When I was a kid, growing up in the
foothills of the West Pennine Moors in Northwest England, one of my
favourite pastimes was to pack some food and go hiking. There was
always something interesting to find as it is the kind of area where
one might find a bronze age burial mound just as easily as an old
farmstead. Over the years of exploring and learning, I came to know
where each plant and each tree grew, which bogs to avoid and how to
judge solid ground by the types of grass that grew. I learned how to
judge wind direction and speed during fire season, how to find clean
water, and which places to avoid.
However, due to the limited modernization of my hometown, I also learned a more hidden side to those moors. Older stories about unseen beings like fairies, boggarts, and big black dogs were not uncommon, and we used to amuse ourselves as children with telling scary stories about things like the tarn (moorland pool) where 'Granny Greenteeth' is said to live, or the trees that move on their own. It was an environment in which most people have a far more casual attitude towards the unseen than in many other places I've lived in. Often though, those same people that discussed things like house brownies while out shopping with friends were regular church-goers.
When I came to the United States though, for the first time in my life, I had such a sense of disconnectedness that it was almost like the land was 'empty' (at least where I was), and this was compounded by my growing culture shock. During my second year here, I felt a little less 'foreign', but my 'turnaround' came when we moved to where we live now. The Noble Ones are so much more 'present' in this area. It helps that I walk the local area every day with my dog, and I give offerings every two or so weeks of milk and oats that I bring to the tree line and leave on a rock. I'm still learning the flora here, but I have a good general idea of a good percentage of the trees and plants in my vicinity, enough that I can go out looking for incense supplies now.
Since being here, I've actually seen a group of the Good Folk climb a hill in two or three jumps to a labyrinth that lies on church property where they seemed to dance. I've dreamed of them being angry, only to wake up and find that trees were being felled in the woodland area across from their apartment. There was a period that I saw a buck every time I worked on liturgy linked to the Noble Ones, and not only did I see it, but I was within ten yards of this buck. I feel privileged to have seen these things, more than that, I feel whole again. Before coming to the United States and having to work on what had come so easily in my native moorland, the idea of being disconnected from the land and having to work for a connection was quite strange to me. This process has really given me an appreciation of just how important and whole-making that connection is.
In terms of how an awareness of the natural world has affected my lifestyle, we recycle and have done for years. We are a one car family, have a very fuel efficient car, and when feasible, we use public transportation for family days out. I've transitioned most of our cleaning products to homemade or green products, and incorporate purifying and protective herbs into my homemade products. In this way, I'm cleansing the house in more ways than one. I only use all natural bathing products that are ethically sourced, and while we are far from perfect, we do try to reuse and repair as much as we can. I'm a fan of reusable menstrual cups, and would love to be able to use cloth diapers for my daughter, but we simply can't afford the laundry costs in our complex or a diaper service.
I try to show reverence and respect for nature and the Noble Ones whenever I can, something which I've found to be especially important here in the United States where, depending on place, the wights seem to be quite wary of people. When camping or building something, I make offerings before pitching a tent, or building something. When my husband's wedding ring went missing when we last went camping, I promised the Noble Ones an offering of milk and cornmeal if they helped us to find it. It turned up next to the car, in an area that we'd previously searched. Generally, if we're mobbed by insects, but they're not stinging, I take it that the Noble Ones of that place are not happy, and so make more offerings or leave. When we leave a place, we always make sure to leave it as we found it, and leave parting offerings so that we might be welcome again. I feel that a healthy land in which humans live well and peacefully with the Land Spirits is one of the keys to human health and happiness. When that connection isn't there, or there is abuse of the land (which I believe offends the Spirits), then ill health and bad luck permeates.
I still have a lot to learn about this area in which I currently find myself, it's not 'home', but I feel welcome and connected here all the same.
Words = 931
However, due to the limited modernization of my hometown, I also learned a more hidden side to those moors. Older stories about unseen beings like fairies, boggarts, and big black dogs were not uncommon, and we used to amuse ourselves as children with telling scary stories about things like the tarn (moorland pool) where 'Granny Greenteeth' is said to live, or the trees that move on their own. It was an environment in which most people have a far more casual attitude towards the unseen than in many other places I've lived in. Often though, those same people that discussed things like house brownies while out shopping with friends were regular church-goers.
When I came to the United States though, for the first time in my life, I had such a sense of disconnectedness that it was almost like the land was 'empty' (at least where I was), and this was compounded by my growing culture shock. During my second year here, I felt a little less 'foreign', but my 'turnaround' came when we moved to where we live now. The Noble Ones are so much more 'present' in this area. It helps that I walk the local area every day with my dog, and I give offerings every two or so weeks of milk and oats that I bring to the tree line and leave on a rock. I'm still learning the flora here, but I have a good general idea of a good percentage of the trees and plants in my vicinity, enough that I can go out looking for incense supplies now.
Since being here, I've actually seen a group of the Good Folk climb a hill in two or three jumps to a labyrinth that lies on church property where they seemed to dance. I've dreamed of them being angry, only to wake up and find that trees were being felled in the woodland area across from their apartment. There was a period that I saw a buck every time I worked on liturgy linked to the Noble Ones, and not only did I see it, but I was within ten yards of this buck. I feel privileged to have seen these things, more than that, I feel whole again. Before coming to the United States and having to work on what had come so easily in my native moorland, the idea of being disconnected from the land and having to work for a connection was quite strange to me. This process has really given me an appreciation of just how important and whole-making that connection is.
In terms of how an awareness of the natural world has affected my lifestyle, we recycle and have done for years. We are a one car family, have a very fuel efficient car, and when feasible, we use public transportation for family days out. I've transitioned most of our cleaning products to homemade or green products, and incorporate purifying and protective herbs into my homemade products. In this way, I'm cleansing the house in more ways than one. I only use all natural bathing products that are ethically sourced, and while we are far from perfect, we do try to reuse and repair as much as we can. I'm a fan of reusable menstrual cups, and would love to be able to use cloth diapers for my daughter, but we simply can't afford the laundry costs in our complex or a diaper service.
I try to show reverence and respect for nature and the Noble Ones whenever I can, something which I've found to be especially important here in the United States where, depending on place, the wights seem to be quite wary of people. When camping or building something, I make offerings before pitching a tent, or building something. When my husband's wedding ring went missing when we last went camping, I promised the Noble Ones an offering of milk and cornmeal if they helped us to find it. It turned up next to the car, in an area that we'd previously searched. Generally, if we're mobbed by insects, but they're not stinging, I take it that the Noble Ones of that place are not happy, and so make more offerings or leave. When we leave a place, we always make sure to leave it as we found it, and leave parting offerings so that we might be welcome again. I feel that a healthy land in which humans live well and peacefully with the Land Spirits is one of the keys to human health and happiness. When that connection isn't there, or there is abuse of the land (which I believe offends the Spirits), then ill health and bad luck permeates.
I still have a lot to learn about this area in which I currently find myself, it's not 'home', but I feel welcome and connected here all the same.
Words = 931
No comments:
Post a Comment