New Work: Pachamama

While working on new Plant Spirit imagery, I've been listening to some podcasts by Dr. Bruce Damer recounting his new myth about the 'Great Mother' and the evolution of our Earth's biosphere - a hyper-conscious intelligence embodied within and emerging from the neuronal net of plants (root brains), bacteria, and mycelia fungi. (His podcast is called Dr. Bruce's Levity Zone - or you can subscribe via iTunes. Look for episodes from 2013, esp. those recorded at Symbiois festival or at Burning Man.)

Out of this, I began playing with a few elements imaging Pachamama (Great Mother). A couple of examples below.

New research on the 'secret' communication of plants

'Voicemail' discovered in nature: new research on the 'secret' life of plants and insects that bug them - from Permaculture News - Tuesday, 19th June 2012

New research has discovered that insects receive soil messages from the past via changes in fungal community and that plants can indeed communicate with each other.


Insects can use plants as 'green phones' for communication with other bugs. A new study now shows that through those same plants insects are also able to leave 'voicemail' messages in the soil. Herbivorous insects store their voicemails via their effects on soil fungi. Researchers from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) and Wageningen University (WUR) discovered this unique messaging service in the ragwort plant. The influential journal Ecology Letters will soon publish these results.

A few years ago, NIOO scientists discovered that soil-dwelling and aboveground insects are able to communicate with each other using the plant as a telephone. Insects eating plant roots change the chemical composition of the leaves, causing the plant to release volatile signals into the air. This can convince aboveground insects to select another food plant in order to avoid competition and to escape from poisonous defence compounds in the plant. But the impact doesn't stop there.

Read more ->

Do Trees Communicate?

Watch this fascinating video.

Another source of information about tree (and plant) inter-species communication that I highly recommend is Stephen Harrod Buhner's "Lost Language of Plants." His work focuses on the pheromone signaling shared within plant communities as well as the impacts of industrial chemicals (medicines, solvents, caffeine, but especially estrogen analogues) which are disrupting such communication pathways - even when found only in trace amounts "in the wild." He also discusses the notion of "mother plants" that act to establish a foothold in an environment, then providing (via chemical extrusions and physical mechanisms such as shade and humidity moderation) a more hospitable ecosystem for a wider plant community to develop and thrive.

Spirits of the Redwood Forest

Redwood Spirit Circle ©2012

I just completed this image based upon a journey that I undertook a few months back. During the session, I found myself in a deep redwood forest with sunlight filtering in long beams down to the soft, damp, needle-covered ground. The scent of the redwoods filled the air.

I was wondering about this location - was I understanding it correctly or not? How did I come to be here? How did this connect with my original journey intent querying about running for public office?

Slowly I realized that I was not alone, but surrounded by tall, elongated translucent white figures shimmering in the sparkling light of the woods. I immediately understood them to be the Spirits of the Redwood trees themselves. I queried them as to their purpose coming to me. One replied that they came to call me into their circle and to offer me their strength and courage from their perspective of a thousand years of watching the world go by. "Stand tall. Be strong and courageous as we are. We will be with you." I felt honored by their presence and their support.

Alien Dreamtime

Found image from Tumblr... Wake up to the "felt presence of immediate experience!" From the terence-mckenna-movie blog.

The Fungal Fantastical (with Paul Stamets)

Amazing short video clip with Paul Stamets talking about the complexity of plant communications and how fungi fit in...