The Penobscot (Panawahpskek) are a sovereign people indigenous to what is now Maritime Canada and the northeastern United States, particularly Maine. They were and are significant participants in the historical and present Wabanaki Confederacy, along with the Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Mi’kmaq nations.

The word “Penobscot” originates from a mispronunciation of their name “Penawapskewi.” The word means “rocky part” or “descending ledges” and originally referred to the portion of the Penobscot River between Old Town and Bangor. The tribe has adopted the name Penobscot Indian Nation.

Penobscot is also the name of the dialect of Eastern Abenaki (an Algonquian language) that the Penobscot people speak.

The Penobscot Indian Island Reservation is surrounded by the waters of the Penobscot River, in Penobscot County, Maine. This large river runs from their sacred mountain to the north, Mt. Katahdin, down through the state to Penobscot Bay. It was along this river that they made seasonal relocations to the ocean for seafood, and then back inland for moose, deer, elk and bear hunting, as weather dictated.They lived in wigwams mostly.

Mount Katahdin is a sacred place for these people, and as such travel to the top of the mountain is considered taboo. It is believed that an angry god resides in Pamola Peak. Pamola is a lower god in the spiritual belief system of the Penawapskewi. Pamola was an angry god, and because of his trickster behavior, was sent to Mt. Katahdin for eternity by the power of the highest god, Gluskab.

These people have a prehistoric tie to the river, such that it long ago became a part of their identity. The name of their tribe is the name of a place on the river where they spent most of their time throughout the year, a place “where the white rocks are,” also identified as “where the river widens.”

The insignia of this tribe, evidenced in their art and design, is the fiddlehead, in this case an immature frond of the Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris L.) that grows along the banks of the Penobscot River. Fiddleheads of this fern are a delicacy and are one of the first “blooms” appearing after the harsh winters of the region, thus considered a gift from a spiritual higher power: a reward for having survived the winter.

2008 Northeast Permaculture Summer Gathering: Holyoke,MA

July 4-6th

The Western Massachusetts Permaculture Guild will host the 2008 Summer Permaculture Gathering July 4-6 in Holyoke, MA at Nuestras Raices, Tierra de Opportunidades Farm. Sliding scale of $45 - $100 for camping and meals. For more information as it develops, please refer to this site.
To find out more about our host site, visit: http://www.nuestras-raices.org

List and map of WM restaurants who buy locally:

www.farmfresh.org/food/restaurants.php?zip=01373

Link to CISA’s farm product locator:

http://www.farmfresh.org/?zip=01373

Some upcoming local events with CISA (Community Involved in Supporting Agriculture)

CISA links farmers and communities to strengthen agriculture and enhance the economy ans sustainability, rural character, environmental quality, and social well-being of western Massachusetts.

Saturday,
June 21
Strawberry
Feast in the Fields
Red
Fire Farm, Hadley, MA
Bringing
in the Strawberry season with a new farm event – dine
in the landscape of Red Fire Farm with a special menu celebrating
local foods. A hint of the menu: home-made strawberry shortcake.
Tickets are limited, so call to make your reservation. 413-467-SOIL.

Sunday,
June 22
Farmers’
Market at Whole Foods Market
11
a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Whole
Foods Market, Hadley, MA
Whole
Foods Market invites you to meet the farmers selling fruits,
vegetables and more to the Hadley store. And you can purchase
your fruits and veggies directly from the farmers at this special
store-sponsored market. Sure you can buy the same items inside
the store, but wouldn’t you want to meet the farmers who grow
your fresh, local produce?

Sunday,
June 22
Open
House at Chase Hill Farm
10
am to 4 pm
Chase
Hill Farm, Warwick, MA
Come see the cows, calves and cheese making facilities. Lots
of samples to tempt your taste buds.

Saturday
and Sunday, June 28 & 29
Lavender
Festival
10am
to 4pm
Johnson
Hill Farm, Buckland, MA
Come see how we distill our lavender. Lots of local crafts and
artisans on hand, in addition to our own lavender. For more
information visit http://www.lavenderland.com/festival.html.

Saturday
and Sunday, June 28 & 29
Franklin
Land Trust’s 20th Annual Farm and Garden Tour
This year’s
self-guided tour will take participants to private gardens,
working farms and secret places in the western Massachusetts
towns of Ashfield, Plainfield and Hawley. A complete tour guide,
with a detailed map, is provided to participants. Tickets are
$20 for one or both days; $16 for Franklin Land Trust members.
For information, call FLT at 413-625-9152, ext. 8. or visit
http://www.franklinlandtrust.org/fgt.htm

Hello green women and men!

We are having a special summer solstice class
this Saturday on herbal aphrodisiacs and herbs for love… Join us as we
prepare, drink, and explore our powerful herbs sacred to Aphrodite.

Since this is a special summer solstice class we will have celebratory
food and drink after class to honor the arrival of summer. Bring your favorite
summer berries, foods, and drink to celebrate the awakened earth!

I’ve
enclosed the upcoming workshop list for the summer. Additional classes are being
added for the fall, all updates will be listed on our website.

If you
would like to join us, please call or email for directions. Class will be held
outdoors at my home in Westminster, VT, 25 minutes from Brattleboro.

Hope
to see you there!

Green blessings,
Sage Maurer

***
Aphrodite’s Aphrodisiacs ***
Herbs for Love

Summer Solstice Day
June 21st, Saturday, 2:00pm-5:00pm

Join us for a
sexy afternoon of journeying with Aphrodite’s herbs.
You will be introduced
to medicinal and magical herbs used for increasing the energy of love, sensual
pleasure, and heart opening.

Come taste some of our most lovely
aphrodisiac herbs, learn how to prepare, blend, and dose them. We will also
discuss herbs and incenses used to bring love into your life and open the heart
chakra. Fill up with some of Aphrodite’s magic, and return home with some sweet
herbal blends that will spice up your love life!
Suggested Donation: $25 -
$45, 10 person limit.

Call or email to register and receive directions to
the class location.
www.thegreenwoman.com

The Gaia School of
Healing & Earth Education
Brattleboro & Westminster, VT
(617) 838
- 8094

We offer a variety of courses and workshops in herbal
healing and plant spirit medicine. Please check out the workshops that are being
offered this season and contact us for further information. If you would like to
register for a workshop please print out a registration form, send or email it
to the address provided, and you will be reserved a space in class. You can
reach us by calling 1-(617) 838-8094, or email thegaiaschool@hotmail.com to
register for any class.

Workshop Registration Form

Moon Magic & Herbs Sacred to the
Moon

In this evening workshop we will discuss our connection to
the moon and all of her mysteries. Come learn about herbs sacred to the moon,
and how we can use the energy of the moon in our healing practice, ritual, and
for sacred dreaming. In this class we will enter into the realm of night,
letting the plants of the moon teach us of her magic and effect on our lives and
planet. Meet the herbs which help you to journey deeper into the dream world,
into your intuition and psychic abilities. Come learn ways to honor your body
and spirit’s connection to the moon. Return home with dream teas, dream pillows,
or magical blends of moon herbs to use on your own. Suggested Donation:
$20-$35, There is a 10 person limit.

Join us for a sexy afternoon of journeying with
Aphrodite’s herbs. You will be introduced to medicinal and magical herbs used
for increasing the energy of love, sensual pleasure, and heart opening. Come
taste some of our most lovely aphrodisiac herbs, learn how to prepare them and
blend them with other aphrodisiac plants. We will also discuss herbs and
incenses used to bring love into your life and open the heart chakra. Come fill
up with some of Aphrodite’s magic, and return home with some sweet herbal blends
that will spice up your love life! Suggested Donation: $25-$45, 10 person
limit.

Hecate’s Sacred Herbs - Witch’s Flying
Herbs

Come meet powerful herbs sacred to the dark goddess. These
poisonous plants are used in protection magic, banishing, and in magic and
ritual connected to the underworld, death and rebirth, astral projection, and
spiritual transformation. Join us in learning about sacred Belladona, Henbane,
Mandrake, Nightshades, Brugmansia, Hemlock, Poke, and Foxglove. These plants are
not ingested, but are used in ritual to journey into hidden realms of the
psyche, into the past and future, and help us to transform ourselves and our
lives when great change is needed. Hecate’s sacred herbs are powerful teachers,
protectors, and guides for those interested in going deeper into their spiritual
practice and journey into the unknown. Suggested Donation: $20-$35, There is
a 10 person limit.

Herbal Healing for Stress &
Depression

Come learn ways to heal your spirit’s woes with herbs!
We will discuss very effective alternatives to western drugs for treating
various forms of depression, anxiety, stress, muscle pain due to stress, or
calming an anxious mind. We will also talk about herbal remedies for the many
forms of stress, sadness, and heart ache we experience in our lives. Come taste
teas and tinctures that can lift your spirits, heal your heart, and relax your
mind and body. Learn how to make these teas yourself out of common herbs, and
how to use various store bought tinctures safely and effectively for greater
emotional wellbeing. Come with a notebook and a pen! Suggested Donation:
$20-$35, There is a 10 person limit.

Chakra
Healing with Herbs & Flower Essences

Come explore the
chakras (energy centers) in the body, and which plants and flower essences
support emotional and physical imbalances of the chakras. We will discuss in
depth each chakra and how it affects our physical and emotional body, holding
energy and patterning from our past which can contribute to illness. Learn how
to used herbs and flowers to clear, nourish, and cleanse our chakras, ridding us
of old energy, mental and emotional patterns, and physical imbalances. Handouts
and tea will be given in class. Suggested Donation: $40 - $65, 10 person
limit.

Shamanic Journeying with
Plants

Join us for an evening of journeying with the spirits of
the plants and the earth. Learn ways of communicating to the spirits of trees,
flowers, and healing herbs. Experience the energies of plants through your hands
and within your body (with teas, essences, and sacred incenses) as well as
through guided meditation. Shamanic Journeying with plants is the oldest form of
plant medicine and our most ancient spiritual practice. This workshop is for
beginning and intermediate herbalists or those that want to learn more about
shamanic journeying. Suggested Donation: $20-$35, There is a 10 person
limit.

Medicinal Herbal
Preparations

Come learn how to make your own herbal medicines at
home. In this five hour class we will discuss and make herbal tinctures, salves,
tea blends, herbal glycerites, herbal oils, flower essences, decoctions,
compresses, and poultices. We will discuss harvesting herbs, where to get
quality organic herbs, and how to dose herbs safely. We will cover herbs for
some common ailments as we create our preparations, as well as address specific
herbs for each of you. Handouts and materials will be provided in class.
Suggested Donation: $40-$65, There is a 10 person limit.

Introduction to Magical Herbalism
Magical herbalism is an ancient
practice used for thousands of years around the world for healing and creating
positive change. Every plant on this earth has a natural energy that can be used
for healing and transformation. Working with the spirit of each plant is the
basis of magical herbalism. In this class we will discuss ways of using the
natural energy of plants to create positive healing and change in our lives. You
will meet various herbs that can be used to bring us healing, love, protection,
abundance, peace, blessings, and so on. Various techniques of natural herbal
magic will be discussed, as well as the ethics and laws of plant spirit work.
You will leave class with some herbal mixes of your creation to use at home. All
are welcome to this class who wish to use the plants in a positive and ethical
way. Suggested Donation: $20-$35, There is a 10 person limit.

Sage L.
Maurer teaches all classes. Sage is an independent practitioner and teacher of
herbal healing, plant spirit medicine, shamanic herbalism, and the wise woman
tradition of healing. She was formally trained and certified in herbal medicine
at the Blazing Star Herbal School and at the Boston School of Herbal Energetics.
Sage has studied with many herblaists such as Rosemary Gladstar, Susan Weed,
Anne McIntyre, Rosita Arvigo, Pam Montgomery, Deb Soule, and others. In 2001
Sage founded The Gaia School in Boston, MA where she taught workshops and
apprenticeships throughout the year. Through personal journeying and magical
work over the last 10 years, Sage has developed techniques of communicating with
plants to aid her in life and work. Come learn to walk a path of magic and
healing with her and our green friends!

The trees are the Elders of the Earth. Go to the forest or to the
mountains and find a young tree. Then find and old tree. Spend time
with each. Sit by the young tree and listen to your thoughts. Then move
to an old tree and listen to your thoughts again. Just being in the
presence of an old tree, you will feel more calm. Your thoughts will
contain wisdom and your answers will be deeper. Why is this so? These
old trees know more, have heard more and are the Elders of the Earth.
We must ensure these trees live so we can learn from them.

Here in the valley we are becoming more and more conscious of the Green effect. Here is some viceo of local folks talking about how they are going greener~  Click on “How we’re Going Green”, but do stop to enjoy the other videos by local folks!

http://www.earththrives.com/index.php/component/option,com_seyret/task,videodirectlink/Itemid,27/id,24/

Link for the Green Action Forum

http://www.recorder.com/green_forum/page1.pdf