Bones, wings and dangerous things

The  Rain walker and I set out on a dry morning a day before the moon was full. It was a hot and dry day but we were so excited. It may have been hot, but it had finally reached a breathable temperature We could finally venture outside without risk of heat exhaustion. We had originally ventured out in search of Cholla but we found so much more!  

Cholla is a cactus and very magical plant its covered in sharp and chaotic spines on the outside, but on the inside its soft and has an intricate weave. We hunted for Cholla skeletons for a while, at first we didn't find much, what we did find were a very strange plant it looked to be part of the Solanaceae family with permission from the plant we took some samples home. After some research I found that it was actually called Pedaliaceae which is closely related to "bat head" It is sometimes called Desert Unicorn or Devils Claw.  Devils Claw is known to help with joint pain medicinally and Magicaly it is used for protection. I personally have used it for underworld and nocturnal work. Its bat head like shape connects it to the nocturnal and underworld work. After this amazing discovery I will be headed out in about a month to harvest the dead and dried "pods" what we know as the "bat head" that is used in Voodoo and Hoodoo. 

After we explored the wild vegetation for a while we kept running into these amazing spider webs. They belong to the funnel spider they are a poisonous spider, but are low risk to humans active March through October. I do plan on going back late October to find any abandon webs. Spiders especially ones that are as intricate as these can be used in underworld magic, to connect to  the fates, and Arachne. Anyone who is a weaver should have these wonderful creatures as their ally. If  you are not a weaver they are creative creatures that teach us about weaving our own fate, and taking control of our own lives.

Finally we found a patch of Cholla. We took great care to harvest only the dead and dying parts of the plant. We came home with a back pack full! I have so many wonderful pieces that I am very excited to start crafting ritual items with.

We had our arms full and decided to head back to the car. As we headed back we got turned around just a bit. Instead of heading to the car we ended up in the bottom of a wash ( a natural dry  bed that holds water when it rains) We were chatting about what a wonderful day it was and joking about how it would be perfect if I could only find some bones, and how surprised I was that I actually hadn't found any. It was only about 10 steps later that right in front of me was rib bone. I am not sure if it is a wild boar or other animal but it is in great shape and I was so happy to find it!

We passed a bush that was alive with butterflies. You have to watch the video to see how many!

We veered to the right and further down the wash there in front of us was a large cactus not Cholla, but an unknown species (to me). It was completely dead with skeleton pieces exposed. We were able to  harvest several skeleton pieces from the carcass without getting stuck and without disrupting the growth around it.

While the rain walker was cleaning the skeleton pieces I ventured further into the wash I was so excited as I rounded the corner. There was wild and beautiful Datura. I had brought gloves and was so happy I did! I dug around the plants and was able to dig up 3 without destroying the root system. When we arrived home we planted them and they are faring well! To find out more about Datura visit one of my favorite pages Alchemy-Works http://www.alchemy-works.com/datura_info.html

On our way back to the truck we were talking yet again,  "wouldn't it be nice to find a dead bird? I'm sure there is one around here somewhere" Just few steppes further and I found several wing pieces. No other parts but just wings and they were in fantastic shape already partially mummified. I will be crafting some wonderful ritual items from them as well!