Out of the Shadows

PlantsPathwork

Oct 4

I get a lot of people asking questions because they say they have a hard time finding information online about growing these plants and I think this is a result of a school of thought that's promoted by numerous communities.

My own thinking is that these sacred plants I grow and use, with nightshades in particular, are really no different than growing pretty much any other plant, even to the extent that most of them grow prolifically in their natural habitats.

Edible nightshades are fun and rewarding additions to any vegetable garden again because they tend to be easy to grow when you get the conditions right..e.g. peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes etc. and those natural habitats aren’t that hard to reproduce.

If you are called to add ceremony and ritual to your technique, then let the plant guide you and your connection with the plant will be all the stronger for it but to me, that should be between you and the plant.

Everyday regular plant blogs and articles are the ones that help me the most with tips on adjusting my soil additives as well as dealing with pest problems. I find that what's good for growing edible nightshades is likewise very compatible with the sacred nightshades we use in our truffles.

Do you have a friend who grows amazing bell peppers and tomatoes? To me their advice is just as helpful as anything I may find in a source that only discusses poison plants.

Lattice Henbane, Egyptian Henbane, Mandrakes, Belladonna

I don’t point this out to stir the pot. Rather I really want to bring these beautiful plants back out of the shadows. Enjoy their beauty, healing, and guidance or just their wonderful companionship by growing them yourselves and doing so without all of the added weight of an unnecessary stigma.

Nature and wildlife have been cohabitating with these plants since the beginning of time. This isn’t anything new that we have to suddenly protect the world from. It’s time to bring back that original balance.

Love and respect, even for things we do not fully understand, has got to make sense to most people as a healthier alternative than solutions based in fear.