What are the trees and herbs sacred to the Moon in ancient Greece? The answer might surprise you! In today’s episode, we meet the three moon goddesses of the ancient Greek world — Selene, Artemis, and Hekate — and discuss the plants, stones, and other entities to invite into a Moon Garden in honor of ancient Greek lunar power.

The Cypress is an evergreen conifer tree with dense, scale-like leaves and ovoid cones. Native to the eastern Mediterranean, the Cypress is associated primarily with the gods Apollo, Artemis, and Hades. However, the most well-known myth of the Cypress is that of Kyparrisos, the youth who accidentally killed his favorite stag and, desiring to mourn forever, transformed into a Cypress tree. The tree is thus associated with grief and lamentation, and often found near burial grounds or entrances to the Underworld. As a sacred emblem of holding vigil, invite the Cypress into your ceremonies for grief, mourning, and lamenting that which has died

In this podcast episode, we turn our attention to the Melissae, the oracular Bee Nymphs of ancient Greece. The Melissae are considered divine messengers, conduits for prophecy, speakers of divine truths, and a source for inspired thought and song. Today, I share with you some of the ancient Greek folklore associated with the Bee, as well as some of my favorite ceremonies and techniques for connecting with Bee.

Artemis is primarily a goddess of nature — a huntress and protectress of wild things. One of her most well-known sanctuaries is tucked inside a fertile valley in Attica, where the Erasinos River meets the sea. After so many years of adoring and studying the goddess, I finally was able to make Pilgrimage to the sacred wetlands of her temple at Brauron (Βραυρώνα).

Artemis is a paradox. On one hand, she safeguards young children and wild animals, acting as a midwife and protectress of life. On the other hand, she is a bringer of death. She exacts unflinching violence on those who break the sacred rules of her forest, hunting them down and killing them with her bow and arrow.

We venture into the valley of Lake Stymphalia (Λίμνη Στυμφαλία). A storm hovers over the valley, the filtered light illuminating a patchwork of cultivated earth. This entire region is sacred to the goddess Artemis in her form of Artemis Stymphalia, protectress of the lake, fowl and forests.