{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhometoher.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fnavigating-tower-time-with-byron-ballard-gtEdaTs2","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Navigating Tower Time with Byron Ballard","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/bd6d80d1-8ec4-4be9-af68-a7c45fa1c454/76232ed3-4a43-4df7-850e-e42d7880515b/byron-ballard-1-sq.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"","height":200,"description":"In tarot, the Tower card represents crisis, destruction and liberation. According to my latest guest, it’s also an apt representation of where we are culturally. How then, do we navigate this time of collapse with compassion, bravery and heart?\n\nOn today’s episode, I explore this subject with H. Byron Ballard, a ritualist, teacher, gardener, and author of multiple books, including “Staubs and Ditchwater: A Friendly and Useful Introduction to Hillfolks’ Hoodoo”; “Earthworks: Ceremonies in Tower Time”; and “Seasons of a Magical Life”. Known as Asheville, North Carolina’s village witch, Byron specializes in folk magic and folkways of the surrounding Appalachian Mountains. Byron is also a senior priestess and co-founder of the Mother Grove Goddess Temple, a nonprofit church with a focus on the many forms of the divine feminine. \n\nDuring this latest episode, we discuss:\n•\tByron’s “unchurched” background, and how this made it possible for her to find her way to Goddess spirituality\n•\t Her practical, no-frills approach to magic and witchcraft\n•\tWhat she means by the term “Tower Time,” and how we can support each other as patriarchal systems continue to crumble around us\n•\tHow ceremony and ritual can help us remain grounded and calm amidst chaos\n•\tWhat it means to “go to ground,” and how this can help us keep our sanity"}