Self-portraits.

In today’s special episode, we meet The Greek Herbalist, Maria Christodoulou. We discuss her experiences as a first generation Greek-American, what it was like encountering the Greek landscape for the first time, how she went from a classics major to studying herbalism to now living in Greece and, among many things, leading the way in herbal immersion tours all over the country.

For those living abroad or without any living relatives in Greece, it can be difficult to find ways to connect with your Greek roots. So in this episode, I share some unique ideas to connect with your Greek ancestry that do not involve genealogy. Instead, I’m going to suggest some other practices for coming home to Greece, even if you are unable to visit in person. If you’re not of Greek heritage, but you feel a deep affinity to Greek culture or mythology, these techniques can also deepen your connection with the mythic Greek landscape.

Journey down, into the depths of the earth, to meet the plants of the Greek Underworld — the trees, flowers, herbs, and shrubs that ancient Greek mythology associates with the Realm of the Dead. Along the way, we meet the Underworld rivers and entrances to Hades; learn about the sacred kykeon of the Eleusinian Mysteries; discover a shocking truth about Persephone's connection with the seasons; and meet the botanical allies for navigating through death, grief, and the Unseen Realm.

October 2023 and all the Pomegranate fruits are dead. By dead, I mean eaten; devoured by a creature, perhaps bird, perhaps squirrel, perhaps Persephone herself. They hung on the tree, hollow and rotting. I picked them all — as if they’d been ripe — and peered into the basket. It seemed fitting that…

October 2023 and all the Pomegranate fruits are dead. By dead, I mean eaten; devoured by a creature, perhaps bird, perhaps squirrel, perhaps Persephone herself. They hung on the tree, hollow and rotting. I picked them all — as if they’d been ripe — and peered into the basket. It seemed fitting that the tree — which every year, for the past five years, has been burgeoning without incident — had been consumed. The fruits offering sustenance to something or someone else. Not me. Not…us.

In Autumn 2024, join me and Maria Christodoulou (The Greek Herbalist) on a mythical and mystical plant journey in northern Greece! This herbal myth and medicine tour will take us to Mount Pangaion, an area sacred to the god Dionysos, as well as to the picturesque Rodopi Mountains at the start of the vibrant autumn season. Celebrate the Fall Equinox surrounded by the botanical bounty of this very special region of Greece.

In Autumn 2024, join me and Maria Christodoulou (The Greek Herbalist) on a mythical and mystical plant journey in Epirus! This herbal rituals and oracles tour will take us to the traditional stone villages of Metsovo and Zagori, as well as to the ancient Oracle of Dodona. Learn about the ancient Greek oracular traditions as practiced at Dodona. Reflect on the teachings of the plants and their role in ancient and modern life.

In Autumn 2024, join me and Maria Christodoulou (The Greek Herbalist) on a mythical and mystical plant journey in Greece! We’re offering two tours together: one in northern Greece (Mount Pangaion and the Rodopi Mountains to celebrate the Fall Equinox) and another in Epirus (Metsovo, Zagori, and the ancient Oracle of Dodona). Activities will include hiking, hands-on herbal medicine workshops, and ceremonies honoring ancient Greek herbal traditions. Each tour will have a unique focus and introduce you to the sacred plants in Greek mythology and how to apply them to your own practices of self-care.

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.

I was recently called to lead a Wine meditation during a Harvest ceremony. Ironically, I’m not much of a drinker. In fact, I’ve never even been drunk.

On October 1st, join me and Linda Pappa — an incredible Greek artist based on the island of Crete — as we welcome in the Harvest season and explore its deep relevance to our lives. I’ll be sharing the teachings of the Grape — a Harvest vine of merriment, celebration, and fertility.

The Rough Bindweed (also known as Smilax) is a perennial evergreen vine sacred to Dionysos with spines on the stem and bright red berries growing in grape-like clusters. The myth of the problematic love between Smilax and Crocus serves to remind us of the wisdom of not trying to force incompatible bonding. Invite Rough Bindweed into your ceremonies to reestablish boundaries, especially after ecstatic union and joyful communion.

The Ivy is a hardy, evergreen, perennial vine with dark green leaves, greenish-yellow flowers in autumn, and purple-black berries in winter. Sacred to the god Dionysos, the Ivy features in nearly all iconography of the god and his retinue. Worn as crowns, wrapped around the thyrsus, and possibly even consumed by the Maenads in celebration of the Dionysiac Mysteries, the Ivy teaches ecstatic release and abandon. In the hands of the Maenads, the Ivy encourages the abandonment of social convention, the leaving behind of “sane” behavior, and the expansion of what we would consider reality.

Like most vines, the Grape is sacred to Dionysos who, among many things, is the god of revelry and credited with bringing wine cultivation to the Greeks. Joyful in its essence, the Grape is a vine of merriment, celebration, and communion. The Grape is also a teacher of fertility, lack of inhibition, and the divine union that results from the dissolving of boundaries.