“The destiny of humans cannot be separated from the destiny of earth.”
―Thomas Berry
What are Plant Initiations?
A Plant Initiation is an ancient ceremony of transformation, an intentional crossing from one stage of life into another with the companionship and guidance of a Plant ally.
​
Throughout much of human history, people moved through life's major thresholds within cultures that recognized and supported initiation. There were elders, ceremonies, and communal practices that helped individuals navigate the profound transitions between who they had been and who they were becoming. While many of these pathways have been lost or fragmented, the need for initiation remains. And while many of our human lineages of initiation have been disrupted, the plants have been here far longer than we have. They are the elders of this Earth, carrying ancient wisdom, deep kinship, and enduring teachings gathered across countless generations. Rooted in place through seasons and generations, they embody patience, resilience, reciprocity, and relationship with the living world. In many ways, they are among the elders that have never left. Quietly present, waiting for us to remember how to listen.
​
In a Plant Initiation, a specific plant becomes an elder and guide for a particular threshold. Over the course of a full-day or multi-day immersion, participants enter into intentional relationship with a plant whose qualities and wisdom mirror the threshold they are being called to cross.
Through ritual, nature immersion, dieting and relationship with the plant, reflection, guided journeys, integration and community witnessing, participants are invited into a process of listening, remembering, and transformation.The plant is not approached as a resource to be used or a tool to achieve an outcome. Rather, it is honored as a living presence capable of guiding us through the initiatory movements of life.
​
Each initiation is unique. Some may involve releasing an old identity. Others may call forth a deeper sense of purpose, belonging, self-trust, or relationship with the Earth. Often, what emerges cannot be fully known beforehand.
Like all true initiations, the experience is less about arriving at an answer and more about allowing yourself to be changed by the journey.
The invitation is to step across a threshold and enter into a deeper relationship with yourself, the Earth, and the mystery that is already unfolding through your life.
My own relationship with the plants
What has shaped this work most deeply is my own journey of remembering.
For much of my life, I felt something was missing. Like many, I moved through important thresholds without the guidance, witnessing, and initiation these moments have traditionally been held within.
Over time, I realized many of my struggles weren't signs that something was wrong with me, but invitations into a deeper relationship with myself, the Earth, and life itself.
The plants became important companions in that journey.
Through years of listening, learning, observing, and building relationship with them, I came to experience the plants as the elders I never had. They taught me that healing is less about fixing what's broken and more about returning to relationship with my wild essence within.
The seasons, the more than human, and the cycles of life became guides through my own evolution of soul. Helping me find a deeper sense of wholeness and connection to the full spectrum of being human.
In this recognition I found devotion to serving as a tender of the in-between spaces. Through the weaving of my own journey with the plants, my plant mentor Pam Montgomery, and my work with others as a space holder, I was called to offer Plant Initiations.
While I serve with devotion as a facilitator, the plants remain at the center of the work as the Initiator. My role is to help create the space for relationship, listening, and transformation so others can encounter the wisdom, guidance, and remembrance that become possible through meaningful relationship with the living world.
What Does it Mean to be Initiated?
To be initiated is to cross a threshold.
It is the process of being transformed by an experience that asks us to leave behind an old way of being and step into a new relationship with ourselves, our community, and the world around us.
True initiation is not something that can be forced or achieved through willpower. It often begins when life invites us into uncertainty. When familiar identities, roles, beliefs, or ways of navigating the world no longer fit. In many traditional cultures, initiation was recognized as an essential part of our growth and evolution. Elders, ceremony, community helped guide individuals through life's major transitions and supported the emergence of mature adulthood.
In much of modern Western culture, many of these structures have faded. While we still pass through life's thresholds and endings, we often do so without meaningful rites of passage, elder guidance, or communal recognition of the transformation that is taking place.
As a result, many people find themselves longing for something they cannot quite name...
a deeper sense of belonging, purpose, mentorship, and connection to the larger cycles of life.
Initiation asks us to slow down and listen. To surrender what has been.To trust what is emerging and to allow ourselves to be shaped by the journey.
Initiation is not about becoming someone new.
It is about becoming more fully who you have always been.
​
The invitation is not to acquire something from outside yourself, but to remember and embody what has been waiting within all along.
What to Expect
Each Plant Initiation is unique, shaped by the plant, the season, the land, and the individuals gathered.
While no two initiations are the same, you can expect a blend of:
