Earth Speak with Natalie Ross and Friends

Natalie Ross

Owning your power in co-creative connection with nature and spirit

  • 59 minutes 40 seconds
    Textile Artist Christi Johnson on Magic Embroidery & Moving from NYC to Rural NY

    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!

    Links
    5 December 2025, 2:49 pm
  • 1 hour 26 minutes
    Make Paradise, Not Money w/ Joe Hollis of Mountain Gardens

    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.

    Links

    Sign up for the Earth Speak email list at https://www.earthspeak.love

    16 October 2025, 4:00 am
  • 1 hour 55 minutes
    More Is Not Always Better, Yet We Need Not Be Without // On Temperance & Tending Our Aliveness

    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!

    This episode was originally published on Cecily's podcast, called Your Creative & Magical Life, and it is republished here with her permission.

    We talk about:

    • How witches were given a negative image during the enclosure of the commons
    • The weirdness of having to learn how to feel safe enough to feel safe on one's trauma healing journey
    • Not blaming ourselves for so-called shortcomings that are actually caused by systemic oppression
    • How Temperance plays into healing trauma at a nervous system level
    • Tending to one's aliveness despite living in an age of chaos and collapse

    Again and again I touch on how we're operating within a system that wants us to believe that it's our fault that we can't win at an impossible game, and how temperance can help alleviate some of the suffering that comes from these internalized beliefs.

    Links:

    9 October 2025, 8:19 pm
  • 2 minutes 22 seconds
    hello again - we're coming back!

    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!

    Sign up for the Earth Speak email list at www.earthspeak.love.

    2 October 2025, 8:34 pm
  • 1 hour 33 minutes
    Remembering Our Connection with Jacqueline Suskin [episode 104]

    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

    *****

    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

    Earth Speak Links: Guest Links:

    References:

    ► Leave us a written review on iTunes, and get shouted out on the show!

    Theme music is "It's Easier" by Scarlet Crow http://www.scarletcrow.org/ and "Meeting Again" by Emily Sprague https://mlesprg.info/

    ► Join the Earth Speak Collective Membership at https://www.earthspeak.love/collective

    Follow Earth Speak on Instagram and tag us when you share @earthspeak https://www.instagram.com/earthspeak

    21 March 2024, 7:02 am
  • 1 hour 35 minutes
    The Call of the Ancestors with Grandmother Trudy Titilayo [episode 103]

    Soul tender and doula Trudy Titilayo shares about coming into relationship with her ancestors as they help her guide souls through the spiral of life and death.

    You'll also hear about:

    • Being called into relationship with the ancestors

    • Moving from being the Witness into being the Teacher

    • Doulaing as more than just supporting the birthing process

    • Teaching our daughters choice

    *****

    Trudy Titilayo is a witness to Life's longing for itself. A humble steward of this sacred journey through birth, breath, death and rebirth, in honor of our Ancestors and the next seven generations.

    In this episode, we talk about:

    • Ancestral calls to the spiral road

    • Trudy's relationship with her grandmother

    • Witnessing and connecting the dots of memory

    • The reciprocal gifts Trudy has both given and received within the Earth Speak Collective

    • Learning to show up for oneself and finding one's voice

    • Going through the pandemic as a chrysalis moment

    • The power of sitting (and dancing) with the ancestors without expectation or knowing why

    • The journey of becoming a doula including Trudy's own birth story

    • Birth and death as our most vulnerable moments

    • The damage that being separated from our ancestral land causes not only ourselves, but future generations

    • Trudy's pilgrimage to her ancestral lands

    • Big news from Shawna

    • Trudy's experiences recognising the death transition and holding her family through the portals of life

    • The subtlety of signs and learning to trust the call

    • How the work Trudy has done towards liberating herself has impacted her daughters

    • Giving yourself permission to claim all of yourself

    • Doulaing identity

    Earth Speak Links: Guest Links: References:

    ► Leave us a written review on iTunes, and get shouted out on the show!

    Theme music is "It's Easier" by Scarlet Crow http://www.scarletcrow.org/ and "Meeting Again" by Emily Sprague https://mlesprg.info/

    ► Join the Earth Speak Collective Membership at https://www.earthspeak.love/collective

    ► Follow Earth Speak on Instagram and tag us when you share @earthspeak https://www.instagram.com/earthspeak

    21 December 2023, 8:02 am
  • 1 hour 8 minutes
    You Are the Earth with Poet Jacqueline Suskin [episode 102]

    Poet and educator Jacqueline Suskin shares about watching the ways humans choose to nurture their connection with the land and its cycles.

    You'll also hear about:

    • How creative expression is the practice of life

    • Moving through the immensity of eco grief to use it as creative fuel

    • How loving the earth is loving ourselves

    *****

    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 next book "A Year in Practice – Seasonal Rituals and Prompts to Awaken Cycles of Creative Expression" is available at all major booksellers.

    In this episode, we talk about:

    • Rewriting beliefs around urban spaces lacking connection with nature

    • Finding the right level of human connection to help uncared for land flourish

    • How the conversation around land stewardship is more complicated than just planting a bunch of trees

    • Honoring decay

    • How we don't have to reinvent the wheel

    • The younger generation having so much to say (about the earth)

    • How allowing people the time and space to dream and explore will allow them to connect with the earth

    • Going beyond duality to allow both hope and hopelessness to exist simultaneously

    • How we can't have awe without attunement to despair and grief

    • How we have the power to change everything in this moment

    • How cultivating trust in the now can help us soothe our despair and expand our trust in the future

    • Jacqueline's new book A Year in Practice

    • Remembering the cycles that are already in us to align with the rhythms that exist in the world

    • The difficulty of transitions

    • The grief of loosing the familiarity of the way we know the seasons

    • The connection between imagination and intuition

    • How supporting the community is a pathway to combat our isolation

    • How practicing relationship involves showing up for it no matter who or what we are in relationship with

    Earth Speak Links: Guest Links: References:

    ► Leave us a written review on iTunes, and get shouted out on the show!

    Theme music is "It's Easier" by Scarlet Crow http://www.scarletcrow.org/ and "Meeting Again" by Emily Sprague https://mlesprg.info/

    ► Join the Earth Speak Collective Membership at https://www.earthspeak.love/collective

    Follow Earth Speak on Instagram and tag us when you share @earthspeak https://www.instagram.com/earthspeak

    16 December 2023, 8:05 am
  • 1 hour 23 minutes
    Founders Natalie & Shawna Explore Systems of Othering + Cultivating Safety & Connection in Community [episode 101]

    In this conversation, Natalie & Shawna share what's on their hearts and minds, and explore the next phase of Earth Speak. You'll also hear about:

    • How did we get here and how do we co-create more aliveness in the future

    • How to support different communities and move away from marginalization

    • Capacity, somatics, and co-creating community

    ♥♥♥ Join The Earth Speak Collective Membership! Join like-hearted folks in a sacred container and community where you'll:

    • Connect deeply to yourself, others, nature & spirit

    • Learn to trust your intuition

    • Activate your Earth magic

    • Expand your healing & divination skills

    • Put your intuition into practice in everyday life

    • Stop feeling lonely on your spiritual path

    • Embody & express your creative power & truths

    • Experience safe space without agenda or judgment

    When you join the Collective, you get access to all of our past workshops, any live workshops happening while you're a member, live weekly energetic reset calls, monthly community rituals, all the secret episodes, member-run meetups to explore magical topics, and a lively members-only forum (that's not on FB!).

    ▶▶▶ Learn more and sign up for the Collective membership here: https://www.earthspeak.love/collective

    *****

    Natalie Ross helps magical entrepreneurs tweak their marketing, so they can reach more of the people they're meant to serve. She helps them go from feeling overwhelmed and not knowing how to talk about what they do to creating content that's fun and brings in more sales. She also produces the Earth Speak podcast and runs a community about connecting more deeply with self, others, nature and spirit. Learn more at www.natalie.net.

    Shawna finds inspiration from all aspects of life but most notably nature and human connection. She brings experience and awareness from being a white assuming mixed-race black woman living in America. As a student of Psychological Ethnic Anthropology, she enjoys liberating folks from aspects of what make them feel othered by society. Learn more at @shawna.cason and @folkflorist

    In this episode, we talk about:

    • Natalie and Shawna discuss ideologies, constructs, and the early history of anthropology

    • Finding safety within oneself so we can find safety within community

    • How we both inherit and are influenced by ideologies

    • Deconstructing race and the myth of race

    • Shawna shares her experience of being mixed-race and multicultural

    • The concept of the melting pot, whiteness, and the erasure of cultures

    • How to support different communities but move away from marginalization

    • That we are all the same species, the same race

    • How did we get here and how do we co-create more aliveness in the future?

    • How power structures have separated and governed the relationship between humans and the Earth

    • Systems of othering

    • Co-existing and celebrating difference

    • We explore, how when one person is oppressed in the system we are all oppressed

    • The ways that power structures create and maintain oppression

    • Looking to nature for models of how to thrive together

    • Moving away from the myth of scarcity

    • Surviving, thriving, and embodying sustainablity within late capitalism

    • What is capacity?

    • What can we co-create in community, when we come from a place of safety?

    • Honoring and finding safety within ourselves so we can honor the need for safety in others

    • Moving forward through trauma healing, embodiment, and navigating the nervous system

    • Answering the call to create healing for ourselves and our community

    • And so much more!

    Secret Episodes! Get access to past secret episodes at https://www.earthspeak.love/secret.

    Earth Speak Links: Guest Links:

    References:

    ► Leave us a written review on iTunes, and get shouted out on the show!

    Theme music is "It's Easier" by Scarlet Crow http://www.scarletcrow.org/ and "Meeting Again" by Emily Sprague https://mlesprg.info/

    ► Join the Earth Speak Collective Membership at https://www.earthspeak.love/collective

    Follow Earth Speak on Instagram and tag us when you share @earthspeak https://www.instagram.com/earthspeak

    28 April 2023, 7:05 am
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    Creatrix of The Wild Ones Jennifer Linden on her Bathroom Floor Moment [episode 100]

    Jenner Linden shares her breakthrough moment where she realized that everything was not what it seemed. You'll also hear about:

    • What happened when Jenner listened to her intuition and created a heart-centered community

    • Connecting with other witchy folks in a safe supportive space

    • What it feels like to be seen as your true self

    ♥♥♥ Join The Earth Speak Collective Membership! Join like-hearted folks in a sacred container and community where you'll:

    • Connect deeply to yourself, others, nature & spirit

    • Learn to trust your intuition

    • Activate your Earth magic

    • Expand your healing & divination skills

    • Put your intuition into practice in everyday life

    • Stop feeling lonely on your spiritual path

    • Embody & express your creative power & truths

    • Experience safe space without agenda or judgment

    When you join the Collective, you get access to all of our past workshops, any live workshops happening while you're a member, live weekly energetic reset calls, monthly community rituals, all the secret episodes, member-run meetups to explore magical topics, and a lively members-only forum (that's not on FB!).

    ▶▶▶ Learn more and sign up for the Collective membership here: https://www.earthspeak.love/collective

    *****

    Jenner Linden founded The Wild Ones Community to **give voice** to heart-centered seekers and transformational leaders. As an intuitive coach, she has cultivated a healing space where folks are free to explore their wild side and path to personal fulfillment. Jennifer's annual ReWilding Online Retreat has attracted over 18K people from around the world dedicated to shedding layers of conditioning and living out their truth. With the right tools, everyone has the power to fall wildly in love with the lives they are creating.

    In this episode, we talk about:

    • Jenner shares her bathroom floor moment and the story of her breakthrough

    • What happened when Jenner stepped outside her programming

    • Taking off the layers that are hiding your magic

    • Shadow integration and walking side by side with the darkness

    • On taking healing to the next step and integrating the awareness moments

    • What happened when Jenner felt seen as her true self for the first time

    • Trusting in love and connection

    • Creating and navigating boundaries

    • How creating a devotional, daily practice can affect how you show up in the world

    • What are morning pages and why it works for Jenner and her business

    • How intuitive messages show up for Jenner

    • What Natalie and Jenner wish they had discovered sooner on their healing journey

    • What is the Wild Ones Community?

    • The ways that the Wild Ones Community is supporting folks in being seen as their true witchy, woo, and wild self

    • Connecting with other witchy folks in a space supportive and heart-centered space

    • Jenner shares about her upcoming free ReWilding Online Retreat

    • And so much more!

    Secret Episodes! Get access to past secret episodes at https://www.earthspeak.love/secret.

    Earth Speak Links: Guest Links:

    References:

    ► Leave us a written review on iTunes, and get shouted out on the show!

    Theme music is "It's Easier" by Scarlet Crow http://www.scarletcrow.org/ and "Meeting Again" by Emily Sprague https://mlesprg.info/

    ► Join the Earth Speak Collective Membership at https://www.earthspeak.love/collective

    Follow Earth Speak on Instagram and tag us when you share @earthspeak https://www.instagram.com/earthspeak

    21 April 2023, 7:03 am
  • 1 hour 3 minutes
    Founders Natalie & Shawna on Somatics, Liberation & What's Been Happening During Hiatus [episode 99]

    In this catch-up chat, Natalie & Shawna share about liberating oneself from imposter syndrome. You'll also hear about:

    • What's coming next for Earth Speak?
    • Somatics and liberation
    • Making a living doing the work you never expected to be doing but are perfectly positioned for
    • Natalie shares about her new program Confident Offer

    ♥♥♥ Join The Earth Speak Collective Membership! Join like-hearted folks in a sacred container and community where you'll:

    • Connect deeply to yourself, others, nature & spirit
    • Learn to trust your intuition
    • Activate your Earth magic
    • Expand your healing & divination skills
    • Put your intuition into practice in everyday life
    • Stop feeling lonely on your spiritual path
    • Embody & express your creative power & truths
    • Experience safe space without agenda or judgment

    When you join the Collective, you get access to all of our past workshops, any live workshops happening while you're a member, live weekly energetic reset calls, monthly community rituals, all the secret episodes, member-run meetups to explore magical topics, and a lively members-only forum (that's not on FB!).

    ▶▶▶ Learn more and sign up for the Collective membership here: https://www.earthspeak.love/collective

    *****

    Natalie Ross helps magical entrepreneurs tweak their marketing, so they can reach more of the people they're meant to serve. She helps them go from feeling overwhelmed and not knowing how to talk about what they do to creating content that's fun and brings in more sales. She also produces the Earth Speak podcast and runs a community about connecting more deeply with self, others, nature and spirit.Learn more at www.natalie.net, and sign up for her new program, Confident Offer.

    Shawna finds inspiration from all aspects of life but most notably nature and human connection. She brings experience and awareness from being a white assuming mixed-race black woman living in America. As a student of Psychological Ethnic Anthropology, she enjoys liberating folks from aspects of what make them feel othered by society.Learn more at @shawna.cason and @folkflorist

    In this episode, we talk about:

    • What's changed for Natalie and Shawna, and what they've been up to during hiatus
    • Reflecting on the journey and the wintering of Earth Speak
    • Following the threads and doing what lights you up
    • Shawna shares about volunteering at a butterfly garden
    • Natalie shares about her work with rescue bunnies
    • Feeling safe enough to get paid
    • Learning and re-learning how it feels to be content, happy and joyful
    • Making a living doing the work you never expected to be doing but are perfectly positioned for
    • The myth of perfection
    • That the path to your purpose may not be linear
    • Creating space to integrate and be more of who you truly are
    • Polyvagal theory and liberating yourself from imposter syndrome
    • Threat vs safety
    • What happened when Natalie reached her critical mass safety
    • Embodying the new
    • How we inspire others by doing what lights us up
    • What is coming next for Earth Speak?
    • And so much more!

    Secret Episodes! Get access to past secret episodes at https://www.earthspeak.love/secret.

    Earth Speak Links: Guest Links:

    References:

    ► Leave us a written review on iTunes, and get shouted out on the show!

    Theme music is "It's Easier" by Scarlet Crow http://www.scarletcrow.org/ and "Meeting Again" by Emily Sprague https://mlesprg.info/

    ► Join the Earth Speak Collective Membership at https://www.earthspeak.love/collective

    Follow Earth Speak on Instagram and tag us when you share @earthspeak https://www.instagram.com/earthspeak

    3 February 2023, 8:03 am
  • 32 minutes 57 seconds
    Natalie Ross on Folklore & Rituals of Imbolc, a Celtic Holiday on the Wheel of the Year REPLAY

    Natalie Ross, Earth Speak co-founder, shares about the traditions around the Celtic holiday called Imbolc that signifies the beginning of spring. From Natalie:

    "My ancestral lineages are Celtic and Nordic. What I'm sharing is part of my investigations into my own ancestral roots to discover who are the people in my lineages who were Indigenous to a land, and what were their beliefs and customs. If you enjoy this, please let us know!"

    You're going to hear about:

    • What Imbolc is and why it was one of the 4 most important celebrations of the year
    • How the Wheel of the Year isn't actually Celtic
    • Brigid, the multi-faceted goddess associated with Imbolc

    I'll also share several ways you can celebrate Imbolc in your own practices and rituals.

    This whole episode transcript is posted on our website in the show notes at www.earthspeak.love/shows-1/folklore-and-imbolc-38.

    If you're wanting to connect more with others who practice Earth magic, then join us in the Earth Speak Collective membership. We're doing community rituals and co-creating a culture of Earth-honoring and magical connection. You can join the Collective at https://www.earthspeak.love/collective.

    Links:

    Get the secret episodes at https://www.earthspeak.love/secret

    We would LOVE to see how you choose to celebrate Imbolc. Please tag us @earthspeak in your Imbolc posts on Instagram, so we can celebrate with you.

    Thank you to Scarlet Crow and Emily Sprague for our theme music.

    See the show notes for this special episode here

    26 January 2023, 8:03 am
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