Mushroom Maidens

i choose a drizzly day in the gloaming to wander through the emerald cathedrals of the Cascadian coastal rainforest. I love days in the rain—something about the soft filtered light just brings all the colors of the woods to life! Today I feel as giddy as I used to on Easter morning, envisioning colorful candy eggs
waiting to be found.

Every walk in the woods feels like a treasure hunt to me. Will I find a cluster of golden chanterelles, redolent with their apricot perfume? Will I stumble across a fairy circle of amanita mushrooms, their scarlet spotted caps reminding me to tread carefully? Maybe I’ll walk over the crest of the hill to see a bunch of delightfully chubby porcini scattered below …

Not today. Today something truly magnificent is waiting for me. I’m on hands and knees, softly crawling through the moss up the steep slope, when right in front of my nose appears the empress of the woods. There she stands in her amethyst glory, covered in velvety purple so dark it almost appears to be black. In all my time in these glorious woods, I’ve never been in the presence of any sort of violet webcap before. The moment feels transcendent, and I get a twinkling sense of a thinning of the veil. I can feel the magic here. Of course I can.

There’s something about mushrooms that casts a spell of enchantment. Flowers are lovely and I would never slight the smell of a wild rose, but they’re all sweetness. Mushrooms, on the other hand, are tricksters. They’re unpredictable and elusive, alien and strange. And don’t we all love a chase?

I lie down in the moss and imagine that I’m a mushroom myself, sending invisible tendrils of mycelium down into the earth below me. I let myself melt into the moss, let the forest consume me in my soft bed.

Soon I see fae creatures dancing, each one bearing a resemblance to a particular mushroom.

Their faces are obscured, but their movements are unmistakable. The chanterelle queen is elegant and just a bit flirtatious.

The porcini fae is shy but lovely.

The mysterious ink cap elf looks up slyly, inviting me to join a realm I daren’t wander into. Then the Empress of the Forest arrives in her violet velvet, and all the fae hush in awe at her grandeur.

When I wake, I wonder if it was a dream, a daydream, or something else entirely. The violet webcap still stands nearby, inconspicuous. I give her a wink as I stand up, my heart bright with magic and my mind swirling with inspiration …

A year later I watch those dreams come to life with a group of incredible magical women from all over the country, drawn as

I am to the mycelial magic of the coastal rainforest. Read more about this magical gathering and find everything you need to host your own at patreon.com/misswondersmith. There are a few things you’ll definitely want to include, the first of which is a crown for every participant. Keep reading to learn how to make an amanita one!