Summertime is a busy time in any garden. Bees are buzzing, the sun is shining, and weeds sometimes seem to be growing twice as fast as what you’ve planted. It’s time to take stock. Some crops are thriving; others might be attacked by bugs, or choked out by weeds. In my last post, I spoke of planting magical seeds in your Garden of Dreams. Now, as we approach high summer, the garden is burgeoning. It’s time to assess your unfolding magic, and do a little tending and weeding.
Delight in your garden!
Many of us are spending more time in our gardens these days. Any gardener will tell you–summer is a brutal, miraculous, breathtakingly beautiful season. It’s hard work, but it is surely an amazing thing to taste the fruits of your labors, fresh from the garden and still warm from the sun. The first baby greens; tiny carrots freshly pulled from the mud and washed clean by rain. That first plate of fried green tomatoes- can’t you just taste it? I can. The first fruits of your Garden of Dreams are equally miraculous and juicy-sweet, and just as hard-won. Tend your garden well, and you can look forward to a bountiful harvest come autumn. Savor the first fruits- your brand-new poems; your ideas and dreams shining in the sun. Nothing compares to a freshly-plucked tomato, or a berry of inspiration, ripening on the vine.
What threatens your Garden of Dreams?
Summertime can also be a deadly season in the garden. Infestations, weeds, too much fierce summer sun, not enough rain, or a freak hailstorm can all conspire to ruin your crops. So, too, can the dreams you’re growing be imperiled.
An infestation of in-laws once derailed my creative life for a week. (A very long week.) A friend of mine once dated a toxic man who drained her creative energy to such an extent that she eventually ended the relationship. What else can endanger a creative dream? Dysfunctional relationships; stress over money; a deadly pandemic; a day job that robs us of time and energy for the true soul-work. Predators, varmints, and evil Inner Editors can invade your sanctuary, wreaking havoc and raiding your garden.
Dream Garden Magic
Cast a circle. Take a moment today to take stock of the state of your creative soul. What are you striving to grow in your Garden of Dreams? Write down a list of those things which help that garden thrive. On a separate page, write a second list of the predators, pests, and weeds that endanger your Garden of Dreams. If you wish, you can also depict each item on these lists with a sketch, cartoon, poem, caricature, or other creative work. Survey your Garden of Dreams, both flowers and weeds.
You gotta weed anyway, so let’s make that chore work on a magical level, too. If possible, do this ritual outside, in your own garden or backyard. Name each weed you find in the garden as something on your impediments list, and then pull each one out of the ground in turn. For example, you could name that bindweed for your toxic boss, and yank him out of the ground. Here’s systemic racism, let’s pull that weed, too. Be careful, you might need gloves. Weeds can be strong, thorny, and irritating to sensitive skin—and sensitive souls. This symbolizes the culling of all that threatens your goals, your well-being, your soul-work.
The garden of your mind
Practicing inside? No problem. This ritual can be done anywhere—simply use your imagination! Visualize the earth beneath you, holding you up. Feel it give under your knees as you crouch to pull the weeds up out of the ground. Can you smell the wet mud from last night’s rain, that sweetness in the air? See the blue butterflies flutter by; watch the earthworms squiggle. Fat ladybugs dance in the air with the faeries, and the Muses are smiling. Put up a strong fence to keep out the predators and critters that would trample your careful green shoots and tender little blooms. Defend your creative turf; set boundaries. Ask the Muses for their protection; ask them to watch over this garden and help defend it against the many dangers that can jeopardize your bright sanctuary here.
Your creative dreams are growing wild and free. Walk through your Garden of Dreams, observing, taking notes, sketching what you see. Pay attention—are your dreams getting enough sunlight and rain? Which dreams are strong and thriving? Is anything running as rampant as kudzu, taking over, choking out other dreams?
Zucchini is known to do this; it will simply take over, robbing nearby crops of sun, water, and nutrients and gradually killing them. One summer we when I was a girl, we planted zucchini, which gradually took over most of the garden and produced freakishly huge fruit that seemed to sprout up overnight, even though we were already sick of eating it. This brings my days as a preschool teacher to mind. Although it was rewarding, it was the zucchini in my creative garden at that time. I had no energy left at the end of the day.
Release that which does not serve you
Which dream-flowers are weak, or in need of a little TLC? Can they be saved, or is it time to cull them from the rest? When weeding, you’ll want to be careful to make sure those living things you’re uprooting are really weeds. If they are, burn them in a ceremonial fire and sprinkle the ashes in the compost pile, making the soil richer for next year’s harvest.
The Crow Women have the perfect song for this, as always. It’s one of my favorites; In The Fire. You can heap up the weeds you’ve pulled from your garden and let them dry, then give them up to Kali in a satisfying fire. If you didn’t have an actual garden to weed for this ritual, you can use your written list and burn that. Burn these burdens in the fire and make space for your Garden of Dreams to flourish.
Is it a weed?
What makes a weed a weed, anyway? Some weeds are edible; you can make wine from dandelions, and the leaves are delicious in salad. Some weeds are beautiful- let them inspire you to create a bouquet, a sketch, a poem, a song, or some other work of art. Can they be composted, food for later inspiration? What can you learn from this process?
Sometimes, there’s a wild seed in the garden. It sends up a strange new plant where none was before. I put a cactus outside last summer to get some sun. This year, something germinated underground and sent up an odd little shoot; right next door to my surprised cactus. It is beautiful in its own way, a slim green stalk with a starburst of spires at the top, like a propeller. I’m still not sure what it is- but the cactus doesn’t seem to mind having a wild new neighbor. What’s the lesson here? If you’re not sure, don’t yank a dream up by the roots. Sometimes it’s best to just wait and see what blooms!
Bless your Garden of Dreams and bind the spell
Now that you’ve identified the weeds and pulled them out, and identified the unexpected friends and let them be, tend your garden. In your mind or in your yard, fertilize the soil and water the tender little shoots and leaves. Smile down on them like sunshine. Your Garden of Dreams is ready for a new season, for the productivity of High Summer. Ask the Earth Mother Goddess to bless your garden and support you in your dreams. When you feel complete, release the circle.
This ritual calls you to carve out time in your daily life for the sacred. Whether you have a physical garden or not, your Garden of Dreams is always there for you. Even amid these chaotic times, centering yourself in your Garden of Dreams can nourish your soul, and give you strength for the fight ahead.
