ings” are far more than that. Natural bulges and
hollows are painted to give both convex and con-
cave 3-D effects, wherein lights and shadows cast by
moving hand-held shell oil lamps would bring the
figures to life! Like those concave hollow bas-relief
of faces that seem to move and follow you around the
room, these figures have a life of their own.
I lagged behind the group as we came back out,
to better study the images. I saw that all these painted
animals were streaming towards the cave entrance—
to be born. As a somewhat dazed initiate made his
way towards the opening along with the animals, he
would emerge from the cliff-face at dawn to see those
very animals grazing in great herds across the valley
floor below. And he would know: We are all born of
the Earth—all Children of the same Mother.The Forest
Any forest that has never been logged is a world
of its own, and connects us to an ancient and primor-
dial Mystery, from before the Age of Men. Tropical
rainforests are the Earth’s oldest living ecosystems.
Many of the fruits and vegetables we eat originated
there. Rainforests now cover only 2% of the Earth’s
surface yet they are the home to over half the animal
and plant species on our planet. Rainforest fruits and
vegetables include; avocados, bananas, pepper, brazil
nuts, cayenne pepper, cashews, cocoa, cinnamon,
cloves, coconut, coffee, cola, corn, eggplant, figs, gin-
ger, peppers, lemons, oranges, papaya, paprika, pea-
nuts, pineapple, rice, winter squash, sweet pepper,
sugar, tomato, turmeric, vanilla, and yams. The medi-
cines of the future will come from rainforests.
When Morning Glory and I moved onto the land
of Greenfield Ranch back in 1977, much of it was deeply
forested with Douglas fir, oak, madrone—even some
redwoods. However, the loggers had gone through
about 50 years before, and had clear-cut some areas.
These were a mess—old tree-stumps, gouged-up “cat-
skinning” roads, and slash (trimmed-off branches) ev-
erywhere. One wide flat place above our main spring
looked like Isengard after Saruman tore up all the trees!
We called it “the Blasted Heath.” Over the next fewyears, we started doing annual New Year’s tree
plantings all over the land, with seedlings we got free
from the Department of Forestry. These were cedar,
Coulter pine, and redwoods—intended for commer-
cial timber. And we planted thousands of them—start-
ing with the Blasted Heath.
We moved off the land in 1985 and just go back
for rituals held there. At Beltaine a couple of years
ago, the present caretakers said they wanted to show
us something. They took us on a hike up the hill to
where the Blasted Heath had been. Only now it was a
deep, lush forest of 50-foot Coulter pines. Nesting
birds sang in the branches, and rabbits scampered off
through the undergrowth. There was a stillness and
peace that radiated through the place—it felt like the
Elven forest of Lothlorien. And all this was a magick
we had created simply by planting for the future.Clearings
Sometimes, in the middle of a thick forest, you will
come upon a clearing—no trees—not even stumps,
but just green grass. Such clearings feel like islands in
the sea or oases in the desert. These are private and
magickal places. When you find such a clearing, go
into the center, and sit or lie down on the grass. Medi-
tate and open yourself to the natural world around
you. Close your eyes, and listen to the sounds of
birds and insects, as they rise and fall, circle and spiral
in the waves of a stereo symphony. Let yourself be
carried by the waves into a realm where the language
has no words, and the Song is in your blood.Faerie Rings
Some kinds of mushrooms will send up their toad-
stools at the outer edge of the underground organism,
making a circle that can be 10, 20, 30 feet or more in
diameter. These are called Faerie Rings because some
kinds of Faeries are considered to be the spirits of the
mushrooms, and the rings are then the places where
they dance in a circle. Some of these Faerie Rings are
formed of psychedelic mushrooms, and some even of
poisonous varieties. You should never lie down (and
especially, never go to sleep!) inside a Faerie Ring—you
might wake up in another time and place altogether!Daniel
Blair-StewartDaniel
Blair-StewartCourse Two: Nature 87
Corrected pages 3rd printing.1.p65 34 6/10/2004, 2:59 PM