Welcome to the Path of Wonder
There are many reasons that someone is drawn to the path of the herbalist, the healer, the magickal practitioner or of the plant folk. Some of us find ourselves among plants because we want to reconnect to the practices of our ancestors or have a deep love for the land we live with. Or maybe we've felt alienated by medical systems that can so often be dehumanizing or we felt suddenly compelled to sign up for a local herbal course not knowing what to expect but loving what we've found. We each have our stories of how we found ourselves working with our plant kin, but for all of their variety, their hope and their heartbreak, I've heard a common theme shared again and again: a sense of profound wonder.
Whether the child-like wonder of being able to mix smelly herbs in big bowls and concoct potions in the kitchen or the mystical wonder of making it through a challenging season of life to find you have grown alongside the woodlands that held you, to the wonder of an herbal remedy working where nothing else has before or the wonder of suddenly feeling inexplicably but powerfully at home with our plant kin, wonder is a thread through many stories of plant folk and healers. So it is with the theme of wonder that I wanted to start our journey together. As a little aside: in my heart, Wonder is also the older sister of Wander and I like that it is a playful nod to starting on our new path of community ritual together.
Wonder is intangible, fleeting yet transformative, and something that we spend a great deal of time trying to create or pursue as a species. Holidays are rich in opportunities for wonderment, and I think of all the ways we decorate spaces to create a sense of wonder for our family, our neighbors, and our communities. Herbalism holds a lot of space for wonder to show up, and if you practice any sort of magickal, folkloric or spiritual herbalism, wonder is often seen as a necessity of the healing process. Them there are the ways that the act of re-enchanting our lives and our worlds, to seek out and celebrate the experience of wonder, becomes a courageous-hearted act when there is so much conflict and suffering. To re-enchant, re-connect, and re-member the sacredness of life is a calling, again and again, to seek a more just and more kind world. A sense of wonder nourishes our curiosity, so that even if we don't know where a path might lead, we wonder enough about what might happen next and what we might find, to keep going.
As a witch, wonder is magick illuminated.
As an herbalist, wonder is the arrival of possibility.
As a community, wonder helps bind together a common vision.
Over the next two weeks, as the Moon grows from a sliver of a crescent to a full bellied orb of light, take stock of the wonder you carry with you along The Gathering Path. What is the thread of wonder that binds your practice together? What seeds of wonder are you carrying, ready to plant when the time is right or to exchange with your fellow travelers? What wonder called you here in the first place?
For our first session together I've drawn on some of my favorite far-flung community practices to help us create a space together both online and energetically (or, to use a Pagan, and especially Wiccan phrase, create a space "between the worlds"). We'll begin by focusing on the land of the heart, including heart-opening tonics - a common offering at traditional western herbalism classes and gatherings. We'll stretch and strengthen our wonder muscle through a simple but really fun tarot practice, learn ways to find our heart and wonder plant allies, and practice some sacred inquiry to help us find our way along the path. Our Full Moon ritual will help to ground and center our places on our growing community web, so that all of our paths intersect, creating a way for us to energetically connect with one another, strengthening each other's magick.
Thanks for being present for this first session, as we explore the unique energetic ebb and flow of our community and finding the practices that work really well or those that feel too clunky for our needs. If you want to understand more about The Gathering Path, its origins and find an FAQ for our space, come this way. I hope you feel encouraged to participate in the ways that feel the most interesting and inspiring to your practice, reach out to your fellow journeyers, and bring what you learn and love back to the land you live with and the communities you love.
