Last summer our Photosynth Social Club reappeared in the twelfth Ecozone’s historic wellness zentrum (ZK/U) with a special new offering – the Lichen Day Spa! We skipped the Annual Field Trip & Picnic for 2093, so it was a delight to have this opportunity to once again get together and celebrate what we love.
Day Spa guests – a mix of old hats and newbies – were welcomed at reception with a refreshing lichen tea and ‘holy granum’ snacks, before being settled into a cosmic weathering meditation portal. All Handys on flight mode please! Emerging reinvigorated and ready to tend to our lichen friends, guests floated mindfully between several ‘stations’: the Sound Healing Circle, the Breathworks Station, Lumen Punkt, the Misting Salon, and the Earth Devotion Works. Resting in the Refreshment Realm with lichen literature as needed was encouraged.
A highlight of the day was the surprise ‘Aufguss’ performance by your erstwhile Society Co-convenors, accompanied by a classic grill infusion of oakmoss essence.
At the Misting Salon, guests used misters to gently spray lichens. As we know, a lichen thallus cannot hold water, when it receives moisture the cortex becomes transparent, and if there is enough light, photosynthesis begins.
Lichens get all their nutrients from the atmosphere. Though each has its own sensitivities to conditions, they can absorb pollutants like sulphur, mercury and nitrogen, cleansing the air. The Breathworks Station invited guests to freshen up with a spoonful of mukhwas, then inhale deeply and exhale very close to a lichen, offering them their breath, and receiving their oxygen in turn with gratitude.
At the Sound Healing Circle, guests were encouraged to tune into lichens present with a singing bowl or their voice. Sounds make bodies vibrate, dislodge blockages and help beings attune to and harmonise with energy fields.
All heliocentric beings turn towards the sun. As guests drifted around the day Spa, they took note of where lichens were positioned, and used the emergency blankets provided at the Lumen Punkt to direct a subtle light onto their bodies, being attentive to any reactions.
A granum is a stack of thylakoids within a chloroplast, and the site of light energy transduction fundamental to the process of photosynthesis. At the Earth Devotion Works, guests made little air-dry clay granum votives coloured with holy powder and spirulina (cyanobacteria – another cryoptogam!). These could be taken home to burn incense and give thanks to lichens in your daily life. [Note: we have a few leftover granum incense holders, get in touch if you would like one!]
We closed each session of the day with a sharing circle, to exchange insights and reflections from our encounters with lichens and others in the Day Spa. Biggest gratitude to everyone who came along for generously offering treatments and their presence – we trust you went away feeling nourished and connected! This year’s embroidered Social Club patches arrived just in time from the North, a memento marking the experience for all who took part, distributed with a glass of lichen sprizz and a customary toast: In cosmic co-becomings!
Cultivated by Andrea Goetzke & Lina Brion as part of their ongoing Plant Stories program, this pilot event has much potential for future pop-ups. Drop us a line if you’d like us to host a lichen Day Spa near you…
🙏 Photos by Brenda Alamilla