The past couple of years have been pretty rough — with the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to claim lives and producing new variants, and all of the negativity surrounding it. People are acting more aggressively as well, and food shortages are becoming commonplace across the country. We all need a reprieve. Spring 2022 is just around the corner. In fact, it’s practically spring already in some parts of the U.S. — such as where I’m residing — in Las Vegas, Nevada. After a couple-year-long funk, I’m feeling the uncontrollable urge to sow and nurture life. I’m tired of being trapped indoors — as I am sure most people are. So I recommend that we all put on our green witch hats this year, and make 2022 about nurturing ourselves through nurturing nature.
Size doesn’t matter
Whether you’re living in an apartment with a tiny balcony, or a home with a sprawling backyard — you have the room to grow at least a few plants. I currently have a tiny patio space for my own personal garden — and it’s very narrow. Following a combination of “square-foot-gardening” and vertical gardening techniques, I’ve managed to plant enough fruits, vegetables and herbs to theoretically sustain my household — with hopefully some to spare. I planted corn, beans and squash using the “Three Sisters” method in an antique bathtub I had in my yard, and planted many of my vegetables alongside wall-mounted trellises. Tiered beneath many of these plants are vegetables, herbs and edible flowers that don’t grow very tall, and can therefore utilize the space beneath the larger plants. I also have 20-gallon fabric planters containing potato and carrot plants, as well as broccoli, cabbage and a variety of green beans and peas. These planters are easy to move and don’t take up as much space as big bulky plastic or ceramic ones. A couple of these planters on your own small patio could provide you with enough growing space for at least two tomato plants and a variety of veggies to grow around them. This YouTuber shows off her tiny balcony garden in many of her videos, and they’re incredibly inspiring.
Your own sacred space
Creating a small (or even large) garden gives you your own sacred space for meditation and spell-casting. If this is an outdoor growing area, it can help bring you from the indoors — if you’ve been quarantined during this pandemic and spending a lot of time inside. The fresh air and energies of the plants you choose to grow will help recharge you, and inspire you.
Even an indoor growing area can become a beautiful place for meditation and spellwork. For example, an aesthetically pleasing kitchen with hydroponic jars of herbs and flowers can be a calming environment. A bedroom altar surrounded by golden pothos, snake plants and similar foliage is also a positive change.
Routine is cathartic
The routine of caring for your plants — whether you grow just a few, or an entire garden — is a cathartic experience. It allows you to let your mind wander, or even focus if you wish. You may even find it easier to slip into a sort of meditative trance while you water and tend to your plants on a daily basis. The routine of caring for your houseplants, vegetables or flower gardens helps relieve stress, and it helps in keeping you disciplined. This discipline definitely transfers over into your spiritual practice, since the routine of plant care — when you’re a green witch — is magical.
Your own energy and growth improves
While you stick with the routine of caring for your plants and tending a garden for spiritual, sustainable or aesthetic use, you’re also working on your own personal energy and growth. While nurturing your garden, you’re giving yourself time to think and reflect, and time to care for yourself. Eventually, you may find that you lack time or patience for things that don’t contribute to the energy you’re cultivating, or you may feel less inclined to react negatively in stressful situations. That’s not saying that you’ll never experience a negative situation or emotion again, but the meditative rhythm of your routine could help in grounding you nonetheless.
Ingredients at your fingertips
Aside from the spiritual and meditative benefits of caring for plants, the material benefits are immediately present. A vegetable garden — especially one with a good variety of plants — will provide you with sustenance. A well-seeded herb garden gives you access to nature’s medicine cabinet — and spice rack. An exotic garden of witchy plants gives you immediate access to ingredients for any spell you wish to cast. This also saves you money from having to purchase the very same ingredients.
