Atmos

Climate and Culture

The Overview

The Overview

The Overview

Welcome to The Overview newsletter, a weekly meditation on nature from Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh. From the reciprocity of trees to the long view of volcanoes to the patience of spiders, discover the wisdom of Earth’s many teachers. Be sure to subscribe to never miss an edition.

The Overview Book

An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, The Overview: Meditations on Nature for a World in Transition is a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

The Overview Book: An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, it’s a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

The Overview Book: An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, it’s a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

The Overview Book: An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, it’s a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

The Overview Book: An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, it’s a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

Pollinating the Future

Pollinating the Future

Pollinating the Future Atmos Volume 12 gathers transformative ideas—seeds of law, architecture, and culture—offered to help pollinate a thriving future.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A white owl burrows deep in a nest.

A white owl burrows deep in a nest.

Dark Wanderings: Opening Our Eyes to Nocturnal Life Embracing the darkness of the nocturnal world could be a pathway to our own aliveness.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A green and black poison dart frog sits on a log.

A green and black poison dart frog sits on a log.

Aposematism and The Beauty of Awareness In Costa Rica’s rainforest, beauty proves both luring and dangerous—nature’s vivid reminder to pay attention.

The Overview Deep Ecology

The Sagacity of Spiders and the Webs They Weave

The Sagacity of Spiders and the Webs They Weave

The Sagacity of Spiders and the Webs They Weave As much as people fear spiders, they are emissaries of many of nature’s most vital teachings—especially in how they spin their webs.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A group of people lie down in a circle on a green field.

A group of people lie down in a circle on a green field.

Hallowed Ground: Unearthing the Pagan History of Samhain As the veil thins and the dark half of the year begins, we turn to the old ways—honoring land, ancestry, and the Earth's enduring rhythms.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A hand reaches down toward pool of liquid gold.

A hand reaches down toward pool of liquid gold.

Noble Materials and the Art of Alchemy How can we transform our pain into beauty, practicing the oldest alchemy of all?

The Overview Deep Ecology

Two yellow flowers on top of one another.

Two yellow flowers on top of one another.

The Healing Power of Herbs Reconnecting with plants’ healing properties is about more than treating ailments—it’s about reintegrating ourselves with nature.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A tree grows on verdant grass in an ecotone.

A tree grows on verdant grass in an ecotone.

Life at the Edge: The Tension and Potential of Ecotones Ecotones—where worlds meet and boundaries blur—show that life flourishes in tension, and creation begins in the in-between.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A slug moves along a red background.

A slug moves along a red background.

The Fertile Spoil: Notes on Decomposition Earthworms, fungi, and microbes are the forest’s alchemists—transforming death into nourishment.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A blue constellation

A blue constellation

Constellations Below: Lessons From Undersea Bioluminescence Hope, like bioluminescence, reveals itself only when we're moved to action.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A feather that has been cut into three even sections lies vertically on a smooth wooden surface.

A feather that has been cut into three even sections lies vertically on a smooth wooden surface.

Breaking the Spell of Ecological Dissociation The antidote to ecological dissociation is deep healing and a reconnection to the soul of the world.

The Overview Deep Ecology

Close-up photo of brown human eye

Close-up photo of brown human eye

Unpacking the Science and Mysticism of Intuition Whether a link to the unconscious or knowing of the body, a connection to the divine or nature, intuition can take many forms.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A star being born in NASA photograph.

A star being born in NASA photograph.

A Star Is Born Humanity has always searched the stars for answers, whether through navigation, prophecy, or clues to our wider universe.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A brown leaf shaped as a heart.

A brown leaf shaped as a heart.

Everything Is Romantic: Embracing an Ecology of Love Romanticism is, at its heart, an invitation to recognize love as a force much bigger than us—a force of nature.

The Overview Deep Ecology

A shelter made from stacked rocks sits on a plain with snow capped mountains in the distance.

A shelter made from stacked rocks sits on a plain with snow capped mountains in the distance.

A Home at the End of the World The natural world reminds us that home is more than shelter—it’s community and belonging.

Deep Ecology The Overview

Two hands play a string game.

Two hands play a string game.

How We Can Re-Strategize for a Thriving Future To build lasting change, we need more than conviction—like nature, we need to embrace the necessity of strategy.

The Overview Democracy