An excerpt from my upcoming eBook, The Spirit of the Liberty Cap: A Guide to Foraging & Journeying with Magic Mushrooms
Saturday 3rd October 2020
I'm excited to share that I'm currently writing my first eBook! As the shift of the seasons approached I felt inspired to share my personal practices surrounding the foraging and use of Psilocybin mushrooms–and to encourage those that don't already–to have a deeper connection with them. I've already spent many hours writing and will spend many more, if you would like to support me during this process you can pre-order the eBook below.The finished version will have up to 6 chapters where I take a deep dive into my personal approach to foraging, preparing, journeying with and integrating these profound little mushrooms. I intend on launching the full book on 19th October and by pre-ordering you'll be one of the first to read it. Below you can read an excerpt of the book to get a taste for what it will include. I hope that you enjoy, and I look forward to sharing more with you soon.
Introduction: What the Season Brings
The air becomes wetter and the breeze crisper, the first signs of the shift from Summer to Autumn become apparent. There is a felt sense of the oncoming change of ways; with it comes the call to retreat inwards.
Deep within the soil the mycelium networks begin to awaken and prepare to mushroom. The Liberty caps peak their little heads above the ground, they start to process and breakdown the remnants of summer that lay on the soil and integrate them back into the Earth from which they came. Their duty is to support Natures process of letting go into the death phase of the Cycle of Life.
As humans, we can process in a similar way. We are called to mark the Autumnal Equinox-when the light of day equals the dark of the night-through this we honour the years growth, celebrate the harvest and welcome the onset of the dark days ahead. We are invited to do as Nature does; slow down, integrate and regenerate.
This time can be a great opportunity to set intentions for the season ahead. If we choose to answer the call to go inward and choose to work with the medicines of the land to assist us along the way, it is helpful to consider what these intentions are. Asking questions like "What do I want to process or discover?”, "What am I inviting in?” or "What does connecting to this season and these medicines mean to me?” can bring us closer to refining an intention.
By giving space to these questions before the forage begins, we have the opportunity to already show up as being considerate and respectful towards the Liberty caps, we already connect with the medicine, it is already works through us. The awareness of this concept is a powerful way to deepen the relationship with the mushrooms.
I love how our fascination in mushrooms can support us through the process of Autumn. If we want to forage them, we have to brave the misty cold mornings and continue to get out into Nature despite the good weather declining. It keeps our bodies moving, keep us connected to the Earth, keeps the sunlight on our faces into the depths on Autumn when we otherwise might prefer to spend more time indoors. Nature entices us out, encourages us to be kind to our Body, Mind and Spirit during the times of change, and as mushroom lovers, we can't get enough. We love Nature. Sometimes I wonder, does Nature love us back? When we think about it in this context, when we consider the impact that such mushrooms, not only magic, but also medicinal, can have on our human bodies, hearts and minds, it feels like Nature actually wants to support us. Indeed, I think Nature does love us.