Permaculture and Fairies: A Perspective

By Michael Pilarski
 
How can permaculture benefit from nature communication? Anyone who has worked closely with indigenous peoples cannot help but notice their respect for nature, other lifeforms and the natural elements of water, earth, air, and fire.  All are given respect.  All are talked to. Shamans are the ambassadors to these realms and other spirit realms. The animals, plants, etc have spirits which we can communicate with.  We communicate with these spirits (intelligences) to seek their aid and/or to placate them. 
 
I have been studying and teaching permaculture since 1981. I have been studying and teaching about nature intelligences since the mid-1970s. Both of these studies have been ongoing concurrently for three decades now and I see no dichotomy. They fit perfectly well together. I do not know anyone into nature intelligences who denies the usefulness of permaculture, but I have met permaculturists who deny the existence or usefulness of working with nature intelligences.
Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs.  It is only religious fundamentalists or fascist states that outlaw spiritual beliefs. Science scoffs at nature intelligences, but at least it does not make it a crime to believe in such.
 
I am somewhat saddened by the virulent anti-spiritual attitude by some permaculture people, including some of the Geoff Lawton crowd. I am more circumspect in mentioning fairies, etc in my permaculture design courses these days.  Some of them would excommunicate us if they could. That said, I make sure to include singing, fun, love and respect for nature into my courses.
 
Here are some ways to work with nature intelligences in designing or implementing permaculture. 
 
* Ask nature intelligences for input into plant selections, placement, companion planting, fertilizing, crop rotations, etc.
 
* Ask for input into placement of buildings, ponds, infrastructure, etc.
 
* Ask for help in bountiful harvests, good plant growth,
 
* Ask for help in controlling pests and diseases.
 
* Use dowsing or awareness of subtle energies to find ley lines, power points and places to put (or not put) elements in the landscape. Australian permaculturist Alanna Moore talks about this in her chapter in the new book Permaculture Pioneers. 
 
* People can use ceremony, prayer and intent to heal the energies of places which have been abused or atrocities were committed on.
 
* People can seek information from nature intelligences in how to restore degraded or contaminated land.  For instance, a restoration team working on cleaning up soil contamination on Vashon Island from the ASARCO copper smelter in Tacoma worked with a nature intelligence communicator to get practical ideas on soil remediation. 
 
* Weather shamanism is about communicating with the forces behind weather.
 
The indigenous worldview incorporates many of these things.  In our contemporary western society there are more and more sources of information on these things including the Findhorn material, Maechelle Small Wright’s Perelandra material, Peter Tompkin’s books and much, much more. 
 
Even though I use these pathways in my work with the land, I definitely also use science and permaculture as well. We still need to use our brains and intellect. We still need to use our finely tuned senses of observation.  Mind and spirit working together are better than either one alone.  Sometimes we refer to it as heart and mind working together. 
 
Nature intelligences come in all sizes. There are small, local nature intelligences which are sometimes referred to as fairies.  There are large and powerful nature intelligences which work with larger areas and processes in the landscape (and waters, atmosphere and fire). Sometimes referred to as devas. Some of us believe that all physical manifestations have spirit intelligences behind/within them.  We can talk to bear, salmon, raven, coyote, cedar, etc. The planet Earth/Gaia has its planetary logos. There is a lunar logos, a solar logos, etc.  From tiny individual flowers to whole ecosystems to planets, stars and galaxies each has their spirit counterparts.  Intelligent, cognizant, powerful and deserving of our respect. As my friend Eileen Kilgren tells us, “Praise the little ones and placate the big ones.”
 
This tiny little article just touches upon the vastness of the spirit realms.  Humans are, or can be, powerful beings in their own right.  Our ability to love, communicate and collaborate with these realms has been the study of shamanistic cultures and mystery schools back into antiquity. The recent age of Christianity and materialistic science has largely drummed these abilities out of most people.  But some people never lost these abilities and countless people today are taking up these studies and practices anew. 
 
There are a number of us within the permaculture movement. A few of us are willing to talk about this publicly.  I am one of them. Alanna Moore is another one and I recommend her books and writings as a bridge between permaculture and this spirit world of nature.  Her main book on this topic is “Sensitive Permaculture”.
 
I firmly believe that permaculture along with nature communication can restore the world’s ecosystems and create an abundant future for all life forms on earth. 
 
If you would like to read more along these lines check out my website www.fairycongress.com  It is the website for the Fairy & Human Relations Congress. In 2012 we will hold our 12th annual Congress (in North-central Washington).  It is the foremost event in the world focused on exploring communication and collaboration between nature intelligences and humans. 
 
With respect for all life,
 
Michael

MICHAEL “SKEETER” PILARSKI is a life-long student of plants and earth repair. His farming career started in 2nd grade and his organic farming career began in 1972 at age 25. Michael founded Friends of the Trees Society in 1978 and took his first permaculture design course in 1982. Since 1988 he has taught 36 permaculture design courses in the US and abroad. His specialties include earth repair, agriculture, seed collecting, nursery sales, tree planting, fruit picking, permaculture, agroforestry, forestry, ethnobotany, medicinal herb growing, hoeing and wildcrafting. He has hands-on experience with over 1000 species of plants. He is a prolific gathering organizer and likes group singing.