Ancestors

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Seeds of Potential: Part 2 of Ancestors for All Seasons

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Seeds of Potential: Part 2 of Ancestors for All Seasons

Be as the dormant seed, beginning to germinate in the desiccated trunk of its predecessor, full of potential and vibrant life.

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Ancestors for All Seasons

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Ancestors for All Seasons

It is important to remember the ancestors, dear friends, regardless of season.

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The Wreath as a Herald of Fortune

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The Wreath as a Herald of Fortune

Wreaths weren't always a thing to put on your door during the holidays.  In many places, they still aren't.  While door-hanging wreaths have now been adapted for any season, they used to be more akin to celebratory laurels or flower crowns. 

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The Yulelog: Rekindling the Sun

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The Yulelog: Rekindling the Sun

Traditionally, the Yule log is the last part of the winter solstice festival fire of the previous year. This final section of the final log is kept, generally wrapped in cloth and protected in the home until it is brought out the next year to continue the cycle.

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Ethnobotany and the Epitaph

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Ethnobotany and the Epitaph

The epitaph is a highly personal thing, especially in the modern period.  For centuries, plants have made an appearance on burial markers and urns. 

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Apples of Mabon

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Apples of Mabon

In Celtic traditions, this time is called Mabon, and is the second of three harvest festivals. It is also sometimes called Alban Elfed, Cornucopia, the Wine Festival, or the Apple Festival (among other names).

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Things I Learned from Plants (A Series): #2. Water is Life and Should Be Respected.

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Things I Learned from Plants (A Series): #2. Water is Life and Should Be Respected.

Water is party to all things, dear reader.  While all Earth-dwelling embodied lifeforms have their own characteristics, goals, needs, and expectations of their environments, water is a common necessity they all share.  Without proper hydration, the brain's receptors stop interpreting and correlating information and general organ failure occurs, plants are unable to photosynthesize, and moisture continues to evaporate from the body at a rather high rate. 

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Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

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Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

There are several species of mushrooms that alter a person's consciousness when ingested.  While botanically mushrooms are not classed as plants, they have played a significant role in human development, whether as a food source, a method of communing with the gods, or as an artistic muse.

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Remembering Fern Gully

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Remembering Fern Gully

In honor of today being Earth Day, I thought I would share some of my earliest memories of ecology and the need for ecoactivism.  Some of you might remember the 1992 film, Fern Gully; some of you likely weren't yet born.  I didn't know there was a sub-header for it until I was looking up information again, but it's "The Last Rainforest."