A podcast about engaging with the traditions of plants, place, and magic in the modern world.
Questions for Jordan can be directed to The Root Circle: lisa@therootcircle.comOther links from our discussion:Sicilian Pilgrimage Trips with Radici SicilianeMusic by: Auld Lang Syne
Diana received a BA in British & American History and Literature (Harvard College, 2005), a MUP (Master's of Urban Planning) in Cultural Heritage and Neighborhood Development (Harvard Graduate School of Design, 2012), and a MA in Landscape Studies (Harvard University, 2018). She loves public libraries, baroque chamber music, and speculative fiction, and is the mother of two boys, a cat, and two kitchens: one in Cambridge, MA, and another at “Beaver Meadow,” in Sunderland, MA. She served as the Doing History Curator for Cambridge Historical Society from 2016-2020, participating in AASLH award-winning and Mass Humanities grant funded programs, and in 2020-21 was the Researcher-in-Residence at the deCordova Art Museum's exhibition “Visionary New England,” with her project “annsisters : the Lost Library of Latona.”To follow Diana and learn more about her work go to:Diana's newsletter: CONVENTICLEDianalempel.me Instagram: @the_annsistersOther links from our discussion:Prudence CarterBook: Ethnic Options by Mary C. Waters or this Short version PdfBook: On Tyranny, by Timothy SnyderKaren Ward and Slí An ChroíNew Bedford Waterfront FestivalMusic by: Auld Lang Syne
MaryBeth is a writer and a practitioner of ancestral folk magic of her ancestors (from Sicily and mainland Italy). She is deeply devoted to knowing and understanding her roots and learning their ancient and not-so-ancient ways of being together, and with the land. She also gathers people on her ancestral land of Sicily to anchor in the earth, village practices, food stories, ancestral arts, dance, music, and celebration—all within community. To learn more about her work: @marybethbonfiglio and @radicisiciliane Kara (she/they) lives on Ohlone land in Oakland, CA.She is a folk herbalist and an ancestral medicine connector. She creates a container for people to connect with their ancestors, the elements, the plants and with their bodies.The years of ancestral healing work she has practiced has led to ancestral medicine rooted in her Italian, Mediterranean and European folk ways. Kara offers seasonal plant medicine classes, private herbal consultations for specific concerns and preventative holistic self care. As well as private ancestral connection sessions, helping individuals to find their own ancestral medicine within. She is on instagram @cimarutaremedies and more info can be found at www.cimarutaremedies.com Links and notes from this episode: Angela Puca, Phd: https://www.youtube.com/c/AngelasSymposium/about The Taranta project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtswRJcVI1E Tribe from Brazil mentioned by Kara: Huni Kuin people https://www.iskubu.de/huni-kuin/ Dare Sohei as mentioned by Marybeth: https://bodyaltar.orgBackground image: photo of altar by Kara WoodMusic by: Auld Lang Syne
Donate: TINY HOME PROJECTIn this episode we talk about her activist endeavors including her latest tiny house project located in Mohawk Territory at Akwesasne that supports individuals coming home from prison/rehabilitation and reintegrating into community. She has been successfully fundraising for the construction of the first Tiny home and it has been delivered. Donations continue to be needed to complete the inside renovations and fulfill the goal of several more tiny homes.Jonel is currently working for Kahwatsiraien:ton which is founded in supporting the families of Ohero:kon. She has dedicated six years as a council member and lead Auntie for all adolescent girls entering their first year of fasting in Ohero:kon “Under the Husk”, which is the Rights of Passage for youth in Akwesasne. Through ceremony these youth commit to four years of fasting in which they attend weekly gatherings throughout the winter months where traditional/modern teachings are presented to the young fasters and their families. All with the intentions of receiving a vision, insight or guidance on the purpose of their journey into adulthood.She recently spent five years cultivating support and experience around violence with the Seven Dancers Coalition, as Community Outreach, located in Upstate New York on the U.S./Can political border of her home territory in Akwesasne. The Coalition seeks to educate Tribal communities and service providers through trainings and presentations on Sexual Assault, Domestic violence, Campus Safety, Teen Dating, Sex Trafficking and Stalking. She was a recipient of 2020 Visionary Voice Award, nominated by the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, granted by the National Sexual Assault Resource Center.She is also a member of the Section 84 parole board of Akwesasne and the Neh Kanikonriio Council which is a restorative justice initiative that integrates indigenous ways of mediation to reduce incarceration and provide a more interpersonal means of healing for both parties. In 2019 Jonel was picked as one of ten women nationally to represent a fellowship for formerly incarcerated or directly impacted woman of color, through the Community Change organization. With peer to peer mentorship, community organizing skill building, and cultivating change in the hearts of women directly impacted by the social violence, prison systems and immigration. In 2020 she was accepted to be on a national cohort of women through Columbia University's Women Transcending fellowship that was organized to support formerly incarcerated women build power, gain resources and strengthen leadership development. In addition Jonel was extended an invitation to sit on the national #FREEHER board with the Circle for Justice Innovations which give out grant opportunities for women of color who are in their communities working to address mass incarceration.NOTES AND LINKS:+Go Fund Me: Akwesasne's transitional tiny home project+Jonel Beauvais on Instagram: @jonelb27+Welcome Home Circle Facebook page: a circle of formerly incarcerated community members of Akwesasne who want to support those coming back into our community from Incarceration. See photos of the first tiny home here!+The Seven Dancers Coalition+Music by : Auld Lang Syne
Notes and Links:Blood + Belonging: An Ancestral Arts Wisdom School @ Marybethbonfiglio.comRadici Siciliane on instagram: @radicisicilianeWhapio Diane Bartlett at The Matrona; transformational Programs in therealms of Birth, Healing and WisdomkeepingMusic for this episode by: Auld Lang Syne
Notes and Links:For The Good Inc.Phoenix Radio: 95.5fm The HeatThe Utica Phoenix Independent NewspaperJane Elliot: Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Anti-Racist ExerciseUtica’s Juneteenth Music Fest RecordingMusic for this episode by: Auld Lang Syne
Links:Tom Porter (Sakokwenionkwas-“The One Who Wins”), Bear Clan Elder of the Mohawk Nation at Kanatsiohareke (‘Gah nah joe hah lay geh): Kanatsiohareke Mohawk CommunityKaypacha Lescher weekly Pele Report: Astrology for the Soul April 29, 2020Book by Liz Greene: Saturn: A New Look at an Old DevilMusic by: Auld Lang SyneLisa Fazio and The Root Circle: therootcircle.com
Links:Music by Auld Lang SyneSyracuse Herbal Study GroupNAIMH North American Institute of Medical Herbalism: Covid-19 Resource pageStephen Buhner’s Covid-19 ProtocolRosalee de la Forêt Video about the Elderberry ControversyJanet Kent and Dave Meesters: Terra Sylva School of Botanical MedicineMatthew Wood: Matthew Wood Institute of HerbalismLauren’s recent blog post: Considerations for Covid-19Lisa’s blog post: Getting to Know White PineLauren’s blog post on ColtsfootLauren’s recent writing on Viruses and The Respiratory SystemLisa’s google doc : Corona Season Herbs
Christine is a licensed cosmetologist, holistic beauty practitioner, and eco-human rights activist. She is the former owner and operator of Faces of Astarte,a once popular eco-salon/spa in Little Falls, NY, that attracted clients from across the United States from 2006 to closing a year ago in March 2019.Christine was catapulted into activism when her rural agricultural community was sited for a regional landfill and incinerator in 1989; she been an environmental, social justice and human rights activist since, her work recognized by the New York State Labor and Environment Network, Parents Magazine, Parenting Magazine, Herkimer County Legislature, and The White House; she was an official delegate to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg South Africa in 2002.Christine pursued a conventional cosmetology license with the intent of introducing natural, safe, ecologically responsible approaches to self care. Her new mail order business Goddess Beauty LLC offers pure organic herbs used to color hair with new products coming soon ChristineShahin.comShe is known throughout her community as the “mudder” and has introduced the use of Henna for hair coloring and as a medicine of beauty by “mudding” (henna-ing) women across the United States.Topics we discuss this episode:*The pros and cons of “sustainability”*Natural hair coloring with Henna*The herbal actions of Henna*Alopecia-hair loss types and herbal treatments*The traditional use of Henna by people of the SWANA region*The word SWANA-South West Africa North Africa*How to define a deeper understanding of “beauty”*The art of adornment as a sacred practice*Eco-justice and how Christine helped fight a landfillLinks:*Christine’s Book: Natural Hair Coloring*Christine’s Equinox Retreat: A Retreat & Women Empowerment Spring Equinox Weekend*Musician Diane Patterson*The Tswaing Crater, South Africa: Twsaing Crater*Kids Against Pollution - KAP*The Babushkas of Chernobyl*Article by Christine in Arab American National Media Organization: Arab Beauty Naturally: Finding the Goddess in Lebanon*National Grid Power Authority Green Energy page: Green UP*Music by Auld Lang Syne: Seeds***If the app your listening on doesn’t support links you can view them at: therootcircle.com or apple podcasts****If you’d like to donate to the podcast and sustain our ongoing work here please go to: therootcircle.com
Links:Music by Auld Lang SyneUtica Herbal Study GroupArticle by Lisa: Radicle and Rhizomati: Notes From a Folk HerbalistWe started this podcast on a “shoestring” with nothing but iPhone earbuds, our love of and devotion to the plants, and the dedication of our time but are hoping to eventually upgrade. If you can and would like to donate to support the continuance of this work it we would be sincerely grateful.To Donate: therootcircle.com