Let's have a brief conversation about mushrooms!

I am a huge advocate for the healing powers of mushrooms.

Every varietal of edible mushrooms has it's own set of incredible benefits from helping with memory to being a great source for nutrients like vitamin B, and it is an incredible meat substitute for plant-based eaters.

But there is something really special about psilocybin mushrooms and their benefits for some people who live with PTSD. I have micro-dosed mushrooms for the last 6 years to change my relationship with my mental health and with what I eat. Psilocybin isn't a fix all, or a quick fix, but it can an incredible tool that helps facilitate healing long-term along with therapy and shadow work.

I absolutely believe that I helped heal quite a bit of my trauma using this incredible fungi. (I have worked with psilocybin varietals from all over North America and each of them have their own unique personalities when it comes to healing.) Around 3 years ago I started the "Healing for Healers program" helping other empaths, psychics, and mediums as a plant medicine Coach focusing on psychedelics in relation to healing and getting a clear connection with spirit. This work has been incredibly fufilling, and has taught me so much, and I'm so grateful that oregon has legalized psilocybin assisted therapy so that we can learn even more collectively.

I have even applied to be on the Oregon Health Association's Psilocybin Advisory Board because I hope to put my input in on how we can make an ethical and equitable psilocybin industry if it develops into having recreational cultivation and sales.

As legalization around psilocybin assisted therapy starts to progress, I am excited for more research and more candid conversations around psychedelics & healing to happen.

How about you?

Hybrids, Sativa & Indica…what does it all mean??

Hybrids, Sativa & Indica…what does it all mean??

The short answer “Nothing.”

Why?

Well here's the LONG answer..

Because cannabis is too complex to be broken down into 3 categories.

The effect, smell and taste of a strain comes from the unique combination of terpenes, plant nutrients and cannabinoid content.

Landrace strains (Original, not hybridized) developed these unique properties on their own and then some strains are hybridized by growers and geneticists to enhance or adjust those combinations of terpenes and cannabinoids.

The terms “Indica” and “Sativa” are really more useful for farmers/cultivators because they help to describe how the plant grows.

But as soon as the plant is harvested the cannabinoid structure and terpene quantity can change.

For Example, If i go to a dispensary and get 7 grams of “Sativa” flower that is discounted because it has been sitting around for 6 months past it’s harvest date, that “Sativa” has aged, losing some of it’s fresh scent (terpenes) and most likely has started developing CBN. CBN is a cannabinoid that helps with sleep and relaxation. So now you have 7 grams of a “Sativa” that has started to turn into an “Indica”.

And a lot of people (me prior to 5 years ago included) think that the term “Hybrid” means that your strain lands somewhere on the scale of Sativa to Indica, which just isn’t true. It means that the strain has been hybridized from it’s Landrace parent. That is one of MANY reasons cannabis cultivators are so incredible. They are geneticizing strains to add more benefits for more specific health issues.

So what is going to give you more of an upbeat “daytime” vibe and what is going to give you more of a sleepy “Night time “ vibe?

Well let me preface this by saying, everyone is different and everyone’s Endocannabinoid system is different, just like some people can have coffee before bed some cannabinoids may effect you differently.

But if I were to generalize….

Cannabinoids like THC-V which is commonly found in strains like Durban Poison, a landrace Sativa helps with focus, curbs appetite and in some instances can even help with bladder control.

All of these attributes would be great for someone who is working out, or running errands. you know, daytime activities.

Terpenes that would be a great accompany to this affect would be Alpha Pinene, which is great for bronchial dilation, giving you deeper breaths, as well as alertness and focus.

If you are looking for more of a euphoric daytime high, seek out strains that smell like citrus, tat is the terpene Limonene.

Personally I have found the best results with a combination of Limonene and Terpinolene that smells like a fresh citrus bouquet in freshly cleaned room. These scents are prevalent in strains like Mount Hood Magic, which was hybridized to help with the seasonal depression that can happen here in the Pacific Northwest.

And if you are looking for a strain to help with insomnia I recommend strains that smell like hops (myrcene) or lavender (Linalool) that have been on the shelf a little while. Also, (pro tip) look for strains that sound heavy.

Strains like White rhino, Nine pound Hammer and Purple Elephant all are super relaxing and sleepy.

If you want to learn more about terpenes check out the beautiful and educational posters from Gold Leaf!

They also have amazing notebooks where you can track strains that you've liked or that have worked for you.

Check them out at

https://shopgoldleaf.com/livviesmalls

And use code Livvie10 at checkout for a discount!

Full Moon in Scorpio

Full moon in Scorpio

It's inventory time!

What is working and what isn't?

Are you feeling anxiety or resistance around something?

It is time to take inventory and figure that out, Make your pros and cons lists.

There might be relationships that need to go, there might be jobs that need to go, and there might be some more boundaries that you need to set in order to protect your amazing energy.

For you plant witches, You are probably noticing some dead foliage on your plants, some yellow leaves that need to fall away. But when they do fall away those green leaves look a little bit more verdant and green don't they? Those yellow leaves needed to fall away as part of the cycle of life. So if you're having some relationships fall away it's because they've helped you grow to this point and it was time for them to fall away. Don't hold on to dead foliage.

20/20 showed us what the end of the world looks like, we are living in the modern falling of Rome. It doesn't make sense to still give energy to things that don't feed us. If these are our last days on Earth how do we want to spend them? I don't think your answer is going to be working at a job that doesn't treat you well or in a relationship that doesn't appreciate you.

Full moons illuminate what has been hidden, and especially with communication planet Mercury in the mix, this particular supermoon is bringing up new information that could be life-altering. Black Moon Lilith and Uranus in Taurus’s energy is also pushing us to communicate our value while reclaiming our sovereignty and what we feel is right.

This is also a powerful time of manifestation, so the key is honoring your truth and identifying the reality you want to live in. The moon and sun are forming an inflexible fixed T-square with Saturn in Aquarius, pushing the collective to take firm action and change their own reality, shifting structures that are no longer serving them. This electrifying portal is giving the green light to innovate your life.

Basically, this is the time that you really can create your own reality. Some of you might remember in my February new moon, and even in moon circles last summer I was talking about how on the other side of this credit scores we're not going to matter. In fact the way we look at money entirely is changing. And then last week I saw an article about biden's proposal to restructure credit scores, and make them more ethical. Because the way credit scores are now they're just a way to discriminate against people of color, the black community and low income folks. And now everyone is going to have bad credit after a year of not making any money essentially. And even the way we have money right now is all digital. We are just moving numbers between apps and our phone. So why can't we just manifest that those numbers are larger? Right?

A manifestation tool that I want you to use for the next two weeks is imagine your venmo, cash app, PayPal, and bank app all going off with notifications of money coming in. imagine that it's so many notifications that money is coming into your account that it's getting annoying. Like you can barely check your emails or text s without getting so many notifications about money coming in in various ways just to your phone.

It might even be a good idea to smudge your phone once a week to make sure only notifications of money coming IN are happening

This full moon combines the energy of Taurus and Scorpio.

Taurus and Scorpio are polar opposites in the Zodiac wheel: this is the axis of sexuality and sensuality, of creation and destruction. While Taurus is stability-oriented, Scorpio is growth-oriented. While Taurus is about accumulation, Scorpio is about elimination. While Taurus is about the creation of tangible form, Scorpio is about its destruction. Scorpio teaches us that when the purpose of a certain structure has been fulfilled, we need to liberate the energy that was contained there to make it available for something else.

The Sun in Taurus is currently conjunct Uranus, and in loose conjunction with Venus and Mercury, all opposing the Moon. Uranus conjunct the Sun and opposing the Full Moon has the purpose of helping us break free from stagnation, of liberating us from all those attachments that are hindering or delaying our growth. 

During these days we are likely to experience a strong need to rebel from whatever we perceive as restrictive.

Ground yourself in yourself worth and your inherent value.

You are more than your job, you are more than a relative, You have a lot of different moving parts that make up who you are. A lot of those parts are skills or lived experiences that gave you a skill. So maybe it's time to look at all the elements, and skills that make up you and what would that be worth?

It is time to re-evaluate your worth.

If you worked for a company The company would evaluate the skills that you have accumulated and how hard you've worked over a 6-month period and determine a raise for you. If you work for yourself it's important to remember to do that for yourself. Look at all you've done in the last 6 months, or year, and what does that add up to?

A lot of you have started working for yourself over the last year or so and it would be a shame, especially if you're a woman, to pay yourself $0.72 on the dollar. Make sure you are paying yourself your worth. If you learned how to use a new social media platform, that is a new skill and you should be giving yourself a raise or a bonus. Keep that in mind.

And as always you want to release to the full moon what does not serve you, make your list of things you want the moon to take care of and then shred or burn that list. Completely releasing any hold anything on the list has on you. These are the moons problems now.

Happy full moon!

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