Product Sections
Shopping Cart
Items:
,
Value:
|
Nature
Nature
WALKS AND WOODS
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." - John Muir
I believe that nature plays an incredibly important role in our existence here on this planet. There is a reason that people feel better when they look upon the greenery of a lovely garden, or a beautiful forest.
Getting out into nature, is so important for our general health and wellbeing. I would recommend that you spend at least a few hours a week, spending time surrounded by trees and the beautiful energy that they so freely give. If you're having a bad day, go out into some woods, or a park or your own garden and just spend some quiet time amongst the flowers and trees, you really will feel better.
I am lucky enough to live close to Westonbirt Arboretum, and have spent a lot of time there. I'm not necessarily someone who loves walking, but I do enjoy the peace and tranquility that is to be found in natural surroundings. If you can, spend some time just sitting with your back against the trunk of a tree and enjoy the peace and quiet. If you feel comfortable, close your eyes and do some meditating. You will immediately feel a lot calmer and you will get a real sense of peace.
I think all too often we take nature for granted - yet she provides so much for us. Healing remedies are to be found in plants, food and drink and life sustaining products are all provided by nature.
Nature is actually created perfectly to provide everything we could possibly need in this life. The next time you have the opportunity to get out into some natural surroundings, try to take the time to notice how beautiful and perfect every blade of grass, and every flower is. That in itself is an incredibly healing thing to do. The more you appreciate beauty and gifts such as nature in your life, the more you attract these qualities to yourself, in the form of your life experiences.
I have included below a small list of herbs and how they can help you to heal.
| HERB | HELPS WITH |
| Alfalfa | May reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease |
| Aloe | Stomach disorders, restoring skin tissue, burns and sores |
| Basil | Nausea, gas pains, dysentry |
| Chillies | Bursitis, arthritis, shingles |
| Chives | Stimulating appetite, digestion |
| Garlic | A natural antibiotic, useful for many illnesses including colds, coughs and colic |
| Mint | Stomach bloating, toothache, hives |
| Parsley | Water retention, menstrual stimulation, gas pains and colic |
| Rosemary | Circulation, digestion, headaches, depression |
| St Johns Wort | Anxiety, depression, wounds and burns |
| Turmeric | Anemia, diabetes, hemorrhoids, inflammation |
| Thyme | Digestion, wounds, respiratory infections |
I firmly believe that Nature Therapy will become more common and important in the future. Being in nature itself is a form of therapy. There are many nature spirits who will provide healing and support for you. Their tasks are to protect our natural environment. They are kindred spirits who will welcome us into nature, if we come with respect and open hearts.
For thousands of years, there have been 'myths' about little people, fairies, and the like. People nowadays dismiss these stories as being tales. But where and why did these stories start? I ask you to always keep your mind open, we are novices in understanding who inhabits this planet. Would you rather the world was a boring place with no-one there to help us, or (like me) would you prefer to believe in magic and miracles? Be honest with yourself and allow yourself to open up enough to let the healing energy of nature and nature spirits in. I believe in nature spirits because I can feel their energy in natural surroundings. Keep yourself open and you will feel it too. The following list is compiled from The Fairy Bible by Teresa Moorey.
WATER FAIRIES
Do not be put off from attracting water fairies by the stories of seduction, treachery and danger that gather around these exquisite creatures. Our culture is predominantly rationalistic and logical and therfore we tend to devalue and repress the emotional element. Feelings that are denied may be dangerous indeed, for eventually they can overwhelm us. Water is allied to feelings and simply because water fairies are close to this Element, they can help and heal us, if we let them.
The Selkie
The story of The Selkie comes from the Scottish Islands of Orkney and Shetland. A Selkie is a seal-woman, whose soulful eyes betray the fact she has a human soul. The message of the Selkie is to hear the call of your heart, but understand that you must be honest with yourself.
The Undine
Undine means wave, and undines are the sea fairies of ancient Greece who appeared in the Aegean Sea as seahorses with human faces. Undines teach us to appreciate and accept the beauty and mystery of their world, without expecting to understand it. Paradoxically, in this way we may come to know it, deep in our souls.
Ningyo
Ningyo is a Japanese water fairy who cries pearls instead of tears. Ningyo teaches us to have faith and acceptance, without trying to explain everything. And to also appreciate what we have now.
The Gwargedd Annwn
Pronounced Grageth Anoon, this is a Welsh water sprite, usually female, blonde and slender. Because of their beauty, these sprites are irresistible to men, yet they can be devoted wives - if their mortal spouses deserve them. Benign and generous, the Gargedd Annwn offers all the blessings of fairy magic to humankind. These water sprites continue to hope that we will be able to join them in their world of enchantment and light. Our task is to keep practising.
The mermaid
Mermaids are well known in folklore as having the upper body of a beautiful woman and the tail of a fish. They have wondrous voices, and their haunting songs travel over the waves, as they sit on rocks combing their hair while looking into mirrors. The mirror and comb are linked, in the Greek tongue, with the vulva. The ancients often regarded sexuality as sacred, and mermaids echo this.
The Kelpie
While all water spirits can be tricky, for the most part they are charming - not so The Kelpie. This spirit appears as a grey horse, which may seem friendly at first, but once it lures the traveller onto its back, they are stuck, and drowned as The Kelpie plunges into water submerging the rider. The message of The Kelpie is that nature has a savage side, and is to be respected.
The Nix
The Nix is a German water fairy who is very hard to spot, because he dives swiftly beneath the waters when approached. Nixen and Nixies reflect our own human sexuality which we may repress and which can mislead or betray us. Nixen and Nixies follow their own pleasure, and we too must follow our hearts if we are to find magic.
Melusine
Tales of Melusine or Melusina occur in Scotland, France, Luxembourg, Germany and many other countries. Melusine can teach women how to recover their lost powers of healing, wisdom, sensuality and freedom. And for men who truly honour her and respect her wishes and desires, she promises joy and fulfilment.
The Naiad
Niads are water nymphs, the spirit of streams, fountains and wells of ancient Greece. Naiads and other nymphs are the guardians of the nurturing gifts of Mother Earth. If you sit beside a stream or spring you will soon be aware of the gentle presense of the Naiad, she will bless you if you clear any rubbish from her area.
The Nereid
Sometimes less friendly than Naiads, Nereids dwell in the sea, each of them ruling over a specific stretch of ocean. Like the Selkie, Nereides may inhabit seal-skins. They are credited with protecting sailors rather than luring them to their death. However, they can be touchy and may inflict a human who sees them with anything from blindness to mutilation. A kindly Nereid may gift a child with magical protection.
Lorelei
Lorelei is a lovely German water fairy, specific to The Rhine where she lures men onto the rocks by playing her harp and singing. Lorelei was a beautiful girl so exquisite that no man could resist her. Other women became jealous and demanded she be executed as a witch. Instead she was sent to a nunnery, escorted by three Knights. But on the way, lamenting her long lost love, the only man she had ever loved, she looked down into The Rhine, slipped away from the Knights and flung herself into the waters, and was never seen again in mortal form.
The Drac
Dracs are French water fairies who live beneath the Seine in an enchanted city. Sometimes they also live in caves. Dracs can take many forms, one of which is a Golden Chalice. Like all otherworld encounters, meeting the Drac is an initiatory experience that can change a person for ever. The chalice is a feminine symbol, speaking of the womb and fruitfulness.
AIR FAIRIES
Air is all around us, giving us life second by second even though we are largely unaware of it. Further than this, air carries the power of the Word - in other parlance, of the vibration of power that initiates creation. Sound travels through air, communication is airborne. The delight of music comes the same way. Inspiration derives from the Latin spiritu, meaning 'to breathe'.
Vila
These Slavonic fairies have a special relationship with human beings. Each community traditionally had its own Vila, who guarded its harvest and taught the civilized arts of growing herbs and fruit and managing animals with kindness. Air is the element that best symbolises clarity, purity and trust. Faires abhor breaches of trust, none more so than the Vila. The Vila show us that if we turn away from our own inner natures and the true bond we have with nature, then isolation and emptiness will be the price we pay. Reconnecting with the Vila can make us whole.
Odin, The All-Father
Odin is a mighty spirit, who, in days of old, ruled in strength and wisdom over the Gods of Norsemen. Odin brings the gift of being able to think the unthinkable and change our minds, not from caprice but from widening perspectives. He is also a God of the dead, signifying that death is just another movement from one state to another. Seek him when the wild winds blow at midnight and listen for the call of his ravens, deep within your soul.
The Valykyrs
The Valykyrs or Valkyries were Odin's special battle-maidens. Beautiful creatures, they have flowing golden hair, and arms white as the moon. The love goddess Freyja leads them, wherever there is need for such a quest as theirs. The Valkyrs bring the message of the sweet release of death. Perhaps they come to convey that, however sore the strife may be, beauty and peace overlay it in the end.. In them we can find help with courage and vision.
Hermes
Hermes was recognised by ancient Greeks as a powerful messenger-spirit. The Roman's knew him as Mercury, and he has wings on his sandals to help him escape from the trouble he often causes! Hermes is a tricky sprite indeed, threatening to undermine all that is held dear. With a whisk of his travelling cape, Hermes reveals new perspectives and then - whisk! - the scene changes again. For Hermes is truly wise and brings the message that the only certain thing in life is change.
"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order." - John Burroughs
To go to books, CD's and DVD's on herbs click here.
|
 |
WITHIN THE UK
For more information on forests and walks around the UK click here.
The Wildlife Trusts is the largest UK voluntary organisation dedicated to conserving the full range of the UK's habitats and species. For more information or to donate click here.
|
|
WITHIN AUSTRALIA
To find natural attractions and tours, supported by Ecotourism Australia click here.
The nature conservancy is an organisation that works to preserve plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on earth. For more information or to donate to this worthwhile cause click here.
|
|
Nature
|
