The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/author/sheri/page/5)
Sheri Barker has been a solitary practitioner for nearly forty years. Her relationships with magic, elemental energies, spirits, and her ancestors are the foundation of her daily life. They enrich her work as a witch, writer, homesteader, wildlife enthusiast, gardener, and human being. She is a columnist at The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org) and also publishes perspective essays on her blog at https://www.onthebearpath.com. Sheri lives in an ancient river valley in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, immersed in nature, spirits, and realms beyond this one. Oh, and books...there are always books, words, and creative activities to be explored!
When I purchased this home and land, I did more than take title to some property. I made a covenant with the land and the land spirits to care for them and all the lives they hold. To work to nourish them and help them provide for the animals and the winged and crawly creatures who, in turn, sustain the land.
Everything felt and seemed peaceful and quiet until my monkey-minded self interrupted my focus to wonder what on earth that raven was doing sitting so quietly for so long. Perhaps he wanted to see if I was still as funny as I believed. Who knows the mind of a raven?
Here in the wilderness of October, there are no veils, no doorways, and no thresholds for those who are willing and able to walk between the worlds.
“What are these pillars, Gramma? Why do they feel so strange?” She stopped on the sidewalk and looked at me over the top of her glasses and said, “You ask strange questions, Sheri Ann.”
For the past few years, troubled as they have been, the energy leading into the arrival of autumn has been all about getting ready; preparing for lean times, stocking up, building community connections, and helping one another. That need still exists, of course, and is more important to be met than ever it has been.