Plant Witchery: Discover the Sacred Language, Wisdom, and Magic of 200 Plants - Juliet Diaz 2020

We Are Nature
What is Plant Witchery?

To me, Mother Earth is my religion, and she isn’t judgmental. All her children are equals and sacred beings.

Just for a moment, think about the natural world. All living things depend on each other. We all breathe together. We live, die, reemerge, and work together to enrich and assist other living beings. It’s a give and take, a flow, a magnificent cycle. We belong to this Magical cycle.

Our bodies eventually die, and the flesh is taken by the Earth into the soil where it will create new life. We become that life, and our wisdom, lessons, love, and experiences live on forever. Our ancestors live on through nature, teaching us, guiding us, and loving us—they live on through us.

Just like plants, we are seeded in the womb of our mother, in the darkness that cradles our existence. Her love fills our spirit and her body feeds the creation of our vessels. Through the umbilical cord, we are rooted directly to her, to her breath, her heartbeat, her emotions, her thoughts, and her spirit. We are one, connected, waiting to emerge from the womb and into the light.

Plants need the same things we do to survive, heal, grow, and blossom. We all need just the right amount of water, the right amount of light, the proper food, as well as mindful care and love. These similarities exist because we are nature. We are earth, air, fire, and water—and when we acknowledge this truth, we come into harmony with the world inside us and around us.

Nature is not something separate from us. Our relationships with all living things—including our relationship with ourselves—is the key to truly knowing who we are. It’s how we know what helps us heal and prosper, what hurts us and slows our growth, as well as the reason for our existence here on this Earth.

Plants bring us back to who we are. They bring us back to this place of meaning. We are important. We are connected. We are sacred. We are everything we need. All we have to do is awaken our remembrance to this truth: We are nature.

You and the tree in your backyard come from a common ancestor. A billion and a half years ago, the two of you parted ways. But even now, after an immense journey in separate directions, that tree and you still share a quarter of your genes.

— RICHARD POWERS, THE OVERSTORY