Earth Speak with Natalie Ross and Friends

Christi Johnson on moving from NYC to upstate New York as an artist who grew up in Florida.

When textile artist Christi Johnson and I spoke in 2018, she shared her story of moving from the city to the country, and it really inspired me. I love how honest she was about how it wasn't all glamorous and easy. But it was worth it.

Fast forward to now, Dec 2025, and I would never have guessed that I'd be going through a similar story! I recently listened to this episode again for my own personal inspiration, and it holds a timeless message about finding your way to places that nourish your deeper needs.

In this conversation we also get into:

• How naturally dyed textiles and embroidery support healing
• Christi's ancestral connection to textiles
• Overcoming fear of sharing her thoughts and work publicly
• Adornment as self-expression and talismanic protection

When this episode was first published, Christi created a special guide for our listeners about magic sewing and embroidery. Since then that guide grew into a full-blown published book called Mystical Stitches! And now she has a second book called The Art of Embroidery Design.

Christi has so many free and low-cost resources on her website, mixedcolor.net, so if you're interested in sewing, stitching, or magical embroidery, definitely take a look.

She has a pocket altar zine in her workshop section about crafting a sacred space of tiny talisman that you can carry with you.

Christi also has a podcast called Stitch Wish Radio, which you'll definitely enjoy if you liked this episode.

And we brought her back for a second interview on the podcast a few years ago about stitching magic making through talismanic embroidery.

All of this is linked in the show notes.

Thanks and enjoy this episode!

Herbalist Joe Hollis shares his story about getting out of the system of capitalism and into a more direct relationship with the Earth over his last 50 years, where he made paradise, not money.

What follows is an interview with herbalist Joe Hollis of Mountain Gardens in the land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, outside of Asheville, North Carolina.

I was so fortunate to interview him in person in October 2021, just two years before his passing at age 81.

The year after this interview, a devastating fire burned down his extensive library of both books and herbs. Then, in 2024, Hurricane Helene brought landslides that completely changed the land he tended.

However, there are still people keeping his legacy alive, tending to the gardens, rebuilding the library, and recovering from the landslides. If you want to support them, go to mountaingardensherbs.com, and that link is in the show notes as well.

Temperance is challenging to talk about because it goes against society's decree that growth and accumulation of riches are necessary for survival in the modern world.

Temperance protects against deficiency and excess.

Temperance mediates extremes, bringing opposing sides towards a more balanced and dynamic center.

Temperance says more is not always better, yet we need not be without.

Temperance helps us attune to the safety and abundance of enough.

Temperance is one of my favorite Tarot cards, and it aligns with my favorite somatic tool called titration, so when Cecily Sailer asked me to be on her podcast to discuss the Temperance Tarot card, I said YES!

After years of being on hiatus, co-founders Natalie Ross and Shawna Cason have decided to start publishing episodes again. Listen to find out more!

Poet, adventure guide and ecstatic earth worshiper Jacqueline Suskin shares about poetry and cultivating relationships with the earth and all its inhabitants.

You'll also hear about:

• Using poetry as a channel for the earth

• How connected we all are even though we feel alone

• How the power of making things up is our strongest magic as humans

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Jacqueline Suskin is a self-proclaimed ecstatic earth worshiper, the author of eight published books, all of which center around the earth and its bounty. Currently, she's focused on bringing her nature poetry curriculum into classrooms around the country and her new book "A Year in Practice – Seasonal Rituals and Prompts to Awaken Cycles of Creative Expression" is available at all major booksellers. This episode was recorded in July 2021 during her time as artist in residence at Folklife farm in Bayside California.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Jacqueline's calling to make poetry more accessible and help people open the door to its transformative possibilities

• How poetry's ability to condense deep concepts and quickly take us to the heart of the matter is the perfect medium for our era's shorter attention spans

• Reminding people that we are part of the earth and that to forget this connection is to forget ourselves

• The delight that is possible when we align with the senses

• How deep relationship with anyone or anything involves connecting and communicating on a sensory level beyond language

• The importance of releasing the pressure to have a certain outcome and just responding to whatever the moment requires

• How agenda, outcome and productivity are overvalued by our society at the expense of witnessing and spaciousness

• Magic not having to look a certain way

• How establishing relationships with the natural elements can allow one to be more spontaneous and less prescribed with their rituals

• Jacqueline's experience running an artist residency

• How things can change overnight when we keep showing up in openness and presence, but the amount of time, space, and attention it takes to keep at it can be hard

• Stewarding a sense of self to become more connected with our stories, wounds and joy

• How healing yourself heals everything else – it's literally all you can do

• Witnessing the shift as we return to more traditional ecological knowledge

• The importance of lying down and letting the earth hold you

• The power of vulnerability

• Poetry as a mindset and not just written words on a page

• The institution of poetry vs the spirit of poetry

• The importance of continuing to be open and following the signs in your life