Honoring the Wild: Reclaiming Witchcraft and Environmental Activism

By Irisanya Moon

Deeply rooted in environmentalism and activism, Honoring the Wild answers crucially pertinent questions while driving at lasting change. From political demonstrations to personal calls, Irisanya Moon offers a collection of stories and lessons, as told by Reclaiming Witches from around the world, about the facts and fears, the confessions and collaborations within the Reclaiming tradition’s own timeline of activism. Honoring the Wild inspires and informs creativity and purpose while reminding us of all that has come and of all that is left to do. May the wild be blessed and healed by this spell of intention and inspiration.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
• Release date: Jan 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9781789049626

Book preview

Introduction

The Diablo blockade was an initiation; a journey through fear, a descent into the dark, and a return with knowledge and empowerment from within; a death and rebirth that began with a stripping process and promises something at the end. – Starhawk, Dreaming the Dark

This is a short and impossible book. It is an all-too-brief compilation of voices that have been in Reclaiming. It is a collection of snapshots – where bodies have been. Where ritual existed and can exist next. The work of activism is ongoing, imperfect, and an invitation to continue. To change and to adjust to the emerging needs, the insistent call from Earth. The time is always right now.

Activism shows up in many ways, in many forms, and sometimes it shows up, burns out, and disappears. Or returns, in another form. Sometimes activism is less of being in the crowd and more like holding the edges. Sometimes activism is loud. Sometimes it is quiet. Sometimes it is both and beyond. My hope is to bring to light the way Reclaiming Witches and magick makers honor (and honour) the wild.

I am certain this is incomplete. I am certain I will forget or confuse a fact. For that, I take accountability. The words of the writers are as close to their original offerings as possible. The only words that have been adjusted are for clarity and grammar/ spelling/punctuation. The pieces are placed in an order that originally flowed from what was offered, from story to practice to magick and beyond. It is not linear. It is not created with any sense of one piece being more or less important than the next. All of these pieces were given of the heart.

What you will want to know is that I wanted to show the reader, Reclaiming or not, what activism looks like from the inside. While the outside and the pictures and the outcomes and the victories and the disappointments are many, the emotions are just as mighty and many. The ‘why’ has always been more valuable than the ‘how’ to me. Because when you are clear on the direction, you will find a way to get there. When your heart is the compass, the journey reveals itself.

The Earth is hurting. Witches are healers. May the work continue. Blessed be the hands and hearts of each being.

Principles of Unity

¹

Author Note: In my previous book, Pagan Portals – Reclaiming Witchcraft, Reclaiming was in the process of discussing how the Principles of Unity (POU) might need to change to better care for and support BIPOC humans in the tradition. At Dandelion 2019, a global gathering of Reclaiming Witches, the POU did change. I had already written that book before the changes were made, so the following POU is the most current version as of 2021. It will likely change again. It is a living document.

My law is love unto all beings… – from The Charge of the Goddess by Doreen Valiente

The values of the Reclaiming tradition stem from our understanding that the earth is alive and all of life is sacred and interconnected. We see the Goddess as immanent in the earth’s cycles of birth, growth, death, decay and regeneration. Our practice arises from a deep, spiritual commitment to the earth, to healing and to the linking of magic with political action.

Each of us embodies the divine. Our ultimate spiritual authority is within, and we need no other person to interpret the sacred to us. We foster the questioning attitude, and honor intellectual, spiritual and creative