Lupa - Llewellyns 2021 Witches Companion

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

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Llewellyns 2021 Witches Companion 2020 by Llewellyn Publications.

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First e-book edition 2020

E-book ISBN: 9780738763705

Art Director: Lynne Menturweck

Cover art Tim Foley

Cover designer: Lynne Menturweck

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Interior illustrations:

Tim Foley:

Bri Hermanson:

Rik Olson:

M. Kathryn Thompson:

ISBN 978-0-7387-5489-5

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Contents

Provocative Opinions on Contemporary Topics

Lupa
Loving Nature to Death:
Better Pagan Practices for Your Ecosystem

Susan Pesznecker

Deborah Lipp

Michelle Skye

Kerri Connor
Rediscovering the Maiden
as a Crone

Barbara Ardinger

Nurture Your Body, Mind & Spirit

Autumn Damiana

Cerridwen Iris Shea

Raechel Henderson

Melanie Marquis

Monica Crosson

Diana Rajchel

Day-by-Day Witchcraft

Astrea Taylor
Magical Morning Practices: Making the Most of These
Everyday Liminal Moments

James Kambos

Melissa Tipton

Emily Carlin

Lexa Olick

Elizabeth Barrette

Practices, Rituals & Spells

Ari & Jason Mankey
Make Your Own Witch Tools: Cheap & Easy Ways to
Stock Your Altar

Charlie Rainbow Wolf

Deborah Blake

Tess Whitehurst
Do the Magic,
Then Do the Work

Raven Digitalis
Using Animal Energy &
Body Parts in Magickal Work

Laura Tempest Zakroff
A Witchs Practical Guide
to Visiting Sacred Sites

Calendar with Holidays, New & Full Moons, and
Lunar Phases & Ingresses

Community Forum

Provocative Opinions on
Contemporary Topics

Loving Nature to Death:
Better Pagan Practices for Your Ecosystem

Lupa

M any pagans would describe themselves as nature-based in their path, enjoying hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities. Common pagan imagery includes animals, plants, fungi, and other living beings, as well as the four physical elements, celestial bodies, and many other natural phenomena.

Yet we still fall prey to practices that do more harm than good to the natural world. We also play our own part in climate change, habitat loss, and other major ecological disasters. And many of the practices common in paganism are directly harmful. Here are some ways to make your practice more eco-friendly.

Safely Dispose of Offerings

This is probably the biggest way that pagans have a tendency to inadvertently do damage with good intentions. Just as with garbage, though, there is no going away for things we leave outside, such as offerings or spell components.

Dont leave food offerings out where wildlife can eat them. A lot of the things we like to eat are bad for the wildlife and can make them sick. Wildlife might also not get a complete amount of nutrients from our food; ducks that are fed bread dont eat the natural foods theyre supposed to have, leading to serious wing deformities and other conditions.

Youre also encouraging wildlife to associate humans with food. They lose their fear of humans, which leads to animals getting hit by cars or having to be shot because they got too aggressive in begging for food. When you artificially increase the amount of food available, you are also directly promoting overpopulation, starvation, and disease.

Do keep food offerings away from wildlife. Eat them yourself or give the food to someone in need. Donate money to a wildlife rehabilitation center so they can buy the sorts of foods their animals need. Plant a variety of native plants that offer wildlife food and shelter year-round. (Wild songbirds and hummingbirds are the one exception to the dont feed wildlife rule. These animals are less likely to lose their fear of humans, and bird feeders offset the effects of habitat loss. Never encourage birds to do things like eat out of your hand!)

Dont discard spell bottles, charms, and other non-biodegradable magical items by throwing them into water, tying them to trees, or burying them. Wildlife may eat litter, choke on it, die from a painful intestinal blockage, or slowly starve to death because their stomachs are so full of plastic and trash that they cant eat and digest food. Items tied to tree branches can entangle wildlife and harm or kill the tree. Plastic infests the entire planet, and glass can break and become hazardous to living beings.

Do find better options for your spells that dont involve throwing things away. Make use of items already in nature, such as stones, grass, or legal feathers. If you have to do something destructive, like burning a piece of paper, keep it small. Use non-physical spell aids, like visualizing your intent flying away on the wind or asking a spirit to carry it for you.

Humane Harvesting and
Responsible Foraging

Dont pick all of a particular plant or fungus in a given area. Take no more than 25 percent of what you see, unless there are only very few individuals there. In the case of delicate plants such as trillium, picking the flower or leaves can kill the entire plant. Others, like ghost pipe, grow only every few years in a given area and are best left alone.

Do be a responsible forager. Educate yourself on native plants and which ones are at the greatest risk. Ask other pagans, wildcrafters, and foragers about how to ethically forage in your area.

Dont deliberately introduce a non-native species to a place just so you can harvest it. Its one thing if its your personal garden where you can keep things contained. Its another to go out into a wild area and seed it with non-native herbs or wildflowers. This also goes for fungi; inoculating a dead tree with a non-native fungus can lead to ecological chaos down the road as it spreads from that first host tree.