The Sustainable Goddess; 11 ways to be eco-conscious ...
Updated: Jan 12
Today is Earth Day and it’s a great day to educate yourself, others, take action in shifting climate change, and start being more eco-conscious. It’s wonderful that we have a special day dedicated to our Earth, however, global warming doesn’t just get any better on April 23rd. Earth Day is every single day you are alive on this planet. We cannot reiterate that enough!
Even if you had nothing to do with what our parents did or did not do 20 something years ago or you feel like you as one person can’t make a difference, or for the ones who sadly just don't give a give a fuck.. Take a moment and really think about this perspective; in the physical plane and in the spiritual plane… We must be the generation that shifts this thinking because whether you like it not, our actions are impacting our planet's climate and it’s getting worse. So yes, one person can really make a difference because you are part of the collective consciousness if you're reading this.
If you use any elements from nature in your spell work, rituals, or regular daily life; from the sage used to smudge to the water used to bathe, then it is only right to be eco-conscious. As women connected to the divine feminine source, it is our responsibility to cater to our planet’s wellbeing. If we are the sentient beings advance enough to create and develop ideas for our own comfort and convenience, then we are the ones that need to take responsibility for the consequences.
As women, we have a lot in common with mother nature; from the power of our creative wombs to the history and current issues of exploiting virgin forests.
Most importantly as eclectic witches, we are the advocates for our Mama Earth. The women connected and working with their personal divine magic and who work with the elements, crystals/minerals, have planet babies, use palo santo, essential oils, flowers, incense or herbs. That means we are representatives! So why not be the best sustainable Goddess you can be?
We created a list in honor of our Mother Earth so you can start taking action today and hopefully every day after. This is a list is for anyone and everyone, not just for our fellow witches, healers, and women…. So please share it with others cause sharing is caring.
1. AWARENESS
Establish an Animism relationship with nature.
What kind of relationship do you have with nature? Do you a relationship with her? Or him? Or it? Animism is the experience of having a relative relationship with a natural phenomena. An inanimate and/or intangible energy that is not human, like mountains, the ocean, a forrest, your house plants, or your cat. Take a moment and meditate outside in nature. Observe the wild life of the mini ecosystems in the city. Go you your local public park and instead of people watching do some nature watching.
2. RECYCLE, REUSE, REPURPOSE
Thank you for recycling if you already do, but remember, that’s just the first step. It’s probably second nature to some, but there are still people, even communities that don’t have the resources to recycle. So let’s help each other out. My building does not recycle (yet), but I discard of my recyclables with the help of our neighbor, who has a recycle bin. Talk to your landlord, go to your leasing office or visit your county website to see how you can start. Here is a link to the Miami-Dade county website to get more info on recycling.
Reuse the jars of jellies and jams for sugar or loose herbs. Repurpose the fancy tea containers for toiletry things like the toothbrush and toothpaste or use those cute candle containers as planters.
3. ECO-CONSCIOUS FASHION and UPCYCLING
Simply put, don’t throw away garments, find another use for old clothes like using them as rags, bandanas, facial wipes or arts and crafts. Don’t know what to do with them? Bring them to a thrift store and then do some shopping yourself. Upcycling is basically turning trash into treasure. Check out this Upcycle That, where you can find tons of ideas and inspiration on restyling and repurposing and still making it look cute!
4. JOIN A COMMUNITY GARDEN
Being part of a community garden will teach you the basics of planting and gardening for free and it’s a hands-on lesson! You can find local community gardens, farms and fresh markets on Local Harvest. If you live in Miami, reach out to the Fem Fairy Garden which is ran by a goddess tribe of creatives, activists, and Latinx feminists.
5. SAVE THE BEES
We published a blog about this! You should already know what’s up with the bees, but we’ll tell you again; Bees are one of the most important pollinators in the world. Help out our bee population and be a secret gardener; plant seeds everywhere like a goddess would.
6. EAT LESS MEAT...OR NO MEAT AT ALL
This can sometimes be a sensitive topic so to be clear, do whatever you want but at least do it consciously. If you can’t live without eating meat (which you can) be mindful about where your food comes from. Maybe start with trying to eat vegan once a week and eventually challenge yourself to do it for a whole week. Here’s a link to a ton of quick and easy vegan meals. Or you can also watch this documentary and go fully vegan today.
7. BE THAT ONE PERSON THAT BRINGS THEIR OWN REUSABLE METAL STRAW, CUP, AND UTENSILS EVERYWHERE THEY GO.
That’s it. That is all that must be said. You would be surprise at the amount of people you'll inspire and start copying you. Go to Amazon and buy a cute bamboo set right now! Here’s a link for reusable cups! They are great to have when you go to bars or restaurants with single-use plastic cups.
8. RETHINK ABOUT WHERE YOU BUY YOUR 'FRESH' CUT FLOWERS
I know this will be painful for some as it was for us to find out...but.. Those cut roses we buy at the supermarket go through a very wasteful and toxic journey to get to our hands. Won’t go into too much detail because we have to get to other tips but here is a link to help you find places that sell locally grown flowers. The link to the article, The Environmental Cost Of Cut Flowers, is posted at the end of blog.
9. BE MINDFUL ABOUT WHERE YOUR HEALING CRYSTALS AND STONES COME FROM
We were totally mind-blowned about this and not gonna lie, it sucked to read the article on where our precious crystal come from. But it also helped us appreciate and respect them even more. The mining industry for crystals is sketchy and disturbingly unregulated. Most sellers are not even aware of where the wholesale stones are mined. A lot of them won't even regard the questions because you simply have to trust what the seller tells you. Basically, some of these mines come from large-scale industrial mines owned by companies with poor environmental records and a history of labor violations.
Ironically we purchase our healing crystals for a deeper connection to our mama Earth’s divine source, but the majority of us do not even know or question where our crystals come from or how they were mined, if they were ethically sourced or if they carry any bad ethical vibes? So let’s continue to love and truly appreciate the ones we currently have, change their intentions and charge them with eco-consciousness for our mama earth.
10. ORGANIZE, VOLUNTEER, OR CONTRIBUTE
We recently posted about the 7 Week Challenge starting today (Monday). You can join the pledge here. You can organize your own clean up or join one at VOLUNTEERCLEANUP.ORG.
Gather your homies, your coven, your coworkers and plan a picnic, go bar hopping, or make it a beach day. Debris Free Oceans have regular beach clean ups and they provide all the tool necessary. Check ‘em out.
11. EDUCATE YOURSELF AND SPREAD THE WORD
Yes, we know there is a lot of shit happening in the world and we already have our own personal problems, but our home and the air we breathe is also a very personal problem. So what we suggest is to concentrate on one cause, you don't have to overwhelm yourself trying to pick what battle to fight. Start with recycling! Then, think about something you already do (like a hobby). For example I love cooking; how can I make my cooking more sustainable, eco-conscious, and make sure my ingredients are locally sourced?
I hope this list motivates you take action.
Happy Earth Day!
Here are links for additional resources :
ARE CUT FLOWERS REALLY AFFECTING THE ENVIRONMENT?
WHERE ARE YOUR HEALING CRYSTALS FROM?