“Green” Witchery
Can you feel her pain, my child?
We must learn from the mistakes
of our grandfathers … before it’s too late.
Living in the foothills of the North Cascade Mountain Range in the
Pacific Northwest, my family and I spend a lot of time in nature. How could we not? The Goddess has blessed us with the cragged, snow-capped peaks of the Cascade Mountains that reach high into our eastern skies; the Salish Sea, dotted with the beautiful San Juan island chain, to our west; and, standing sentinel among us like the Ents of Tolkien’s realm, giant conifers softly draped with moss and lichen.
Here, nature is an extension of ourselves. It is our classroom, our pantry, our medicine chest. It is a place to relax, to explore, and to discover the magick within everything that lives and grows in this lush landscape. I have taught my children to look upon our environment as a gift, a living, breathing entity that has been entrusted to us to take care of, and to pass on the knowledge of its care to the next generation.
But, sadly, somewhere along the line we have forgotten our interconnectivity with the earth and that we are neither above nor separate from the rest of nature. In doing this, we have failed Mother Gaia. We have exhausted her resources, polluted her skies, and poisoned her waters. We have become greedy and wasteful, and if change doesn’t happen quickly, we will lose everything.
Green Habits to Live By
If we all do our part, no matter how small, we can make a difference. I’m not talking about grand gestures—no need to sell your house and catch a Greenpeace ship to protest whaling or live in the top of a three-hundred-foot Redwood tree to save forestland (though that would be amazing, and I really wish I had the guts to do that). Small gestures are just as important. Remember, one small pebble can cause a mighty ripple. Here are a few habits to live by:
Be a Resourceful Sorceress
Whether you need school clothes for the kids, are looking for a creative gift, or need a few magickal supplies, get to know your local thrift shops, clothing exchanges, consignment shops, flea markets, and junk and antique stores. Don’t forget websites like Craigslist and apps like FreeShare as well. Shopping and donating to businesses that sell repurposed goods is a great way to keep our landfills free of debris, support small, local businesses, and save a little money.
At thrift stores I have found several cauldrons, fabric that made lovely altar cloths, clothing I repurposed for ritual wear, and tons of crafting supplies that the kids and I have used for magickal crafting and for use at our Greenwood Day Camp.
I have made some fabulous purchases at thrift stores, but my overexuberance has, at times, led me to make a few blunders. So remember, before getting too excited about the amazing velvet dress or awesome Doc Martens boots, make sure to check the item over carefully to make sure all seams are intact, all zippers are working, and there are no major stains, cracks, or holes. Thrift and junk shops sell everything as is, so when you get your treasures home, wash them. I like to go a step further when purchasing secondhand items that will be repurposed for ritual by giving them a good psychic cleansing as well. I don’t need someone else’s negative energy clouding my magickal treasures.
When donating items, don’t include things that you know are broken or beyond repair. Wash all clothing, bedding, pet, and bath items. Attach items to be purchased as a pair or those that have remote devices by tying or taping them together. If donating computers, remember to erase the hard drives.
Part of being a resourceful sorceress is learning to repurpose items that you may have otherwise discarded at home. Containers, glass jars, buckets, gadgets, and discarded tins can live on to fulfill other purposes. I’ve seen some pretty creative items, including cheese graters made into lighting and old doors transformed into garden gates. We made an old desk into an island for our kitchen, a greenhouse from glass sliding doors intended for the landfill, and a swimming pool from a trout-rearing freestanding pond that the Department of Fish and Wildlife was discarding. So before throwing away the unwanted pallets or collection of keys, take another look at them. With a little ingenuity, you can transform trash into treasure and help save the planet to boot!
Be a Recycling Wizard
One day, not too long ago, I found Elijah in the kitchen, hands on his hips and a scowl on his face. “Mom,” he said, “we need to talk.”
A nervous ripple ran up my spine. He stood with three glass containers and two tuna cans lined up on the kitchen counter.
“What did I do?” I felt like I was twelve.
“I was going through some of the recycling containers and I found these. I think some people in this family are getting lazy.” He pointed to the glass jars that were coated with a greasy film that hinted to their past contents. The tuna cans still wore the paper labels, and their odor gave away that they had not been properly rinsed.
“Uhh, that wasn’t me. It was probably your father.” I completely threw Steve under the bus, but in all honesty, he is our laziest recycler.
“We need to be a little more attentive, Mom.” He added, “And I noticed that you came home with groceries in a plastic bag.”
“I had washed the cloth bags, Elijah, and forgot to put them back in the car.” I was waiting to have to explain why I was up so late and why the pile of dirty clothes was still on the floor in my room … Geesh.
Recycling practices have been ingrained into my children. It is as natural to them as breathing, and Elijah is the fiercest of my eco-warriors. At family get-togethers, held at homes of members who do not recycle, he packs our contribution of the trash to take back to our home, where it can be recycled. He has rigged up his mountain bike to hold a small trash bin on the front of it for roadside cleanup and he makes sure our own recycling containers are properly separated and cleaned. Does he get a little militant at times? Yes, but I will forgive him that.
Teaching our children to be recycling wizards is essential to our overburdened earth, which supports over seven billion people, and I believe it is a crucial part of our practice as practitioners of an earth-based religion. Here are few ways to instill habitual recycling practices:
• Creatively mark recycling containers. This can make separating recyclables enjoyable. Let the kids design the containers and don’t forget to put pictures on them so that your smallest Witchlings know what goes where.
• Combine play with cleanup by participating in park, beach, trail, or roadside cleanup events. These could be part of a planned community or coven effort or just a family affair!
• Host trash-to-treasure parties. Have the kids collect items such as toilet paper rolls, bottle caps, cardboard, and fabric scraps, and invite their friends over to get creative.
• Tour your local recycling center. This is a great way for the older kids to get a handle on how and why recycling works.
• Be a role model. Recycling isn’t something to be done around Earth Day, only to be forgotten a couple of weeks later. Habitual recycling practices ensure that your children will continue recycling into adulthood.
Be a Composting Alchemist
When most people think of recycling, they tend to think of colorful bins full of plastic bottles, aluminum cans, or flattened cardboard boxes. I like to think of eggshells, coffee grounds, yard waste, and vegetable scraps as well.
Almost 30 percent of our landfill waste is made up of organic material that, as it breaks down, releases methane gas (global warming, anyone?). Proper composting of organic material not only keeps a substantial amount of green and brown matter out of our landfills but also helps create new soil that returns much-needed nutrients to our earth.
For the property owner, composting can be done cheaply and easily in a shady area of your lawn or garden. For urbanites there are other options. Take advantage of free compost drop-off points and community gardens that will take your food scraps. Some cities are experimenting with curbside food-waste pickup. There are also some full-service companies who, for a fee, will pick up your yard waste for composting.
If you always wanted to try composting but felt intimidated by the process, here are a few things you need to know:
• For composting to work successfully, you need to have equal parts brown matter (leaf or yard debris), which produces carbon, and green matter (kitchen scraps or grass clippings), which produces nitrogen, along with a little water to help it all break down.
• Never include dairy or meat scraps with your kitchen scraps. They will attract rodents and slow down the composting process.
• Kitchen scraps may include eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, vegetable and fruit scraps, rice, noodles, grains, corn husks and cobs, potato scraps, and old bread products.
• Layer your brown and green matter equally and keep it moist by adding water and covering.
• Add kitchen scraps to your compost bed by burying within the compost pile.
• Routinely turn your compost with a pitchfork or shovel. This keeps air circulating and helps it break down.
• Compost piles that smell bad are most likely out of balance. You may need to add more brown matter or water. It might not be getting enough oxygen and needs to be turned more often.
Making Energy Conservation Fun
On those nights when the moon’s glow seems especially bright, lighting the yard with an ethereal glow, and the honeysuckle seems especially sweet, we turn off the breaker that attaches us to the rest of world. The quiet that accompanies this action changes our perspective on our natural world.
When Joshua was little, he would say, “Do you hear that, Mama?”
“No, I don’t hear anything,” I would answer.
“It’s the sound of silence, Mama.”
Silence in its purest form is an odd experience. At first it’s deafening, as if no other sound can penetrate its insulating grip. But then you begin to hear things, things you may have not noticed before—a branch swinging softly in the breeze, the hum of bees in the comfrey, the sound of children playing in a yard across the river.
On these nights, when we disconnect from the modern world, I feel a deep connection not only to my family, but also to the natural world we are so tightly woven with. I am sister to the deer that lies just beyond our periphery and to the crow that coos in the hemlock on the bluff. I am one with the elements, who stir my every emotion.
We light a fire in the small fireplace in the gazebo, and by the light of a dozen flickering flames we partake in a meal that is enjoyed at a slower pace. The fruits of our labor are truly enjoyed on these nights. We play games until the lemon balm has lost its power and we are bombarded by the hum of a thousand mosquitos.
“Time to get back to reality?” I ask as I swat my face.
“I think so,” Steve says and points to our sleepy kids.
I am always the last to go in, savoring the night’s beauty. I stand beneath the silvery moon. “Thank you, dear lady,” I say. “Thank you for my family and for the night and especially for the beauty of silence.”
That’s about the time I hear the click of the breaker box. The modern world comes roaring back, full of hums and beeps and pings. But as I return to the modern world, I am transformed every time by the sound of silence.
Turning off the modern world for even a couple of hours is one way to conserve a little energy and enjoy time with the family. Light candles safely and have some games and snacks at the ready. Listen to the sound of silence. What sounds do you hear that are typically drowned out by the hum of appliances and the drone of the television?
Here are a few more simple things, recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency, that you can do to cut energy costs:
• Plant trees or shrubs. Who knew! But planting trees and shrubs on your property can help cut cooling costs up to 40 percent. The rule of thumb is to plant taller deciduous trees on the eastern and western sides of your home. Why not the southern side? Because it is the roof and the western and eastern walls that are affected by the summer’s high rising and setting sun.
• Change those bulbs. Simply changing to energy-efficient compact florescent bulbs can save you money. CFL bulbs last about ten times longer than an incandescent bulb and use approximately 75 percent less energy.
• Add insulation to your home. Heating and cooling costs can be cut considerably just by making sure your home is properly insulated. Check attic and floor spaces to make sure your insulation is up to par. The amount you need depends on the climate in your region.
• Take it easy on the water. A long hot shower in the morning is a nice way to wake up, right? But what is it doing to your water and electric bills, let alone to the environment? By taking quick showers and being mindful of water usage during meal preparation and cleanup, you can put money back into your pocket. You are also conserving a finite resource that is becoming scarce in some areas.
• Just unplug it. Did you know that 75 percent of the electricity drawn from our electronic devices and appliances happens when we aren’t using them? I know … shocking! The best way to eliminate “phantom load” is by unplugging appliances and devices when you are finished using them. You can make it easier by plugging multiple devices into power strips and just hitting the switch.
Trash to Magickal Treasure
Upcycling your clothing is a great way to extend its use. Here are a couple of projects to get you started.
This is a fun way to reuse those wool sweaters that have been accidently shrunk or felted. If you don’t have a felted wool sweater, go to a thrift store and buy an inexpensive 100 percent wool sweater. Take it home and wash it in hot water, followed by drying it in a hot dryer. You will know if the wool is felted because you will no longer see the knit pattern, and it won’t unravel when cut. I made these fun faerie hats for quick dress-up pieces for my kids when they were growing up.
You will need:
1 felted wool sweater
Matching thread
Hot glue or fabric glue
Buttons, silk flowers, bells, or ribbon for embellishing (optional)
Measure the circumference of your child’s head along the middle of the forehead and then add an inch for seam allowance. Divide this number by 2.
Draw a right-angled triangle on a folded sheet of newspaper or scrap paper using the number you came up with as the base, the folded edge representing the height (figure A). Make it as tall or short as you please, as long as it fits on your sweater.
Lay the pattern along the bottom ribbing of the sweater, keeping the right angle against the seam on either side of the sweater (figure B). Cut along the diagonal side (the hypotenuse).
With wrong sides together, sew the hypotenuse side and trim excess felting close to the seam (figure C). Turn the hat right side out, and using hot glue or fabric glue, embellish with bells, ribbon, flowers, etc.
If you have T-shirts, jeans, or anything made from a natural fiber that has been stained or damaged—or maybe you’re just bored with them—don’t toss them. Transform them with bleach gel pens (or a little bleach on a cotton swab).
I used a bleach pen and a yard of plain black cotton fabric I found at a tag sale to create a fabulous altar cloth.
You will need:
1 yard of a solid-colored natural fiber
A neutralizing solution (10 parts water to 1 part hydrogen peroxide in large pan)
White towels
A bleach pen (or cotton swab and a small bowl of liquid bleach)
Stencils (optional)
Cut and hem seams of altar cloth to desired dimensions.
Mix your neutralizing solution. This is what you will use to stop the bleaching action when you reach your desired shade. Set aside.
Lay down white towels over your workstation and lay your altar cloth on top. Now for the fun: use your bleach pens to create amazing Witchy designs, Celtic knots, or symbols of your choosing. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this freehand, there are a lot of great stencils to choose from.
Watch carefully as the bleach takes effect. Bleaching action timing varies depending on fabric and color fade, but do not leave it on longer than 15 minutes.
When you have achieved proper fade, put the altar cloth in the neutralizing solution and agitate for at least five minutes. Wash as usual.