Let your roots begin to sink deep into ancient, fecund earth. This is where the story begins.
Allow the Old Powers to guide us to distant shores, old-growth forests, and ancient mountain tops where we will remember our people and where we come from. Here we learn their stories, folklore, and rituals to enrich our modern lives with a sense of the sacred, with belonging, bringing reverent connection to the things that really matter.
It is here we can align our ancient hearts to the rhythm of the seasons, regain our sovereignty and learn to live in our own unique magic to serve our human and non-human communities.
It is through this relationship to the Old Powers, and the down-to-earth knowledge that stems from it that our ancient grandparents survived famines, natural disasters, pandemics, and wars.
When we choose to bring the Old Ways into our modern days, we honor the past wisdom of our elders and make it a part of our future. We build a stronger foundation for ourselves to navigate changing and uncertain times and offer a brighter, more solid future for the ones who come after us.
Here are the 4 sacred key I use in my books, podcasts, articles, and classes to show you how to connect to the Old Ways:
Food
Food is one of the most powerful gateways to the Old Ways because it’s the foundation of life, and already incorporated into our daily routines. When we create greater intimacy with our sustenance, we can examine our place in the cycles of life and death. From there we can begin to explore our own relationship with nature, and the creatures that inhabit it, including our ancestors, their cultures, traditional foodways, and the spirituality that sprung up from the lands our people grew from.
Land
When we eat native and wild foods from the land where we live in conjunction with the exploration of what nourished our Ancestors, we can reconnect to a strong sense of belonging to the places and the people we come from and the lands we inhabit. By familiarizing ourselves with what grows around us, it is easier to remember we are part of Nature and that we are never alone. This knowledge anchors us to solid ground in this vast and ever-changing world.
Tradition
When we connect to the land, we re-discover the spirits of place, the Old Powers. This all creates and continues to feed the long-held mysteries, rituals, mythology, and traditions that spring up from the geography of those places and the people that live there. This teaches us about the specific worldviews of our ancestors and gives us roots in a global modern world. When we create our own traditions, we always have a place to call home.
Myth
When we connect to the stories our Ancestors told we learn more about how they saw their place in the animate world around them. These legends spark us into right relationship with the world around us and are a blueprint back to balance.
When we embody the lessons we’ve learned from these 4 sacred keys we start living in our own magic – the gifts we’ve come here to use in service to the wider community.
As we begin to better understand ourselves and our roots, it’s easier to find our place in the natural cycle and to remember our purpose, and what we are on this earth to do.
