In this episode of A Temple Wild Podcast, we encounter Dionysos through the lens of his most sacred plants, the Vines — specifically the Ivy, Grape, and Rough Bindweed. We also talk about wine, entheogens, and consciousness-altering brews of the ancient Greek world; the Maenads who danced into ecstatic union; as well as some of the places, mountains, and other herbs sacred to the god of divine madness.

The Giant Fennel is a drought-tolerant herbaeous perennial growing as tall as 4.5 meters (15 feet). As a plant sacred to the ancient Greek Fire gods — Prometheus and Hephaestus — the Giant Fennel is a vessel of Fire, culture, and craft. When used by Dionysos and his retinue in the form of the sacred thyrsus, the Giant Fennel also becomes a rod or sacred axis for channeling divine revelation.