How am I a bad Pagan*, you might ask?
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| Wild Mustard, from Illinios Wild Flowers |
Recently, Jason Pitzl-Waters at The Wild Hunt blog posted a link to Chas Clifton’s article “Where You At?” At the bottom of it were twenty questions asking if you knew the land you lived in. Unfortunately, I failed most of them. Name five grasses in your area? Uhm… green grass and prairie grass… Is straw a grass?
I realized that I don’t have much connection to my land. I’ve lived in apartments and the middle of a (small) city all my life. I don’t know exactly where my ancestors came from, but I know five generations have lived in this town, on this land, surrounded by corn and the remains of what came before. This is where I’m at, and I should get to know it.
This idea of getting to know the land of my birth isn’t a new one. I’ve been kicking it around for a while. I got burned out on activism for oceans I’ve only seen once and decided that my energy is better spent working in my own area. I volunteered to help pick wild mustard to help restore a local savannah and I’m really excited about it. I have no idea what it looks like or how to pick it, but I’m ready to learn. I have posters of local flora and fauna I got for free from a state agency and I think I’ll finally get around to putting them up.
I’m going to use Clifton’s list as a checklist of things I should know. I hope by the time I can remember all the answers, I will have made a deeper connection to the spirits of the land I call home.
I challenge you to do the same.
Happy Earth Day!
* I'm not a 'bad' Pagan, just one that feels the need to get more in touch with the planet under her feet. If you too are suffering from not knowing what type of grass your lawn is, don't worry, no one will burn you at the stake - They'd make you identify the tree the stake was made from! :)
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