The Wandering Below

Tune in for this conversation on community, culture-shaping, and belonging where Davide and Stella interview Gary.

Tune in for this interview about community, culture-shaping, and belonging where Davide and Stella touch on the integral role of land in community, the loneliness of rooting into a new place where other humans aren't well rooted, the implications that king/queen/ascension mentality has on belonging, and "virtual communities."

Tune in for this interview about community, culture shaping, and belonging.

We’re back! Welcome to Season 3 of The Wandering Below podcast. In this episode, we’ll share:

Inspired by this time of the earth element and of centeredness and abundance, we’re beginning to open up our conversation space to include the stories and reflections of those around us. What lies ahead are discussions with invited guests about community, belonging, and culture-building — and we hope these chats are just the starting point for much more. 

Tune into today’s episode for a preview of what to expect from Season 3. 

For reference, here are our past episodes on seasonal energetics:

Join us for a conversation about the rich bewitchment that gratitude brings. The natural flow of thank-yous matches the abundance of the season, so let’s anchor a practice of circular gift-giving in the form of appreciation at this time of year when feeling grateful comes so easily.

In this episode, we share excerpts from Sacred Economics: Money, Gift & Society in the Age of Transition (Charles Eisenstein) and Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (Robin Wall Kimmerer). We talk about the gift economy, how plants teach us to relate to the land with love, and the real-life romance in the way saying “thank you” can change everything.

Perhaps most importantly, though, we wander back to a theme that has emerged in several conversations during Season 2 of the podcast: attempting to become invisible doesn’t solve anything. Instead, we need more wild entanglement with Nature and each other.

Dionysian cheers to summer, sunlight, soil, and sweat. Dance, sing, harvest, gather, and feast in joy as gifts of thanks. Forge relationships as you forage in the forests and fields. Leave offerings. Say “thank you.”

We’re grateful you’re here with us.

Happy summer to one and all! Join us for the fourth in a series of episodes on seasonal energetics. Today we engage with the time of fire and joy using Traditional Chinese Medicine’s (TCM) five-element (or wuxing) system.

We rant about the false concept of endless summer and wonder about the connection between one’s elemental constitution or personality and the season in which they tend to thrive. We highlight the distinction between climate and weather and discuss the power in being able to differentiate between emotion and spirit.

We close it out dreaming about a magical world where “summer people” lead fire-season rituals and rely on “winter people” for guidance in honoring darker times.

In addition to TCM, we also reference astrology in this episode. If you’re interested in learning more about this system or simply generating your birth chart, we recommend true-sidereal astrologer Athen Chimenti’s work at MasteringTheZodiac.com. 

This episode is part II in a mini-series on conscious consumerism. Today we’re discussing ethical and ecological clothing labels, the basics of fabric production, and how our shopping choices relate to the health of our planet and its beings.

We talk through the meaning behind the following clothing labels and production certifications:

We also break down the differences between natural, semi-synthetic (naturally-derived), and synthetic fibers, giving examples of each and highlighting how fiber type doesn’t necessarily infer anything about the sustainability of the manufacturing process.

We all wear clothing, and we must acquire our garments somehow. Whether you make your clothes or buy them, understanding the ways natural fibers are grown, synthetic fibers are developed, and fabrics are produced can help inform your purchasing decisions.

Learning the impacts our shopping choices have on the ecologies and beings in the places where our garments are manufactured can be both overwhelming and empowering. However, knowing what labels to look for when purchasing clothing as well as using your intuitive sense to vet vendors can help you navigate the greenwashing that floods the fashion industry.

Choosing what to wear can be a rebellious act when you direct your money and energy wisely in support of your own wellbeing and of the Earth's ecological stability throughout the Anthropocene.

To connect with us or request a list of resources for deeper discovery, reach out at [email protected].

This episode is part I in a mini-series on conscious consumerism. Today we’re discussing food labels, agricultural practices, and how our choices at the grocery store relate to the health of our planet and its beings.

We talk through the meaning behind the following food labels and agricultural certifications:

We also break down the many descriptors used for both beef products and eggs, which tend to be particularly convoluted.

We’re all consumers, in that we all eat. Having the tools to understand some of the labels you might see when purchasing food can help you feel empowered to direct your money wisely in terms of your own well-being and of the Earth's ecological stability throughout the Anthropocene.

To connect with us or request a list of resources for deeper discovery, reach out at [email protected].

Today we’re breaking down a few basic concepts in the discussion on climate change. We talk through terminology that’s common but sometimes misunderstood including global warming, greenhouse gasses, fossil fuels, carbon emissions, and carbon sequestration.

In previous episodes, you’ve heard the etymology of “regeneration” and “sustainability.” Today we bring the root of the word “conservation” into the conversation, which delivers an interesting depth to what might otherwise be a pretty heavy topic.

Referencing an article recently published by Charles Eisenstein, we share the perspective that shifting our focus from carbon to water and from climate change to ecocide is essential for understanding how to make empowered decisions at this time. We talk a bit about the living Earth view, love, and how true environmentalism requires responsibility more than it demands activism.

Join us as we anchor the belief that our beautiful planet is inherently healthy and whole.

To read Charles Eisenstein’s essay “How the Environmental Movement Can Find Its Way Again,” click here.

Join us for a wandering conversation on anarcho-primitivism!

If you’ve never heard of this — yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like: a movement that fuses anarchy with a primitive lifestyle. This ethics-driven framework serves as a critique of current economic and political systems.

In this episode, we’re questioning whether it’s actually possible to live in deep relationship with Nature and fully adhere to the Wise Earth paradigm (discussed at length in recent episodes) in the context of modern society.

Using anarcho-primitivism as an example of an extreme way of life with both social and environmental implications leads us through an engaging discussion on how one might make ecologically motivated decisions in a time of climate crisis.

We talk about the rejection of authority and technology, the contrasting ideas of domestication and rewilding, and the cost of endless production and consumption.

If we all want more freedom, equity, and an Earthly environment that supports the sustenance of our species, how can we make it happen on the societal level? Individual choices can be impactful in one’s community, but is it ethical or even effective to suggest humans might benefit from living as hunter-gatherers at a global scale?

This conversation, like many we have on The Wandering Below podcast, leaves us with more questions than answers. We wonder where empowerment and leadership might intersect, whether or not a so-called hierarchy exists in the natural world, and how to build stable communities and inspire meaningful creation in times of evolution.

If you’d like to connect with us, find us on instagram or reach out at [email protected]. For more reflections, check out Stella’s blog.