melaninhuntress

[melaninhuntress]

The knowledge of some common plants

Since many people don't know most of the plants around them, this is information on some plants that are commonly seen in many places throughout the world

This is Lamium purpureum, also called Purple Deadnettle.

It's called deadnettle because it looks like a nettle but it doesn't sting you

This plant is a winter annual—it grows its leaves in the fall, lasts through the winter, and blooms and dies in the spring

Its pollen is reddish orange. If you see bees with their heads stained reddish orange, it is likely because they have visited Purple Deadnettle

This is Trifolium repens, white clover

It is a legume (belongs to the bean family) and fixes nitrogen using symbiosis with bacteria that live in little nodules on its roots, fertilizing the soil

It is a good companion plant for the other members of a lawn or garden since it is tough, adaptable, and improves soil quality. According to my professor it used to be in lawn mixes, until chemical companies wanted to sell a new herbicide that would kill broadleaved plants and spare grass, and it was slandered as a weed :(

It is native only to Europe and Central Asia, but in the lawns they are doing more good than harm most places

Honeybees love to visit clover

Four-leaf clovers are said to be lucky

This is Achillea millefolium, Common Yarrow

It has had a relationship with humans since Neanderthals were around, at least 60,000 years, since Neanderthals have been found buried with Yarrow

Its leaves have been used to stop bleeding throughout history, and its scientific name comes from how Achilles was said to have used Yarrow to stop the blood from the wounds of his soldiers. A leaf rolled into a ball has been used to stop nosebleeds

It is a native species all throughout Eurasia and North America

This is Cichorium intybus, known as Chicory

The leaves look a lot like dandelion leaves, until in mid-spring when it begins growing a woody green stem straight up into the air

Like many other weeds, it has a symbiotic relationship with humans, existing in a mix of domesticated or partially domesticated and wild populations

It is native to Eurasia, but widespread in North America on roadsides and disturbed places, where it descended from cultivated plants

Its root contains large amounts of inulin, which is used as a sweetener and fiber supplement (if you look at the ingredients on the granola bars that have extra fiber, they usually are partly made of chicory root) and has also been used as a coffee substitute

A large variety of bees like to feed upon it

This is Phytolacca americana, known as Pokeweed

It is easily identified by its huge leaves and its waxy, bright magenta stem

It can grow more than nine feet tall from a sprout in a single summer!

If you squish the berries, the juice inside is a shocking magenta that is so bright it almost burns your eyes. For this reason many Native American people used it for pink and purple dye.

It is a heavy metal hyperaccumulator, particularly good for removing cadmium from the soil

All parts of the plant are poisonous and will make you very sick if you eat them, however if the leaves are picked when very young and boiled 3 times, changing out the water each time, they can be eaten, and this is a traditional food in the rural American Southeast, but I don't want to chance it

British people have introduced it as a pretty, exotic ornamental plant. I think that is very funny considering that here it is a weed associated with places where poor people live, but maybe they're right and I need to look closer to see the beauty.

If you see magenta stains in bird poop it is because they ate pokeweed berries- birds can safely eat the berries whereas humans cannot

This is Plantago lanceolata, Ribwort Plantain

It grows in heavily disturbed soils, in fact it is considered an indicator of agricultural activity. It is successful in the poorest, heaviest and most compacted soil.

The leaves, seeds, and flower heads are said to be edible but the leaves are really stringy unless they are very young. Of course, it is important to be careful when eating wild plants, and make sure you have identified the plant correctly and the soil is not contaminated

I have also heard the strings in the leaves can be extracted and used for textile purposes

and that's some common plants you might often see throughout the world

#plants

[melaninhuntress]

people who get excited about stars, moons and sunsets are my kind of people

[melaninhuntress]

The Spirits do not judge you unfairly for your humanity. Your queerness is sacred and divine, your disability is a piece of your holy puzzle and your body is a blessing no matter how it may come.

The Ancestors have lived it, the trees, the hills, the mountains, the sea and the saints have seen it.

The Spirits do not judge you unfairly for your humanity. Imperfection is wholly and entirely perfect.

#hoodoo #spiritualism #espiritismo #vodou #21 divisions #santeria #atr

[melaninhuntress]

To the nymphs

Sing the nymph's melody The chant of birds and the neigh of Winds the dress of leaves dancing around Voices made of wood and grass claiming: No silence in nature! The revelry of all! Sing the nymph's melody with honeyed tongue.

português:

Cantai a melodia das ninfas A canção dos pássaros e o relincho dos Ventos O vestido de folhas dançando ao alento Vozes feitas de madeira e grama proclamam: Não há silêncio na natureza! Folia de todos! Cantai a melodia das ninfas com voz melíflua!

#nymph worship #nymphai #hellenic polytheism #Hellenic

[melaninhuntress]

Gaia, Watercolor, June 2022

#gaiadeity #gaia

[melaninhuntress]

Day 3: Gaia Chthonia

Gaia Chthonia, Mother of the Earth, And its embodiment to the core. Lady Demeter brings fertility to the fields So we may have the fortune of nourishment, Bounteous all year round, ensuring humanity's survival. You, Mother Gaia, tend to all the wild expanses of the world, Forests, oceans, even deserts, all teeming with life. Demeter may tend or fields, But through you, only you, is all life possible. Even now as Autumn creeps in, Demeter halting all warmth in bereavement, Do we see you everywhere, dear Mother. You know as well as us all That life cannot exist without death. As life turns cold, it is your gentle loving hands That put them to rest, Taking them back within yourself And turning them into fertile soil, That more life may bloom and thrive in it's place, A cycle sustained long before, and long after humanity. Gaia Chthonia, Earth itself, The primordial Mother of All, I praise and honor your name! I would not be here, declaring my admiration, If not for your hand in the divine creation of life. I thank you, Mother Gaia, For providing me with a world of beauty And a life worth living. Even in these waning months, Do I look at the world with delight. I am deeply happy knowing When I, one day, lie with the leaves upon the cold and gentle earth, That only more life can spring from me.

divider credit: [x][x]

#gaia #gaiadeity

[melaninhuntress]

Gaia mother of all life

#gaia #gaiadeity

[melaninhuntress]

Greek Gods 101: Gaea

Gaea is a goddess of the Earth. Excluding the universal offerings, some common offerings include:

Dirt

Plants

Anything Found in Nature (Leaves, Twigs, Flowers, Etc.)

Seeds

Eggshells

Moss

Bones or Other Parts of Animals (Real or Fake)

Natural/Organic Items (Fibers, Foods, Etc.)

For devotional acts, some activities that can be done for her include:

Taking Care of Plants

Cleaning Up Litter

Taking Care of Animals

Sitting in Nature

Foraging

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Feed Wild Animals (i.e. throw some bird seed out)

She is not celebrated in any Athenian holidays.

Disclaimer: Please do not approach wild animals or feed them human food. Doing so would actively hurt the animals. Please do research before feeding something to an animal. Please be sure the other animals in your area can eat the food as well. Research local animals before setting food out.

#gaia #gaiadeity

[melaninhuntress]

#art #wesir #ausar #osiris

[melaninhuntress]

Sutekh and Nut. Two holy beings.

#art #nut #set #sutekh #mother and son #aww

[melaninhuntress]

Hymn to Geb

To Geb, great one who is of the earth, I offer my praise First-born of Tefnut and storm-shunning Shu, beloved of Nuit of the star-strewn sky, O Geb who lies far beneath heaven’s vault, kept ever apart from your dark-cloaked love by the strength of your sire, the lord of the air: such is your solitude, such is your sorrow. O god of the field and the reedy marsh, O nourisher of life, sustainer of existence, O father of snakes, O fairest of geese, yours is the seed within the soil, yours too the first of the green spring shoots; yours is the harvest for which we hope, the life for which we pray. O Geb who grants us the gift of growth, I call to you with gratitude, I look to you in awe.

#geb

[melaninhuntress]

Clear a path for the King on His Day, Make way for the Lord of the Earth! Shake sistrums like rattles and dance like snakes, Offer all things fit for a god, For Geb cometh on His Day! Throw down your seeds and give love to your fields, Make good harvest in your works! Protect the ground beneath you, for it is His back, Nourish the green around you, for they are His body, Kiss the spirit within you, for it is born of His flesh! Hail to the Earth! Hail to the Good God on His Day! Dua, we sing, Dua! And break bread in abundance and hope that this world shall prosper and heal. Dua Geb! Dua Lord of the Mountain! Dua to the Great Cackler, That He may laugh in jubilance at our adoration, But never laugh too loudly! Dua!

#geb day #geb #earth day

[melaninhuntress]

continuing my devotional art; one for Geb! Earth Dad 💚🌱

#geb

[melaninhuntress]

Happy Geb day! 🌏🌾🌱

#geb day #earth day #father geb

[melaninhuntress]

Earth Day 2024

April 22 is Earth Day.  It’s a day to think about the Earth, how important our only home is to us, future generations, and all the plants and critters that inhabit the planet with us.  It’s a day to appreciate Mother Earth, and also to plan for caring for the Earth.  I think it’s also a day to celebrate the growing awareness and action to take better care of the Earth and all the inhabitants.  Let’s look past the pessimism and gloom about the future to celebrate the growing number of initiatives and actions to help care for the earth.  More governments, companies, and individuals are taking action, however large or small, to reduce their impact on the earth.  Everyone I know has implemented small (or not so small) changes in their lifestyle to live more sustainably.  Ever more people are interested in learning how to live more sustainably and care for the earth and its inhabitants.  So don’t let the doom and gloom hold you back from being part of the solution.  Big things or small, they all count.  Pick something that works for you and celebrate Earth Day!

#earth day 2024 #earth day

[melaninhuntress]

Earth Day History

Earth Day, first observed on 22 April 1970, is considered the beginning of the modern environmental movement.

As a response to increasing environmental concerns, like the oil spill in Santa Barbara in 1969, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day to raise awareness about how to protect the environment.

Nelson and activist Denis Hayes organized teach-ins on college campuses that included various groups and organizations, drawing inspiration from protest teach-ins of the era.

With this massive mobilization, the U.S. developed key environmental laws and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created.

Earth Day 2024 Theme

The theme of Earth Day 2024 is “Planet vs. Plastics.”

This is about fighting the big problem of plastic all over the world. Earth Day organization wants to bring people from different places together.

The goal is to make much less plastic, 60% less by 2040.

We want a future without so much plastic. This is not just about having less trash, but it is also about keeping us and the environment healthy.

#earth day #earth day 2024

[melaninhuntress]

“i feel like i have no purpose” You are not a fixed entity. You do not have one grand, singular, constant purpose. As long as you have genuine intent behind your actions, everything you do serves a purpose. As long as you are truly present, you notice that everything contributes to a greater whole. You do not need to dedicate yourself endlessly to one practice to achieve a purpose; allow yourself to oscillate freely between them all. Experiment. You are not one dimensional: treat yourself as such.