The Permaculture Catalyst: Nature Symbols, Songs, and Stories for New Mythologies in the Sustainability Age. By Planetshifter.com Magazine

PlanetShifter.com Magazine's ongoing pursuit of the elements and relationships in the alchemy + mythology = sacred path vision continues with an primer to the power of permaculture as a source for new symbols, songs and stories – and mythic stories. The collage illustration reveals the earth, the circle, and the female as power symbols from this land spirit practice. The soil ~ garden ~ sun triad is also presented. My understanding of permaculture is that this practice rises above agriculture because of a spiritual link to the land and the future /past.

Songs for the permaculture generation are ready for download. Check out:

Earth Stars, Songs of Permaculture | Songs Sampler

Stories, the third mythic element, are often in the form of news or teaching scripts on web sites and blogs. Histories of permaculture tools and pioneers are very common. Read Target="blank">Livingmandala.com:

"The word 'Permaculture' was originally coined by University professor Bill Mollison and environmental design student David Holmgren in the 1970's and was first taught as "Applied Systems Design " in 1981. The word "permaculture" itself came from the notion of establishing "permanent agriculture" or "permanent culture"; in other words, permaculture is a practical set of ecological design principles and methods for human settlement that provide for humanity's needs of food, energy, shelter, water and other material and non--material needs in a way that is sustainable and regenerative with the Earth's natural ecosystems.

Over the last 30 years, permaculture has grown to become a global grassroots movement of healing and re-connection with the Earth penetrating many different fields, continents, and cultures. Though often thought of as just a set of gardening techniques, permaculture is in fact a whole systems design philosophy. As a methodology for whole systems thinking, Permaculture is being applied towards business, economics, government, group process, and more. It is in this spirit of permaculture as a holistic design philosophy encompassing many fields that we are truly excited to gather in one place such a diverse spectrum of teachers and facilitators and offer this course to the public."

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Permaculture is the art and science of designing human beings' place in the environment:

"Permaculture design teaches you to understand and mirror the patterns found in healthy natural environments. You can then build profitable, productive, sustainable, cultivated ecosystems, which include people, and have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems."

From permacultureactivist.net , these Ethics of Permaculture emerge:

Permaculture is unique among alternative farming systems (e.g., organic, sustainable, eco-agriculture, biodynamic) in that it works with a set of ethics that suggest we think and act responsibly in relation to each other and the earth. The ethics of permaculture provide a sense of place in the larger scheme of things, and serve as a guidepost to right livelihood in concert with the global community and the environment, rather than individualism and indifference.

1. Care of the Earth ...includes all living and non-living things– plants, animals, land, water and air

2. Care of People ...promotes self-reliance and community responsibility– access to resources necessary for existence

3. Setting Limits to Population & Consumption ...gives away surplus– contribution of surplus time, labor, money, information, and energy to achieve the aims of earth and people care.

Adam Wolpert on
Permaculturalists, Painters and Mystery:

'A landscape becomes a shimmering constellation of interconnection and relationship rather than just a collection of objects. This new vision of relationships is accompanied by visions of a new kind of form: the web or network. Everything is related and those relationships form webs which can be seen everywhere, between creatures and their environments and each other at every scale. This- leads us to a more holistic way of seeing.

Painters and shared the experience of mystery. Part of our practice has to be coming into good relationship with this mystery. Our work challenges us to set aside the arrogance of someone who thinks they know how it's all going to work out and embrace the unknown. Perhaps this is the greatest shared aspect of these two practices. Both the painter of nature and practitioner of permaculture sit in wonder before this vast ever changing miraculous world. Our fascination with our work motivates us to seek more and more knowledge and understanding and yet the more we know the more we see how small we are and how much is yet unrevealed.'


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additional open myth source works from Planetshifter.com Magazine:

Who has the keys to the mythological reservoir? Commentary by Willi Paul, PlanetShifter.com Magazine

The Leatherneck Clan and the Black Sea Men: Building a Mythology Generator for the Sustainability Age by Willi Paul and David Metcalfe

Open Myth Source: A New Book & Film Project About Mythology and the Sustainability Age from Willi Paul and PlanetShifter.com Magazine