Beyond The Goddess Issue #1 February 2023

BEYOND THE GODDESS BEYOND THE GODDESS

About Beyond The Goddess Cultivating A

Regenerative New World.

Beyond The Goddess is a digital publication going beyond cannabis culture by showcasing the rich craft community and its diaspora.

Our goal is to empower regenerative culture by publishing journalism, history, art, music, poetry, stories and traditions.

We are committed to discovering the love we share in common, reimagining a harmonious and independent global society and economy.

About The Founders

Aiyana Floreterna Gregori

Aiyana is a second generation Back To The Lander. She established Humboldt Synchronicitrees in 2016 with a dream of bringing regenerative cannabis to market. Today Aiyana is determined to support her beloved community through journalism and her vision for Beyond The Goddess and a more sustainable economy in Northern California.

Daniel Montero

Daniel started working as a marijuana professional in 1998, operating from San Jose, California to Humboldt County. Since 2019, GW Smoke Break TV has been committed to producing culturally authentic content for the cannabis industry, empowering legacy operators in The Emerald Triangle and beyond.

“Our energy and money are seeds for cultivating a Regenerative New World. Wherever we plant them, ideas grow into realities”

-Aiyana Floreterna Gregori

Aiyana's Poetry Corner “Raise The Vibration Creations”

Floreterna Gregori

Did you know that Poetry is a “magic wand” to conjure new realities? We have all dreamed of “changing the world” only to fall back into the monotony of a world built to prioritize money and productivity putting, art, love, family and community on the sidelines.

“Poetry and beauty are always making peace. When you read something beautiful you find coexistence; it breaks walls down.” —Mahmoud

Darwish

Personal experience has taught many of us the best way to “transform our world” is to begin with ourselves. Poetry invites us to create deep inner transformation through the expression of the inexpressible, bringing healing to all.

I present: Poetry, prose and verse from and about “a regenerative new world”

Striving to inspire Co-Operation in this heart driven cause to build a harmonious, regenerative, loving society. Inviting truth and healing, both vital for regeneration in this world.

Aiyana

Micro aggregates

(Carbon Mineral Love)

(10/17/2018)

Poised to jump beyond chaos, madness caught me in unrest. My beautiful imagination, a free flowing fountain of growth, intricate decorations. Colors of the rainbow in between, sparkle inside of me. These colors connect, as we dance synchronically Richness of earthen humus, we gather, connect with heart, steps to connect distances apart.

Real creation of regeneration new principles within this image – I – nation. A way to create our community, thriving streams, precisely, magically, freely and wildly. Remain in heart, remember my dreams, disconnect from the collective mind it seems. Synch with deep marrow of life, with joy and growth not sorrow and strife. These are anaerobic pockets yearning for oxygen, to grow soil particles, in this creationing. Particles loving in one big hug, Micro aggregates snuggle all day, healthy soil is love! No individualism down there, soil is dense, if you need oxygen, cooperation is immense! Do your part every day, we need oxygen, we get it this way, regeneration of this image – I – Nation. Supporting the new today. Each decision we make, This world we create.

We are the ones who can create our dreams!

And now it's time for an activity! I invite you to join me in this creative journey:

As you write, allow free flow of imagination and emotions, do not stop to edit, prioritizing the “healing creational” qualities of writing rather than attempting to get a perfect poem. (You can edit later if you wish to)

*** What do you know about the soil “food web cycle of life”? Have you ever seen/ made compost be made into soil? Have you ever seen rotting plants in the forest feed the soil, the bugs, the fungi, and insects? Write about this. Describe them literally, symbolically or artistically. Write about your passion and the soil. Use the soil as a Simile/ metaphor for personal/ social transformation. Write about what people think of the soil, how much do you really know about it?

Ask yourself: what sights, smells, taste , sensations and sounds does it inspire? What deep images does it caress your imagination with? What do you appreciate the most? Get Creative, give it your own twist.

Growing Up In Humboldt

Wayra A. Klocker Gregori

My heart has been split in two my entire life. Growing up by the beach in Puerto Montt, Chile; and among forests of weed in Humboldt County, California. A Chilean dad, and a "Gringa Chilenisada" mom, (a Chilean-immersed American) who together, birthed me, a "Gringa Chilena" (an American Chilean). As someone who grew up in two different countries at the same time, I can say that when people find out about how I grew up among forests of weed and living in the middle of nowhere, with the nearest neighbor being two miles away, and falling asleep behind music speakers at festivals in Humboldt County, they are either confused or in awe.

The sheer peace and tranquility felt when waking up in the morning, and hearing nothing but the chickadees and blue jays, is not part of the mainstream lifestyle most people lead.

When I close my eyes, I can easily imagine it. Taking the three-minute walk up to the outhouse, the breeze ruffling my hair as I go. Seeing a red-tailed hawk scouting for its next meal, I divert my attention to a dead tree post, on which a peregrine falcon is sunning itself. I can remember the exact feeling of the earth when digging my hands into the soil to help my parents transplant the weed into bigger pots or beds. The exact feel and texture of the water as it gushes into the hole dug for the plant is fresh in my mind. Digging the holes, filling them with water, getting taught how to gently place the plant in, covering it with soil, and once again dousing it in water, was my favorite thing to do in the garden. That, or just simply watering.

A lot of days were hot enough that I'd ask my parents to water me along with the plants. I'd stand next to them so that we could save water and get cooled down at the same time. An activity my mom and aunt used to do as kids when helping my grandpa plant trees. When it got hot enough and enough work had been finished, usually around midday, we'd drive or take the quad down to The Delta to swim in the river. The rough bumpy ride on the quad as we rode over the rocks was always fun, but as soon as we got there I'd rip off my clothes and dive right in. Being sure to stay in the deep area, so as to not get bitten by pincher bugs. I still remember the day I felt the horrible stinging pulse surge through my upper leg as one stung me continuously, stuck, unable to get out of the inside of my bathing suit. I furiously ripped my one piece off to get it to go, as one of the adults flicked it off for me. Since then, I always made sure to swim in a deep enough area. Especially during the summer, when the fuckers are most prevalent.

While swimming I’d surface only for air, before diving back down again. My favorite way to swim was open-eyed, underwater. I’d pretend I was a mermaid, and swim with my legs “glued” together. I absolutely loved it. One day, I found a way to make my own “water goggles”, by cupping my hands tightly around my eyes to not let any air escape and going underwater with air in it. That, or releasing some of the air from my lungs to fill my hands. As long as I didn’t move much, it would look as if I were staring at the bottom of the river from above the water.

The day I got my mermaid tail, I was ecstatic. I'd rarely swim without it! I’d take it nearly everywhere. It consisted of one big flipper in the shape of a tail with space for your feet to go in, with a big swimsuit skin you could pull over you. It was far too loose for me, so I’d tie it tight with a hair tie. I didn’t care about that, though. I could swim like a mermaid, with an actual tail! My dream had come true. I remember there being this rock, a big boulder on the other side of the river that would stick out. I’d call it Mermaid Rock, and lay on it, while flapping my tail on the water playfully, wrapped in my own fantasy. Whenever a friend would come over, or when I’d run into one at the river, I’d be sure to show them that rock. The day I told my mom about it, she laughed out loud, and told me about how she used to have a rock in the same river that she called Mermaid Rock, too. No wonder we’re related!

I spent a year in Chile living with my older sister and going to school there to learn how to read and write in 1st grade, and part of 2d grade, then spent the other half of 2d grade and 3d grade in California at Ettersburg School as one of the 12 students in the K3d grade school, while simultaneously traveling back and fourth between Southern Chile and California. I started homeschooling in 4th grade. When my parents first asked me what I thought about starting homeschool at the local charter school, I was skeptical. It was new to me, and I had no experience with it. However, I figured that if I didn’t like it, I’d tell them, and they’d put me back into normal school the following year, so I gave them my consent.

Being homeschooled meant that I’d ideally have to do a little homework in all the subjects every day, go to the charter school once a week for an hour to see my teacher, who would evaluate the work I had done so far, and let me know what I’d need to do more of for the following week, and see a separate tutor for math once a week for an hour, since that wasn’t my strong point. Other than that, I had complete freedom. And now that I was homeschooled, I had the time. My parents took this opportunity to enroll me in a ton of different extracurricular activities. And together with the help of my grandparents, they’d drive me, and pay for the classes. I was so busy with my classes that even though we lived in the country an hour from the nearest small town, we’d drive there every single day. Piano, guitar, or accordion (mostly accordion), Aikido (a Japanese martial art), horseback riding, band, aerial silks, trapeze, theater with the local youth program Recycled Youth, and art are just a few of the extra curricular classes I’d attend.

I’d also sell my friendship bracelets and handmade jewelry at the Garberville Farmers Market every Friday. I remember how noisy and busy it was every week. Farm-stands selling their fruit and vegetables, jam, tie-dyed clothes, greeting cards, the Lost Frenchman’s wood fired pizza stand who’s scent of food would fill the air, a sun-tent with live music, and laughing screaming children running through the water fountain on hot days. Often, I’d join in, playing with my friends in the grassy area, sliding down a small slide that had been carved out of a rock, smoothed, and placed on the small patch of grass. I still laugh when I remember the sign: “All adults must be accompanied by a child” that’s staked there. When I wasn’t selling macrame, or simply wanted a break, I’d play with my friends in the grassy area. I made up a game for us to play called “Queen of the Rock” which consisted of taking turns being the sole person on the boulder, and trying to defend it from anyone trying to climb on. Anyone who managed to do so would be the next king or queen.

My childhood was quite full and chaotic… but it was very rarely boring. And despite having grown up on a Pot Farm, I never really had any interest in smoking it at all. To anyone worried that having kids grow up among or near weed in such a setting could affect them— My experience, and that of many of my friends, is quite a positive one. We never understood the idea that marijuana was considered a bad thing in many other places, because we never saw any negative effects. Unless getting super hungry counts. To us, Marijuana was simply a green leafy plant with a strong distinct smell that our parents cultivated and sold for a living. Oftentimes we’d see and hear the adults laughing and having deep philosophical conversations with each other while passing around a joint. It wasn’t bad or weird, it was just simply our way of life— We hardly paid any mind— We were too busy running around playing tag, and hiding for hide and seek.

Wayra A. Klocker Gregori

Experiencing The Community Of The Emerald Triangle

When I cruised north down the US 101, I passed the “Welcome to Mendocino” sign and immediately thought about how it described the area I was approaching and all that makes the county so special: “Wilderness, wineries, and waves.” But what about weed?

As I swerved and steered along the mountainous highway, the string of tall redwood trees lining the coastal range greeted me as I entered my new surroundings.

This wasn’t quite the scenic view I had been used to driving around in Florida, where I couldn't find a mountain or Douglas Fir tree in sight no matter how hard I looked.

Yet in the Golden State, I knew this would be a common visual that complemented the picturesque beauty that Northern California was known for.

Isabella DeChard

The only impressions I ever really had of this area and the Emerald Triangle as a whole were from cannabis journalism, insightful Vice TV documentaries, and true crime podcasts. Above everything, I knew this place was the “mecca” of cannabis and home to some of the most renowned legacy growers and cannabis legends in the country.

Around the end of April this past year, I arrived in Mendocino County ready to commit to being this season’s cultivation intern on the Swami Select farm. Their beautiful cannabis farm was surrounded by a sea of tall trees, a vast meadow, and the multiple sounds and chirps of wildlife all around. It was located around 2,500 feet up on a mountain outside of the small town of Laytonville.

Even if I wasn’t sure exactly what this whole new experience would entail, by the time I turned off of US 101 and began off-roading up the bumpy gravel road of Bell Springs, I knew I was in for an unforgettable and eye-opening experience.

I

I took on this internship opportunity for a few reasons. First, the insatiable desire in my heart to travel and visit a new place was growing louder and louder. I was ready to excuse myself from the everyday mainstream noise of my hometown.

Second, I was ready to learn more about the cannabis plant, beyond the copy-and-paste blogs and articles I’d read online. This is what also inspired me to become a student of the Ganjier certification program. I yearned to gain a better well-rounded education of cannabis no textbook or article could replicate.

Finally, I took on this internship because I knew that the only way to learn more about cannabis would be to fully immerse myself in its culture and “roots” (pun intended). The Emerald Triangle is famously known for its legendary, quality sungrown weed cultivated in the beautiful climates of Mendocino, Humboldt, and Trinity counties.

I had always known that way before cannabis legalization made any news headlines, Northern California was the paradigm for all things involving the world of weed.

Seasonal workers and “trimmigrants” would come to get lost in the woods each season to cultivate, harvest, and trim down cannabis plants taller than you can imagine – a (true) folktale experience passed around (like joints) by both stoners and sobers alike.

The Emerald Triangle is home to arguably some of the best weed in the world, with cultivators who have covertly supported their families and lifestyles through its “illegal” cultivation and distribution to tokers all around the U.S.

As Swami would put it to my parents when they came to visit the farm, “We put a joint in every college dorm across the country.”

However, I think what a lot of us have never really sat and realized, including myself, was what exactly this region of the Emerald Triangle truly represents.

Northern California cannabis is way more than just peace and pot-loving hippies (although, that is a very big and prideful part of it). Every welcoming community event, friendly person met, and incredible farm tour I experienced throughout my time in Mendocino proved this to me.

II

Once I was feeling settled at my new home on the top of the mountain, it didn’t take very long for me to realize why this area was so favored and renowned for its cannabis cultivation.

The lower humidity, temperatures, and cool springtime breeze made the climate impeccable for the plant’s growth cycle. Chilly nights and long, dry summer days allowed the cannabis plants to bloom to their full essence and potential.

Regardless of the breathtaking valley views, incredible climate, and distinguished terroir, what I learned really makes the Emerald Triangle so special is the sense of community.

There is a peculiar type of energy around the Emerald Triangle community that can’t necessarily be put into words but is apparent in the crisp, fresh coastal air. There is this silent mutual understanding shared among the community about the land, the plant itself, and its newfound legal industry.

When it comes to the land, I learned the Emerald Triangle community cultivates with care, respect, and compassion toward the environment they’re in.

This goes as far as farming methods used - whether it’s cannabis, squash, or even roses. Many farmers choose to cultivate plants and crops with a more regenerative, sustainable, and beneficial approach to the land. Their dedication as stewards of the land undoubtedly shows in the overall preserved beauty and essence of the surrounding forests, valleys, and mountains.

By having a more dialed-in, deeper connection between the Earth and plants through these farming practices and efforts, I truly believe this is a facet that many of these larger, more corporate, indoor cultivations severely lack.

Additionally, the love and passion every resident, farmer, and member of the community have in honoring and cultivating cannabis plants goes far beyond the plant’s THC content or indica/sativa classification.

It’s a collective love for the medicinal and therapeutic magic this plant offers to each of us, and it’s what has inspired farmers to continue to grow, respect, and share this plant medicine.

These legacy growers and local farmers put hard work, heart, and soul into everything they do - which is highly evident in the quality of their cannabis flower and final products.

This love and passion for the plant is what stood out to me at every communal event I attended - each seed swap, farmer's market, and even the Mendocino Farmer's auction, was filled with likeminded and open hearted people who encouraged one another with zealous praise. Community members all gather to honor, appreciate, and celebrate the small triumphs and results from the fruit of their neighbor’s labor.

This love and respect for nature, the plant, and one another are what sets California’s sungrown cannabis apart from any other corporate, flashy weed brand we see on the market today. If anything, this respect never wavered when legalized, but their efforts, dedication, and advocacy for the plant quadrupled in power.

As the cannabis industry and culture continue to grow and thrive across the country, I have hope for this Northern California community. From a consumer and cannabis lover’s standpoint, what it is going to take is matching this same love and respect the Emerald Triangle has for the cannabis plant and applying that directly to the brands and products we shop, value, and support.

So far, it’s been proven nothing can stop this Emerald Triangle community from sharing the powerful energy, love, and respect that flows among the redwoods. We must plant these seeds of support and respect for the plant and the community that has made it what we know it as today.

As a Florida native and naive Californian in cannabis, I am forever honored and thankful to have been a part of such a loving, respected, and warm community in the Emerald Triangle.

When my time on the farm had ended and as I took my last drive down Bell Springs Road, I smoked a joint, looked out into the vast valley of mountains and trees, and became excited to pass on the valuable love and insight I gained from my connections within this community.

As I passed by the “Welcome to Mendocino” sign, I reflected on the incredible views of waves, the rich experience of wineries, and the endless wildlife spotted over the course of my six months spent. But what will always be in my heart about Mendocino isn’t just the weed, it’s the community that grows it.

Cereda - Sunbolt Grown

“Sunshine Cereceda is a second generation ganja farmer. Sunshine and I grew up together working to save countless old growth forests in Humboldt and supporting the fight to protect Native lands and community. She is a second generation ganja farmer that never believed the hype.” - Aiyana “Floreterna” Gregori

More at sunboldt.com

Home of the Legendary Loopy Fruit

Sunshine

What Does Honor The Goddess Mean To Me?

Jeordin Wiley

As a young woman who has developed alongside Mary Jane, cultivating a relationship on both a spiritual and professional level–this phrase has many meanings to me.

If you’ve never worked in a garden, or watched the plant’s life from seed to sale, first I urge you to get your hands in the soil. Second, I insist that there is a sacred energy that emanates from this plant–that can only be experienced through cultivation.

Smoking herb is one thing-–but watering her, watching her grow and develop into the mature woman she was born to be to watch her bloom into her fullest self and be taken on by another, is an experience like no other.

The plant whispers to you. As you water her, she waters you. As you feed your compost teas, the goddess feeds your soul. Like any goddess, we must honor the plant’s divinity and the lessons we learn through our relationship with her. For me, she is my Eve, and the garden my Eden.

My interest in the plant has gone so far as pursuing her on an academic level, studying her from the inside out–from seed to sale. I’ve not only studied her origins, but how to communicate her essence opening up myself as a channel and vessel for her vision.

My life’s purpose: service to the plant—seeded into her flower bed, sewn into a 5 gallon pot and watered in around the edges so as to spread alongside her roots.

I hold her in high regards, and with the same level of respect as any deity.

With every inhale, I remember to practice gratitude for all the Goddess has shown me within and outside of myself, and with every exhale—I give thanks for all the doors she has opened and made available for me.

What is sustainability? Sustainability is the gift that keeps on giving, through the gift of reciprocal energy. Multiple sources, continually pouring into one another, cultivating a deeper relationship over time.

A good life, like good herb, comes from a sustainable network/community. What we pour into our plant—what we pour into our community—comes back sevenfold. So what is it that we are cultivating in our community? And is the energy sustainable?

As we all know, the Cannabis Community is known to be one of the most open and diverse groups to chill upon this planet.

Cannabis brings together all walks of life. From single mothers, to business executives from closeted conservatives to out-in-the-open drag queens, we’ve truly got it all here, right?

So what sustains us? Better yet, to follow in the great words of JFK, what can we do to sustain this community and industry beyond the herb?

There are a few things we should focus on as this ever-expanding industry makes its way globally and into legal markets: Equity, Protecting Legacy Farmers, and Honoring the Goddess.

As cannabis enters the legal market, and more jobs are born out of this budding industry—cannabis begins to intertwine with job equity, like any industry. The only difference is we look to our leaders not to fit the status quo—to be as revolutionary as the plant itself.

Unfortunately the same challenges we see in other industries, follow into the cannabis market. This is where, for example, we begin to observe inequities in the industry between different socio-economic groups.

During my time in the corporate industry, I observed unconscious bias take precedence in the workplace. Males chosen for jobs, that equally, if not overqualified females were passed over for, along with sexual harrasment disguised as basic playful banter.

If anything, due to the newness of the industry and everyone involved, this behavior was unregulated and if anything recklessly glorified and practiced on all levels, from the owner of the company to the managers beneath him.

A headache for any woman—especially a woman of color, trying to advance in a white-male dominated field, without showing off her ass for a leg up.

If you subscribe to Dank Dutchess, you may have recently seen her response to a particular picture posted by a popular extraction company, and her absolute outrage with misogyny within the Cannabis Community.

It is a perfect example as to why we need to create a safe space for females within the Cannabis Industry, and provide equity—so that they can sit high, quite literally, upon their thrones amongst the males who currently dominate the industry as colleagues and not just as sex symbols.

We need to cultivate a community that is educated, aware, mindful and intentional. So that not only do we recognize bad behavior within ourselves and others, but have the knowledge and insight to communicate and counter this behavior, as well as discipline ourselves to curate an environment that discontinues to welcome such. On all levels, from our leaders to your every day consumer.

Plus certain behaviors and misogyny within the industry is what scares so many bad ass females away from participating. Who wants to work in a grow room full of dudes, who make disgusting comments and create an unsafe, (or otherwise uncomfortable), working environment?

We all know happy plants don’t come from bad environments. Why should the Cannabis Community become just another locker room? A sustainable community centers around education, awareness, common respect, holding each other and ourselves accountable, along with genuine camaraderie.

All in all, for me, it circles back to Honoring the Goddess. The female is the bearer of all life. To honor the Goddess, is to also honor the women in the industry. The women who care and cultivate her, those who fight for her rights in the legal and judicial systems, those who educate, advocate and act as conduits of her abundant harvest. We must nurture and protect the Goddess.

It is important to support female leaders, and other disadvantaged groups within the industry.

I encourage you to discover, uplift, and engage with women in the Cannabis Community. Show your support by actively seeking out women owned cannabis products, potcasts etc Particularly those owned by women of color including Black, Indigenous and Hispanic owned companies and small businesses.

It is equally as important to support small local cannabis businesses, and local farmers. Especially those legacy farmers that are currently at a disadvantage due to the pressures of legality and strict regulations.

From licenses, to taxes and back to penalties. A crop becomes a commodity, and next thing you know all the mom and pop farmers are broke, fighting tooth and nail to pay their mortgage on top of keeping up with corporations and an ever-expanding market.

At this time, behind the pretty manicured nugs, there is another silent battle going on and many will not make it out.

Take Southern Humboldt for example, once a thriving community. Now there are barely few businesses keeping afloat—all the money of the 90s close to long gone. The depression no one is talking about.

Local cannabis farmers and small business owners forced to work 9-5 jobs at minimum wage to pay off their mortgage, along with property taxes, water bills and heavy regulation fees attached to transitioning into the white market.

Few have made it out alive, losing their life’s work in a matter of a few years since legalization.

I remember my first time working with a farmer and local business owner, who had actually experienced this first hand, (a grower since the late 80s), who had friends dying left and right, and you could tell by the longing for hope in her own eyes… the toll that legalization has taken out on the community.

So as corporations rise, don’t push small farmers to the wayside. Lift them up. Be there. Support them. After all, that’s what a genuine community is about. Beyond all the smoke and clouds, when it comes down to the roots.

Like in any area of life—for the sake of our own longevity—we must take care of our elders and those caretakers that came before us—honoring their story and keeping their legacies alive. Paying homage to the families still out on the hill their granddaughters and grandsons who carry on the tradition despite a viscous market and lingering recession.

We have our own mycelium network within the cannabis industry. When something is off in one area, we all feel it. We’re all affected by it, so it’s our responsibility to respond. To create and cultivate a thriving ecosystem, that’s not only sustainable for the plant but sustainable for us.

As we move into a global market, it’s even more important to not only spread our roots but to stay connected and strengthen our network as well as cut off any dead leaves that no longer serves us.

Cultivating a space of harmony and safe exploration, as we grow and expand alongside this plant for all involved.

Honor the Goddess, as we take the time to honor one another. As a farmer pours into the plant, we must pour into one another and our community. As we water one another, feeding our soil and our souls, we get to witness the blossoming of something beautiful.

Jeordin Wiley

Legacy operator Season George curates a heart to plant experience at Five Sisters Farms, Southern Humboldt. With over 20 years of horticulture experience and community building, Season promotes regenerative cannabis and a back to the land lifestyle. Five Sisters overlooks the Eel river with tours and glamping reservations available at https://fivesistersfarm.co/

High Grade History 101: A Call To Action

Daniel Montero

With the non-stop frenzy that is the California cannabis industry, it is easy to forget and even completely gloss over the incredibly rich and globally recognized history of a staunch underground counterculture rooted in freedom and rebellion.

The historical significance is great. Similarly to when electricity was invented, the legalization of marijuana will continue to revolutionize our modern world. From hemp based insulation to finding cures for life threatening ailments, ganja is a life force sent from up above to help save us from ourselves. And like any well respected conquistador, it is the manifest destiny of those seated in power to monopolize our industry. Now the irony is that, and as we are seeing, nothing, not even history herself, could prepare new participants for the true nature of the marijuana industry.

This business was forged by rebels, hippies, outlaws and ex-soldiers. More telling is that the classic stereotype of stoners speaking and behaving as if they had half wits for brains is far from the truth. Some of the boldest, most intelligent free thinking souls from around the globe emigrated and continue to flock to the West Coast and the Emerald Triangle to pursue their passions with the Goddess.

That legendary Summer of Love in 1967. The culmination of an anti-war movement that also championed anti-consumerist values. The government did their best to eradicate the cultural phenomenon that is the hippie movement and instead instilled upon their intended victims the willpower and steadfastness to methodically rebel against the system. Even soldiers from wars like Vietnam realized there are better things in life than to be expendable on any given day.

What we learn when we look further into history is that a conqueror’s role was made easier by leaving cultural icons of an usurped society alone versus destroying them. Musicians, artists, storytellers, etc. The logic is that a conquered people are placated and at less risk for mass rebellion when cultural wealth is left intact. Greed, and the fascination of taking something from someone else, is so great here in California that the trend is to forget some of the basic lessons from the ancient art of war. So much money is being dispensed on either culturally misappropriated marketing that ignores historical precedent or the unabashed exploitation of our experienced growers, breeders and their prized genetics. For the record, sinsemilla is the most chemically complex plant in the botanical kingdom. Best of luck trying to genetically bottleneck and monopolize her.

This unprecedented attack on the marijuana community is an open invitation to remind ourselves that we come from a sovereign lineage of dedicated anti-war demonstrators, back to the land homesteaders and outlaws; men and women who defied the legal system here in the US and around the world to, inadvertently or not, heal themselves and their communities in the process. Do not forget that the same opposition our community faced during the Vietnam War, The War On Drugs, The Timber Wars (Redwood Summer 1990) etc, are the same antagonists that have rebranded themselves within the cannabis space.

This is a call to embrace and indulge in the stories of marijuana’s bravest men and women. Their legend will further cement and romanticize our relationship with farmers who have risked it all to make sure we have the privilege of enjoying the best medicine our hard earned money can buy.

This is also a call to action. Remember that to honor the Goddess is to honor yourself. Mother Nature awaits us all with her arms widespread, alive and well, offering values, experiences and lessons that money cannot buy.

Most of all thank you for supporting all independent craft marijuana operators. Our common thread is love and that’s exactly what makes the world go round.

Things to Buy

Uplift Cannabis Co-Op

Born in the Mattole Valley, Uplift Cannabis Coop offers a variety of top shelf sun grown flowers and hash infused pre rolls. There are currently 6 families working together to bring top quality craft cannabis to the consumer, East Mill Creek Farms, Clear Water Farms, Roots To Rise Ranch, Dew Point Farms, Safier Family Farm, and Wild West Herbs More at https://www.uplift.coop/.

Chiah Rodrigues and her husband James Beatty are second generation legacy growers cultivating their own genetics off grid in Redwood Valley in the heart of Mendocino. Arcanna Flowers True Ryder OG won the silver medal for the Myrcene terpene category at the ‘22 State Fair. More info at https://www.arcannaflowers.com/

02 BEYOND THE GODDESS 31 `

Aiyana "Floreterna" Gregori, is a second generation farmer, poet, songwriter and creatress of delicious healing recipes that promote a healthy regenerative community lifestyle. Raised in Ettersburg, Aiyana promotes a regenerative community lifestyle and prepares one of a kind organic Jams, Jellies and Fruit Butters. Purchase online at https://gwsb.tv/

Arcanna Flowers

Jammin It On Humboldt Synchronicitrees Farm

Aiyana Gregori

Did you know that 80% of craft cannabis farms are in a high fire danger zone?

On Sept 4th, 2022, the Ettersburg fire ripped through my farm, leaving me with less than a fourth of my harvest. I received the news while in Eureka. I raced home, my heart pounding the entire two and a half hour drive to assess the damage. My team and I had just finished clearing, re-planting and trellising three weeks prior, I remember feeling tremendous gratitude when I learned that our volunteer fire departments had the flames under control and that my residence and outbuildings were safe, as were all my neighbors on the twelve mile dead end mountain road.

I was still in shock the next morning. Smells of charred grass and wood invaded my nostrils. Firetrucks and firemen were present for several days. I know the importance of maintaining a positive attitude and decided to take action. Coincidentally, I had recently picked three large totes of plums from an orchard in Myers Flat. After talking with the fire chief and telling him what I knew for the investigation, I decided to unload my delicious red plums. Jammin to good tunes while I prepped these scrumptious organic fruits raised my spirits considerably.

Daniel Montero is constantly raving about my high end, healthy, scrumptious healing food so I shared a few quarts with him. Being from a business background he ended up selling all of his gifted jars within a week! I hadn’t thought of starting a business but I was dreaming about plum jam in a gluten free vegan cake on homemade fruit ice cream or in a healthy tart to share with my friends and community.

After talking with Daniel about his success and my innate desire to create and share my passion for healthy eating, we decided to chart a course as craft food entrepreneurs. I started looking around at what other local resources were available for jammin it in the Emerald Triangle and we ended up picking Asian Pears from my family orchard that I planted as a child with my Dad and sister Mariah. My Dad Gil Gregori totally helped us by picking pears with me. After some practice, I crafted a recipe for my Asian Pear Chai Spice Sweet Chutney and Caramelized Citrus Chai Spice Pear Butter.

After many, many years of being slammed with the annual cannabis harvest, we always had little to no time to enjoy the apple, Asian pear and chestnut bounties on my father’s 550 acre farm. I remember an exquisite feeling of wealth and gratitude as I lugged my totes and struggled to drag the orchard ladder under the first Asian pear tree. We filled eight big totes between Danny, my Dad and I. The next step for me was to create and of course taste my delicious chutney and caramelized butter until I had perfected my recipes. In the meanwhile Danny brought an electric peeler corer to the table to replace the hand cranked, ancient hardware I was borrowing from my Dad. We were set.

During the pear-a-thon of peeling, canning, mixing pear butter on the stove all day to achieve the pear-fect caramelized touch, I came up with two more apple recipes and will soon be offering jalapeño and mulled spice apple jelly.

It is now the first week of November and I just finished processing the last of the Asian pears. I'm now eagerly digging into my treasure trove of apples and chestnuts. I have been enjoying long hours reconnecting with the bounty of the land and giving thanks for the orchards my family and I planted decades ago.

Our higher goal as a community is to preserve our sustainable economic lifestyle and to improve the financial crisis our California craft cannabis farmers are facing. Optimizing regional resources, sharing knowledge and working together are all ways we can create economic well being for our farmers and communities. We can generate additional income by growing organic fruits and veggies, craft products, and participating in a cannabis tourism industry that promotes global sustainability, land preservation and culture. It is up to us to think out of the box during these trying times and to manifest the harmony we have always dreamed of.

Our money is like a seed, we create growth wherever we plant it, supporting businesses that in return help to flourish the society we truly want to live in for the rest of our lives.

Anything is possible. Now is the time to begin!

Shop Humboldt Synchronicitrees Online at www.gwsb.tv. A pear-fect gift for the holidays.

Brit Different: London Calling To The Far Away Towns.

Matt Grimshaw

If the title wasn’t enough of a hint then let me quickly state that I’m not from here. Where I am from (and when I’m from), the weed game was a very different reality to the one I live today blasting around the Emerald Triangle filming stuff for an indie production company to publish on our Youtube channel, which is how I came to know the good owners of this publication as it happens, but I’m willing to bet it’s light years away from the experiences of anyone reading this. So when I offered to write something and asked for some direction,I had a little chuckle to myself about the response:

Legendary strains? Scoring a good bag? It really hit home how alien my experience of cannabis is in comparison to all of you here because I’m from a small green island surrounded by water just off the coast of Europe that’s a pretty cold & wet place, where weed doesn’t grow outdoors terribly well to the best of my knowledge and even if it could, the penalties for doing so are harsh to say the least. It’s a society that suffers from having far too much history for its own good including draconian attitudes to things like; cannabis, psychedelics, loud music and fun in general. Think ‘permanent Nixonian Hellscape’ with an upper class English accent enforcing a centuries old class structure - you know, the stuff a bunch of folks ran away from to set up here a few centuries back. In addition, I grew up in the ‘80’s right in the middle of the “Just say no” era, echoing the Regan backed drug war propaganda of the time featuring dimebag drug busts and a climate of fear and secrecy so rampant it made cannabis very difficult to procure if you didn’t know where to look. Weed was so frowned upon, that every adult authority figure in my life enthused in telling me that should I ever be tempted to even puff on a rollup of the Devil's lettuce I would be instantly lost to spiraling addictions & assured personal doom. Cannabis was the dreaded ‘gateway drug’ that lazy good for nothing losers used, a point my elders entoned without any hint of irony between puffs of a cigarette, sipping a stiff drink. I have no doubt these experiences sowed the early seeds of doubt in my mind as to the veracity of their knowledge in the field and led to my healthy suspicion that the official line on cannabis was likely flexible in its use of facts - and so it came to pass.

By the time I’d left school & started sixth form college (age 16 in the UK) it was 1992 and a perfect explosion of counter-culture music from Cypress Hill to Rage Against the Machine had made me closely examine much of what I was being taught about the world. So when I was first handed a spliff at a friends party I didn’t hesitate in taking a drag without fear of all the lies I’d been told and it genuinely changed my life for the better. That party was the first time my timid young self had really let my hair down and it hinted at the outgoing person I was to become later in life, but that was a minor revelation compared to what came next: Two weeks later, after another epic party, I discovered a medical side to the herb. I’d been given a spliff to take home “for later” at the party and the morning after I got the dreaded muscle spasm in my right eye that indicated one of the many 48hr ‘shut-down’ migraines I’d suffered since I was 11 years old was on the horizon. That meant two days of agony, puking and input sensitivity so bad I had to isolate myself from all; sound, light, even touch and just try to think myself through the pain. I remember the moment like it was yesterday when I got the ‘eye-flutter’ and knowing my day was already screwed, I thought “Fuck it, might as well get high.” An hour later I came out of a wonderful weed haze to the sudden realization “Wait! Where’s the migraine?” - from that moment forth I always had weed around in case of emergency and cannabis became the medicine that could do what no other doctor or treatment could do, it gave me my young life back, apart from the raging tobacco addiction that came with smoking spliffs…but that’s another story.

Getting weed was damned near impossible living as I did in a large chunk of South-East London called New Cross Gate, a middle class Victorian era suburb more known for good schools & raising kids than raising hell. Cannabis back then in the UK was mainly supplied via smuggling operations, meaning mostly it came in on a boat. If you’re ever curious about the reality of it - go look for a book called “Mr Nice” by the late great Howard Marks and you’ll see the higher end of the UK game - which is exactly the level I wasn’t at. It generally came in two forms: little mildly green generic baggies with heavens knows what in them, basic weed I guess. Alternatively, cling-wrapped bricksolid hash which we all called “Rocky” that you had to burn to make soft enough to break up & roll into a spliff, a process that caused the destruction of many a sofacushion I can tell you due to the hot-rocks. We took whatever we could get back then and for the first few years I just bought in with friends - but then one day a work colleague offered to introduce me to a guy, a terrifically scary “Joe Pesci in Casino'' looking guy called Keith who lived clean on the other side of London. The first time I entered his flat (condo) I walked past a 12 inch hunting knife stuck in the doorframe and I must have flinched as he looked at me with his piercing gray-blue eyes & said “It’s fer just incase, know what I mean?”

Keith became very much a mentor to me and so after years of never having ‘a guy’ I finally got my first really good connection who not only had good lines on good flower, but access to pretty damn amazing Moroccan ‘Gold Leaf’ hash which was where I really first learned how good weed could be. It was he who gave me my first education on the drug world in general and the lies of cannabis politics particularly and because of that complete access to anything I wanted and an honest opinion of it, I tried a smidge of cocaine and Molly, but never really got interested in anything other then hanging out with him, smoking one of his legendary mat-rolled 18 inch spliffs and hearing about his exploits. To all intents and purposes, here was a man who society had deemed a criminal, who in my experience was a really good guy who helped neighbors out with groceries when they were short and always had interesting people of all shapes and sizes around his place and I could write an entire book on the 5 years I knew him. Sadly I lost touch with him when I moved to the US to take up a tech publishing job and residence with my American wife in 2003. One day his number stopped answering and that was that, as it often is in the illicit world, I still have no idea what happened to him & I never even knew his last name.

When I got to the US, everything changed, including me. I worked long hours in tech, my wife wasn’t a fan of weed and the threat of drug testing in the circles I traveled was ever present. I still took a puff-puff pass whenever it was handed to me, but I had no contacts or access and I’d stopped having migraines when I was 24, weed just took a back seat in my head for a while. However, in 2008 my life began to unravel quite spectacularly beginning with my ex-wife running off with my ex-best friend and culminating in 2013 with the complete collapse of the tech publishing firm I’d cofounded taking everything with it, savings, pension…all the trappings of a 16 year career that was now extinct, I was the tech equivalent of a Detroit Auto worker. Weed is probably the only reason I’m sane to be frank - I’ve seriously thought I was going to completely lose it a few times during that stretch and each time I’ve had a joint handy that’s made me chill the fuck out and breathe. Cannabis really has been responsible for most of the good things in my life and that was before it became a part of my career. Fast forward to today and the crazy 2022 I’ve had building an Indie production company & taking over a largish Youtube channel on a mission to tell the stories others miss - meeting legacy farmers, Prop 215 heroes and even touring the first new DEA licensed farm to open in over 50yrs all on a mission to help out a community that has welcomed me with open arms whilst building a new career in documentary film for myself & my partners with weed as the central character.

So ganja didn’t in fact bring me to the States and in my opinion California can’t really learn too much from the country of my birth about weed, a fact which played no small part in my decision to take US Citizenship in 2017. Every Brit I know would sell their grannies to see what I’ve seen this year and the rest of their family to tag along with what I have planned next, but I digress: I’m not sure what exchange of knowledge can be made while the two countries seem on opposing trajectories in legalization, the US is edging closer to the end of Federal prohibition whilst the UK wants to bump weed up from Class B to Class A, however I can tell you as a citizen of both that I want to take everything I’m learning here and apply it back there, but first I have something closer to my current home in mind. I’ve had an Anthony Bourdain like show in mind for a while and I just worked out how to shoot it over my farm trips this Croptober so as far as my thoughts on global cannabis culture & how it’ll develop, how about I show you instead? At least, after I’ve gotten done with the Triangle - because if there was a beating heart of the American world of weed it’s just an hour north of me and it’d be a terrible shame not to share it with the world…

Matt Grimshaw is a solo filmmaker and co-founder of the independent production company; MGTV that runs the Monster Gardens Channel - a twelve year old home grow education & cannabis content specialist on Youtube.

Matt Grimshaw

GOOD WEED AND GOOD FOOD

Floreterna Gregori

In the exciting craze of legalization, full of anticipation and uncertainty, cannabis has become an industry. The community, good food, well being and wealth to share seems to have gotten swept under the rug to the point that even larger cannabis businesses are struggling in the aftermath of this chaos. The spirit of cannabis seems to be slightly diluted in this sense, and I laugh a little as I imagine Bob Marley unwilling to allow some large brand to use his image for profit. Bob would have wanted the best, most home grown ganja, and some delicious fresh harvested veggies to go along with it for a healing Ital dinner. In Southern Humboldt we started The Mateel Community Center and Reggae on the River in the early ‘80’s to keep our community together, and to bring income. Rastas loved us because of our pure home grown ganja, dank farm fresh food, and the super high vibes! Reggae on the River became our major source of extra communal income for 25 years or more and allowed countless nonprofits to do their work.

Aiyana

Our community was never about the weed or the money, it was about freedom, it was about growing our own food and raising children in the forest, helping each other out and making our community strong. It was about living out of the system and making our us far beyond anything the system would ever be able to create. We dug into the rich Humboldt terroir, into the mychorrhyze rich earth and grew the dankest ganja and the most vibrant food!

With so many chronic conditions being linked to chemical, pesticide or heavy metal overload of the body, affecting our physical, mental and even spiritual health, we should be considerate of the food we eat. Pesticides supposedly degrade and disappear after an amount of time but nevertheless, DDT, Round Up, and countless other heavy metals like aluminum, lead and mercury are cancer and chronic illness leaders.

Good weed and munchies have always gone hand in hand. We smoke a fatty, or take a sweet bong rip and after the trip, it is time to eat, right? We reach for a bag of chips, or some cookies and ice cream to satisfy the craving!

But what do dank regenerative weed and healthy food have in common? It has been shown through the decades that the nutrient quality of vegetables we eat depends on the soil, the same goes for ganja. Wildcrafted medicinal herbs as an example, have a much higher nutrient concentration and a higher presence of medicinal compounds than on commercial plantations. When we bite into a freshly picked bell pepper, or cherry tomato still warm from the sun, the flavor bursts, and we have a subtle sensation of what it truly means to be alive. We remember why we are here in this life. We remember that we are not here to work like a rat in a rat race or to fill our bodies with junk food.

Dank regenerative, homegrown food and ganja have higher nutrients levels and some terps that are not reproducible under artificial lighting. Farmers spend many hours a day with their plants, loving them, talking to them, making sure that they have the best care while leaving the soil more fertile (more nutrients, minerals, compost and microbiology) than the year before. Commercial Ag typically reduces soil fertility. Many heirloom varieties of vegetables as well as rich, rare ganja genetics have been lost, and many more are in danger of disappearing. Whether we want to choose between the Budweiser or Marlboro of cannabis, or choose the countless and constantly improving home grown genetics is up to us as consumers and who we give our money to.

Regenerative craft ganja farmers not only have a relationship with their plants, they also have a deep connection to their family, neighbors and community. The phrase “It’s just business” seems cold and distant in these circles. When we get high we dream about a world where everyone can do what they love, where Win Win business is the norm. Both country and city can thrive and we can create the future as we truly want to see it!

How Can Regenerative Agriculture Help Save Us, and the Environment?

Wayra A. Klocker Gregori

We live in a modern world where all our food is grown and processed by huge companies, on huge amounts of land. “Most urban shoppers would tell you that food is produced on farms. But most of them do not know what farms, or what kinds of farms, or where the farms are, or what knowledge of skills are involved in farming” (Wendell Berry, 1). It’s convenient-huge amounts of food are grown in short spans of time due to toxic chemical fertilizers. Not only is this food toxic and poisonous, causing a lot of modern health problems, but it’s poisoning our land, our mother earth, and our home. We need to start being more conscientious of where our food comes from, and just how it’s made. “They think of food as an agricultural product, perhaps, but they do not think of themselves as participants in agriculture” (Wendell Berry, 1). Throughout history, we have made incredible strides toward modern society. However, we have allowed ourselves to forget where we came from. We mustn't separate ourselves from the earth. We need to work together with our environment to thrive. Regenerative agriculture can help save us and our environment because, unlike modern agriculture, it works harmoniously with our environment.

So, what is it? Regenerative agriculture is characterized by its harmonious give and take. You learn to work with the land and its natural strengths and resources, instead of combating it with heavy machines. Nature isn’t something to fight and subdue, it’s something to work together with. Only by doing that will you get the best and healthiest results. There are no strict specific rules regenerative agriculturists follow, but the principles are meant to be regenerative and restorative. Working together with the environment to help leave it in better conditions for future people. In a nutshell, it's the practice of any kind of agriculture that works in harmony with the land and its natural cycles (CSANR).

To write this essay, I interviewed Season George from Five Sisters Farm. A woman who studied horticulture when she was 16 at a community college and has worked in it ever since. She learned about microbial houses while studying in Florida, and taught people how to compost. That’s when she got interested in regenerative farming on a small scale and has been teaching people about it whenever she can, by sneaking into the cannabis tours she does at her farm, to try and educate people on the subject. Overall, she has been farming for 24 years and practicing regenerative agriculture for about 14. One question I asked her was if the information on regenerative agriculture has been lost over time. This was her response: “Our ancestors were much wiser than we are. They learned how to work with the natural systems and not combat them with heavy machinery. They had a lot more time to observe and had a lot more traditional oral knowledge being passed down. I have had to do unschooling to go back to the traditional and heritage farming practices and slow practices of soil layering. I really only use hand tools in my gardening, besides a battery-operated weed eater. It’s pretty primitive work. I think that gives me a deeper connection with the space when you’re working with hand tools rather than a tractor.”

What’s the difference between regenerative agriculture and what we are doing today? Monoculture. What is that? Monoculture is when you grow one thing in vast amounts over huge amounts of land. What this does is put a significant amount of stress on the land, which weakens the soil and ecosystem. If you look at the wild, you won’t see a ton of any one specific thing- there will be a variety of different animals, plants, and trees. Regenerative agriculture takes this into account. If you take a piece of land and grow a variety of different crops like vegetables, fruit, and chickens all while doing it in a way that helps the land regenerate; you won’t have a ton of any one thing, but you will have higher quality food and a plot of land that is rich in nutrients. Unlike modern agriculture, which is slowly killing our topsoil, and phosphorus. “If you expect to monocrop in one place year after year, you’d have to replenish that crop with a lot. Corn and soybeans are the big monocrops we have in America. Most of it goes to feed animals and ethanol production. A lot of monocrops we grow in the United States aren’t even for human consumption. When you monocrop and aren’t keeping your land diversified and are dependent on these outside sources, it can be easily compromised. That’s how famine happens” (Season George).

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plant growth. Topsoil is formed by the slow aging and decaying of organic matter over thousands of years and is the top layer of soil that’s rich in nutrients. Without phosphorus, it is impossible to grow food. Not only is phosphorus essential for plants and vegetation to grow, but it is also in all living matter. Animals and humans also need phosphorus, which we get from the food we eat. However, phosphorus is being depleted at an alarming rate, due to the huge monocrops we have. If we keep mining phosphorus at the rate we have been, we will run out in about 80 years. However, as more people arrive, more phosphorus is needed for the growth of food, so that number could go down (Research Institute).

I decided to ask Season why phosphorus was so important, and why it was running out. “The most important macronutrients of plants are the MPK, those are the basic three numbers you see on any fertilizer. Nitrogen is really easy to apply because it’s the organic matter, it comes through manure, and it’s easy. Most people are adding rock phosphorus, it has to be mined. We are stripping those mines because we are not retaining and building our soil profiles enough that we are having to add more phosphorus that we have left to mine. But if we were managing our soils better and not needing such huge ratios we could have lower numbers because we have more biology in the soil. We wouldn’t have to mine it. The way I get phosphorus is I charr bones. If I have chicken, or my dog brings me some from road kill or something, I save those bones, roast them, then extract the phosphorus using vinegar. It’s soluble. Which means it’s readily available for the plants” (Season George).

So, how can we help keep phosphorus alive and thriving through regenerative agriculture? One way is to use cover crops. Modern monocrops just grow one thing in huge quantities, and when they harvest it that’s it. The land is left bare until the next time. This stresses the land tremendously and weakens the ecosystem. The result is that you need to use more pesticides and fertilizers. It needs diversity, and it needs something there. So what using cover crops means, is that after harvesting, you plant something in the soil, to not leave it bare. They help control pests and diseases, increase available water, slow erosion, combat weeds, and more. It could show results within the first year, or take a few. But overall, it helps strengthen the soil and the ecosystem around it. They’ve also been shown to attract pollinators (SARE).

If you are a farmer that can and wants to have animals, it can greatly benefit you and the ecosystem. Grazing animals chow down on the grass and areas they are placed in. With rotational grazing, you divide the grass and farm into sections. Moving the animals to different areas of the pasture throughout the year to allow the grass being grazed on to replenish and put down deeper and sturdier roots. This can help prevent erosion, increase fertility, and help segregate carbon from the atmosphere. This method has immense benefits to it if you can put the time and effort into making it work.

I was curious about one thing, so I told Season that a lot of people might be worried that because regenerative agriculture is more hand labor, it won’t grow enough food, and asked what she had to say about that. “I think we’re overproducing, and throwing away a lot of food. I think if we were growing more nutrient-dense food we might be able to grow less of it. If you take the same plot of land and grow 100 acres of corn, you’d get so many tons of corn. If you take the same 50 acres and plant a fruit orchard and have a chicken coop, a vegetable plot, and a blueberry patch, you won’t get tons of any one thing, but you will have a diversity that will keep you better fed. If you measure it with tonnage you will never compare it to massive monocropping. If you diversify you are gonna get a higher quality of nutrients, which means you need to eat less when you’re eating better foods. It would help combat diabetes and the obesity problem we have in America” (Season George). I think it’s also important to mention that by increasing the health of the land and soil, crops could yield more, and healthier, foods.

As a conclusion, I’d like to once again mention that there is no one way to do regenerative agriculture. There are no set-in-stone rules, besides the most important one: To increase the health of the lan and work together with nature instead of combating it. I think regenerative agriculture is an improvement because of that same reason.

Lacy Dane

Laci Dane, originally from Montana, is a fearless painter nestled in the majestic hills of Humboldt County. Her down to the “hearth” mindset and dedication to her passion as an artist and family make her a beautiful and strong contribution to our community.

Purchase Laci Dane art here: https://www.lacidaneart.com/ Find her on Instagram @lacidane.art