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.

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/