Communicating with Plant Spirits - Part 4

This is part 4 of a 5-part series on plant spirit communication.
Click here to read part one.

In this lesson we move deeper into the personhood of the plant and the presence of their spirit in our work. This is by and far one of my favorite practices- and it’s one that creates a great depth of intimacy between human and plant while helping us to remember the many virtues and blessings the plant offers us.

In order to accomplish this practice, you’ll need to know a bit about the plant before you. You can study materia medica books, read monographs written by herbalists, look up the botany of the plant and learn about where they grow, what their scientific name is and why, what plants they’re related to, and so on. You can also search for lore and legend that include the plant or see how people that work with herbal magic work with this plant. Make notes of key points that stand out as interesting, meaningful, or powerful to you.

Invoking the Plant Spirit
Even though we sit or stand in front of the plant as they grow, we will still be offering an invocation as it opens up our intuition to the deep personhood of the plant while honoring them with a recitation of their virtues.

Taking the list of key points you made earlier, you can turn these into points of invocation for the plant spirit using the following framework…

I call you, great (plant name), from the green realm.
You who are (say a virtue such as ‘from the Mediterranean but now thriving across the world’)
Bringing us (say some medicinal or magical virtues of the plant such as ‘calming to the nerves and soothing to the aching heart’).
Great (plant name), with your (describe the plant here),
I ask you to join me in this sacred space that we might strengthen our kinship and commune with one another.

Here’s an example of an invocation written for one of my closest allies, Linden…
I call you, great Tila, from the green realm!
Linden, who lines the streets with medicine and magic,
You who bring us medicine of the heart and comfort to the center of our beings,
You who encourage us to speak our heart’s desire and always honor our true self.
Great Tila, with your heart-shaped leaves and the intoxicating scent of your blossoms which provide much joy to humans and bees alike, I ask you to join me here in this sacred space where I can honor you and learn from your wealth of wisdom.

As you can see, the invocation is a way to call on the plant spirit by acknowledging traits that are special to them and that feel important to your connection. These invocations help to call the plant more into your presence while also attuning your own subtle senses to just who it is you’re working with.

Experiencing the Plant Spirits
Now that you’ve done your invocation, it’s time to settle in, sit back, and just bathe in the presence of the powerful plant person before you. Open yourself up, listen from everywhere, and try to focus your senses- especially your mind- on being in the presence of otherness.

If another human were standing in front of you, you’d be able to experience their presence, their seeing you, and your seeing them. Try to duplicate that feeling and apply it to the plant spirit.

Spend as much time as you like here, and follow any journeys or inspirations the plant may lead you on.