Rewilding Ourselves
“But rewilding, unlike conservation, has no fixed objective: it is driven not by human management but by natural processes. There is no point at which it can be said to have arrived. Rewilding of the kind that interests me does not seek to control the natural world, to re-create a particular ecosystem or landscape, but – having brought back some of the missing species – to allow it to find its own way.”
― George Monbiot, Feral: Searching for the Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding
Every night at the same time, my dog, Dexter, a patterdale terrier, game bred but utterly adorable (perhaps I’m biased, he is after all, the cutest and smartest boy), goes to the full length window that looks out onto the back garden and waits. Just past twilight. It’s the same every night. Like clockwork. He’s waiting for the hedgehog. You know when he see’s it. He stands stock still, tail pointing straight up and silent. He’s not a pointer but it matters not. You know the hedgehog’s there, and where too. Occasionally his tail wags, not the normal nonchalant swing that denotes a happy and relaxed mood, but fast and tense. And then the spell is broken and he cannot contain himself anymore and he lets out an almighty bark. He sometimes knocks my plants over too, but that’s by the by.
This happens every evening without fail. He notices the hedgehog and I notice him. In doing so, we are both doing the same thing. We are paying attention. We are watching and observing but not affecting. The dog doesn’t hurt the hedgehog and I do not admonish the dog. And from this watching, we notice the smallest details. We get to know the other. And from this knowledge comes an understanding.
My garden is a haven for wildlife, an oasis in the concrete jungle. Parts of it are neatly kept and other parts left to grow wild, unchecked by my human hands. Hedgehogs have always lived here, there are many places they might make their home, beneath the shed perhaps, in old rabbit runs, the entrances hidden by ivy, or maybe my old compost heap or even the logpile. There are smaller mammals too like the wood mouse but you don’t see these very often, what with them being masters of camouflage and fast too. There are also several species of bird that can be found on the daily. But most people pay scant attention and so do not notice the secret lives that go on all around them in plain sight. It’s not until you learn to look with wild eyes that you begin to see, to truly see, the world for what it is.
As many of our regular readers will know, I practice witchcraft and obeah, traditions firmly rooted in nature and spirit work, or at least my versions are. The concept of rewilding our spiritual and magickal practices is not a new one and many a good essay can be found if you are new to the subject. May I suggest one of my favourites, written by Peter Grey. You can find it here if the fancy takes you. Even if you are already aware of what rewilding witchcraft means, it’s worth reading or even rereading if you have perused it before. Go ahead, we can wait a moment.
Rewilding our witchcraft practices is an absolute must but before we can rewild them in a genuine way that is more than just lip service, we must also rewild ourselves. We have become creatures of comfort and convenience, our lives lived in bubbles where we each take on a number of roles, worker, parent, friend, lover and many more besides. Our attention is taken up with pressing concerns, some of them vital to our survival and others mere distractions from the terrors that are going on in the world. At any given time, there is someone being oppressed, some land being bombed, someone starving and so on and so forth. Do not get me wrong, this is in no way meant to trivialise such matters. They are important. But in the face of such trauma, we all too often feel powerless. What can we do as individuals against world powers, against Capitalism and the rest? My answer is we can rewild ourselves. In doing so we free ourselves to see the inherent beauty in the world and we become motivated to save it, to fight for it in all it’s forms, even human. Big claims, no? In the face of powerlessness, sometimes the only thing we can change is ourselves. There are many ways to begin this change, rewilding is just one of them.
It’s easier than it sounds but as with most things, the hardest part is the beginning. I’ve found, from my own experiences and from others too, that quite often, the thing that gets in the way and stops people from rewilding themselves is time. And before we go any further, one truth must be stated, you will have to make sacrifices. You will have to give something up in order to free up your time. If you watch any amount of TV, then may I suggest a reduction in screen time is the perfect sacrifice and one that will not be missed. When you think about what you’ll gain, it’s not really a sacrifice at all. And so with that said, let us get down to business. Everything from this point onwards are things I have picked up along my way, tips and tricks that have helped me to become a wild thing and so I share them with you too in the hopes that you will join me in the wilds.
Clothing & Equipment
I once took two of my friends foraging. One turned up wearing shorts and Converse, the other wore jeans and leather shoes, what I would call office shoes. Needless to say it wasn’t the easiest field trip for them!
You do not need to spend lots of money, that’s my first and perhaps most important point. My second is dress for the weather and the terrain. If you are going somewhere fairly easy going and the weather is generally good, then you need not wear anything more than a pair of comfy joggers and top and some well fitting trainers. Easy enough. For anything more though, I suggest a good pair of waterproof walking boots. Rewilding yourself will be much easier if you have a base level of comfort. Wet feet are the worst and will put even the most ardent adventurer off going any further, especially when the skin starts to rub and blisters bubble. A pair of hard-wearing but comfortable trousers, a warm fleece or jumper and a raincoat make up the rest, though in winter you may wish to swap the raincoat for something a little more insulated.
A comfortable backpack is also a wise addition and one that is all too often overlooked. In the backpack you’ll want a bottle of water, maybe even a flask of something warm to drink and if you plan on being out for any length of time, a sarnie might be wise too. It might be an idea to take with you a pair of binoculars. You never know what you might see and binoculars allow you to get closer without actually getting closer. They allow you to observe creatures without disturbing them, much like the dog with the hedgehog.
Where & When
So you’re suited and booted with everything packed and ready to roll, but where should you go and when? And my answer is of course go anywhere and at any time you can.
Start local, no matter where that might be. I often say nature abhors a vacuum and so even if you live in the most urban of areas, I suggest starting there. Gardens are another good place to start if you are lucky enough to have one. Not very exciting, you might well think, but your mind will soon change, I can guarantee it!
There’s a hoard of sparrows who live in the ivy in my garden. Not very exciting nor beautiful to most, but these little common brown birds are delightful, a fact that so many people miss because they do not really see them. The same with blackbirds and other common bird species. But there is much to learn about becoming wild from these feathered creatures and for those willing to take the time and sit quiet and still enough, the rewards are great beyond expectation. You will notice the birds too have routines, they squabble and fight, but are still a community with a common goal, to survive and thrive. At this time of year, there is nothing quite like seeing the young fledglings explore the world around them. And as you sit quietly, you notice other species too, those that you might not see as often as the others. Blue tit and goldfinch are regular visitors, but more wary of humans. Wrens too, so small and fast, with their upturned tails, flitting here and then there. And if you are lucky, and have a healthy bird population, a bird of prey might just make a visit. A sparrow hawk landed in the linden tree the other morning as I sat quietly drinking my coffee. It was early and the street was quiet and so it was the loudness of it landing in the tree that alerted me to its presence. They are rarer than the other bird species I’ve mentioned, but not totally uncommon. To my amazement, the sparrow hawk was soon seen off by a protective blackbird (blackbirds are not to be messed with when they have eggs or young in their nests) and I was the only person to see this. And why? Not because I’m special or some kind of nature guru, but because I sat still enough and long enough in my garden. I was in the right place at the right time, but the point is if you never get out and put yourself in those places, then you will never be in the right place at the right time.
Before long though, you’ll want to go further, to explore different places. It might start off with your garden or street, then your neighbourhood, then different parts of your town or city and then onwards still to different parts of the country, to different habitats. And why not? There is much to see and observe. There is much to learn, but you can cut your teeth and learn the process right where you live now.
So that’s the where, but what about the when?
I often advise my students to plan a day and a time and to stick to it. Doesn’t matter what the task is. If you want to do anything, then you need to plan for it. Spur of the moment outings are great, but if you have lots of constraints on your time, then planning is essential. I’m the kind of person that if I don’t schedule a day and a time, then, for the most part nothing gets done, or rather because I have a lot going on, if I don’t schedule something then I miss it and in doing so miss out. Forming a routine is the best way to make sure you get around to getting out. Going outside first thing with my morning cuppa has become a routine. Even if I wake up late or have a busy day, my morning routine is to take my drink outside and it just doesn’t feel right if I don’t do it. Weekend walks have also become routine. The places might change and the times too, but we always go out for a walk somewhere. And the more you get used to going out with the aim of simply spending time in nature then the more you will do it.
It’s also important to mention the act of going out simply for the joy of being out and enjoying nature. I once went for a walk in the woods with a friend who was more focused on getting the distance covered and the steps in than just enjoying the woods and honestly, it was one the worst outing of my life, brief as it was and despite the good weather. On that note too, try going alone or with others who share your rewilding goal. Going with an incessant talker can be just as bad as going with an incessant walker! Remember the goal is to immerse yourself in nature, to become a part of it so that you become invisible, or as invisible as you can to the fauna. Remember what I said at the beginning about the dog and the hedgehog. Rewilding is not about affecting a change on the world around us, but rather changing ourselves so that we become a part of it. And to do this, we need relative quiet.
Once you have got used to making the effort to go out, then the next step is to revisit some of those places but at different times of the day and year. You’ll be surprised at how much change occurs between different parts of the day and night and between the seasons. From this we can draw important parallels. In our workaday lives, the time of day, and season matter not, we are expected to always perform to our highest standards and it’s just unrealistic. I’m not a therapist but I’d argue that this expectation has some part to play in our mental states. When we look towards nature, we can see everything doesn’t bloom all of the time. There needs to be those periods of rest, of regathering, of just slowing down. Though these things are antithesis to Capitalism, our minds and bodies haven’t forgotten this truth.
Old Dogs & New Tricks
So far so good. But there is more and this part may make you groan, but it is important. Rewilding ourselves takes all of the above, no doubt about it, but we must also learn about where we live. What grows where and when, what is poisonous or dangerous, what can be eaten safely, you get the gist. Once you’ve got used to going out and have started exploring different areas, you’ll begin to notice plants, trees and flowers, and this is the perfect time for learning.
We as a species, or at least in Western countries, have become so used to having our food and necessities readily available, purchased from brightly lit stores or over the internet that so many of us would struggle to survive in the wild. Rewilding is not necessarily about going out and surviving by our bush skills, but we have becomes so far removed from nature that so many people cannot identify common plants and animals. Perhaps this is the biggest difference between ourselves and other creatures. We have lost our instincts.
Learning what grows where and when is also a great way of telling what animals we will find in certain places and when. It is another tool in our kit that allows us to immerse ourselves more fully in the natural world. You do not need to spend a fortune on books. Most of mine come from charity shops and flea markets. There are some pointers that are invaluable when it comes to choosing books though. The first is to make sure they are location specific. It’s no good having a book on British and European plants if you don’t live there. You will also need to choose books that have clear pictures showing size, shape, leaf patterns, petal colour and shape and also information about where you are likely to find them growing.
To go even deeper, it’s worth learning about the fauna too. Information about paw and hoof prints, how to spot pathways and crossing points, even how to identify scat is all extremely useful in the rewilding process. All of these less obvious signs let us know what kinds of animals are present and their activities even when they are invisible to us.
Becoming Wild Once More
We are a part of the natural world, though we may have forgotten it. Rewilding has become something of a buzzword in conservation. Rewilding aims to allow nature to recover from what has been done to it. Whereas conservation has measurable aims and is generally geared towards conserving what we have left at the moment, rewilding is more nature driven, and less of a human effort. We just need to allow the earth to rewild itself without human meddling. And so the same can be said when it comes to rewilding ourselves. The aim is to remind ourselves of our connection to nature, to the wilds and to allow ourselves to return to that state by giving ourselves the time and space to do so. In rewilding ourselves, we rewild our witchcrafts and our spiritual practices. In rewilding ourselves we find real and meaningful connection not only with nature but with one another too. And from this state can we then become stronger to affect the kind of change we want to see in the world.
EMMA KATHRYN
Emma Kathryn, practises traditional British witchcraft, Vodou and Obeah, a mixture representing her heritage. She lives in the sticks with her family where she reads tarot, practises witchcraft and drink copious amounts of coffee.
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