Nature Commune
Ancestors can go beyond the human form. Your ancestors are also, trees, rivers, lakes and the whole of nature and the cosmos.
The following post is an excerpt from the Cailleach online resource. This online offering is designed to be more than just an education in Celtic cosmology. I designed it to be a journey of becoming, belonging and connection.
“Grace happens when we act with others on behalf of our world”
― Joanna Macy
A way in which we can help to heal land and nature is by acknowledging that we’re a part of it - It is us and we are nature.
It’s very easy during transitional and challenging times in evolution to run in the other direction and hide.
The archetypal, astrological, myth and storytelling dimension can become an extremely attractive place to be and stay in -to get stuck in, we can be made to feel we’re changing things by sheer virtue of hanging out here - It’s hugely seductive.
There is so much more though…
To sit in love and heal with the land - rocks, water, rain, soil, worms… is an act of love for us ALL rather than just ourSELVES.
This is how change can truly begin to happen.
We know that our Celtic ancestors honoured the land and worked in harmony with soil, nature, light and seasons. The non-gender specific energies of the masculine and feminine played a huge part in how they lived through the wheel of their year which they honoured and followed.
Below is a simple practice that I call Nature Commune that I find helps to remind me of our connectedness.
N a t u r e C o m m u n e
Find or go to a place you’re familiar with, near where you live – somewhere that feels special or energetic to you. This could be in your garden or further afield. Look at everything around you with the eyes of a newborn baby, challenge yourself to forget the NAME of plants, and that you even recognise them. Begin to observe them for their characteristics: Their energy, the way they move or stand, their colour, their personality.
As you arrive and settle in to this place and way of seeing, see can you sense the deeper connection you’re experiencing with the land here. As you begin to come into your stillness and exhale, you may begin to notice more of what is alive here. Try to listen and look at everything with a clarity of presence.
Notice how you feel and what you see - Notice what you notice.
Place your hands or bare feet on this land. Introduce yourself and make an offering, maybe something you bring with you: A lock of your hair, a song an image a dance even!
Then begin to ask yourself…
Are plants and trees just plants, or do they possess something much more profound, healing, wholesome and magic than merely meets the fleeting eye?
Use a journal to record your experience, thoughts, feelings and insights.
Feel free to use these prompts:
Is the plant masculine or feminine?
What’s its name (not the actual name but the one you give it)?
What is its personality / characteristics?
Is it friendly?
How does it make me feel - like smiling / thinking / sad?
Is it young and playful, or old and wise?
Disclaimer: This is a playful exercise don’t take yourself too seriously and have fun!
Try to visit this place regularly, just being there with the land. You might just sit in meditation or you might get more creative and bring your journal with you. You might take photographs, write poetry about this place, create art, medicine or food…
Simply be present for the land and listen to:
The stories
The healing
The teachings
The messages