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Journeys with Plant Spirits
Plant Consciousness Healing and Natural Magic Practices
By Emma Farrell
Foreword by Pam Montgomery
Published by Bear & Company
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
A guide to communicating and working with plant and tree spirits for personal development, spiritual connection, inner peace, and healing
• Presents meditation journeys with specific plant and tree spirits, such as Mugwort, Rosemary, Dandelion, Yew, Elder, and Wormwood
• Details how to achieve a calm mind, cleanse your energy field, and connect with your heart in preparation for meditating with the plants
• Includes a progressive series of introductory meditations, adapted from wisdom traditions, to lay the foundation for working with plant spirits
In this book, Emma Farrell explains how to take your connection and relationship with nature to a deeper level and access plant spirit healing through meditation with plants. Exploring the nature of plant consciousness and how plants perceive, she details how to achieve a calm mind, cleanse your energy field, and connect with your heart in preparation for meditating with plants and trees, showing how the plants can support us not only in the cleansing process but also in teaching us how to sense what is in our energy field.
Offering a progressive series of preparatory meditations adapted from shamanic and indigenous wisdom traditions, the author reveals how to lay the foundation for working, communicating, and developing relationships with plant and tree spirits--for personal development, spiritual connection, and inner peace. She then presents meditation journeys with specific plant spirits, focusing on the frequencies within the plant’s bioresonance that will assist you. For example, the meditation with Mugwort works with the plant spirit’s qualities of alignment and self-awareness to assist you with grounding and developing inner vision, while the meditation with Dandelion helps you break old habits by working with the plant’s qualities of release, reconnection, and fearlessness.
Revealing how each plant is an expression of the soul force of Mother Nature and carries a unique blend of her medicine and wisdom, this book details step-by-step how to effectively work with plant spirits for emotional and spiritual healing, enabling you to awaken the eternal spirit, or soul, to become truly multidimensional and whole.
• Presents meditation journeys with specific plant and tree spirits, such as Mugwort, Rosemary, Dandelion, Yew, Elder, and Wormwood
• Details how to achieve a calm mind, cleanse your energy field, and connect with your heart in preparation for meditating with the plants
• Includes a progressive series of introductory meditations, adapted from wisdom traditions, to lay the foundation for working with plant spirits
In this book, Emma Farrell explains how to take your connection and relationship with nature to a deeper level and access plant spirit healing through meditation with plants. Exploring the nature of plant consciousness and how plants perceive, she details how to achieve a calm mind, cleanse your energy field, and connect with your heart in preparation for meditating with plants and trees, showing how the plants can support us not only in the cleansing process but also in teaching us how to sense what is in our energy field.
Offering a progressive series of preparatory meditations adapted from shamanic and indigenous wisdom traditions, the author reveals how to lay the foundation for working, communicating, and developing relationships with plant and tree spirits--for personal development, spiritual connection, and inner peace. She then presents meditation journeys with specific plant spirits, focusing on the frequencies within the plant’s bioresonance that will assist you. For example, the meditation with Mugwort works with the plant spirit’s qualities of alignment and self-awareness to assist you with grounding and developing inner vision, while the meditation with Dandelion helps you break old habits by working with the plant’s qualities of release, reconnection, and fearlessness.
Revealing how each plant is an expression of the soul force of Mother Nature and carries a unique blend of her medicine and wisdom, this book details step-by-step how to effectively work with plant spirits for emotional and spiritual healing, enabling you to awaken the eternal spirit, or soul, to become truly multidimensional and whole.
Excerpt
From Chapter 8. Developing Inner Vision with the Spirit of Mugwort
If there is one plant to start your journey with the plant spirits it should be Mugwort, the stunningly beautiful and beneficent Artemisia vulgaris. I could write an entire book dedicated to this most bounteous and gifted healer but here I want to present some of her most powerful metaphysical qualities to galvanise this part of the journey with a plant spirit that could easily become a lifetime friend. We covered the importance of psychic hygiene in chapter 4 and Mugwort is one of our key allies in working with us to achieve this energetic integrity. A master cleanser and tantric genius, Mugwort can transmute many types of toxic energies and release all manner of entities and intrusions from the energy field and body. Over time, as she does this on a deeper and deeper level she helps to unfurl our shamanic and psychic senses from their hibernation place. Through cycles of time within spirals of healing she realigns us back to our original human blueprint. Instantaneous healing is not uncommon with the witch queen but don't underestimate your complexity, other realignments are not overnight processes.
Known as the Queen of Herbs or the Witches First Herb, the physical healing capabilities of Mugwort are also expansive. From a simple indigestion to the realignment of a breech during childbirth, Mugwort offers powerful remedy. Yet when we move out of the limitations of the phenomenal world her metaphysical prowess comes alive. When she is not bound by the mundane her mastery of the spirit world becomes powerfully evident. The spirit force which moves through Mugwort is a powerful witch within her own right who works with her inner air, fire and water elements with virtuoso skill. Her objective like all good shamans and witches is to bring balance and harmony, to address the misaligned energies and blockages which prevent flow and creativity. Many of these blockages occur in the cavities of the body and in the emotional layer of the energetic field, these locations being the most effected by toxic psychic energies. You will notice a thread running through all of Mugworts healing gifts and that is the power of realignment, she pushes energy / chi, she is a disruptor, an agitator and is known to bring chaos in order for a new state of balance to emerge.
Ideally work with Mugwort in her natural habitat, she is wild at heart being associated with Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt so can only be her true self when she is unbounded. She will grow in a pot and easily transplants from the wild into the garden but the most magnificent specimens of this plant can be found on the edges of woodland and the banks of rivers. She is powerfully connected to the moon and it is advisable to collect her leaves for tea or tincture at dawn on the full moon. If you can wait until summer solstice, this is her power day, any medicine harvested on this day will be especially potent and full of her dynamic spirit. If you do not have a wild plant then a plant spirit essence is also tremendously effective. I personally like to bathe with her and adding her to magic baths will facilitate deep cleansing and a clearing of unhelpful energies from your auric field. (See the chapter on “Psychic Hygiene” for more on this.)
The spirit of Mugwort first appeared to me as a female wizard in a long multicoloured robe, stood on top of a hill surveying the surrounding forests. It was summer solstice and I had been up since before dawn to get down to the river to make offerings to the mother plant before the sun arrived. The mother plant is the one plant amongst the many which feels like it has the most power, we do not harvest from this plant but from others surrounding it. You can sense the mother plant by simply opening your awareness to it. The moments before dawn hold a special liminal power which facilitates prayer and intention. Mugwort heard my prayer of becoming her student and that following night during a ceremony dedicated to her she gave me her first teachings. For two hours this elemental master and wisdom-bearing spirit showed me areas of blockage within various chakras, guiding me to aspects within myself which needed clearing and healing, ones which prevented me from living my full potential and from expressing myself from my heart.
The fire within Mugwort facilitates creativity as she aligns us back to our own soul force and its expression. Her earthy grounding quality assists in the pulling of the etheric into the visible, allowing unstructured feeling to be organized into expression. Very similar to cannabis, Mugwort opens our channels and brings an expansive quality to the mind, free of the usual boundaries and barriers. Artemisia vulgaris is also known as Sailors Tobacco and I find smoking dried Mugwort encourages the relaxing into inner space. To allow creativity to flow we need to drop out of the linear monkey mind that jumps from past to future and step into the infinite present to give space for concentration and the expression of the soul, of natural unfoldment. Through open presence and focus of the mind we can become channels for divine inspiration and expression. Our general state of being is one of compulsive and discursive thoughts, an avoidance of presence when we don’t know and recognize our true self. Wisdom teachings outline methods of taming the mind such as single-focus meditation, which calms the conceptual mind, moves us from survival mode, opens the door to new levels of conscious awareness and eventually to a co-creative partnership with the living cosmos. Mugwort guides us into alignment with our inner axis connected to both the cosmic divine and the soul of mother earth so that inspiration can flow.
SAMPLE PRACTICE
Cleansing Meditation with the Spirit of Mugwort
The more time you spend with Mugwort the quicker and more effective this cleansing technique becomes. It is recommended to also spend time getting to know your personal inner resonance or your handle with Mugwort (see Chapter 3) as this will not only assist you with the below process but instantly deepens your connection to her spirit and opens a doorway of healing on the inner planes.
Find a quiet spot next to some Mugwort in the wild or take some Mugwort tea / essence and sit in your safe space indoors.
Relax into your space, exhaling any tension and thoughts of the day. Use the Calming the Mind and Dropping Into the Heart technique which you learned in Part 1 to bring yourself into calm in the inner space.
Through intention, connect to the spirit of Mugwort asking her to be with you now. It is at this point that it is advisable to know what Mugwort feels like in order to be sure that the spirit you are connecting to is indeed Lady Artemisia.
Ask her to send her beautiful spirit through your energy field to cleanse, purify, and transform anything dead, toxic, or dying. Grant that it is done now. (Similar instructions can be used if you need grounding or cleansing of a particular unhelpful energy you feel you have picked up.)
Then sit quietly and observe any movement, changes or insights that arrive. Do not doubt your own magic otherwise it will not take place.
As soon as you feel you need to sigh or you simply feel the inner knowing of completion thank Mugwort and enjoy your clearer state of being.
If there is one plant to start your journey with the plant spirits it should be Mugwort, the stunningly beautiful and beneficent Artemisia vulgaris. I could write an entire book dedicated to this most bounteous and gifted healer but here I want to present some of her most powerful metaphysical qualities to galvanise this part of the journey with a plant spirit that could easily become a lifetime friend. We covered the importance of psychic hygiene in chapter 4 and Mugwort is one of our key allies in working with us to achieve this energetic integrity. A master cleanser and tantric genius, Mugwort can transmute many types of toxic energies and release all manner of entities and intrusions from the energy field and body. Over time, as she does this on a deeper and deeper level she helps to unfurl our shamanic and psychic senses from their hibernation place. Through cycles of time within spirals of healing she realigns us back to our original human blueprint. Instantaneous healing is not uncommon with the witch queen but don't underestimate your complexity, other realignments are not overnight processes.
Known as the Queen of Herbs or the Witches First Herb, the physical healing capabilities of Mugwort are also expansive. From a simple indigestion to the realignment of a breech during childbirth, Mugwort offers powerful remedy. Yet when we move out of the limitations of the phenomenal world her metaphysical prowess comes alive. When she is not bound by the mundane her mastery of the spirit world becomes powerfully evident. The spirit force which moves through Mugwort is a powerful witch within her own right who works with her inner air, fire and water elements with virtuoso skill. Her objective like all good shamans and witches is to bring balance and harmony, to address the misaligned energies and blockages which prevent flow and creativity. Many of these blockages occur in the cavities of the body and in the emotional layer of the energetic field, these locations being the most effected by toxic psychic energies. You will notice a thread running through all of Mugworts healing gifts and that is the power of realignment, she pushes energy / chi, she is a disruptor, an agitator and is known to bring chaos in order for a new state of balance to emerge.
Ideally work with Mugwort in her natural habitat, she is wild at heart being associated with Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt so can only be her true self when she is unbounded. She will grow in a pot and easily transplants from the wild into the garden but the most magnificent specimens of this plant can be found on the edges of woodland and the banks of rivers. She is powerfully connected to the moon and it is advisable to collect her leaves for tea or tincture at dawn on the full moon. If you can wait until summer solstice, this is her power day, any medicine harvested on this day will be especially potent and full of her dynamic spirit. If you do not have a wild plant then a plant spirit essence is also tremendously effective. I personally like to bathe with her and adding her to magic baths will facilitate deep cleansing and a clearing of unhelpful energies from your auric field. (See the chapter on “Psychic Hygiene” for more on this.)
The spirit of Mugwort first appeared to me as a female wizard in a long multicoloured robe, stood on top of a hill surveying the surrounding forests. It was summer solstice and I had been up since before dawn to get down to the river to make offerings to the mother plant before the sun arrived. The mother plant is the one plant amongst the many which feels like it has the most power, we do not harvest from this plant but from others surrounding it. You can sense the mother plant by simply opening your awareness to it. The moments before dawn hold a special liminal power which facilitates prayer and intention. Mugwort heard my prayer of becoming her student and that following night during a ceremony dedicated to her she gave me her first teachings. For two hours this elemental master and wisdom-bearing spirit showed me areas of blockage within various chakras, guiding me to aspects within myself which needed clearing and healing, ones which prevented me from living my full potential and from expressing myself from my heart.
The fire within Mugwort facilitates creativity as she aligns us back to our own soul force and its expression. Her earthy grounding quality assists in the pulling of the etheric into the visible, allowing unstructured feeling to be organized into expression. Very similar to cannabis, Mugwort opens our channels and brings an expansive quality to the mind, free of the usual boundaries and barriers. Artemisia vulgaris is also known as Sailors Tobacco and I find smoking dried Mugwort encourages the relaxing into inner space. To allow creativity to flow we need to drop out of the linear monkey mind that jumps from past to future and step into the infinite present to give space for concentration and the expression of the soul, of natural unfoldment. Through open presence and focus of the mind we can become channels for divine inspiration and expression. Our general state of being is one of compulsive and discursive thoughts, an avoidance of presence when we don’t know and recognize our true self. Wisdom teachings outline methods of taming the mind such as single-focus meditation, which calms the conceptual mind, moves us from survival mode, opens the door to new levels of conscious awareness and eventually to a co-creative partnership with the living cosmos. Mugwort guides us into alignment with our inner axis connected to both the cosmic divine and the soul of mother earth so that inspiration can flow.
SAMPLE PRACTICE
Cleansing Meditation with the Spirit of Mugwort
The more time you spend with Mugwort the quicker and more effective this cleansing technique becomes. It is recommended to also spend time getting to know your personal inner resonance or your handle with Mugwort (see Chapter 3) as this will not only assist you with the below process but instantly deepens your connection to her spirit and opens a doorway of healing on the inner planes.
Find a quiet spot next to some Mugwort in the wild or take some Mugwort tea / essence and sit in your safe space indoors.
Relax into your space, exhaling any tension and thoughts of the day. Use the Calming the Mind and Dropping Into the Heart technique which you learned in Part 1 to bring yourself into calm in the inner space.
Through intention, connect to the spirit of Mugwort asking her to be with you now. It is at this point that it is advisable to know what Mugwort feels like in order to be sure that the spirit you are connecting to is indeed Lady Artemisia.
Ask her to send her beautiful spirit through your energy field to cleanse, purify, and transform anything dead, toxic, or dying. Grant that it is done now. (Similar instructions can be used if you need grounding or cleansing of a particular unhelpful energy you feel you have picked up.)
Then sit quietly and observe any movement, changes or insights that arrive. Do not doubt your own magic otherwise it will not take place.
As soon as you feel you need to sigh or you simply feel the inner knowing of completion thank Mugwort and enjoy your clearer state of being.
Product Details
- Publisher: Bear & Company (January 19, 2022)
- Length: 288 pages
- ISBN13: 9781591434078
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Raves and Reviews
“A beautifully written and invaluable text for all those called to explore their magical connection to the plant kingdom. Emma Farrell’s sensitivity to the inner life of plants shines within her words, empowering readers to discover for themselves transformative healing and a more profound relationship with the natural world.”
– Phillip Carr-Gomm, coauthor of The Druid Plant Oracle
“The practices, meditations, and insights in Journeys with Plant Spirits expertly offer an accessible foundational practice that will help you deepen your relationship with spirit and nature. Emma shares grounded advice in a practical and generous manner that will not only help beginners on the plant spirit path but provide a supportive framework for those who have been connecting with the plant spirits for some time. Open this book on almost any page, and you will be invited through the portal into the Otherworld and feel the wisdom of the plants.”
– Fay Johnstone, author of Plants That Speak, Souls That Sing
“Through shamanic exploration, historical relevance, and meditative connections, Emma shares the transmissions gifted through the ancient roots of plant spirit healing. This is a precious book in which she shares a passionate review of the restorative energies gifted freely by nature, so needed with pharmaceutical pressures and our current separation from the magic of the natural world. A must-read!
– Sandra Corcoran, author of Shamanic Awakening
“A beautifully written and highly practical guide to plant consciousness. Emma takes us on a wonderful journey into the realm of plant spirits, sharing her wisdom and offering effective tools to help readers have their own unique experiences with plants. She shows us how we can come into deep relationship with the plant world, ultimately helping us remember who we are and why we are here.”
– Carole Guyett, author of Sacred Plant Initiations
This is the first time in my 45 years of esoteric and spirit work that I have found a plant spirit guide that is holistic, authentic, disciplined, and ego free--based upon genuine personal experience by an authentic medicine woman who shares safe practice from deep, personal experience, taught by the plant spirits directly. I highly recommend this remarkable book.”
– David Leesley, High Chief Iarueri Rawi, Yeramanu and Skull Keeper
“An essential addition to the library of anyone working with spiritual healing and the alchemy of plant healing.”
– Jon G. Hughes, author of A Druid’s Handbook to the Spiritual Power of Plants
“The plants are our elders. They are also master teachers if we but listen. In this practical, inspired, and no-nonsense guidebook, we are invited to do just that. Emma Farrell, through enduring tremendous hardship, takes the reader on a highly sophisticated journey to access the healing power of plant intelligence. At the outset, we meet Sekhmet and Iboga, who provide the wings for Farrell to fly over the vast physical, energetic, and intellectual landscape of the plants and bring us a treasure that is beyond compare.”
– Bill Pfeiffer, author of Wild Earth, Wild Soul
“An enchanting and accessible guide to healing our soul and ancestral trauma through relationships with the spirits of plants and trees. By generously sharing her personal story, as well as her extensive knowledge and healing practices, Emma Farrell shows us how to reclaim our ancient and magical relationships with plant spirits using methods that make sense to the modern mind. This fascinating book offers a pathway ‘back to the garden,’ where physical, emotional, and spiritual balance await.”
– Elizabeth Meacham, Ph.D., author of Earth Spirit Dreaming
“We are in a time of human history when we will be tested as never before. As humans we need to develop a healthy relationship with nature and the spirits of nature to ensure our future as a species. This book provides a map of the journey--opening our hearts and minds to the sentience of Great Nature. Blessings on the voyage.”
– Ellen Evert Hopman, author of Secret Medicines from Your Garden and The Sacred Herbs of Spring
“This book is a much-needed addition to the shamanic understanding of the importance of having plant allies in helping heal the deep spiritual maladies that plague us on the road less traveled on the path of the wounded healer.”
– Martin Duffy, director of the Irish Center for Shamanic Studies
"In Journeys with Plant Spirits, Farrell investigates Plant Spirits from a deep commitment to matters of the human spirit. A personal inquiry, this journey explores her own heritage in the British Isles and the transcendent practices of other lands (especially in the Far East). Thus, you’ll find and likely feel at home with her choice of meditations from Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Native American, and the Celtic traditions.For plant lovers and healers alike: if you’ve ever practiced meditation or been exposed to a variety of spiritual traditions, this beautifully written testament to spirit consciousness is for you."
– Herbology East and West's Lotus, Lady, & Verse
"A rich resource for those looking to create a deeper relationship with their plant allies. Journeys with Plant Spirits is appropriate for both newcomers to working with plants and those who have done so for many years."
– Lisa McSherry, Facing North
"Emma Farrell has spent many years immersed in the worlds of plant lore, Celtic shamanism and Buddhist philosophy, undertaking many plant diets and connecting with the Otherworld and plant spirits. Her experience and love for working - and living - with plants shines throughout this book. If you want to begin, or continue, your own journey with plants and trees, the path of plant consciousness, then Journeys with Plant Spirits is highly recommended!"
– June Kent, Indie Shaman magazine
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