Earth witch, p.12
Earth Witch, page 12
Pen-and-paper journaling may not work for everyone, however. If that is true for you, just choose a format that calls out to you and get into the journaling habit. Here are a few options from which you can choose:
Voice recording: Record your thoughts digitally. This can be especially helpful when you wake up at 3:00 AM with an important dream and the very thought of grabbing a pen and paper and turning on a light seems hellish! You can take this a step further by using an app that transcribes your voice recordings into words so you can read and review them later.
Digital writing platforms: Journal directly onto a digital notebook, then save it to your computer for later review. When I wrote this book, I moved my journal writing to a program on my laptop to learn how to type faster. There are lots of options out there. Just find one that works for you and get started.
Paper: Try using different colored pens to show how you are feeling, or to indicate days of the week or specific themes or energies that appear in your dreams—for instance, green for prosperity or red for power. You can also use color to designate a particular time and space through which you're moving. Or use colored tabs to mark very important dreams or realizations.
Remember, your dream journal is for you alone and should reflect your own practice. Use what you like and what you have available to make your journaling as accessible and doable as possible. It doesn't matter how you do. Just do it!
Here's a simple journal structure you can use to get started:
Date, lunar phase, any astrological notations, or even where you are in your menstrual cycle.
Musings on where you are emotionally in your waking life, how you're feeling in your body, or what is going on in your environment.
Any interactions with the spirit or deities with whom you are working.
Any goals or dreams you wish to achieve.
And finally, add all the details you can remember about the objects, people, spirits, themes, and settings that appear in your dreams. The goal of a dream journal is to integrate all your waking experiences with those you encounter in your dreams and to help you interpret those experiences in ways that can inform your daily life and your practice. Remember: It's all connected.
Spirit Allies
Dreaming with the spirits of the land is a bold act that takes careful consideration. In some cultures, sleeping under certain tree species can connect you with the fae, or the little people. Some say that you will be snatched away to the Otherworld, never to return. And before you engage in land and spirit-of-place dreamwork, be sure that you've read the discussion of wards and protection in chapter 4. For this sort of work, you'll want to set some guards in place, as you never know who or what you'll encounter.
Start with a tree in a local park or, if you have access to a yard, perhaps you can nap under that lilac bush of which you're so fond. Trees and plants that are historically known to be connected to dreamwork include hawthorn, hazel, elder, oak, blackthorn, ash, alder, juniper, and birch. You can dream with any tree or shrub, however. Remember, you can also bring any (safe) tree or plant into your bed to support your dreamwork. One of my favorite shrubs with which to dream is elder. In the summer, I collect elder twigs and sleep with them under my pillow.
Dreaming with the spirits of the land is quite simple and uncomplicated. Just take a nap in the location to which you wish to connect. This may be a meadow, a local park, or a stream. Running water is especially effective when you enter the dream state just before falling into sleep. Listen closely and you will hear the water singing or speaking to you. Another method is to collect dirt from an area to which you want to connect. Be sure to ask for the permission of the spirits who reside there before you go gathering, however, and be sure to leave an altar offering in its place. Place the dirt on your dream altar to act as a conduit. Notice any images that come to mind or feelings that arise and record them in your dream journal.
Plant Allies
Plant allies can help facilitate dreaming in quite potent ways. Plants often act as gatekeepers and initiators in the dream space. When working with plants, I find that prayer and breathwork encourage them to help me with a desired outcome. Below, I give examples of herbs that I often work with during dreamtime, but you can literally work with any plants to get to know them better through your dreams.
Mugwort is a classic herb for dreamtime and a powerful one! This herb is connected to the moon and to the element of Water, both of which support dream activity and facilitate a deeper connection to the land and plants. Sleeping with a small pillow filled with mugwort or the fresh herb near your head acts as a conduit for powerful experiences, as it gives an animating and driving force to your dreams. My personal experiences with mugwort have ranged from feeling as if I were levitating in bed to helping unlock reoccurring dream patterns and gaining an even deeper understanding of other plants. If you're using it in tea, I advise that you start with very small doses. Mugwort doesn't so much encourage rest, as heighten the ability to be lucid and wakeful during dreamtime. Experiment carefully with this one. If you are nursing, pregnant, or plan to become pregnant, do not use mugwort.
Rosemary is a powerful protector of all spaces, especially when burned. A few sprigs around the bed can help protect and keep the space clear from unwanted spirits and energies. You can make a smoke bundle by tying sprigs of rosemary together and allowing them to dry before burning. Or you can create a loose incense with rosemary. Burn it on a charcoal disk or in a brazier in your bedroom to promote dreams and offer up protection. Rosemary is also used for remembrance, as it can be helpful in dream recall and when burned in the morning hours as you record and journal about your dreams.
The alluring and intoxicating scent of jasmine has been linked to heightening psychic abilities, creativity, and dreams. A light perfume oil or hydrosol of jasmine can be a helpful aid. Dab jasmine oil around your chest, neck, and head, or spritz the hydrosol on and around your pillows to promote dreaming.
The beautifully shaped pods of star anise are used in psychic work, as well as to encourage strong dream activity. Anise seed can be used as well. Anise helps promote pleasant dreaming and sends protection to your spirit. This herb also offers protection from nightmares when placed in a sachet and tucked under your pillow. Like rosemary, it can be burned as a loose incense.
Dandelion roots are not often thought of for their magical uses, but they are used in folk magic traditions to increase dreaming and clarity when doing divination. With their moon-like seed heads and deep tap roots, dandelions can connect you to both the earth and the heavens. Roasted dandelion root has a slight vanilla-caramel favor and can be blended with other herbs to make a fantastic dream tea. Use dandelion when you wish to enhance your psychic abilities and to dream well.
Frankincense is a most excellent resin to burn to “raise vibrations.” This plant intensifies any magical work and aids in sanctifying a space. It also helps to clear an area of any negativity and to increase focus and concentration. Burning a little before bed can help to promote good dreaming activity and rest. Frankincense is also a beautiful perfume oil. Combine it with a little jasmine and apply it to your pulse points and temples, and you have a powerful and uplifting dream oil for sleep.
Marshmallow root, or althea, is used to attract good spirits. Place this on your altar in a small bowl or in a pouch to help connect to spirits with whom you wish to work. Be mindful of drinking this as a tea, however. Because it has a slightly mucilaginous texture to it, marshmallow can help you to “slip” between worlds.
Chamomile, which is often overlooked as an herb for dreaming, can calm nerves and act as an aftermeal digestive. This herb protects against nightmares and can be inhaled to calm and sweeten your state of mind. Combined with dandelion root, chamomile makes a wonderful, gentle tea that can help you wind down in the evenings before bedtime. Use this herb in your tea blends or in a bowl or sachet placed by your head as you sleep.
Skullcap, while not necessarily for dreaming, can help with nervous anxiety and to calm the nerves after a long, stressful day. Skullcap helps with those anxious thought loops in which you may often find yourself stuck. These can lead to restless nights and insomnia. Use this herb in a tea or tincture blend to bring about restful sleep, calm the mind, wind down, and relax.
Passion flower, as herbalist Michael Moore says, “is a simple, uncomplicated sedative.” If you find yourself prone to anxiety, restlessness, or insomnia, this herb may be helpful in lowering stress and sedating your mind in a gentle, non-intrusive way. If you find yourself restless, nervous, and agitated, blending this herb with some skullcap and chamomile makes a fantastic tea that promotes restful sleep.
Mint is often overlooked as a plant for dreamwork, but any mint variety can be used in teas and incense blends to encourage dreams. In fact, mint blends well with skullcap to provide a gentle, calming bedtime tea. I have found great success with the wild variety of mint known as nettle leaf, horsemint, and/or catnip, which grows wild in my region. When used in tea, this can bring about powerful dreams and stimulate creativity.
Lavender is a classic calming and aromatic flower that is not often considered for use in dream-tea blends. Give it a try, however, because it tastes great. But be sparing about your use, as too much can make a bitter tea. When burned, lavender lets off a sweet scent that calms the nerves and brings lightness to a space. Utilize this herb when you need calm before bed and to soothe the nerves. A small sachet near your pillow can help with sleep and is especially effective when combined with rosemary and mugwort.
Below are some tea-blend suggestions to drink around bedtime. Use a teaspoon of each herb in a ball strainer or an in-the-mug basket strainer. Steep the herbs in sixteen to eighteen ounces of freshly boiled water. As you add the herbs to your tea, pray over them individually and call them into their purpose. Please be mindful that if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are nursing, you should avoid mugwort.
Calming herbs include:
Skullcap
Passion flower
Lavender
Chamomile
Deep-dreaming herbs include:
Dandelion root
Mugwort
Chamomile
Marshmallow root
Star anise, or anise (optional, as this flavor isn't agreeable to everyone)
Nightmare-protection herbs include:
Chamomile
Passion flower
Peppermint
Lavender
Flower essences can also serve as gentle vibrational allies that help create deep shifts within the mind and body. Here are just a few of the flowers associated with dreamwork:
Angelica
Black-eyed Susan
Chaparral
Clematis
Evening primrose
Forget-me-not
Hornbeam
Lavender
Milkweed
Morning glory
Mugwort
Rosemary
Saint John's wort
Star tulip
White chestnut
When working with any of these plant allies, approach them with an open heart as you pray for their assistance and they will guide you, opening up your dream space, teaching you the mysteries of their own knowledge, and giving you insights into their medicinal uses.
Practice: Entering the Dreamworld
This simple practice will help you pull together all the elements of dreamwork discussed above and use them to help you enter your own dreamworld. It can also help you to dream with intention.
Before you begin, set up a bedside table or your dream altar. On this space, place the following items:
A small piece of paper and pen
A glass of water
Florida water, an alcohol-based perfume or cologne water often employed in spiritual work, or any dream-related herbs (optional)
Incense to burn or tea to drink
Before bed, pour a glass of water into a clear glass container. This container doesn't need to be fancy; you can use a mason jar or your favorite cup. A clear vessel works best to promote clarity, although colors also work—especially blue, as it helps support dreams and lends some protection.
On the piece of paper, write down what you wish to dream about. For example, you may write: “May the mysteries of mugwort be revealed to me.” Write this wish in an open-ended way or ask a question so that the spirit is prompted to reply. Then place the paper under the glass container of water. Whisper your question or petition over the water's surface. You can also burn some incense or sprinkle any herbs you prefer into the water. Add a few drops of Florida water to the container if you like. Meditate or pray, then allow yourself to drift into sleep, knowing that your question will be answered.
Even if you do not specifically dream of the situation in question, be sure to take note of what you dream about and record it in your dream journal. Allow whatever dreams you have to marinate, knowing that understanding will come with time. Repeat this practice as often as you need until you have your answer, or until something is revealed to you.
Lunar cycles are great to work with here, because the dark or new moon opens the door to spirit, and the full moon shines light and reveals the situation. And this is what dreamwork is all about. Remember: Your aim is wakefulness, and your enemy is dreamless sleep.
Practice: Removing Roadblocks
You may encounter many internal roadblocks or fears taking up space as you develop your dreamwork practice. Make note of these occurrences. If these blockages are too strong, you may need to pause to reflect upon them before beginning. Write down what you feel is holding you back and bring the causes to the surface. A simple and helpful little spell is to write down these roadblocks and then burn the paper, thus ridding yourself of what is blocking you. Dispose of the ashes by placing them at a crossroad or simply dropping them in a trash can. There is absolutely nothing wrong with tossing your paper ashes in the trash. Just be sure that the flames are completely extinguished before doing so. Many witches get hung up on how to dispose of the remains of a spell, even one as simple as this. The trash works just fine, as it's where your blockages belong anyway.
Chapter 8
Committing to the Path
Nature is made of cycles and we are made of nature.
—V. E. Schwab
As we come to the end of this book, my hope is that you can see how the earth and witchcraft are inextricably entwined. Committing to one is committing to the other, and this commitment affirms that you are willing to embark on the journey toward spirit. This commitment can happen naturally in life many times over. You can be your own catalyst for it when you're ready to leap into the unknown or tread that dimly lit trail through the forest.
My own commitment rite was performed in the quiet evening hours, before my gods, the spirits, and the land. I put a ring on my finger at the finish of it to signify a marriage to my higher self, as it were. It's been a constant physical reminder of who I am and what I want, and of my ties to the land and to spirit— a constant reminder that I am a witch. I don't ever want to forget that. I wear that ring, with its small moonstone set in silver, to this day. It's tarnished and worn down from hours of digging in dirt, touching rocks, and generally living life. It's chipped and scratched and well-worn. Yet it still shines bright, reminding me of my purpose.
A self-initiation rite like this can usher in both dramatic and subtle changes. It really depends on where you are and what your circumstances are. Follow your intuition. Listen to your heart. Let it guide you.
You may, at some point, wish to commit yourself to the witches’ path through a self-initiatory rite that symbolically sets you firmly on the path to spirit. This kind of rite can commit you to the next phase of your journey. It also sends out a ripple into the universe and to spirit that you're ready to show up and walk the path placed before you. Performing a commitment rite can also generate a shift within you and give you a place from which to start your new journey. Or it can validate the path you're already walking.
The rite of self-initiation I give below is the same one I performed ten years ago—the rite that forever set me upon this path I walk. When I performed this rite, it enabled me to accept and embody the title of witch fully. It opened the door to spirit for me. The crooked and wandering path that witches tread—the journey to which we commit and by which we are bewitched—is terrifyingly beautiful to behold. It is not a straight and narrow path, however. In fact, it's just the opposite. And sometimes it disappears altogether in the darkness and we are forced to wander by starlight.
Walking the crooked and winding path of the witch requires a life-time commitment to plumbing the spiritual depths of the world around us. And it can be difficult to maintain this commitment in the individualistic society in which we live. The truth is, it is impossible to live a life free from capitalism, because we are so deeply entrenched in it. The only possible end to our path is death. And even in that, there is the beginning of something new as we merge with the stars and the spiritual life around us.
Before I set foot on this path, I knew that the calling I felt within me was something I could not ignore or deny. I knew that if I went to my death bed without exploring this strange pathway lit by stars and the glowing night embers, I would die miserable, longing for something that I'd never explored. So I took a deep breath and cast myself into the depths, uncovering what was hidden, lost, and secret within me and around me. I do not regret the past, nor do I wish to shut the door on it. But I found the one door—the one that was slightly ajar, through which I could glimpse spirit—and I took a step through it. I invite you to do the same.
Witches reject the status quo. We live lives free from the oppression of acceptable cultural standards and social mores. The lifestyle of a practicing witch opens us up entirely, allowing us to embrace the lessons of the past and future and to live authentic lives without damaging those who live around us. And this includes all earthly forms. We listen to the land and its inhabitants. We remember our origins and we honor the environment we inhabit. We invite in our ancestors and our non-human kin to help guide us on our journey. We listen. We orient ourselves. And we find presence and belonging in the spirit of the place where we stand.
