Earth Based Spirituality, using Earth, fire, air, water and spirit to as a tool to design my journey to Andalucía.
By Kt Shepherd
The meaning of spirituality I connect with is one which is Earth based and includes being guided by, grounding in and celebrating the different moon and sun cycles which of course in turn determine our patterns of days, months, seasons. Central to this form of spiritual experience are the 5 elements — Earth, Fire, Air, Water and Spirit. These aspects are deeply linked to my permaculture life, work and activism.
This year I have undergone a big life change from being a hill farmer and palliative care nurse in a remote part of the Yorkshire Dales, to moving to the hills of Andalucía, Spain with my partner, dogs and cats, to a house with just under 2 acres of land. This post shows how I have used the 5 Elements to explore how my knowledge and practice of permaculture can be transferred and adapted to my next life chapter design.
Earth
In the Dales I spent years using permaculture tools to improve the health of the soil on the farm. Carefully designed grazing systems with a wide diversity of agricultural animals made big differences to the biodiversity in the grazing land and the edge with forestry land. I used animal manure combined with structures such as raised beds, hot beds, polytunnels, and then lots of successional planting. This greatly improved the fertility of the soil and also generated extra heat to be able to grow a range of species and variety of both annual and perennial plants I never thought possible.
Here in Andalucía, the soil is dry, rocky, dusty and steep. I wont be farming any agricultural animals so I need to design how I am going to create and maintain the highest level of soil fertility as I can. Many different perennial and annual plants grow here that I have no experience in growing before so there is much learning to be done.
The Earth Element is also about ensuring life force and motivation is given to other aspects of life, and I intend to use the specific qualities from this element to design and carry out some of the ideas and projects on my ‘to do list for my move here. This will include looking at what I will do in terms of my right livelihood, creativity and taking responsibility for my own health. Designing for this diversity should help to ensure that my life here is as resilient as possible.
Fire
Winters were long and cold in the Dales. Soon after we arrived there we invested in a heating system that heated the cottage there well, provided hot water and allowed us to be able to cook slow stews and soups through burning local wood. We often needed to keep one stove lit for most of the year, so needed a constant supply of dry wood. So we also designed a storage system for the large amounts of wood needed, to be as effective of human energy and time as possible. Our outdoors fireplace was also a really core part of our lives, providing a focus to cook outdoors and celebrate events.
Sun hours in our remote part of the Dales were very few and we designed food growing, animal care and our own holistic health to maximize the use of the available sunlight.
We need to heat our house for the coldest months of the year here in Spain and are already planning a wood burning system and accessing local wood to burn. Wild fires are also a very real danger in the summer months and how to avoid them and then protect our home and animals if they do occur, is something that is really key to our future life here.
The sun shines for about 340 days of the year at our new home which is a really big change for us Yields we can obtain from that amazing energy include growing a much more diverse and abundant range of food and the potential for heating water and generating electricity for power. The strength of the sun can also be damaging in the hottest part of summer, and creating shade for both our food growing and outdoor living spaces will be part of the design.
Energy and action are also inspired by the element of Fire and I am in the process of using this inspiration to explore how I am going to take my permaculture work (lots of energy and action!) forward from here. I plan to finish my Diploma soon, but then what? And how will it integrate and balance with the other aspects of my life to make sure my energies are used as efficiently as possible?
Water
It rained a lot at our North Yorkshire home, with the yearly average being over 100 inches. Improving the compacted soil, and planting trees, (especially willow). helped to improve the impact of excess water on the grazing land. The raised beds and a human made drainage channel, (which used a wide water pipe, perennial plant growth and a mesh outlet, to avoid soil erosion), had a really positive impact in avoiding plants being damaged by excess water.
Water here in the hills of Andalucía is precious. There is virtually no rain between April and September, and the winter rains are often short and very heavy, with potential for damage to land through flooding and erosion. Systems such as capturing and dispersing rainwater, utilizing grey water, optimizing organic matter in the soil, mulching and growing drought tolerant edible plants are already being considered as part of our design
Water in the non-physical aspect guides our emotional selves. Water flows, as do our emotions. Healthy emotional health can mean working on aspects of our mental heal that we are ‘stuck’ in, so that positive flow can take place. How can I use permaculture principles and tools to promote my emotional well being during this transition time? Starhawk talks a lot about the connections of grief and the water element, (‘the well of grief’). Being mindful of the loss I have experienced over recent months and years will also feature in this part of my people care/self care designing.
Air
The exposed location and height of the farm meant that there could be damaging winds through out the year. Restoring many of the barns and dry stone walls on the farm and planting trees along field edges improved the shelter and then health and welfare of our agricultural animals. Also choosing native hardy breeds of sheep, cows, pigs and poultry ensured they would thrive well despite the weather conditions that the strong gales brought with them. Where we chose to site the various edible gardens, raised beds, polytunnel, planting further windbreaks and then choosing type and variety of edible plants designed for short growing seasons, meant we could protect our growing spaces from winds that contributed towards limits to maximum potential.
The winds at our new home can also be strong, and especially so in the winter Designing our food growing areas to include shelter against strong winds will make a huge difference to the varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs we can grow and the length of the growing season they will have.
Communication and connecting is the inner strength from Element of Air, and here in Andalucía there is an abundance of different factors emerging for this — making beneficial connections with new friends, community and neighbours. Sharing permaculture knowledge and experience with them: Finding systems to have positive communication with friends and family now many miles away: and engaging further with parts of the global permaculture community particularly those who are undertaking permaculture work in the local area or in similar geographic and climatic locations.
Spirit
Glennie Kindred describes the Fifth Element, Spirit, as ‘the force that unites all the actions of the elements together, so that there is no separation….’ Back in the Yorkshire my spiritual practice mainly focused around celebrating the Wheel of the Year sun festivals, alongside the cycles of the moon, in connection with patterns the farming seasons. My nursing work and interest in using permaculture in designing how we die, also links deeply to spirit and that same cycle flow of life an death. In addition I spent time on a daily basis appreciating my spiritual connectedness with the land I worked on and grounding myself in the present, while honouring the power and energies of the five elements.
It feels reassuring and comforting to know that in Spirit, the patterns and practices that have given me so much meaning and peace in the past will transfer to my future. There will be changes of course, open outdoor fires will be saved for winter months for example, and I can already see that the arrival of rain will be a time for celebration and gratitude…but fundamentally the wheel will keep turning just as it has done, and within it there is much here to connect to.
Using the five Elements has been a really useful tool in my move here to Spain. As well as exploring the differences in using permaculture principles and ethics in our two homes, its also really helped me to identify some really beneficial connects between the knowledge and practice I feel confident about in my life in the Dales and my design for our resilient future here in Spain
Resources
The following resources have helped with this post
The Earth Path — Starhawk
Sacred Earth Celebrations — Glennie Kindred
Earth Pathways Diary 2015
Earth Activist Training PDC, California 2013 — Starhawk and Charles Williams
Growing food In a Hotter, Drier Land — Gary Paul Nabha
This article is also published on my blog at Kt Shepherd Permaculture
The text from this post is published as an article “Permaculture and The Five Elements” in Permaculture Magazine Winter 2015 No 86
The article "Permaculture and The Five Elements" by Kt Shepherd beautifully intertwines Earth-based spirituality with the principles of permaculture, focusing on Earth, Fire, Air, Water, and Spirit as guiding forces in designing a life transition from the Yorkshire Dales to Andalucía, Spain. Here's an exploration of the concepts and their connections mentioned in the article:
Earth:
- Representation: Fertility, soil health, grounding, and resilience.
- Application in Yorkshire Dales: Utilizing permaculture tools to enhance soil fertility through diverse agricultural practices, animal manure, raised beds, and successional planting.
- Adaptation to Andalucía: Adapting to the dry, rocky terrain by exploring new plant species and designing methods to maintain soil fertility.
Fire:
- Representation: Energy, action, warmth, and transformation.
- Application in Yorkshire Dales: Using wood burning for heating, outdoor cooking, and leveraging available sunlight for agricultural purposes.
- Adaptation to Andalucía: Planning for a wood-burning system, harnessing abundant sunlight for diverse food growth, while also safeguarding against wildfires.
Water:
- Representation: Emotional well-being, flow, and adaptability.
- Application in Yorkshire Dales: Managing excess water through tree planting, drainage systems, and soil improvement techniques.
- Adaptation to Andalucía: Addressing water scarcity through rainwater capture, greywater utilization, soil enrichment, and fostering emotional well-being during the transition.
Air:
- Representation: Communication, connection, and inner strength.
- Application in Yorkshire Dales: Creating windbreaks, shelter for plants, and selecting suitable crop varieties against strong winds.
- Adaptation to Andalucía: Designing for wind protection to extend the growing season and fostering connections with the local and global permaculture community.
Spirit:
- Representation: Unity, cyclical nature, and interconnectedness.
- Application in Yorkshire Dales: Celebrating natural cycles, spiritual practices aligned with farming seasons, and embracing the interconnectedness of life and death.
- Adaptation to Andalucía: Carrying forward spiritual practices while acknowledging changes, celebrating rain, and finding connections between past and present practices.
The integration of permaculture principles with Earth-based spirituality showcases a holistic approach to life, emphasizing sustainability, adaptability, and interconnectedness with nature. Shepherd's experience demonstrates a profound understanding of utilizing these elements as guiding forces in creating a resilient and fulfilling lifestyle.
