What if there were Plant Priestesses?
Bringing the sacredness of plants back to humans.
Guarding plant communities for the good of humanity, for the good of the natural systems of the world.
Advocating for them to live because they are medicine – heart, soul, mind, spirit, body.
Reviving, re-learning, re-aligning to the sacred language of plants. There is one. A forgotten relationship. It hasn’t been gone very long . . . in comparison to how long humans have been on the Earth. More time has existed with plants and humans communicating than not. Remember that. It may feel like a long forgotten relationship, a huge deficit of interconnectedness.
It’s the disconnection that feels sooooo deep. Deeply felt emotions often get in the way of solutions especially the painful emotions. The solution is to remember. Connect. Rekindle the relationship. The light will grow quickly.
Humans are connected to plants, we have forgotten, we take it for granted
Plants connect life in so many ways:
- Fibers for paper, clothes, fuel
- Secondary metabolites for medicine
- Sap for syrup
- Roots, leaves, stems, flowers, buds, ripened fruit and seeds to eat
- Resin for sealant
- Pigments for dyes
- Forests for oxygen
- Canopies for shade
Clearing, cleansing, purifying
What does the world look like through Plant Priestess eyes?
A messy field of weeds
Medicines, nutrients, corridor for nature, mycorrhizae habitat
A manicured mono-crop of turf
Herbicide, fungicides, synthetic fertilizer, gasoline to power equipment. Time, $$, Effort that could be used to help humanity.
A diverse forest of trees
Products for timber to build safe, cozy livable structures AND a place for natural systems to flourish. Both purposes together. Neither decimated.
A tree in the path of construction
“cut it down! it’s just a tree!!”
The Plant Priestess may agree it could come down . . . with respect, ceremony, honor.
Allowing the memories and interactions to be honored. Those who want to keep it have reason. Human ~ plant ~ connection = a relationship
Memories of a former park,
Childhood games
An engagement offer
Comforting shade during grief
Every passing car ride
Memories re-lived
What is remembered , lives.
I’ve never met anyone who called themselves or others a Plant Priestess.
I think I’ll start.
I consider myself a plant priestess. It took me a long time to arrive at that space. But I am here, brought by aromatherapy and herbs.
YES YES YES ALL THE YES. That is. I don’t know if I’ve used the word “priestess” to describe myself, since I identify as a greenwitch. But it’s the same role: honoring the plants. Defending the plants. Speaking to the plants, and sharing what they tell me with the world. It’s a precious calling and it’s so exciting to know others feel it too.