Mother Earth Speaks - Companion Planting

It is spring time!  Finally! I was looking through past journal entries about Mother Nature and Mother Earth to see what wisdom each of them sent me in the past.  In a meditation, I channeled the following information about getting ready for the garden and wisdom on companion planting as guided by Mother Earth.

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Dear Ones!  I come to speak to you about planting for some of you are getting ready to plant in green houses or even out doors.  You can give your herbs and garden plants a new kick start by planting different herbs with different plants.

For example, if you plant Basil with Tomatoes, you will repel insects that plague tomatoes.  This is a Mother Nature natural remedy for pests!  This works with potted plants as well as ground planted veggies.  

If you plant chives around apple trees, it will prevent scab on the apples.  Since chives have a lovely purple flower, it also brings the bees around to the apple tree.

Nasturtium plants repel aphids when planted with beans and tomatoes.  Nasturtium flowers can be used in salads and sandwiches.  Nasturtiums also make an excellent companion plant to not just broccoli or apple trees, but also to corn, sweet corn, Zea maize,  and cabbages.  

Harvesting your Herbs

As soon as there are enough leaves on the herb plant, that picking a few will not impair the plant's survival. This also means that the herb is ready to be harvested. Always harvest your herbs in the morning hours. It is usually in the morning that the herb plant's oils are at their highest concentration. When harvesting herb make use of a sharp knife, pruning scissors, or shears. Do rinse the herbs gently in cool water immediately after harvesting. Allow the herbs to air dry, or pat the herbs lightly with a paper towel. Use them immediately, alternatively, store in the refrigerator for later use.

Blessings,

Judy

Happy Thanksgiving Canada - October 14 2024

 

Here is a lovely prayer to use for Thanksgiving if you are looking for something new to share with family or friends.

The Canticle of the Creatures

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,
All praise is Yours, all glory, honor and blessings.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong;
no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.
We praise You, Lord, for all Your creatures,
especially for Brother Sun, who is the day through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
of You Most High, he bears your likeness.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Moon and the stars,
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.
We praise You, Lord, for Brothers Wind and Air,
fair and stormy, all weather's moods,
by which You cherish all that You have made.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Water,
so useful, humble, precious and pure.
We praise You, Lord, for Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night.
He is beautiful, playful, robust, and strong.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Earth,
who sustains us
with her fruits, colored flowers, and herbs.
We praise You, Lord, for those who pardon,
for love of You bear sickness and trial.
Blessed are those who endure in peace,
by You Most High, they will be crowned.
We praise You, Lord, for Sister Death,
from whom no-one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in their sins!
Blessed are those that She finds doing Your Will.
No second death can do them harm.
We praise and bless You, Lord, and give You thanks,
and serve You in all humility.

Written by St. Francis of Assisi

Blessings,

Judy

Snow Leopard Has Messages

"Their big eyes are so well adapted for low-light vision that snow leopards can hunt in near total darkness—but they can still go hungry when humans compete for their prey. Though trophy hunts for wild sheep and goats bring income to local communities, they can deplete food stocks for snow leopards."   Out of the Shadows, photo project by Steve Winter  The Winner of The Best Wild Nature Photo 2008

Snow Leopard has the colour brown, for the Earth, black for the Night and mystery and magic, and white for the Day, and connection to Great Spirit.  The reverence for Snow Leopard is displayed in the many legends around it. 

In  Nepal, in Dolpo, there are stories of great lamas frequently making trips to Tibet in the form of snow leopards, in search of rare medicinal herbs. Other folklore describes the snow leopard as a “fence” for the crops, meaning that in the absence of snow leopards livestock would be free ranging and thus would invade crop fields.

Dr. John Mock, in 2004, went to Pakistan, and investigated some of their myths.  This is one around the Snow Leopard.

Pari are female supernatural denizens of the high mountains. People in Pakistan, Afghanistan, north India and throughout Central Asia are familiar with pari. The Wakhi ethnic population in northern Pakistan, China, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have their own word for pari: mergichan. The mergichan inhabit the mergich realm, which is the realm of the mountains and high pastures. It is a pure, even sacred realm, where the supernatural mountain spirits tend their wild flocks of blue sheep and ibex. The Wakhi word for snow leopard is pes. A pes is a mergich animal found only in mergich areas. It rarely interacts with people, is hard to see, powerful, beautiful, and potentially dangerous. As such, it exemplifies many of the qualities of the mergichan, and so is an appropriate animal shape for them to assume.

If Snow Leopard comes to you, then know it brings several messages, and all of them or some of them may be for you!

1. Living high in the mountains, this animal is at one with Great Spirit and Mother Earth.  Leopard communes with the Wisdom Keepers (in Munay-Ki the mountains are Wisdom Keepers).  She reminds you to open up your intuitive abilities.
2. Snow Leopard moves invisibly and so is able to stalk her prey, as elusive as her prey is.  The message is clear – keep a very low profile as you pursue your goals to avoid drawing attention and competition to what you do.
3. Leopard is a hunter that attacks the neck from the back. As many belief systems say the soul enters and leaves through the back, it is believed that Leopard may consume souls. If Leopard comes to you, know that she is telling you that it is difficult for you to meet people face on, and to ensure your back is covered.  She also cautions about moving up on someone else’s back.  Balance in all things is required.  If you do need to defeat someone, beware of taking on their “stuff”.
4. Leopard medicine is one that requires strong bodies – and quick action.  This may lead to humans with quick, angry tempers.  Leopard cautions that the angry energy must be released. If not released, it will settle into the body causing pain in the bones and limbs…arthritis may result.

May those of you with Leopard medicine find peace.

Many blessings,

Judy

Wasp Power

  Picture from www.flowers.vg 

 

As the summer days roll into July, more wasps are showing up in our yard.  There are over 2000 different species of wasps alive today, according to Wikipedia.  That means that Wasp plays an important part in the ecology of Mother Earth and represents the four elements.  Wasp nests in the earth (earth), or, in trees (hangs in the air) in hives made from pulp and saliva (water).  And, Wasp’s sting makes your skin burn which is the fire element. 

Wasp uses a form of alchemy to change wood to pulp and eventually to paper to make the hive.  If you are constantly seeing wasp hives, perhaps it is time for you to pay attention to your ability to “change” things, and perhaps to investigate alchemy to see where you may want to experiment with herbs, essences, or the stock market.

One of Wasp’s characteristics is that she is independent and likes to work on her own rather than in a group.  Solitary wasps have little patience and will attack whatever task they are performing with a vengeance. Wasp does not need a task master.  She is her own.  If you like to be independent from all authority, and do better on your own, then you may have Wasp medicine in your etheric field.

If Wasp is showing up in your life:

1. What do you need to do to improve your life?
2. What element do you need to balance your life?
3. Do you need to leave your current partners, or job?
4. What solitary task can you do to give new meaning to your life?  A quest?  Some creative endeavour? A silent retreat?

Many blessings,

Judy

Spring Equinox March 20 2023

Nature and the calendar are not always in agreement.  Today, the calendar tells us that it is the Spring Equinox.  In the northern hemisphere, it tells us that the days will now be long and warm.  Most of the snow and cold are behind us. 

It tells us that the early flowers and herbs will be poking out their green shoots.  On the west coast, the spring bulbs will be growing and out in bloom.  

Nature announces spring by giving the birds a new, happier note to sing in the morning.  The robins arrive.  The rabbits do their athletic, complex mating dance.  All beings that hibernate come out of their dens.  

The world feels alive and vibrant. The world is healing, peaceful. Life feels tranquil.

Today, give thanks that we the seasons change and that the world keeps on spinning.  Give thanks for your family and friends and live this day fully.

Many blessings,

Judy

Feverfew - A Healing Herb

 If you were out in the wild, and could not get to a doctor, would you know what plants could help you with various ailments?  Probably not!  If earthquakes or tornados or some other natural disaster cut you off from getting your regular medications, could you use a plant to substitute what you are missing?  Folks all over the world that are in places of natural disaster are facing some of these questions.  

Feverfew picture from www.migraine-facts.co.uk

 

 

 

  

 

We are so close to spring that one can almost smell it in the air!  Many folk are now planning their gardens and/or planting seeds into containers to be transplanted to the garden.  More and more folks are planting herbs not just for flavouring food, but also for use in healing.  There is an old saying that goes “For any malady that man doth know, God has caused a plant to grow!”  Essentially, for each known illness, there is a plant that holds a cure.

One plant that grows very well in North America is feverfew. It has some very specific uses.  Feverfew seems to help:

1.  headaches and migraines by reducing blood vessel spasms and by depressing the release of serotonin and prostaglandins which cause migraines.

2.  control the redness in irritated skin, due to inflammation.

3.  relieve stomach aches.

4.  treat menstrual cramping.

5.  reduce fever from colds, pneumonia, and flu.

www.plantcare.com

 

 

This sounds like a plant that we should all be growing.  I suggest that you add it to your flower bed or flower pot or garden this spring.

Remember that before you eat or drink any herb, you should check with your doctor to see if this plant is good for you and to see if it works with or against any medication that you are taking.  Some herbs counter the effects of medication so do be careful!

Many blessings,

Judy