Our ancestors never lost sight of this truth. They constantly paid honor to the Fruitful Provider, often imagined as the Great Mother. Grain from the first harvest of every season was offered back to her, and nourishing gifts of milk, wine, or blood were poured directly into the ground as an expression of gratitude. Remnants of these traditions still survive, even in modernized countries. Lithuanian scholar Marija Gimbutas noted that her father arose each morning and poured a libation of wine into the soil as a thank-offering to the earth.
Earth is also home to the dead.
Agricultural peoples all over the world planted their dead into the ground like seeds, expecting them to be born again from another woman's womb, to spring up new in the body of an animal, or to linger in the underworld. Spirits who joined with earth became wise. They acquired power to see the future and provide beneficial guidance. If a living person contacted them, he or she could gain knowledge of many hidden things. But we should remember that traditional peoples do not share our modern horror of death.