#143 - Sian Sibley - Black Paths and Green Cathedrals - Unveiling the Green

In her book Black Paths and Green Cathedrals: A Guide to Ecological Paganism, Sian Sibley writes: "greed and gluttony are not just permitted, they are encouraged, driven by a profiteering media that feeds our fears because fear sells. And yet, no one ever tells us what ‘enough’ even means. We are kept hungry on purpose, starved of contentment, because a person who knows they have enough is a person who cannot be controlled."  WOW. This wow factor goes all through our conversation.

So welcome dear listener to TAP into a conversation about:

-How working with trees is very different from working with flowers and plants: flowers are quick, but trees ask us to slow down because they move at a much slower pace than we do

-By selling your time, you are giving away the best part of your life 

-The Industrial Revolution and the enclosure of land helped cut people off from the land and moved them into dehumanizing conditions in towns, mines, and mills

-One striking example of dehumanization was the invention of food like the sandwich and the Cornish pasty

-Much of modern life has handed our survival over to supermarkets and systems, leaving us deeply dependent and cut off from the sources of life

-This disconnect is not just about being “green” in the modern sense of recycling or veganism, but about a root-deep wound in how we see ourselves as above nature instead of within it

-What it means to be plant-blind and how admit to being just that

-Humans are incredibly new compared to the plant world, yet religion and science have often trained us to think we are superior to it

-CRYSTALS! There is no real proof behind claims of “ethically sourced crystals,” and that label often becomes something we tell ourselves to feel better

-Sacred plants are also being harmed by spiritual consumption, such as frankincense, where overuse is contributing to the endangerment of Boswellia trees

-If people cannot grow food, gather water, forage, or provide for themselves, they become dependent on systems that then hold power over their lives

-The drop test: If a plant can anticipate an outcome, alter its response, and remember past experiences, that fits a definition of intelligence !

-Sacred trees appear across cultures, including the world tree in Norse mythology and the enlightenment tree in Buddhism -Many ancient goddesses was nature deities connected to animals, serpents, and the living earth but later mythologies and patriarchal systems have diminished these earlier feminine powers

-Plant magic and herbal practice traditionally integrate astrology through planetary correspondences/esoteric sympathies

and...So Much Good Stuff in this one!!  

From Aeon books website: "Sian Sibley is a writer, witchcraft practitioner, and ecologist from Wales, with over thirty years of experience in plant spirit magic. She holds master’s degrees in Biological Science and Ecology and Spirituality, blending scientific insight with esoteric wisdom. As the leader of the DragonOak Coven for 27 years, she has guided practitioners in structured, nature-based spiritual practices that honour both tradition and personal growth."

Be well everyone and check out these links:

link to the books: https://spirit.aeonbooks.co.uk/author/sian-sibley/23782 

link to Sian sibley: https://www.dragonoak.org/

link to Mannah: https://www.therapeuticastrologer.com/

HERE is the VIDEO version: https://youtu.be/q7dzbpBdOdE