This post is not a gold star/pat on the back type post. It is one that I hope inspires others to be mindful of the offerings they make when out in the natural world and to take action in their local area when needed.
There is a natural spring in an area that I regularly walk which has a tree standing over it. Every time I come to this sacred space, I was utterly baffled and even upset by the amount of items tied and left in the tree.
Clootie trees are a fairly well-established practice in many parts of the UK whereby, usually around a festival such as Beltane or May Day, someone will dip a piece of fabric in a sacred well before tying it to a nearby tree in the hope that someone dear to them will be healed from a particular ailment.
This is where I would usually explain a lot about who I am and what I believe but I’m not really going to do that.
I’ve been practicing some flavour of paganism for many years and have, after much learning and stumbling, realised that the sort of thing that I “do” is mostly gut instinct and isn’t directly tied to any particular path or label.
This is a space where I share thoughts about things that I come across, do, read or some other verb.
What I will not do here is:
- Tell you how to practice – that’s your path to determine.
- Correct you – there is very little that you can do that is wrong if it works for you. The exception here is being exclusionary or harmful with your practice but again, that’s on you.
- Charge you money – the financial transactional relationship in paganism is a problem and one that I will not partake in.
- Be your guru/teacher/leader – I have knowledge to share sure…but I do it in my own time and on my own terms for very little purpose other than writing stuff down helps me think. If you take something from that then awesome, but I won’t be starting a training programme or mentorship.
All that being said, I have zero tolerance for any form of exclusionary activities, interpretation of practice/stories or actions towards others.
The world is simply too wild and amazing to limit it and ourselves by believing ridiculous nonsense about race, disability, sex, gender and other things.
We are all one and a part of nature so act like it!