be carried around with you or worn as an amulet to protect youself against negative energies. Many Native cultures believe that sweetgrass symbolizes peace, healing, and spirituality, so carrying a sweetgrass braid will also help to stabilize your emotions, protect your aura, and uplift your spirits. Historically, Ojibwa men wore sweetgrass as a cologne and commonly wore two sweetgrass braids around their necks for protection.

6. Keep sweetgrass braid at home or car for protection

When hung in your home or your car, sweetgrass can prevent negative energies from entering the space. This makes it the perfect herb to use when you are planning on taking a long trip, to ensure a safe journey, or to hang in your new home to dispel any negativity that may have been left by the previous occupants.

7. Grow sweetgrass in your home garden for protection & good luck

Sweetgrass is an extremely positive herb so plant it in your garden to shroud your home in positive vibes. Planting it by your front door will also protect your home from negativity and instill a sense of focus, peace, and tranquility which will make you more open to receiving new opportunities. As an added benefit, sweetgrass also has mosquito repelling properties.

Bear in mind that sweetgrass can grow fairly tall (up to 60cm) so it is best to plant it at the back of your garden or in the center. It can also spread to be over 2ft wide so ensure it is planted in a place where it can be restricted a little.

How to smudge with sweetgrass for cleansing and protection?

Here are three simple steps you can follow while smudging with sweetgrass.

Step 1: Light the sweetgrass

When dried and braided sweetgrass is burned, it tends to smolder rather than produce an open flame. This makes it a fairly easy herb to smudge with, however, you should still ensure you have a fireproof bowl to prevent the ashes from falling onto your carpet.

Simply light the end of a sweetgrass braid or smudge stick then gently wave it to release the smoke around your space. When doing this, make sure you pay close attention to the areas that you feel would benefit the most from cleansing, including all four corners of your home.

Step 2: Set an intention

Always remember that it is important to set your intention when smudging; what do you want to achieve with the smudging process? A happier family? To clear negativity after an argument? The more specific you are the better. It can be beneficial to solidify your intent with the use of a smudging prayer which can be simple or elaborate, as sweetgrass is believed to carry your words to the creator. The most important thing is that the words mean something to you. Here are a couple of short examples below:

“I pray for the health and wellness of my family.” “Thank you for protecting this home and my loved ones.”

Step 3: Relax and cleanse your spirit

Once you are done, you can leave the sweetgrass in a fireproof bowl to burn down on its own. It is also a good idea to sit and relax in the area you have cleansed, to inhale the sweet scent and cleanse yourself too!

Many people choose to burn sweetgrass and sage together as sage works to intensity the cleansing properties of sweetgrass.

Conclusion

Sweetgrass is one of the four plants that is considered to be sacred by many native cultures including Inuit and Metis tribes, earning it the name of Holy grass. Throughout history, sweetgrass has been revered for its soothing and calming properties which work to repel negative energies and lift the spirit.

[breath-of-venus]

Why are they [goldenrod and asters] beautiful together? It is a phenomenon simultaneously material and spiritual, for which we need all wavelengths, for which we need depth perception. When I stare too long at the world with science eyes, I see an afterimage of traditional knowledge. Might science and traditional knowledge be purple and yellow to one another, might they be goldenrod and asters? We see the world more fully when we use both.

- Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

[tipsycad147]

Signs Persephone Is Calling You

As you walk through your spiritual journey, you may find that you want to work with spirits to seek guidance or assistance from them. Alternatively, spirits may see the potential in you and will try to reach out to let you know that they’re interested. The difficult part is to identify which deity is calling you, especially when many of them share similar traits, symbols, and imagery. Some deities such as Venus and Aphrodite, have different names depending on the pantheon you’re looking at. You can find more information on this on our How Do I Know If A Deity Is Calling Me? post.

In this particular post, you’ll find a guide on how to tell if the Spring Goddess and Queen of the Underworld Persephone wants to work with you.��

For starters, feeling drawn to any spirit is usually the most typical sign of them trying to reach out, especially if this feeling comes all of a sudden. This sensation can manifest as a sense of closeness towards the deity, or a desire to connect and learn more about them. Another common sign is showing up in your dreams or meditations or astral projection. You may see Persephone as a beautiful young woman or even hear her voice. If that’s the case, write down whatever piece of information you recall in your grimoire or journal. Pay attention to the way in which she presents herself before you, not every spirit shows their humanoid form. Some may appear in their animal form, as a voice or a smell. 

Associations with Persephone

Associations with Persephone include wild flowers, mint, citrus or floral smell,  pomegranates, parsley, sweetgrass, daisies, narcissus, lavender, willow and black poplar trees, almonds, vanilla, bats, rams, parrots, monkeys and bees, a horse harness, and the Virgo constellation, which depicts a young maiden holding a stalk of wheat. Most of her correspondences are related to her mythology or her fertile and Spring-related essence. For instance, the goddess is known for turning her river-nymph rival Minthe (also known as Hades’ ex-lover), into a mint plant out of jealousy and anger. Another example is that Pomegranates are representative of her time in the Underworld, where she ate the six pomegranate seeds, which later lead to her being bound to the Kingdom of The Dead for half of the year.

Some of Persephone’s iconography may be associated with other deities, and even so they are extremely useful, because they help validate that it’s her. For example, the wheat and the horse harness are in correspondence with her mother, Demeter, whereas narcissus and dogs are related to Hades, her husband.

How do I confirm it’s Persephone? 

When you become aware of the signs you’ve been receiving, the first thing you should do is research the deity or deities you think are trying to contact you. You can start off by reading myths about these spirits and see which elements in them match the signs you’ve received. As I’ve mentioned above, usually most of the correspondences have to do with elements of a specific myth. That’s why reading about the deity can clear out your questions.

Furthermore, if you’re still not 100% sure which deity you’re dealing with, you can consult other sources: a medium or an Akashic Records specialist, for example. You can ask a Tarot reader (or do the reading yourself if you have the knowledge) to do a deity-confirmation spread, in which one of the cards represents the spirit. In the case of Persephone, The Empress is the card that represents her ―alternatively, The High Priestess and The Hermit are also associated with this Goddess. Given that some cards, such as The High Priestess, can be attributed to other entities ―this is also Hekate’s card― you can ask further questions that symbolize her myth or her essence. If you’re keen on meditation or astral projection, you can try meeting her in the astral plane and ask yourself directly.

How are these signs received?

There are many ways in which a deity can communicate: through your clair senses (clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairgustance, and clairalience), dreams, Tarot and oracle cards, scrying, pendulum, music, and even other people. That’s why you have to pay close attention to what you perceive. because quite frankly, anything could be a sign. Even seeing a lot of content about Persephone or her attributes on social media can mean she’s trying to reach out to you. If she wants to work with you, you can expect vehemence on her side. So, it is safe to say that you can’t and won’t miss her signs. 

How to start working with Persephone? 

As humans we often wonder why such a divine being would want to contact us and not the other way round. Well, to begin with, powerful spirits like gods and goddesses see your potential and believe they can mentor you to achieve your highest potential and become more attune with the Universe. 

Persephone’s more likely to reach out to widows (or widowers), as she favors them. If you work with Hades, then you can certainly expect her to try to work with you too, as they are some kind of package deal. You can’t have one without the other, which is great, because you’ll learn about balance and opposite forces (life and death.) 

This goddess can help you find true long-lasting love, get pregnant, enhance your beauty, get through your grief, work hard, and stand up for yourself.  She’s a fearless spirit, so you can expect merging with her empowering self-sufficient personality.

What are offerings for Persephone?

If you decide to establish a working relationship with her and you start asking her for favors, bear in mind that you’ll have to give her something in return. Remember that working with any deity is a mutual agreement. You can do beauty or self-love rituals in her honor, take care of your garden, write her a poem or a song, place the items she’s associated with in her altar (or imagery of them, if you don’t have access to them): pomegranates, mint, flowers, perfume, candles (preferably spring colors, like pink, yellow, purple, and green), pink tourmaline, jasper, obsidian, and black onyx. You can also ask her what she would prefer to have as payment for her favor.

What should I be careful about?

If you decide to work with her, make sure that you place her altar close to other spirits she gets along with, such as Demeter, Hades, Dyonisus, Orpheus, Hekate, Artemis, and Athena; and as far as possible from spirits she had feuds with, like Aphrodite and Minthe. As with any other deity, keep in mind that she’s not human. She’s a goddess and a queen, so you should treat her as such, with respect and devotion. Even if she wants to mentor and assist you, that doesn’t mean she’s your friend or equal. According to Greek mythology, Persephone’s said to be more severe than Hades, which is more than enough reason to be careful not to offend her. As long as you treat her with kindness and respect, you can be sure she’ll return the sentiment.

Identifying a spirit is not a simple task and it shouldn’t be taken carelessly. Don’t rush yourself into believing anything you perceive straight away, as there can be lesser entities posing as deities to trick humans, which can be dangerous. These fake deities feed on your energy and will leave you feeling lethargic and moody. Moreover, as I mentioned earlier in this post, spirits can share similarities and can be mixed up. For instance, last year, I was almost certain I was receiving signs from Persephone: I had bees coming into my apartment every once a week, I kept smelling a citrus scent, visions of flowers would show up constantly while I meditated…And I believed it was her because, apart  from receiving all the signs that corresponded to her, I was (still am) fascinated by her, so I truly wanted it to be her. In the end, I seeked the help of a specialist who did a deity-confirmation reading and told me that who I thought was Persephone, in fact, was Ostara, the Celtic Goddess of Spring. As a final disclaimer, don’t forget your protection when dealing with entities. 

[bosses-stay-flawless]

“HAIR APPARENT”

Many grapple over their roles within their families , I was taught to focus on the connection between our shared heritage.

Many cultures hold their hair as sacred for a variety of reasons, if you have short hair or no hair this isn’t a negative post, hair is an extension of our spiritual selves to many cultures, yet just as any spiritual connection is concerned, hair is merely a symbol. How you choose to connect spirituality isn’t solely dependent on how much hair you have. for this post I’m focusing on the the spiritual connection and symbolic nature to Native American (and some African & Asian and various other cultures who honor the natural connection between a person and their hair)

My first lesson about the sacred nature of Native and African American hair came from two of my grandmothers. My great- grandmother who was Navajo Indian always took great care when it came to her hair. When I visited and stayed with her, washing my hair was almost like a ritual, she would use “yucca” as a form of shampoo to not just wash, but also to cleanse the hair, after carefully drying my hair she would braid my hair into two neat rows always adorning my hair with shells and feathers depending on her spiritual guides. That is still one of my fondest memories from childhood.

My grandmother (African American & other nationalities) also adorned my hair with beads sometimes. She always said that a woman’s hair is her crown, and that it was our reflection of a much greater inner being.

In honor of my grandmothers I decided to burn sweetgrass in honor of the spiritual lessons they have taught me. Sweetgrass is dried, braided and burned to clear spaces of negativity and to invite positive energy.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Photo: Mitch Warnick (2022)

* * * *

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders — the glistening white sands of New Mexico. U.S. Department of the Interior: At White Sands National Park, great wave-like gypsum dunes cover nearly 300 square miles of desert. The sand is soft and cool under your feet and provides a beautiful contrast to the bright blue sky. The dunes are ever-changing, growing, cresting, but constantly advancing. One of the best ways to experience the park is sand sledding, a popular activity and great fun for children and adults alike.

[Scott Horton]

* * * *

“Despair is paralysis. It robs us of agency. It blinds us to our own power and the power of the earth… Restoration is a powerful antidote to despair. Restoration offers concrete means by which humans can once again enter into positive, creative relationship with the more-than-human world, meeting responsibilities that are simultaneously material and spiritual. ... Restoration is imperative for healing the earth, but reciprocity is imperative for long-lasting, successful restoration. Like other mindful practices, ecological restoration can be viewed as an act of reciprocity in which humans exercise their caregiving responsibility for the ecosystems that sustain them. We restore the land, and the land restores us.”

― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass