Earth Medicine

Our Long Forgotten Relationship with Gaia, our Mother Earth

Our ancestors practiced a simple and natural existence, in tune with the change of the Seasons, the phases of the Moon, the flow of the rivers, the breath of the wind.  Never stationary,  they followed the harvest of their food sources, whether hunting animals or foraging greens from the wild.  They understood the importance of respecting Nature.... as storms, floods, fires, droughts and other natural disasters could endanger their food and shelter, and threaten their very survival.  This respect for the natural world was an integral part of their existence, and reverence for all components of the outer world (environment) AND the inner world (Self) were honored by traditions, ceremonies and story-telling. Their lives were by design and by necessity entwined with the natural world in  a sustainable, respectful, and harmonious way, nurturing and protecting  their relationship with the Green Ones, the furred, the finned, the winged, and the four-leggeds.  They tended not only to their physical bodies, but also to their soul, their mind, and their spirit as they were all parts of the whole.  

Oh what a catastrophe for man when he cut himself off from the rhythm of the year, from his unison with the Sun and the Earth.  Oh what a catastrophe, what a maiming of love when it made a personal, merely personal feeling, taken away from the rising and setting of the sun, and cut off from the magical connection of the solstice and the equinox.  This is what is the matter with us.                                           ~    D. H. Lawrence

Earth as Teacher

These elders of the Tribes instinctively knew and understood about the medicinal power of plant and earth energy. To the present day earth inhabitant, this "green medicine" may appear as simply myths or even "old wives tales." To some who seek, the question arises if this were a simple matter of "trial and error" in preparing plant medicine, or if the plants in some way communicated their medicinal natures to the humans.  When illness or injury occurred, the Wise Woman or Medicine Man of the village or clan drew on personal experience, their own inherited intelligence, and most importantly – communing with the plant kingdom directly in everyday living practices, by prayer and meditation.   In fact, diverse ethnicities around the globe were proven to be utilizing the same plants for similar afflictions…. often concurrently.  How was this wisdom communicated, when the populations were separated by thousands of miles, difficult terrain or oceans and language barriers?  How did the healers and shamans of different cultures all "know" of the specific medicinal uses of each plant being?  

Herbalism is based on relationship  — relationship between plant and human, plant and planet, human and planet. Using herbs in the healing process means taking part in an ecological cycle. This offers us the opportunity consciously to be present in the living, vital world of which we are part; to invite wholeness and our world into our lives through awareness of the remedies being used…                                   ~     Wendell Berry

Ancient Medicine, Contemporary Life

Herbal medicine is once again being recognized as a pathway and a tool for self healing.  For some families it has become a matter of necessity, as the purchase of conventional health insurance may be cost prohibitive. Treatment using practical and time-tried remedies may be their only solution.  Some individuals  choose an alternative path for practicing health care, perhaps due to an unfortunate incident, or a lack of trust, or of accessibility to conventional options.  Others may be searching for a more sustainable and self sufficient way of living.  A few desire to empower themselves in their own healing processes, craving to maintain a wholistic balance in their physical and their spiritual existence.  At this time of widespread nature deprivation and disconnection, many inhabitants of the earth are examining their lifestyle, questioning the commonly accepted Western paradigm, and are seeking a way not only to heal themselves, but All Our Relations and this planet we call home. 

You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.   I hope someday you will join us, and the world will live as one.    

       ~   John Lennon,   "Imagine"

Reclaiming Our Connection

Spend some time out in the Green each and everyday.  Teach yourself to receive what Nature has freely given us...... only by reawakening our ancient memories of our "one-ness" with the outside world will we be able to find the wisdom and balance that is our birth-gift.  Observe the moon, the stars  .......  respect the fierce winds, enjoy the gentle breezes.........  feel the warmth of the sun on your face......  listen to the varied calls of the wild winged ones and the furred kindred as they find their own pathway on the Earth.    Take the little ones of your family and of your community on walks with you, and show them the wonders that they can see with wide open eyes!  Too often children and adolescents have lost peripheral sight and instead have developed "tunnel-vision" from hours upon hours staring at a video game, television, or a computer screen.  Share the joy that is theirs to experience outside their doorways, whether it be a newly sprouting seed, an awakening blossom, a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, or the smell of the spring soil, warming and nurturing new growth.  Discover the colors that can be found in newly fallen maple and oak leaves that carpet the ground each autumn.  Taste the first snowflakes that flutter down from the heavens.  Build a snowman with rosy red cheeks and a carrot nose!  The Green around us are patient, waiting for us to renew our relationship with them.  Your heart will expand with their wisdom and knowledge.  Trust your developing intuition, as it has always been yours!

www.catstailfarm.com     Marian V. Prezyna.           All rights reserved. All photos and content on this website are not to be used or published in print, on the web or in any other form. This web site may not be reproduced in any form, except as occurs in normal browser caching, without express written permission from the Owner. Misuse of private property will result in legal action.