cedar | the tree of life

Online & In Person Plant Attunement

with Athena Naia, Shamanic & Plant Medicine Practitioner

• 6 Week Online Plant Dieta
  Advanced Practitioner Attunement
  (must have attended previous attunement or already have plant dieta experience)
• 2 sessions / week
• Sundays @ 930am PST
• Wednesdays @ 3pm PST

It is with an abundance of gratitude in my heart that I am sharing this invite into the practice of Plant Dieta/Attunement with the incredible tree Cedar, also known here in these lands as the Tree of Life.

Used for abundance, forgiveness, ancestral healing, spiritual protection, and much more. It truly is a a wonderful tree to dieta for those on the red road, medicine road and healing path.

It took me 8 years of consistent dieting before I learned how to open and close a plant dieta, and I will share this last month with all the additional support from elders and broader ceremony community I can sense a whole new level when it comes to offering this practice. I feel so honored and priviledged to share it with those of you who feel to grow on your medicine path, so you can be supported and held and be in greater service to your family, your community and the world at large.

Every time I open my own dieta, I am amazed at what has opened so quickly in terms of external manifestation, and also the layers of healing I get to uncover in my own heart, and wow the dreams!

One dream I had just gave me a remedy for a health issue I had been dealing with and it completely resolved. Thank you Cedar!

In this practice your dietas will be opened and closed, but really this is about being in relationship with this plant ally and the power of your own spirit.

More info below. Bless your hearts and lives.

Boundless Love,
Athena

A little bit about Cedar

Cedar medicine is vast, its history long, and full of teachings if you are willing to be quiet and listen. Though you may have walked by this tree a thousand times, getting to know it in the realm of dieta is an incredible gift.

Cedar is one of the oldest living species of tree. And it is recorded in one of the oldest pieces of literature, the epic of Gilgamesh. Written in ancient Mesopotamia 2100, bc. The Cedars of God in Lebanon.

In the Coast Salish traditions from the west coast, red cedar, is called the tree of life, as It provided baby carriers, boats, houses, clothes and medicine to the people. And was used in ceremony to bring in abundance! It is also used specifically to help with forgiveness and letting go of heavy burdens.

In Cherokee tradition it was called the tree of the ancestors and was given as a gift from the great mystery after a time of great loss.

Cedar across the board has been used for spiritual protection and purification. In physical form it repels bacteria, viruses and insects, and these characteristics also manifest in the spiritual plane. I will share after working with Noyarao for many years, there is a similar frequency in the cedar tree being honored as a Tree of life. Both rose and cedar have long long histories of devotion and spiritual practice and interrelated relationship with the people on the earth. We will talk about cedar in our time together, though most important in this work is your direct experience.

What is a Plant Attunement?

This particular practice is a marriage between Amazonian shamanic traditions of plant dieta and ancient herbal wisdom,.This is a shamanic form of training in energy medicine that is based on a direct relational experience.

This practice involves removing certain foods and habits to become attuned to the subtle energy field of life, and the teachings of a particular plant teacher to support you and those around you in your life.

The Shipibo, who are masters in this field of plant dieta, see plants, especially master plants almost like an ascended master.

This practice invites the spirit of the plant to become a helper and ally in your life.

In many traditional societies, people would learn from the plants in ways that created deep relationships and connections.

Humans and Plants have a completely symbiotic relationship. And so this practice welcomes a deep space to move into listening, healing and learning in a sacred relationship with the earth’s wisdom.

This practice is an invitation firstly to your higher self and higher wisdom. Creating deeper connection with your own inner source and inner guidance system, with the support of a master teacher in plant form. It is different from a plant dieta in terms of its protocols. But a potent beautiful way to welcome a healing ally from the plant nations into your life.

Dieta protocols

As this tree is called tree of life, and tree of the ancestors, we are going back to eat like our ancestors, as we welcome its medicine into our bundle.

The Shipibo are a tribe in the amazon jungle who practice a form of shamanic herbalism where they become deeply intimate with certain plants through the practice of dieta. This cedar attunement is based on this south meets north shamanic technology.

This practice requires offering. You are going to be offering some things up during this practice, and in through this offering up, you will receive deeply.

As a part of this offering, you are requested to not drink alcohol, stay off of the news, and to start to limit social media use unless its for work etc.

You are unable to eat any type of farmed animals at this time.

This includes chicken, beef, lamb, farmed fish and any other domesticated animals even if its organic. I can share more of the reason for this in our call.

You can eat wild game such as deer, elk, or wild bird etc. But best to stay off the red meats if you can.

Think of the way the ancestors of this land ate, and try to eat like this. Moving into a more ancestral diet requires No processed foods etc.

For some of you this will be difficult, I promise you will feel amazing at the end. There are so many toxins in foods that effect our mental and emotional health. Do not think of it as something you have to do, but a gift you are giving to yourself, and also a offering to cedar that says please help me on my sacred path. We can go over dieta requirements together.

Sex is permitted, which is different then a traditional dieta, (this is not a traditional dieta) but If you have sex, but it must be done with extra ceremonial care and love, and you can invite your sexual partner to drink the cedar tea with you. And welcome the cedar energy to support the spirit of unity and love between you.

This is a devotional practice, and you are offering up this to your cedar that will be growing inside of you.

Shamanic Mentorship

One of the principles I live by, is that every single one of us have a divine blueprint. We are brainwashed by our world to compare ourselves to each other, but The Lily is different then the cedar tree. And no matter how it tries, the flower cannot become the tree. In this, its not necessarily about adding new things, but seeing what is ones deepest gifts, working with this divine blueprint and fanning this flame within you.

We will be calling in every week the support of your guides and helpers and the energy of Cedar to guide us. When speaking of this mentorship it requires a willingness to open into yourself to new possibilities and be willing to look at habbits that do not serve you. As well as weaving in the details of every day life and what may be needing accountability and support.

Conversations

No gossip. No putting others down with your words in dieta, this includes Hollywood actors, politicians, your mother in law, the person that annoys you at work.

You may of course talk about your process freely , however take responsibility for your own feelings and experiences. This is a potent way of working with energy and ask for responsibility and integrity while we are in the dieta process.

This may mean having more direct conversations with people if conflict arises. We are working on repatterning certain dynamics here with deeper levels of inquiry when certain dynamics play out. So watch what you engage, relax and also enjoy.

Media

No watching the news, reading about the end of the world, None of this right now. This is a time to retreat from the world and gain strength in the deeper aspects of soul. No scrolling social media mindlessly. You can use social media, but must be done with mindfulness. No tv. No violent movies, or dramas. You can watch documentaries, or talks that are expansive in nature, things that feel supportive. This is all programming your system, and as we are not at a retreat center and you are at home. It is important to break any of these habits.

All this is extra important and can effect your dieta.

Spiritual Community

Though we will be covering some scholarly work, this isn’t about filling your head with fun facts or books, but an invitation into our own divine nature. As each of us commit to this, we naturally create a field of energy that will help us accelerate. This is why in Buddhism there a whole books devoted to the holy Sangha. You become like the people around you, and we know through mirror neurons we begin to think like the people who surround us. Don’t underestimate the power of spiritual community committed to transformative growth.

Prayer Partner

Each of you will be assigned a prayer partner. (if your open to it) Part of this practice is praying for others, and also receiving the energy of prayer. We will discuss this together when we all gather.

Music

If you have joined me for a plant attunement, I usually sing Ikaros to you. And I will do this, if I feel the need for a clearing. But there will be focus on us singing together and singing songs that will activate your inner heart. Music and movement on the Bhakti path, or path of love and devotion are interwoven. This is where spirit can meet us.

ZOOM Calls

Each meeting will be an estimate of 1.5 to 2 hours.
We will meet 2 x a week to keep the accountability strong and I can keep an eye on your dieta. Sessions will have icaros, teachings, sharings and a place for you to be held in community to share your process and how we can pray for you.
The zoom meetings will be a small part of this energetic process but will be an important part of the journey.
It can be a big commitment for screen time, so you are invited to turn your camera off if you need to rest your eyes. You will still be brought in energetically and will experience the activations and work.

Included in this is :

• 1 free healing session that is 1.5 to 2 hours (valued at $222usd)
• An additional sessions available at a discount for those who join.
• WhatsApp community group for sharing and connection.
• Regular touch ins from me, holding you in your highest and brightest version of yourself!

Materials you will need for Cedar medicine making:

• 1 liter mason jar with lid
• Spring water
• Songs and prayers
• 1 small handful of Cedar boughs(leaves)
• A few pieces of bark around the size of your index finger.
• A very small part of the root (around the size of your thumbnail will be sufficient)

For the root, you will need to cut it with a knife. Make a triangular incision if you can as this will leave less of the root exposed. Please take just a small portion of the root as it can impact the growth of the tree.

As trees in all medicine traditions are portals. We are working with the 3 worlds, the upper world, the middle world, and the lower world. So in order to receive full potency, you want to make sure you have the 3 different parts of the tree for your dieta.

Energetic preparation.

Before you go harvest your medicine, make sure your energy is clear. If you are going to the forest to gather your cedar, take a good walk first to get attuned to the lands.

Traditionally in shipibo plant work, which is the technology I am trained in, you shower or clean yourself with flower water before you make medicine.

You do not need to necessarily do this, just clean your field in a way that works for you.

One reason many herbalists speak of singing while gathering is because the plants of love to listen to our songs. So sing, and this keeps the energy clear.

As you arrive at your cedar tree, make an offering from your heart before anything. Its not so much what you offer, but how you offer. Come humble and ask for guidance and help on your path.

This tree is a doorway or portal into the deeper realms of earth magic, and in essence a guide on the path to the Great Mysteries Love. So come with respect in your heart.

You may sing a song, offer some tobacco, cornmeal, or even some of your hair. Just do something to be in that spirit of reciprocity. For each of you that is different.

Plant material preparation

Using a 1 liter mason jar, fill the jar with your cedar.

Using the cleanest water you can find, (Spring water is suggested) Pour that water over the plant until the jar is full.

The infusion should sit at least 4 hours before you drink it. You can leave it on your counter or in the sun.

After it has sat for some hours, strain the plant material out.

Spend some time singing to this tea, make a true authentic prayer from your heart for its support in your life for your highest expression. A humble heart goes a long way.

Taste the tea before our call to get into the cedar energy. You will then bring that tea to our first call, I will sing to the tea which will open the energetic element for this attunement/dieta.