Growing things as a spiritual pursuit

[B. de Corbin]

Sooooo...

I just thought I'd open this up to anybody who understands what I'm talking about.

Every time the weather changes, I become obsessed with "growing things." I go out and wander the different micro-ecosytems in my little chunk of Terra, collecting specimens of various plant/fungus/lynchin or other organism, and bring them back to play with in the lab.

My back deck has a huge collection of potted plants, from edibles to visuals. I love growing stuff!

Maybe this is why I can be a Pagen Atheist. Gods & shit? Who cares?

Get down on your knees, stick yer face right in close, look! And look every day. The miracle isn't in what you know that is true, the miracle is in what is true, but you didn't know.

[kalynraye]

Previous to living in Wisconsin growing things hasn't really been my forte nor was my having a garden a priority. I don't know if it was because I moved to a place were seasons were so very distinct or if having my son had anything to do with it bit growing has becoming a very big deal for me.

Also I want bees and I want chickens. I want land to have those things and a desire to be out of a big city.. ahhhhhh what have I become?

[Corvus]

My temple teaches that the land is divine and the fruit of the earth is divine. To engage in creation, especially nurturing and fostering the growth of other living things is to engage with the divine. In the modern age we are distanced from the simple cycles of growth found in nature. I love to grow plants because even if there's no specific deity involved, the nurturing of life is a holy act. In my opinion, growing plants is an act of worship if only as a recognition that the earth can produce something we can enjoy. If God is in the trees, wind, and sky, why can't they be in my aloe and basil too? Aren't they all the fecundity of the earth made manifest?

We have a relationship with greenery. We seek out plants where there are none, we long for bits of nature. There's also something to be said for the effort. It feels good to care for something and see it prosper with your help. There's a comparison to be made between gardening and handicraft. I'm not sure how much of one, but there is the same element of aesthetic satisfaction as either comes together.

[Rhythm]

I can relate. One of the things I realized early on was that I have a complete inability to believe in the divine in any sense divorced from raw natural power. Ritual and ceremony distract me and feel less than genuine. I prefer and find my zen in being surrounded by plants. Eventually, it became such a compelling part of my personality that I took the plunge and made it a career. Never lost my sense of appreciation for pagan stories and the things they represent, though.