Attuning Yourself to the Earth
Spring’s coming, and I know a lot of pagans will be wanting to get their fingers good and grubby again or just get in touch with Mother Earth, so here we go.
Of course, planting things is always a good way to get in touch with the earth. There’s something you can do to make it even better, though: xeriscaping. Xeriscaping is the art of planting only things that can survive in your native climate and soil. This means a huge reduction in the amount of water, fertilizers, and pesticides you’ll need to use. Eartheasy has a great page on xeriscaping here.
You can also pick up trash. There are adopt-a-highway programs. Personally, when I go out on walks I try to remember to take a bag with me to put trash in that I find, which I can dispose of later.
You also can reduce the output of trash by swearing off products created to be disposed of, up to and including feminine products. Remember this about disposable plastic products: a moment in the hand, forever in the land.
Instead of buying stones that may have been mined in earth-harming ways and definitely have/had to be shipped long distances, why don’t you find out what kind of rocks are local to your area? You might make some pleasant discoveries. If you live in the US, the Roadside Geology books can be very useful. I was finally able to put a name to the rocks in my area - and I later learned that one of them was the same type of rock used to build Stonehenge!
great ideas. :)
I absolutely encourage pagan folks interested in rocks and minerals to learn about geology, and go collect their own and cut down on/stop buying minerals from shops (unless the seller can tell you the source and it isn’t exploitative)! but here’s another tip: don’t over-collect. many sites have been destroyed entirely by amateur collectors (basically like strip mining, chip by chip), making it impossible for any future visitors to enjoy or learn from the rocks there.
I’m not saying never take anything home with you (because that would be rather hypocritical of me, as I love collecting rocks, minerals, and fossils straight from the source) but I am saying don’t just go and hack at an outcrop with a hammer so you can hoard all the pretties for yourself. educate yourself as much as you can about where you are gathering from (e.g. what to look for, the names of the minerals and rocks, the processes that formed them, as well as practical concerns such as whether you’re on public or private land, whether you must obtain permission, etc.) and please practice ethical collecting. most of you likely wouldn’t kill a bird just to get its feathers or chop down an oak just to get its acorns — if you wouldn’t do those things, why would you do it to the rocks of the Earth?
basically, I usually collect rocks, minerals, or fossils from whatever has naturally eroded out of the surface. occasionally I’ll use a hammer or other tool to collect a sample, but that tended to be more things I was using for one of my classes or a research project.
Thanks for bringing that up. That kind of thing really isn’t a problem where I am since loose rocks are plentiful, but I can see where that could be a problem in other areas.
