Opening the Garden Gate

The Great Way has no gate.Clear water has no taste.The tongue has no bone.In complete stillness, a stone girl is dancing. — Seung Sahn In the garden, we are able to encounter so many aspects of the Divine and the magical. There we may encounter thresholds to other realms, beyond the everyday concerns of the … Read more

Co-creative gardening and science

And every stone and every star a tongue,And every gale of wind a curious song.The Heavens were an oracle, and spokeDivinity: the Earth did undertakeThe office of a priest; and I being dumb(Nothing besides was dumb) all things did comeWith voices and instructions…— Thomas Traherne (1637-1674) Gardening is one of the oldest activities of civilization, … Read more

Magical Threshold

There is a root of peace within this Earth.Plant it in my heart, my home, my land. That it may grow deeply.And then will it branch and give shade, Then will it blossom for the lovers,And yield fruit that none will lack.Then will the old sit under its shade and be honored. And the babies … Read more

Consecrating the Garden

Tellus, Holy Mother, source of natureQueen and Goddess I invoke you:You are all-powerful and my needs are so small.Give me what I ask and in exchange,I will give you my thanks, sincere, and from my deepest heart.— from the Tellus Mater, ancient Roman prayer to the Earth If you are an avid gardener, you probably … Read more

Magical Gardens – Babylon

Today, as in the time of Pliny and Columella, the hyacinth flourishes in Wales, the periwinkle in Illyria, the daisy on the ruins of Numantia; while around them cities have changed their masters and their names, collided and smashed, disappeared into nothingness, their peaceful generations have crossed down the ages as fresh and smiling as … Read more

Blessings of the Taurus New Moon

©Fairy Godmother Angel – Jessie Willcox SmithDark of the MoonNew beginningsDark of the MoonPlant a seed tonightDark of the MoonWhat we envisionWill come to be by the Full Moon’s light. As I discussed yesterday, the New Moon is considered a day of magic and power, for it is a time for fresh beginnings and planting … Read more

The Constancy of the Moon

Then the purple-lidded nightWestering comes, her footsteps lightGuided by the radiant boonOf a sickle-shaped new moon. — Amy Lowell We who are riding Mother Earth’s lands of the Northern Hemisphere are now zooming towards the pinnacle of the Light, the Summer Solstice. This happens, even as our brothers and sisters in the places below the … Read more

Flowering

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.– Anais Nin As we continue to honor the Goddess Flora, I would offer the tantalizing idea that we, too, are a part of Her garden. Each one of you reading these words … Read more