Tantra writer and educator Dawn Cartwright is one of our much-loved regular collaborators, and we greatly enjoyed her piece in our Autumn 2026 issue, on the ‘silver branch perception’. Check it out below!
The Silver Branch
Allowing The Alchemy Of Appreciation.
by Dawn Cartwright
One midsummer’s day long ago, when the Tuatha ruled Ireland and the veil between enchanted realms and mortals was thin, a young prince named Bran set out from his rath to walk the land. Over rolling green hills, through oak and hazel forests, Bran walked long into the evening, surrounded by the comforting presence of midsummer bonfires as far as the eye could see.
The light was just beginning to stretch its legs into dusk when a strange melody began to play around him. Everywhere he turned, the music shifted, so that it was always behind him. He looked to the left and to the right, never finding the source. Soon, the otherworldly music lulled him into a deep and dream filled sleep.
Fast asleep, wrapped in the soft vermilion glow of the setting sun, Bran met an enchanted woman of the Sídhe in his dream. She sang to him a poem of Emain Ablach, the Land of Women — a mystical paradise of boundless joy, perpetual summer, and effortless pleasure. When he awakened, Bran discovered a gleaming silver apple branch bearing crystal white blossoms in his hands, a gift from the mystical realm.
He held the silver branch close as he walked through the fields among the cattle, returning to his royal hall. Bran arrived to find the Sídhe there, at the center of his court, filling the space with the same enchanted melody he’d heard in his dream.
As she sang, the branch released a music of such unearthly sweetness that it ravished Bran’s entire being. The melody flooded him with longing, dissolving the boundaries of his ordinary world.
Not long after, the enchanted woman vanished — and as she did — the branch leapt from his hand back to hers, leaving his heart yearning for Emain Ablach.
A yearning that is familiar to us today.
The Silver Branch Perception
There are moments, especially in midsummer, when we are overcome with enchantment, too.
Like Bran, we are transported to mystical realms each time we allow ourselves to be ravished by the sights, the sounds and the smells of the world around us.
Irish philosopher and mystic John Moriarty called this the Silver Branch Perception — a way of being that reveals this world as enchanted, sacred. And alive with wonder. “A marvelous way of seeing and knowing things that, in effect, is paradise regained.”
The magical branch is rooted in the soil of the Otherworld. Mystical ecstasy is rooted in our sensing and knowing of a
person or a place. The alchemy of beholder and beheld. A deeply somatic, erotic encounter with reality.
Appreciation is the silver branch.
The Alchemy of Appreciation
Each time we are captivated by a shaft of light falling across a stone wall. The smell of rain on warm earth. The softening in the eyes of a friend who’s really listening. We feel it. Appreciation.
But what is it, exactly, that we’re feeling?
Appreciation isn’t admiration, though it can look like it from the outside. Admiration keeps a respectful distance — it observes, evaluates, approves. Appreciation closes the distance between us and the world entirely. It pulls us out of the observer’s seat and into direct contact with the beauty that has captured us. The light. The rain. The eyes.
This is why appreciation feels unique in our body. Gratitude warms the chest. Joy lifts. And appreciation — true appreciation — is filled with a longing that is very different from the desire to possess.
Appreciation is the longing to be — a part of.
The stone. The light. The scent. The rain. The earth. The eyes. Our friend.
We don’t own any of these things. We belong to them. We are a part of them. And, in the longing, belonging appears. Alchemy. Yearning is fulfilled.
In the longing. In appreciation. Distance vanishes. We are closer than close. Breathing one breath.
This is what John Moriarty meant by paradise regained. Not a place we travel to. Not a state we achieve through discipline or practice. A quality of perception that is always available — in any moment we are willing to be genuinely moved by our experience.
The ordinary world, seen with the Silver Branch Perception, is already the enchanted realm. We are already inside it.Appreciation is simply noticing that we are.
I can hear the Sídhe of Emain Ablach singing her mystical melody right now.
Can you?
The Silver Branch Practice • The Alchemy of Appreciation
Appreciation awakens the sexual fire in everyone, at every age, in every season of llove. Enchantment lives in our bodies.
Prepare The Space
Create a time and a space for your practice. Put away all electronics. Make sure you won’t be disturbed. Take a shower or a bath before you begin — or, better yet, make bathing a part of your practice.
Since you’ll be exploring new ways of touching, listening, seeing and sensing, it’s best to set up a space separate from your bedroom. Novelty heightens the senses. Place a thick, soft duvet on the floor, with lots of pillows and blankets. Have candles, scents, sounds, a blindfold and sweets nearby. A flask of water. Tissues. A journal and a pen.
Allow 60 to 90 minutes for your practice.
Set Your Intention
Set an intention to awaken appreciation in your practice. To discover the extraordinary within the ordinary.
If you are practicing solo, your intention might be to give yourself the attentiveness and devotion you would give to a lover.
Sit comfortably in the space you have created. If you are practicing with a partner, you’ll sit side by side.
Give yourself a few moments to land. Settle into the natural rhythm of your breathing. The humanness. The uniqueness of your body as you breathe.
The Appreciation of Sensation
When you’re ready, begin to listen to the sounds all around you. The sound of the wind. The rain. The clock keeping time. The traffic outside.
Relax, let the sounds come to you. Take your time. Don’t rush. Melt into the sounds you hear. Even the traffic.
Then, one by one, tune in to all of your senses.
Listen to the sounds. Smell your skin, the flowers, the herbs in the garden. See the colors and shapes of the ordinary objects in your space. Touch your body — and feel how it feels to be touched. Taste the sweets.
Imagine you are exploring each of your senses for the very first time.
Appreciation is directly linked to sensation. Notice how it feels to feel.
The Appreciation of Connection
Our eyes are like mirrors. Ancient wisdom tells us the world we see is a reflection of the world that exists inside us.
Appreciation bridges that gap.
Sit facing one another if you’re practicing with a partner. Sit in front of a mirror if you’re practicing solo. Relax your face completely. Gaze into the eyes you see.
The shape. The color. The emotion.
Get closer without moving your body — soften and see more. Let your eyes travel the contours of the body and face before you. Notice that it will begin to feel as though you are actually touching the
skin.
Slow down. Even slower. Notice if you’re holding your breath.
We’ve been taught that it’s impolite to look at another body, or even our own. If there are moments where the practice feels overwhelming, close your eyes and pause. Begin again when you feel centered.
See what you’ve never seen before.
Appreciation emerges when we are caught off guard by a familiar sight that we see with new eyes.
The Appreciation of Longing
Let’s move even closer to the body. Put on a blindfold. Then pause.
Notice how it feels to be behind the veil. Take a few breaths, just to feel the edges of your body from the inside. Try that again. Stretch the breath just slightly, until you feel your inner world respond.
Relax everything, especially your face. Explore touch, this time, for pleasure.
Slow down. Speed up.
Where does pleasure appear — and how does it feel? Pause for a moment, then touch more. Let the sensations of your body surge to the surface, then settle.
And then, change your perspective. Touch your body for pleasure and follow pleasure from the surface to the core. The center of your body. And beyond.
Appreciation flows out into the world — and inward, as sensation, too.
The Appreciation of Union
For many people, the experience of lovemaking is disconnected from the body. A rush to a goal. The experience of appreciation is deeply connected to the body. It is — being a part of.
It is merging. It is union.
Alone, or with your partner, get closer. Listen to the sounds of your body, or theirs. The heartbeat, the breathing, the hum. Listen with all of your body, to their body or yours. Melt into the sounds you discover.
And breathe.
Then awaken to the scent of your body, or theirs. The sight. The touch. The taste.
Get lost. Then find yourself again as distance vanishes.
Closer than close. Breathing one breath.
Ravished by the gentle beauty of the ordinary.
The alchemy of appreciation. The enchanted realm.
Dawn Cartwright is a NeoTantra visionary, sacred writer, world traveler, and innovator in Self-Actualization—NeoTantra fusion. Subscribe to Dawn’s “Be Fully Alive” podcast on Patreon. Patreon.com/dawncartwright
