Spiritual Practices and Ceremonies

The Green Christ has told me more than once that his True Cross is a living, shining green tree: A strong, deeply rooted tree whose branches gracefully grow out at all angles, intertwining with and supporting one another, “housing mosses, ferns and lichens, and the nests of birds and the secret trails of spiders; and housing vast colonies of Nature’s beings, both spiritual and material.” (Message, January 4, 2019) So we can begin with this verdant, vibrant image when we conceive of the Holy Cross: Its roots are anchored in the earth; it reaches far up into the sky; and, centered within its embracing arms, its heart welcomes and shelters all the manifestations of the Green World around it.

We may deconstruct this living, green cross into a simple cross of two lines meeting at right angles. But we can never forget that it is rooted in the land and, from its center, encircles and supports all life, human and non-human. When we start contemplating the Cross from this perspective, we gain a useful foundation for opening out our spiritual practices into the green realms of Gaia. [Read more…] about Heart Work: Making the Heart a Green Cross

The Green Christ is of the Sacred Land.

All primal, ancestral traditions considered the land, the body of the planet, to be sacred. This deep knowing was the basis of the people’s practical and spiritual lives. When we examine this belief in more detail, we encounter the prevalent view held by primal humanity that reality has three complementary, equally important realms. There is the so-called middle world, or day world, where everyday relations, tasks and social commerce take place: the matrix of ordinary life. This world is bordered by two other realms: the Upperworld of moon, sun, and stars—the heavens; and the Underworld, which has analogous levels of reality that also contain light—the light within the earth. Both the upper and lower worlds house spiritual energies that manifest as a multitude of powerful beings, who populate many different realms and dimensions.*

It doesn’t take much analysis to recognize that mainstream Christianity is an Upperworld path. Long before the historical Jesus was born in Judea, the Divine was considered to be up in the sky. Jesus was hailed as the Son of the Father, and the Sun of Heaven. The Underworld became Hell, the home of the Devil and eternal damnation. While there were beneficent, powerful sky beings, such as angels, that helped humanity, the Underworld—the body of the sacred land—was relegated to being a place of darkness, heaviness and suffering.

The Green Christ is of the Sacred Land. While he respects and revels in the beauties and powers of Heaven, he is primarily rooted in the green lands of Earth and in the fertile, light-filled realms of the Underworld. He stands for the ancient truth that invoking and co-creating with this mysterious realm is essential for the wholeness of both the land and humanity. He urges and helps us to make alliances with the many underworld beings and spiritual creatures that yearn to come together with us to bring regeneration to Gaia and to ourselves.

The Green Christ is not interested in whether we call ourselves Christian, Pagan, or something else entirely. He offers to everyone equally the deep knowing that we belong to the whole—that we are, each one of us, integral parts of Gaia’s vast green web. And he joyfully welcomes all of us, regardless of ancestry, who have never forgotten this.
[Read more…] about Creating the Green Christ’s Altar