The Wood Wide Web

Sagittarius Season

Happy December and happy Sagittarius season! Despite the cold front we experienced last week, I generally love the energy of December. There’s a liveliness about Sagittarius season that’s hard not to love: one last hurrah before winter truly sets in.

December Book Selection: Entangled Life

Fungi can teach us a lot about opportunity and resourcefulness. The “Wood Wide Web,” a nod to the World Wide Web, was coined to define the vast mycelial network of fungi and bacteria collaborating to support entire forest ecosystems. This subterranean network, much like the internet, is decentralized, and the interdependence of the participating species is redefining our understanding of what it means to be an “organism.” This month, I’m reading Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake to dive deeper into the world of fungi and mycelial networks. Fungi are some of my favorite medicinals to work with, and they’re often overlooked in plant-centric herbalism circles.

I’ve already started reading, and the prose is delightful. Fans of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass will find similarities between the authors’ ability to make biology sound magical.

December “Herbs”

Lion’s Mane

Fans of Cuppa Joy, my herbal coffee replacement, might recognize Lion’s Mane as one of the chief herbs in that formula. I like working with Lion’s Mane as a long-term morning supplement because of its ability to enhance cognition. It’s also neuroprotective due to its ability to stimulate Nerve Growth Factor, a protein essential for the growth and maintenance of neurons.

Lion’s Mane is edible raw, although it’s more often cooked as a culinary mushroom. It's often likened to shellfish due to its meaty texture. Medicinally, it’s often consumed in its powdered form at a dosage of 10-30g.

Reishi

This is a fun (and easy) mushroom to grow at home! There are plenty of commercial growing kits that will give you a healthy serving of Reishi, especially since this mushroom can be boiled 5-6 times in a decoction. When I grew my own Reishi, I froze the mushroom between decoctions. When growing Reishi, you’ll need to be extra patient to get the iconic shelf growth that Reishi is known for. Antlers typically develop within 28 days after colonization, and the shelf formation will develop over the next 90 days. Preparing a decoction of Reishi takes time too, you’d typically use a 9:1 ration of water to Reishi and boil it for up to 3 hours. Both forms of Reishi are best used medicinally and not culinarily — they’re quite bitter and woody.

Entangled Life Reflections:

For those who are reading Entangled Life with me this month, here are some reflection prompts for the first half of the book:

1. Magic, wonder, and perception - Sheldrake states that learning about fungi, much like being shown a magic trick, alters our perception by creating more possible outcomes for our nervous system to play with. While reading this book, take notes of all the beliefs, ideas, and realities that dissolve or reform in your mind. How does learning about fungal relationships make you reconsider how you relate to yourself, other humans, and other beings?

2. Intelligence, knowledge, and intuition - One of the most fascinating things about fungi is their ability to make seemingly complex decisions without a brain or anything analogous to Central Nervous System. How does this shape your ideas around knowing and intuition?

3. A Lure: attraction and magnetism - Chapter 1 is all about truffles and their ability to attract organisms with their scent. Many organisms can subtly (or not-so-subtly) attract things (whether it’s scent, pheromones, visual appeal, etc). What are you consciously or unconsciously luring into your life?