earth is my mother
“Bhakti” (Sanskrit: भक्ति) refers to a profound sense of fondness, homage, love, and worship. It denotes the deep devotion and love that a devotee has for a divine being.
Welcome to Earth Bhakti where we reconnect with devotion to the Being of our planet.
Earth Bhakti is a Planetary Service Project initiated by artist Anja Marais in Taos, New Mexico. It centers on a deep reverence for our maternal planet and a commitment to her well-being. At its core, Earth Bhakti involves Seva, selfless service to the planet, through acts of communion with nature in ceremonies, rituals, art, and sound. Ancestral, Sun, and Moon Circle gatherings foster a sense of community and connection, honoring the wisdom of past generations and the cycles of the natural world. It is a harmonious blend of spiritual devotion, artistic expression, and environmental stewardship, nurturing a relationship between humanity and the planet we call home.
About the Land Art
OPEN AIR, SUN-SWEPT EARTH ALTARS
In creating the Earth Bhakti land altars and shrines, Anja Marais organically draws on animistic traditions, incorporating ceremonies, rituals, healing methods, and practices into the Western context while honoring their origins. Her practice draws from direct lineage transmissions, guidance from ancestral and spiritual mentors, dreams, transformative life events, and a profound connection with nature.
Land Altars are created out of natural local materials from the earth that returns to the earth. Clay, mud, straw, rock, water, wood, etc. Earth Bhakti acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands where we gather, showing respect to elders both past and present, as well as emerging leaders, across all the locations of our land art altar projects.
“All action is prayer. All trees are desire-fulfilling. All water is the Ganga. All land is Varanasi. Love everything.”
OFFERINGS
Anja Marais
Anja Marais, an earth talker, geomancer, and artist, combines her visual art background and Kriya & Naad yoga practice to explore transformative experiences through immersive land art installations, aimed at restoring harmony with nature, the elements, and the ancestors. Marais creates sculptures embodying cosmic forces, symbolizing resilience and guiding individuals through life’s trials with ritual of Song, Sound, and Story.
