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When I first wrote about the concept of Plant Priestesses I felt I was venturing into uncharted territory. I couldn’t find much about it on the internet. I’d never come across it in my studies or experiences with other spiritualities. 

I soon realized it felt unknown due to neglect. Centuries of neglect brought on by fear of nature, female power, and individualized spirituality.  Plant Priestesses cultivate intuition for guidance and problem solving, utilize rituals as tools for focusing intention, create ceremonies to honor nature’s cycles, learn the herbs to support health and soothe ailments, and most importantly being an intermediary and advocate with fellow humans and the plants.

hands holding some herbs

I wish Priestesses were as normal in our society as the myriad of Priests who hold power in many of the world’s religions. Priestesses once held power too, as well as the town herbalist, midwives, and other skilled people who helped others live well. This power wasn’t about money, prestige, and political sway necessarily. It was a power from within rather than a power over others.  

The landscape of the Plant Priestess is waiting for the sacred human component to return again. This territory is lush, welcoming, beckoning Plant Priestesses back together.

 

“The disconnection of humanity from the green healing energy to the Empress and her fertile earth was the fall from grace. The day we stopped loving the Earth as our Mother, and the woman as her holy representative, was the day we left the Garden. The Mother beckons to us to return to her before we destroy ourselves. Like the energy of the sleeping Goddess Kundalini, she asks to be re-awakened in us, so that we might once more know the joy and purpose of life on the planet.” Vicki Noble (Motherpeace book)

 

I posed the question in my previous blog post and I pose it once again “What if there were Plant Priestesses? What would the human experience look like in comparison to now?

Imagine….

When a new building, road, or other infrastructure is created, a Plant Priestess communicates to the plants and land the coming changes through a ceremony with community involvement.

Preparations include an inventory of plants growing in spring, summer, and fall; transplanting some of those plants to maintain diversity of the area; allowing others to bring forth their memories and experiences of the future building site.

field of flowers and grasses; blue sky

These activities allow people and nature a time to transition to the changes, provide input on potential damage mitigation, and respect shown to the ecosystem.  The result is a way to communicate with our fellow beings . . . even if they don’t have mouths to speak words, and eyes to look at us, ears to hear us.

Perhaps there’s a way to communicate with plant that most modern civilizations haven’t acknowledged, or forgotten, or ignored. 

 

Imagine the soil microcosm shouting “Everybeing move 20 feet to the left! And a chain reaction of messages “To the left!” All the plants making plans to stretch rhizomes and stolons 20 feet to the left so they may emerge away from new construction. “See you later baby seeds. Your dormancy expires in 300 years. That house will be moved or earth dug again in that time. For now sleep well under this human created ‘boulder’.”

 upclose of soil

If a large city started spreading out Plant Priestesses would provide input such as to remind us that humans green spaces provide critical components such as connection to nature which is as critical as fresh air. Green spaces provide access to learning about local herbal medicines. Outdoor learning spaces create increased resiliency by allowing people to learn through experience about nature’s processes.  Personal and individual experiences in nature allows people to have a sense of empowerment. 

 

All of life is rooted with plants. Without plants who will “eat” the sun’s radiation and convert it into usable sugars? All living creatures on earth need plants to survive even if they’re carnivores. Within the thin layers of leaves complex processes are carried out. The energy from an object millions of miles away in space is broken down at a subatomic particles level and created into oxygen and sugars. Both of which are major factors to  sustain life on Earth. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! 

 

Humans rely on plants for nearly everything, yet they aren’t given the respect, praise, gratitude or acknowledgment for humans utmost survival. It’s time to begin, perhaps Plant Priestess can start. 

erin lafaive smiling

Erin LaFaive is an herbalist and Plant Priestess living in Wisconsin. She’s the author of the Learning Herbalism Workbook, Learning Herbalism Toolkit, and other ecourses.

Learn more about Erin on this page. 

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