The world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children.
—Wendell Berry, The Unforeseen Wilderness
Initially, this chapter was written before the onset of what we now know as SARS-CoV-2, aka COVID-19. I think it is important to point that out because due to this new element, the way in which the world functions and my opinions on it have altered significantly. In the face of global panic, the true state of the world and its downfalls were made crystal clear. As I write this now, it is spring of 2020, and the world is at a standstill. Nothing like this has been seen in modern history (where literally the whole globe shut down), and I'm not sure we will ever see something like this again. It is too early to say what will be the outcome of all of the changes, positive or negative, but without a doubt things will never be the same.
Throughout the course of humanity, people have largely held the role as shepherd/steward to the earth and its bounty. Our ancestors did not view this role through rose-tinted glasses and knew that their lives and the lives of their ancestors were often difficult and grueling. Living off of and with the land in a more rural setting can be physically taxing, cold, and bleak. This was a life that was often fraught with poverty, hunger, and disease. When we think back to what we consider simpler times, we view things through the privilege of survival. These were harsh times, with Mother Nature being a hard and inconsistent mistress.
While today we often have what we need to survive, our ancestors were not always so lucky due to long winters, plague, frost, draught, and famine. Fast-forward to the plights of the modern human and witch. Most of us live in a materialistic society filled with pavement and the pleasures of urban and suburban areas. We are out of balance with not only ourselves but the very earth, its cycles, and its seasons. This fact has become strikingly apparent with the rise of a modern pandemic. When faced with a crisis, many of us do not know how to conduct ourselves because we are simply unable to source our own food and water outside of a marketplace.
In some of my more reclusive phases, I have thought a lot about how I believe humans, myself included, have lost touch with the cycles of birth, life, and death, focusing instead on temporary comfort. When I was nineteen, I overheard one of the most profound things that changed the way I relate to the world and my life. I was pregnant at the time, and my emotions were running pretty high, which is why this probably stuck out to me the way it did. I had gone to Publix, which is a local supermarket, and got in line to check out. A man in front of me was chatting with the cashier. It became apparent very quickly that he was not from the area due to his accent. The cashier noticed this as well and asked the man what brought him into the city. He said, “I wanted to have an adventure, but I miss home. It seems as though I've traded a life of meaning for a life of convenience.”
This truth, spoken so frankly by a stranger, struck me to my core. After leaving the store, I went back and wrote this thought into my journal to reflect on. I have thought about it nearly every day since, years later, the tone and weight of this idea pushing me out of my comfort zone. To me, it was impactful that a stranger chose to be raw and honest in a culture of politely disconnected hellos and thank-yous. Because of this honesty, my eyes were violently and quickly opened to my own role in what he described as “convenience.” If I were being honest with myself, I would have said I wasn't connected, in tune, or aware of the earth around me because I didn't see it.
What is amazing is that more and more people have begun to wake up to this as well due to COVID-19. In a recent Atlantic article, Marina Koren talks about four distinct ways that the quarantine and stay-at-home orders have affected the earth. The first marked way is there is less rumbling on the surface of the earth, due to the drop in use of public and private transportation. Second, there is less air pollution due to fewer people traveling and more factories being closed. Third, city soundscapes are changing. Lastly, ocean noise pollution is down.
I believe that the third point, changing city soundscapes, is the most impactful point in the whole piece because it highlights just how out of touch urban dwellers have become with the natural world. Koren writes,
City dwellers might now be hearing sounds that can get muffled by the usual drone. Rebecca Franks, an American who lives in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China, made this observation 48 days into the city's quarantine last month: “I used to think there weren't really birds in Wuhan, because you rarely saw them and never heard them. I now know they were just muted and crowded out by the traffic and people,” Franks wrote on Facebook. “All day long now I hear birds singing. It stops me in my tracks to hear the sound of their wings.” Sylvia Poggioli, an NPR correspondent in Italy, reported that the streets of Rome are so empty, “you can actually hear the squeak of rusty door hinges,” and “the chirping of birds, an early sign of spring, is almost too loud.”
I love that last quote especially: “the chirping of birds, an early sign of spring, is almost too loud.” What an impactful thought when put against the reality that many people have lost touch with the natural world. In a city that is usually alive with deafening sound, the natural noises of nature can seem to be too much. I think this really puts into perspective how, even as we find ourselves more and more connected, we may not be connected to the things that truly matter. Collectively, we have lost sight of what it means to be a shepherd of the land and why being a shepherd is important.
Simply put, a shepherd is someone who watches over the welfare and safety of the lives that have been entrusted to them. Our earth is not so different from a living animal, in that we are responsible for taking care of it and maintaining its health and well-being. As witches, it is especially important to be the shepherds and protectors of the lands we reside upon. These lands are not just dirt and soil, but living entities with spirits and energies that affect us in ways we do not fully understand.
In urban America, there is a culture where the norm is to do more for less, cut corners, adopt a “me me me” attitude, and pack schedules to the point of exhaustion. Quick consumption has replaced intentional action. How many people use disposable silverware or plates to avoid doing dishes? How many people use disposable, single-serve coffee pods instead of reusable filters? How many acres of forests, prairieland, and wetlands have been lost to build a parking lot or building? I am reminded of the words Joni Mitchell and, later, Counting Crows, sang about paradise and parking lots.
Urban humanity has lost sight of the spirit of the land, especially in capitalistic societies where it's more convenient and comfortable to be connected and plugged in than anything else. While I am not Christian, I grew up in an area where public schools are poorly managed and parents send their children to private schools whenever possible. Being a pagan witch in a Christian school was a task unto itself, but some of the most memorable lessons I learned were about the concept of land ownership in the Old Testament:
The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine [God's] and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. (Leviticus 25:23)
We are living as though we own the world, when in reality we are guests here, passing through for a very short time. No one truly owns the land, yet we have accepted the division and monetization by a select few who “control” these spaces and pay extraordinary amounts of money for what the earth has provided freely. Our job is to be a shepherd to our planet, our only planet, and take care of it.
Quick consumerism (think fast fashion and factory farming) is the antithesis of shepherding the land. It is not sustainable or conscious of the people, tools, and materials that it uses. To be truly connected to the land, it is important to be conscious of the social factors that impact the direct health and energy of the spirits around us. This is not to say that buying into modern methods of production is inherently evil in nature, but if someone has the ability to make a more sustainable and impactful choice, it is their duty to do that to shepherd the land. Easy additional ways to live a more natural and unburdened lifestyle include going to the farmers market instead of a mass supermarket chain or buying secondhand clothing instead of fast fashion.
Sustainability is definitely a marketing buzzword these days, and brands can be deliberately misleading about what is sustainable and what is not. When in doubt, maintaining intentional practices such as reducing consumption overall, reusing what you already have instead of buying new things, recycling items you no longer need, and buying sustainable, green products from trusted companies are some basic ways that people shepherd the land. Thinking about the scale of pollution can be overwhelming, but what matters most is making your shepherding an intentional choice.
There will come a time when your view of how we treat the earth will be irrevocably changed. It may be something you see in a movie, a natural or man-made disaster, or simply spotting trash washing up on your favorite beach. Whatever it is, use that passion to fuel the ritual below. Its purpose is to turn over our conveniences for in-depth meaning, to change ourselves from users to protectors.
BECOMING A SHEPHERD
Before we begin, it is important to stop and take a solid look at yourself and what you can improve on. Sit down with a blank piece of paper, and draw a line down the middle to create two columns. On the left-hand side, write down the things you need to work on to be more sustainable and intentional. On the right-hand side, write down what you could do to change these things.
Here are some examples:
| Things I can improve | WAYS TO IMPROVE |
| Using single-use water bottles and plastic products | Purchasing and using a metal or glass water bottle and other reusable products |
| Buying out-of-season produce that's shipped in from thousands of miles away | Buying food from the farmers markets and local co-op |
| Generally overconsuming | Buying in bulk and recycling as much as possible |
Once you've finished your list, fold the paper three times. Next, for each item that you listed, purchase a seed or seedling that can survive outside with minimal to no help (native plants).
When you have assembled your seeds, go to an area on your property that you feel connected to or that has been generally neglected. Sitting on the ground, arrange everything in front of you: your list, your seeds, and maybe a trowel for planting.
Place your hands directly in the soil and close your eyes, feeling the energy of the earth joining the energy of your body through your hands. Visualize a golden light coming through your body into the earth, and a silver light coming from the earth into your body from every point of contact. As this silver light enters you, feel the change and charge of the soil breathing into your spirit.
When you are ready, open your eyes and pick up your list. In your own words, ask the spirits of the land to listen and be present with you. Speak your covenant to the earth, reading aloud each way that you have fallen and each way that you will make a change. In this way, you are joining the earth in a journey of love and acceptance, protection and healing.
Once you have read your list, it is time to plant your seeds. These seeds will be the physical embodiment of your covenant between yourself and the earth. It is important to plant them with care and tend to them each day. You are now the literal shepherd of these lives, and it will be your responsibility to care for them to the best of your ability.
This ritual can be repeated, modified, and reaffirmed multiple times a year. I typically do all of my seasonal planting with this ritual and do my harvests with a separate one. The earth will take care of us if we take care of her, and by taking care of these plants we are able see and feel with our physical bodies the relationship between ourselves and Mother Earth.
Smoke cleansing is the practice of burning herbs, incense, woods, resins, and other items for the purpose of clearing a space or preparing for spellwork. It is believed that the smoke cleans, invokes, and manifests, and it's a practice that has been a feature of most cultures and religions worldwide. There are so many materials that can be used for this purpose, depending on your culture, climate, and accessibility.
In the new age community, the term smudging has become increasingly popular over the past few years. “Smudging,” “white sage,” and “how to smudge” have been popular search terms for the past ten years, showing a large uptick in searches and popularity (from trends.google.com) since 2010. While smudging has become synonymous with smoke cleansing, it is not the same thing.
The word smudge is English and derived from a fifteenth-century word, smogen, meaning to soil, stain, or blacken. In modern context, however, the word shifted to refer to the Native American smoke cleansing practice. Modern smudging typically refers to the Native American spiritual practice that uses Salvia apiana, Salvia officinalis, tobacco, sweetgrass, yarrow, and juniper for cleansing, purification, and healing rituals. These rituals were/are conducted by a trained shaman or healer who sources their herbs using traditional methods.
The issue that many find with the use of the term smudging, and what makes it appropriative, is that people engaging in this now mainstream and commercialized practice have lost a connection with what makes it sacred while simultaneously only observing the parts of the practice that suit them (for example, lighting sage to clear negative energy without any additional effort or spiritual input). While there are arguments that smudging isn't appropriative because it's an English word, I disagree. I've listened to the voices of indigenous people and reflected on what their narrative means to me, spiritually and in practice. I don't think the majority of people practicing this have done the same.
So if not smudging, then what? Every culture throughout history has used smoke to heal and cleanse. Churches use incense, the Scottish have a practice called saining, in India incense has been used hand in hand with their spirituality and religion for longer than the word smudge has even existed. There is a space for any and all of us to use smoke to cleanse and heal our bodies. I think the best supplies we can have when using smoke to cleanse and heal come from things we grow and source ourselves. I suggest growing your own sage, rosemary, lemongrass, cedar, eucalyptus, and even bay leaves. All of these plants can be grown conventionally and sustainably at home (and on a patio) and are great for cleansing. Additionally, incorporating local hand-harvested flowers and botanicals adds an extra kick of conscious land magick.
Other plants you might incorporate into your smoke cleansing rituals include mugwort, lavender, mint, pine, juniper, catnip, dandelion, fern, heather, or peat. It should be noted that different plants have different properties and purposes, and it is really up to each individual witch to try them all and decide what is best for you and your practice!
Here are a few of my favorite plants:
Myrrh—for supporting mental health and purifying spaces
Lemongrass—for road opening and communication with ancestors
Juniper—for protection and abundance
Mint—for supporting lung health and to bring clarity
Rosemary—for easing grief and cord cuttings
A BASIC SMOKE CLEANSING RITUAL
After going through the motions of day-to-day life, we sometimes find we are running a little ragged. We might clean our physical spaces, take a bath, go for a jog. In these moments, I find that doing a basic smoke cleanse of my physical body works wonders in lifting my spirits. It's pretty basic to do and will have you feeling brand-new in no time!
You will need:
In a bathroom or other uncarpeted area, begin by lighting your white candle. Sit on the floor cross-legged or in a chair if you are unable to sit on the ground comfortably. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Tuning into your body, feel where any tension or held emotions might be stored.
Imagine a warm light traveling across your body, starting in your toes and moving up through your legs into your body, arms, and head. Allow this light to linger and loosen up these tense areas.
When you are ready, light your incense and stand up. Starting from your feet, circle your body with the smoke in a clockwise motion. Allow yourself to breathe in the smoke, and as you exhale, allow the smoke to travel out, releasing any stored tension, energy, or emotion.
When you have circled your whole body, allow the incense or herbs to finish burning with the candle.