It had been a few months since I had been to the woods. The daily activity had kept me occupied and living without a car makes it less likely to just go spontaneously. Now a friend had wanted to go out to learn something of the forest and the nature, animal and plant spirits. I had spoken with her a number of times about Druidry but this was her first time to be out in the forest without a group of people, music, reading material or constant activity planned. It is a different thing to go out on the spirit quest and she was enthusiastic about this new experience.

We arrived at a suitable spot to park the car. It was miles into a forest service road and there was no sound of human activity other than the occasional airplane far overhead. It was mid-afternoon and the air was very still. My friend was somewhat agitated. I could feel the grip of the conditioned social vibrations causing her to feel uncomfortable with the silence and thus hurried. She was anxious to get going, but I had us wait by the car and drink a bit of water and talk for a couple minutes while we burned some herbal incense. We spoke about moving respectfully in the forest, about stepping carefully so as not to damage plants unnecessarily, about not making excess noise and disrupting the creatures living there. Even a handful of minutes outside with the trees all around is enough for the energies of the forest to start working at the knots of social tension. The words faded away and the energy was calmer. It was time to go.Continue Reading…