#sylvan practice

Practical Permaculture: For Home Landscapes, Your Community, and the Whole Earth; by Jessi Bloom & Dave Boehnlein

Holistic Homesteading: A Guide to Sustainable and Regenerative Lifestyle; by Roxanne Ahern

The Vegetable Gardeners Guide to Permaculture: Creating an edible ecosystem; by Christopher Shein (available on Internet Archive)

if you are an urban witch i'd highly recommend Toolbox for Sustainable City Living; by Scott Kellogg & Stacy Pettigrew (available online)

sight

on the left and right walls near the door are bookshelves, filled both with books and with a variety of materials and magical souvenirs. in the spring these bookshelves are cast with speckled rainbow light due to witch bottles that hang in the windows across the room. in the center of the tower, a working altar sits with a vase of vibrant fresh flowers, in the spring. out of the windows most recently was a view of an ocean, with translucent gulls flying in and out of luminescent cumulus clouds. in the distance there was a brick red lighthouse in the south-east, shining left and right across the sea.

smell

in spring, the herbs strung across the ceilings begin to be populated with green, fresh herbs to be dried. these herbs, especially when hit with a breeze, smell fresh and aromatic throughout the circular room. when fresh herbs arrive i try to use the dried herbs, typically as incense which is part of my typical rituals in this space. this smell is etched into the walls and is replenished every time i visit. recently, when the windows revealed a sea, i could smell the salt from the splashing waves from up in the tower.

taste

i frequently cook and bake at the hearth in the tower, but in the spring i don't tend to light the fire as much. i do taste the fresh herbs out of curiosity, which do give a very strong physical reaction although they don't give me the exact sensation of tasting the herbs. if i am presented with a bouquet of daylilies, it is hard for me not to eat some of them! a few times in springs before, i have been presented with baskets of various fruits, berries, or vegetables that a spirit ally would like me to prepare for them in the tower, which i do dutifully, then we share the meal together. i quite remember some rhubarb pastries i made in this way!

sound

the sounds of whatever is out of the window is a primary one, which can frequently change. i've discussed already the recent ocean exterior, which had the amazing rhythmic noise of waves hitting the beach. almost always there will be bird calls of some kind. sometimes i will be peering over gatherings of the gloaming, where they sing and dance below me. otherwise the sounds within the tower will either be the hearth, or another fire such as incense or candle-flame. or just me humming! when there is a breeze, the wind chimes go in the windows.

feel

the windows open up or disappear entirely as a warm breeze enters through the window, blowing through my hair. the walls are almost always thick, rough grey stone, which scrapes against my fingertips where i touch it. the seats in the windows have velvet cushions, which are a pleasant opposition to the surrounding stone. i love to run my fingers through the fresh herbs (keeping an eye out for nettle however), which are typically super soft and amazing to run over my hands.

i've read quite a few books which describe their own techniques of soul-flight, and eventually ended up on my own. i'd recommend the same to you! if you're interested, i'll include a reading list at the end.

when i am entering a deep trance, that being one i can use for spirit-flight or hedge-crossing, i typically follow a specific simple routine. firstly, i light a mugwort incense.

here are some excerpts about mugwort from The Green Mysteries: Arcana Viridia, by Daniel A Schulke:

Mugwort’s planetary resonances are with Venus and the Moon. As used in magical operations it is associated with a multitude of powers including Clairvoyance, Banishing, Divination, Oneirogenesis, Summoning, Protection from Maleficia, Summoning, Protection for Livestock, Protection from Thieves, Envigoration, Beautification, Longevity, and use as a hunting charm...The Spirit-Retinue of Mugwort: Sagacity, Enthusiasm, Immediation, Glamor, Facilitation, Inspiration, Effusiveness, Virid Warmth, Fragrant Waysides, Mental Idyll, Spirited Redress, Sanguinous Efflux, and Menstrual Wrath...Powers: Revelation, Protection, Blessing...Embodied State: Trance/Dreaming.

after the incense, i take down my hair (typically it is braided), and i'll grab an herb or one of my amulets of grounding for usage afterwards.

here is an excerpt from Viridarium Umbria: Pleasure Garden of Shadow by Daniel A Schulke:

Worts of Earthing include Cohosh Root, smouldered over coals; Oil of Fennel, passed under the nose; Seed of Mustard, ground and placed in the mouth; Root or Pod of Burdock, or Seed of Aesculus, held in the hand; Thorn of Rose, placed on the flesh; Leaves of Rosemary and Eucalypt, bruised and deeply inhaled; Brandy distilled from Wine of Pear; Thistle and Nettle Leaves, rubbed on the skin; smoke of Tobacco, blown into the ears; and Bulb of Garlic, bruised and passed under the nose.

i get in a comfortable meditative spot, typically in Śavāsana (AKA Corpse Pose), and sometimes i'll put on nature sounds or sound bowl videos if i am dealing with an especially active mind.

i begin with simple meditation, moving further and further into a trance state. here is where my method splits off from typical. once i am far enough in a standard meditative state, i can visualize and experience the connection of my crown to my soul star (sometimes called the Merkāḇā), then i rise above my body, thus entering spirit-flight.

from here i may hedge-cross or travel the world tree to go to specific locations. i may expand upon these specific methods in the future!

in my recent spirit-flight, i utilized the astral space to perform spells which i haven't had the energy or tools to do. the example i will share was the hedge or 'witches lump' figure, from Gemma Gary's Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways:

To protect farm land, and all that lies within its boundaries, take small amounts of earth from the north, south, east and west of each piece of land that is to fall under the protection of the charm, remembering to collect also dirt or dust in the same way from each of the farm’s buildings. Mix these small samples together, and work them well into a lump of rough clay (even better if the clay used can be dug from the land to be protected), crafting this into a human but sexless form. As the body is worked, so the Pellar breathes life into it. The figure’s garments must then be set with small panels of broken glass. Once fired, set the figure somewhere within one of the farm’s hedges, so that it may keep a protective watch over the land and all that lies within.

i performed this spell in the astral, primarily because teaching the corners of my property is difficult and so is making a poppet in this way! after creating it i stored it in a chest, within my corridor (see Weaving Fate: Hypersigils, Changing the Past, & Telling True Lies By Aidan Wachter), and lit a candle on it and left it for later, when ill place it on a hedge.

after i finished everything i was doing in my flight, i return to my body and meld myself with it, visualizing my soul star again, then i slowly open my eyes. after this ill utilize my grounding tool, as well as active grounding techniques.

this was not an especially thought out post so if i've missed anything or you're curious about anything please feel free to send me an ask about it!

reading list:

Besom, Stang, and Sword by Christopher Orapello

Celtic Hedge Witchery by Joey Morris

Folk Witchcraft: A Guide to Lore, Land, & the Familiar Spirit for the Solitary Practitioner by Roger J. Horne

Six Ways: Approaches & Entries for Practical Magic by Aidan Wachter

The Crooked Path: An Introduction to Traditional Witchcraft by Kelden

in practice, this acronym can work like this for a ritual. for example, as i am currently using this acronym to create a motivational morning ritual for myself, i'll describe some of it here:

Roots: i will likely call upon two specific ancestral spirit guides of mine for this task, as i know they are helpful with tasks of willpower and energization. many morning prayers are found in Carmina Gadelica, such as Morning Prayers: Supplication, Morning Prayers: The Three, & Invocations: Morning Prayer.

Inspirations: i love the cute vanity-type aphrodite altars i see on tiktok, and i am trying to do something similar in my own style. i also like the idea of the mirrors where people collage motivational quotes and pictures onto the borders. i may attempt this if i have the nerve!

Time: i've got to make sure this ritual for myself is very short to ensure that i'll actually do it. i could do it sundays or tuesdays, but ill probably do it tuesdays because sunday is supposed to be for resting.

Environment: i'm going to make a charged solar oil with various energizing plants (cinnamon, bay leaf, citrus, acorns).

Star: this motivation is not to overwork myself, or to distract from self-care or cues. any hard work is to be followed by proper nourishment—this is necessary for proper gains! it's important in all of my interactions with spirits to be reciprocal and maintaining respect. motivation has no punishment, and any lack of motivation does not equate to failure. the ritual will work again even if it is missed prior.

so at this point i might reorder this information into a simple ritual idea.

prep beforehand: herbal oil – cinnamon, dried citrus peels, dandelion petals, (dried from fresh) oregano, in jojoba oil. vanity altar – where i've already got a mirror, i'm going to relocate my enchanted jewelry, my makeup and hair products, and maybe some pertinent crystals that i already own: chrysocolla, aventurine, tigers eye, etc. prayers – print out supplication morning prayer from Carmina Gadelica. set up new madonna print on vanity altar.

plan for: tuesdays after waking up. open the window before, and face east.

read supplication morning prayer while applying motivational oil on the head, heart, and navel in a cross, with the right hand pinky finger.

i hope this framework serves useful to someone else!