blackbearmagic:

Attention Dionysus/Bacchus devotees in North America:

Do you see this plant? This glossy, green beauty is the one and only Hedera helix, otherwise known as English ivy. 

It’s what your Man wears on His head.

I can almost guarantee that there’s some growing nearby you right now. You’ve probably even seen it for yourself. Maybe it was creeping along the ground, maybe it was winding its way up a tree, maybe it was completely obliterating the shape of a building because of how thickly it was laying.

Again, this plant is a symbol of your god from way back in history. A few tendrils of it would look great on your altar for Him. You could adorn a staff with a few more, and weave others into a crown for your head–and use them both in rituals and prayer. Maybe even keep a pot of it growing on your windowsill, and make caring for it a devotional activity.

I wholeheartedly encourage all of this. Especially if it’s done with plants that were harvested from the areas around you.

Because, friends, there’s a reason why English ivy is everywhere. It’s an introduced, invasive species. Our ecosystems are not adapted to its presence, and as such, there is little to nothing standing in the way of its spread. Almost nothing here eats it or preys on it as a parasite; it can grow anywhere with impunity, and believe me, it will. In some cases, the ivy can grow so thickly on a tree that it actually crushes it with its weight, killing the tree. It can even destroy houses for the same reason.

So when you see a patch of English ivy growing in the forest, take as much as you want. Take all of it, if you like.

You don’t have to follow the “only harvest 10%” rule for invasives–less is definitely not more. I promise you, it won’t be missed by the environment. 

If you already have some ivy growing in a pot, or in your yard, please make sure to keep it contained. Keep the potted ivy as an “indoor plant”, and make sure that what’s growing in your garden doesn’t spread too far! There’s enough “feral” ivy out there; we don’t need to be adding any fresh sources.

Now, all the problems this plant can cause aren’t really its fault–we’re the ones who put it here, after all–so it’s best to be respectful to the spirit of the plant when you harvest it. But, to be respectful to everything else here, harvest the fuck out of it.

That is all.