Honoring the Teachers, Ancestors, Sustainers

Do you know how you got to where you are now?

Do you know who got you to where you are now?

Photo by nate rayfield on Unsplash

If I believed that time was linear, and if I were a linear kind of thinker, I’d start at the perceived beginning.

Or at least the beginning that we think we know about.

The beginning of the Universe.

We call it the Big Bang.

We were all born those billions of years ago in that explosion of massively condensed potential energy.

We hurtled through space-time to where we are now.

The Universe is the original parent and sustainer of us all and we are a living expression of the miracle of this existence.

In more recent history, my personal story goes,

I was born in this human form to two parents, a Mother (Leslie) and Father ( John), who came from their Mothers (Virginia and Rose, respectively) and Fathers (Robert and Delfino, respectively) before that and their Mothers and Fathers before that and so on. To the beginning of humanness as we understand it.

I realized in researching my family history that, if you go back far enough, it becomes obvious how interrelated we all are.

I learned a decent amount about my lineage, at least on my mother’s side. This is a privilege. Some of my ancestors were good record keepers. Some are the kind of folks you’d find in history books. Most of them, at least those born in the time of recorded history, are what we call white. Before the idea of whiteness, they were called by other names, but whiteness erased their identity. Whiteness robs people of culture.

To honor these ancestors and to honor all humans, I try to bring the wisdom of their indigenous ancestors into my life. My matrilineage includes what we now call Celtic peoples. I study what we know about them (thanks to folks like Sharon Blackie, Philip & Stephanie Carr Gomm, and others), including their herbal traditions that I then share about in my classes.

Maybe some day I can honor my father’s ancestors in a similar way. Currently I’m not able to find any family records pre-dating my Portuguese grandfather, Delfino Neves, who came to the US in the 1920s. Nor for my Sicilian great-grandparents, Salvatore Boccino and Jennie Broncato (or Boccini and Broncata, respectively – those immigration records are fuzzy), who arrived here in the 19aughts. I can, however, study the herbal traditions of these folks, and bring them into my classes, too.

My human body would not be here without the bodies of these ancestors.

It also wouldn’t be here without the Ancestors of Place. The ancestors of First Peoples – those who stewarded the land where I live (Lenapehoking) and the land my mother’s ancestors colonized (Tsenacomoco/Werowocomoco - I have ancestors from there, too) – who lived in the kind of reciprocity with Earth that ensured the continuance of the plant and animal lives we depend upon.

The Ancestors of Place also include those who were forced from their motherland Africa and enslaved to work this land, to sustain the lives of all the people who live here. I think of the hands and bodies of those who fed my ancestors, both Indigenous and Black, and I’m overcome with both sadness and gratitude. I would not be here in this body without them.

My body (and yours) also wouldn’t be here without Bacteria, Fungi, Stones, Rivers, Nematodes, Wind, Birds, Fish, Furred Creatures, Sun, Moon,

and the Plants.

Perhaps the most generous of all of the Earth beings we encounter every day. The vitamins and minerals they produce and draw up from the soil nourish us. The sunshine they store in their cells sustains us. Our clothing and shelter and furniture come from them. Even the fossil fuels that we currently burn for energy and the all-pervasive plastic we depend upon (and hopefully won’t need to in the years to come) are derived from ancient plants and animals.

I am most grateful for the gifts of these ever-giving green ancestors, including the pleasure I receive from their beauty and their medicine.

The birth of my son changed me entirely body & soul. Wow! So grateful for the gifts of being a portal for another life, and for the daily lessons I receive from parenting this child.

I don’t know where I’d be without the wisdom and experience of my human teachers (or their teachers’ teachers’ teachers’). The ones who passed down their knowledge, often in secret and at the risk of their lives.

Thank you, Irma StarSpirit Turtle Woman, for generously sharing your teachings of the Healing Drum, the Dreamingway, and so many more healing life skills that benefit so many folks.

Thank you, Robert Moss, for your passion and dedication to inspire so many with your Dream teachings and experiences.

Thank you to the many teachers of Plant Wisdom I’ve learned from either directly, online, or through their writings: Robin Rose Bennett, Peeka Trenkle, Karen Rose, Jacoby Ballard, Aviva Romm, Rosemary Gladstar, Matthew Wood, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Stephen Harrod Buhner, Rosalee de la Forêt, Jim McDonald, Julia Graves, 7Song, dear friends Pam Turczyn & Sokhna Heathyre Mabin, and many more.

Thank you, Leda Meredith, dear friend and Foraging Fairy Godmother for inspiring my current life path and for dropping the opportunity of Northeast Medicinal Plants in my lap.

Thank you, Adriana Magaña and Andrew Faust for your awesomeness and sharing your knowledge and experience of permaculture with the world.

Thank you, Aki Hirata Baker, for your friendship, wise guidance, warm welcome into the MINKA family, and for sharing the teachings of the Toltecs.

There are some whom I won’t thank publicly, humans I hold dear & close to my heart. Pretty sure you know who you are. Thank you for your faithful friendship and daily support.

I’m also grateful for the experiences that moved me to the path I’m on, including the ones that helped me discern the path I don’t want to be on. It’s an ever-evolving dance and flow, this human experience thing. I’m learning more each day what it means to be human, to be fully awake and alive in this gift of a body, this gift of Being.

Thank you to you who are reading this. I’m grateful you are here. And I honor you, too. We are connected by a shared thread of existence, in a vast and wondrous Universe – this wild world we call home.

“You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.”

— Maya Angelou

Just for fun

Start a Slo-mance With Herbs

(Plus, a Recipe for Love Tea)

Image: Kranich17

Loooving you,

Is easy ‘cuz you’re beautiful…

You, yes, you. I’m talking to you!

I dare you to gaze at yourself in the mirror and sing this song.

Not feeling it?

(I feel for you!)

How ‘bout some help from a few friends first?

They’re totally legal (aw, no fun!) and yet they are potent mind- and heart-altering friends.

Ready to meet them?

I’m talkin’ ‘bout herbs.

Herbs to enhance love… for you.

And for others, if you so choose.

Recipe for LOVE, herbal blend

What you’ll need, dried herb, in parts by weight:

• 1 part Rose (Rosa species) petals

• 1 part Agrimony (Agrimonia species)

• 1/2 part Rose hips (Rosa species)

• 1/2 part Hawthorn (Crataegus species) berries

• (technically not a berry, but a pome, like an apple; aka, haw)

• 1/2 part Damiana (Turnera diffusa syn. aphrodisiaca) leaves

• 1/4 part Ginger (Zingiber officinale) rhizome

Be sure to acquire organically grown or ethically wildcrafted ingredients, please. For the love of you, and our Great Mama.

Weight out your dried herbs and mix well in a bowl by hand. Keep the blend stored in an air-tight glass container out of the sunlight.

Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of herbal blend per cup of boiling water, or 1/2 to 3/4 cup to 1 quart of boiling water. Cover and let steep for at least 20 minutes.

Strain and sip. Add honey to sweeten if you like (I do!).

You can also use this blend as a bath tea. Oh so good for the skin, the aura, the heart!

Simply strain a bigger batch (like a quart-sized one) directly into a tub of hot water and get in. Feel free to sing to yourself in there (I do!).

If you want to get more intimate with herbal allies – what I call having a Slo-mance with herbs – study them one at a time in my new course, INFUSE.

Love the plants to love yourself!

Healing plants are great teachers and great mirrors for us. They open us up, expand our awareness of the world, while also healing our hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits. Simply sitting with them has great healing power.

Steep yourself in the Magic & Medicine of the healing plant allies in INFUSE, a monthly immersion to deepen your relationship with these Wild Wise Green Ones.

The Pigs (and Pandemic) Made Me Do it

My kiddo’s little buddies, Spunky & Bubba.

Or, Compost Is Part of the Medicine.

At the beginning of the pandemic, one of the first services to be put on pause was citywide composting. I was devastated! Composting is one of those things that feels really good to do. Keeping waste out of landfills, keeping pollution-spewing fossil-fuel-consuming trucks from carting said waste to the landfills, and best of all, building the soil to support life to thrive – these are all major for being in good relationship with the Earth. I’d say if there’s one thing you could do for the planet, it would be to compost.

I caught the compost bug back in 2009 after I studied permaculture. The following year I participated in the NYC Compost Project, becoming a “master composter.” I kept a worm compost bin back then, and stored excess food scraps in the freezer, which I carted by subway from Brooklyn to Union Square Greenmarket, the nearest place I could compost on a regular basis. Not long after I joined the neighborhood community garden and was part of the compost team.

Before NYC expanded their composting program, one of the farms at the neighborhood farmers market, Evolutionary Organics, began collecting food scraps. Every Saturday, I’d bring those frozen scraps to the market just a couple of blocks away. Then came the citywide effort, also with a sizable operation at the market. I found great joy in this weekly routine of seeing people happily cart their food scraps there.

And then came the pandemic. Even though I consider compost to be an essential service, apparently the city government didn’t agree. Honestly, I felt a bit lost, and very sad to be throwing all of that precious organic material into the landfill.

It broke my heart every time I made herbal medicine – tinctures, infusions, syrups – and tossed the leftover, called the marc. When I could, I’d bring those spent herbs with me to the park to leave as offerings for the trees.

Thankfully one of our neighborhood restaurants started collecting compost scraps on Sundays, but for some reason it just never became a consistent habit to get over there. I’d say only about 1/4 to 1/3 of our scraps made it there.

And then the guinea pigs arrived.

We got Bubba & Spunky for my son’s birthday. I don’t know if you know this about guinea pigs – they are prolific poopers. They’re herbivores so their poop makes great compost. They eat a lot of grass, and they’re pretty picky about it. A lot of it ends up getting tossed with their precious pellets when we clean the cage. I couldn’t stand by and just let all of this great organic matter go to the dump. I had to start composting in earnest again.

I recalled an article in the New York Times about a way to compost at home that didn’t require a service or difficult-to-acquire inputs. I went to Natty Garden, the neighborhood garden center and got myself some coconut coir and ordered wood ash from a shop on Etsy.

Oh the satisfaction of turning food scraps, guinea pig poop, and grass into black gold! It’s really quite the alchemical process. It’s really satisfying to be a part of and witness that transformation of trash into treasure. Even more, it’s a great pleasure to partake in this regenerative process that benefits the life in the soil and beyond.

Some of the compost is already going back to the Earth. I added it as a sheet mulch layer in a native medicinal wildflower meadow that I’m working on in the Catskills. And whatever compost I’m making now will go to the struggling street trees in my neighborhood.

Composting is one of those multilayered solutions to the predicaments of our modern lives. It mitigates pollution, prevents extraction of Earth’s precious gifts, keeps material resources in the community, builds soil (a much overlooked and vital part of the health of the land, and us!), encourages vitality and diversity in the ecosystem, and brings us closer to the natural rhythms of Mama Nature that our modern lifestyles sever us from. Compost is part of the medicine we need to restore health to our world.

Am I getting too personal here? I mean, looking at someone’s discarded stuff, that’s pretty intimate!

Your Guide to Ethical Wildcrafting

Hey Plant Lover!

Whether you are a seasoned wildcrafter or you’ve never harvested wild plants for food or medicine before, there’s something that’s vital for all of us to consider. That’s the impact our choices have on the life we share this planet with.

Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash

Birds, insects, microorganisms, furry creatures – like us, they depend on the plants for their survival.

And then of course there are the plants themselves. There are close to 400,000 vascular plants on Earth. And nearly 2,000 are discovered or newly studied each year, many of which are on the brink of extinction. It’s estimated that 1 in 5 plants on Earth are threatened with extinction.

So why are plants and other life forms disappearing?

There are a variety of causes, the most visible being habitat destruction and loss. This comes in many forms. Fragmentation of forests from clear cutting, pollution of water by agricultural and industrial runoff, widespread pesticide and herbicide use, sprawling commercial and housing development.

These are but symptoms of a greater issue. At the root, the loss of life on this planet is an ideological problem:

We see ourselves as separate from nature.

By “we” I mean those in the developed world, plagued by colonialism, capitalism, consumerism, racism.

These lenses have clouded our vision of the truth.

The truth is that we depend on all of life to work in concert. That each one of us – animal (including humans), plant, fungi, mineral – are an integral part of the whole. And that our human neuroses – fear of scarcity, fear of other, fear of death – have put us into this stupor of forgetfulness and destruction. We blindly take from the Earth what we think we need without thanks, and without reciprocity. This isn’t need, but greed.

If there’s anything the COVID pandemic is showing us, it is that our destructive habits impact every one of us. The predominating culture looks at the gifts of the Earth as commodities to be extracted, bought, and sold. Clean healthy water is a human right, a right for all living beings. Yet we have dreamed up that it has a monetary value. This dream is killing the beauty of life on this planet. It is time to shift this dream.

There is abundance, joy, pleasure, and enough for all when we reciprocate with the Earth. This has been a basic fact of life for all earth-based cultures on this planet. People who have not lost this sense of belonging to the Earth (and not the f*ed up flipside idea of Earth belonging to us) live this truth. I look forward to the day where more of us not just understand this but embody and live it.

One small way to begin to live our belonging is to live in reciprocity with the healing plants.

I’ve created a guide to Ethical Wildcrafting with this at its core. It’s adapted from my book, Northeast Medicinal Plants and is inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s words in her book, Braiding Sweetgrass.

Sign up to receive it in your inbox here, or click the image below to get your copy – It will arrive in three easily digestible parts.

I’m delivering it in installments so that you can slow down to take in the information and practice it.

By signing up you’ll also learn additional ways to connect with healing plants and receive information about my new offering, INFUSE – a monthly immersion to deepen your relationship with healing plants. You can always unsubscribe at any time.

I invite you to comment below or email me liz (at) gatheringground (dot) nyc to share your experiences with connecting with the healing plants.

References and Further Reading:

How Many Plant Species Are There in the World? Scientists now have an answer

The Real Cure for Covid is Renewing Our Fractured Relationship With the Planet

**Legacy Lost: **A Brief History of Colonization and the Loss of Northeastern Old-Growth Forests

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Additional Guides to Ethical Wildcrafting From Fellow Herbalists:

Forest Medicine by fellow Timber Press author, Scott Kloos

Herbal Remedies Advice by Rosalee de la Forêt

Learning Herbs by Devon Young

Sierra Botanica by Rachel Berry

Herbal Allies for the Uprising

Hello Every Body, Every Heart, Every Spirit!

I’ve been thinking about how I could be of service right now and I was reminded by a friend of what I could share during this time, and what she suggested was this: Are there any Northeast plants that we can draw healing and wisdom from at this time of uncertainty and uprising? In other words, which plants can help us sustain our minds, bodies, and spirits through the long haul of doing The Work?*

So how can the plants help? Our green allies offer us guidance, nourishment, and healing so that we can show up in the ways we are needed while also reducing the risk of burning out. They help us stay grounded and allow us to better perceive universal truths.

I believe that it is essential to know and partner with the community of plants growing in our own backyards. These plants contain information for us about the land where we live.

And the plants we need also often grow close to us, showing up just when we need them. So I’m sharing plants that grow where I live, in northeastern North America. All of them can be found in Northeast Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 111 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness (Timber Press). Many of these plants grow in other parts of the world, too. If you aren’t in the Northeast, seek out the plants that grow near you, find the plant folk who live in your area, or look for related species to the plants listed here.

Agrimony (Agrimonia species)

The leaves, flowers, and burs of Agrimony in tea (infusion) or tincture from, as well as the flower essence, bring relief to those who hide their pain beneath a cheerful disposition. Agrimony leaves can be burned as an agent of cleansing and purification, to remove any energies projected onto us.

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

This beautiful flowering plant is closely related to Echinacea and has similar immune stimulating properties. The flower essence allows our old trauma and shadows to come to the surface so that we may process them with compassion. Jordan Pagán of Ostara Apothecary describes it as an “anti-repressor,” making Black-eyed Susan a very fitting essence for the times.

Black-eyed Susan

Borage (Borago officinalis)

Borage for courage! Both Borage leaf infusion helps restore the nervous system when we become depleted and exhausted. The flower essence instills courage while lightening our hearts when we experience heaviness and grief.

Burdock (Arctium species)

Drinking a daily Burdock root decoction or infusion for several weeks at a time has the power to clear deep seated anger and toxicity in the blood. According to herbalist-yogini-doula Sokhna Mabin Burdock can bring healing to deep ancestral wounds. So deep your great-great granny will feel it.

Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

Have you seen this prickly plant? Pretty fierce looking. The funny thing is, it’s a signal to us that this plant relieves pain. The leaves and roots in tincture would be beneficial for this. The flower essence helps those who are being bullied or are in conflict with authority figures stand in their power.

Cinquefoil (Potentilla species)

Cinquefoil can be used similarly to Agrimony (see above). It also has a history of being used in Hoodoo. It can be used for unbinding. The plant sends a message to those meddling in our lives to keep their hands off. (Its 5 leaflets are reminiscent of the hand shape.)

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)

Comfrey is a powerful wound healer. So powerful you must take care when using it topically as it can heal the skin over a wound, potentially trapping in infection. Use comfrey topically only on well cleaned superficial (not puncture) wounds. The flower essence can be partnered with for healing deep emotional wounds. Take care with using Comfrey internally (especially the root), particularly if there is a pre-existing liver condition.

Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)

The Tree of Peace of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Instills peace in our hearts and our nerves. Wound healing. Pine flower essence promotes self acceptance and helps one to release long held guilt. Learn more information on the Bach Pine essence here. Eastern White Pine flower essence, according to Woodland Essences offers “the Foundation of ancient wisdom to help us remember how to ‘put the pieces back together.’ A guiding light to illuminate and support one's re-membering. Stability and balance in thought and action.”

Hawthorn (Crataegus species)

Hawthorn is a guardian tree offering us tender heart healing and protection. Check out those thorns – they are formidable. Birds nest in Hawthorn branches for a good reason. Protection. Also, each thorn has the potential to become a branch – sit with that metaphor for a while. Hawthorn leaves and flowers are gently calming and her fruit gently regulates heart rhythm, helps to move fat through the blood and digestive tract, and balances blood pressure.

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)

This gorgeous wild bitter mint soothes the heart and nervous system. She calms heart palpitations and eases hypertension. Whenever I feel like freaking out, Motherwort cools my nervous anxiety and tension. Tincture form is my favorite way to take this medicine. Take care to use low doses if you have hypothyroidism (the herb is used to calm hyperthyroidism).

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

Mugwort initiates us into the ways of the medicine plants. She helps shift our perception so that we can see the world from a fresh perspective, one more aligned with the natural world. In other words, she help help you get and stay woke. Drinking Mugwort infusion, taking the tincture, or using the infused oil topically enhances our ability to dream (dreaming is happening all the time, dreaming is really waking up). With Mugwort’s help we can dream the new world we know is possible. Do not use Mugwort during pregnancy, it is stimulating to the uterus (which makes it helpful for regulating menstruation and stirring creativity).

Mugwort

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

Standing tall like a beacon, Mullein activates and heals the physical and energetic spine. Drinking the infusion or tincture is calming to the nerves and helps us process grief, which is held in the lungs.

Rose (Rosa species)

One of my favorite spirit nurturing herbs. Rose shifts our mood, cools anger, and stimulates our senses. She is a powerful healer who opens us up to our true, peaceful, sensual selves.

Skullcap (Scutellaria species)

If you are looking to slow incessant mental chatter, Skullcap is a good friend to have around. Taking a bit of the tincture before bedtime slows the mental roll and eases us into restful sleep and healing dreams.

Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum species)

Solomon’s Seal is a gently restorative tonic for building the body and spirit back up after illness or exhaustion. The flower essence is used for protection and wise decision making. It is also said to enhance synchronicity. According to Healing Spirits Herb Farm, it helps us adapt to changes that have already occurred.

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

Everyone deserves a good night’s rest and Valerian does the job, for most people. For a small percentage of folks, Valerian is more activating than relaxing, so do a test on a day where you don’t have a lot of commitments to see if you are one of the rare few who don’t benefit from the relaxing effects of Valerian.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Last but certainly not least, Yarrow is a favorite herb for protection and clearing energy. The flower essence helps us establish and maintain healthy boundaries. The herb in poultice or salve form helps to stop injuries from bleeding. It’s an essential ally for every revolutionist’s first aid kit.

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I dedicate this post to those with boots on the ground, doing the heavy lifting around undoing racial oppression. May you find your favorite green allies, may you find the ones to lean on when you need to nourish and restore your being.

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*From my view, the work includes the reconfiguring of our perceptions, in concert with rebuilding and restructuring the systems and structures to be beneficial to all humans. The work is staying with the awareness of how we relate to the world, staying with the practice of relating to each other with care, and of being vulnerable and open to the ways we relate with regard to the construct of race. For me and other white folks, it’s opening our eyes to the ways in which we benefit from the systems and structures of racial oppression and how we can leverage our privilege to bring more awareness to this raw and gaping wound.

I am by no means an expert on this topic and this post is not meant as an education about the history of racial constructs and white supremacy. So I’m sharing a few organizations and resources to educate yourself on this topic. It is deep and there are many more to explore – this is just the tip of the iceberg to get you started.

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)

Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond

Brownicity

The Action PAC

75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice

Green Is in the Heart

This is the 4th post I’m sharing on the Communication of Color, particularly through the lens of the plant realm. You can find the previous posts here:

The Power of Red in Times of Disruption

Orange ya glad? How Orange Stimulates Joy

Yellow Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair

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Hello!

How are you doing?

By my count it’s day 72 of the “quarantine”* (or whatever you’d like to call it).

It’s also the 10th week of distance learning for my 7 year old, and his teachers are trying to keep it fresh. One of the teachers recently sprung an impromptu dance party on the class. She played “Groove Is in the Heart,” one of my favorite 90s hits by Deee-Lite. Maybe you know it (if not, or if you want to take a trip down memory lane, the video is below). Well, it took me back and got me moving, my heart pumping. And it got me thinking about the heart and about this week’s post about the color Green.

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Green is in the heart, according to the chakra system. The fourth chakra (Sanskrit: anahata for “unhurt,” “unbeaten,” or “unstruck”) lives at the heart center, the place where love, compassion, and caring are expressed. This is also where past hurts, jealousy, and relationship wounds live. When there is wounding in our hearts, we may have difficulty empathizing, we may find it difficult to be kind with ourselves and with others. There might be a lot of negative self talk or limits set around our perceived ability to express love. We may feel that the “grass is greener” on the other side, in other words we may be green with envy.

As Kermit says, it ain’t easy being green. Maybe that’s because many of us are living in our heads, cut off from our hearts. It’s always the right time to work on healing our hearts to nurture self love so that we can create a compassionate, loving society. I always look to the Earth for inspiration and guidance for healing. It’s a lovely synchronicity that Earth and Heart are anagrams in the English language.

The first thing I do when I feel disconnected from my heart is tap into the energy of the Earth. I bring awareness to my heart and then I let that awareness dive down through my body and into the soil. I let it continue to travel down through all of the layers of this magnificent planet right down to the core. The core is the heart (cuore, Italian for “heart”) and our Great Mother’s heart beats out the electromagnetic field to nurture us with her energy, and to shield us from the powerful rays of the Sun. Tap into that energy of fierce love and protection when your heart is aching and see what happens.

There are a lot of beautiful treasures from the Earth (aka, stones) to sit with when you are needing a boost of heart energy. You can call on their energy if you don’t have them on hand. Do your best to obtain them from a sustainable source if you seek to sit with them physically. Here are a few that resonate with the heart: green calcite, malachite, moss agate, tree agate, green garnet, fuchsite, fluorite, and chrysocolla. Pink is another heart centered color and stones that feature pink also light up the heart, including rose quartz, pink calcite, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, and ruby in zoisite (which also features green). I find it interesting that pink and green vibrate on a similar frequency - my dad and son are both color blind (deuteranopic) and sometimes have trouble differentiating colors in the pink-green color range, depending on the value.

And of course, the plants! Just being outside communing with the green ones is enough to restore some balance to the heart. If I’m feeling a little stuck or fatigued, simply looking out my apartment window at the lushly leafed-out trees gives me a little boost of heart energy and refreshes my spirit. Houseplants could do the same.

There are so many beautiful herbs that resonate with the heart, some more specifically than others. Many of them feature the colors green, pink, or red prominently. Green often indicates nourishing and cleansing, while red and pink speak to the blood and the heart, both physically and energetically. Here are just a few lovely green allies that soothe the heart.

Hawthorn (Crataegus species)

She’s a fiercely protective tree whose leaves, flowers, and fruit are most often employed for healing the physical and energetic heart. The berries help break down fat in the blood and digestive tract, and the fruit, leaves, and flowers lower blood cholesterol, regulate the heart rate, and balance blood pressure Her sharp thorns are also a signature for her protective nature and her action on the heart.

Beach rose (Rosa rugosa)

Rose (Rosa species)

Swoon! Rose has my heart all a-flutter. We know her well for her love-invoking abilities, her renown as a romance enhancer, her transportive perfume. Rose is also a protector of the heart being antioxidant and cooling to the blood. Her thorns – technically prickles – like the thorns of Hawthorn, are another signature of her cardio-protective properties.

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

The flowers of most cherry species have a gentle soporific quality and the bark of P. serotina in particular is used traditionally to induce sleep, often where there is a cough that keeps one up at night. Like Hawthorn, black cherry regulates the heart’s rhythm and helps lower blood pressure.

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)

This gorgeous bitter mint is well known for its heart regulating properties. It’s even right there in the species name, cardiaca. Motherwort alleviates hypertension and heart palpitations while soothing the nervous system. One of the signatures of this plant is the way the leaves grow in a rhythmic or syncopated pattern up the stem. (Thank you Julia Graves for sharing that signature)

My favorite perch, in Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)

Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)

One of my favorite trees, Eastern White Pine soothes the heart’s rhythm and brings peace to the nerves. Like Motherwort, the signature is in the syncopated pattern of the whorled branches. Simple spending time with this tree offers a reassurance that everything is going to be okay.

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Deeply nourishing and restorative Stinging Nettle is like the magnet in our heart’s compass leading us to our True North. Rich in chlorophyll, plant proteins, and other compounds that balance our bodies in just about all of the ways, this plant is a great foundational herb. It has been relied upon for millennia for its life-sustaining properties, notably by ascetic monks living in caves, like Milarepa, who turned green from consuming so much of the stuff.

Unfurling heart-shaped leaves of Violet (Viola sororia)

Violet (Viola species)

This forest-edge-dwelling cutie emerges in spring to wake our hearts up to the season of new beginnings. Drinking the leaves daily for a few consecutive weeks helps to cleanse the blood and nourish the body. Heart-shaped leaves tip us off to this plant’s ability to ease a grieving heart.

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*The quarantine, La Quarantena, a term coined by Venetians during the Black Death is derived from the 40 days (quaranta giorni) of isolation of a ship’s crew and cargo to prevent the spread of disease. Our quaranta giorni has now reached settantadue and will likely continue a few more settimana before we shift to a new stage of coming out of our bubbles.

In next week’s post we’ll move on up the rainbow body to the color Blue. Stay tuned…

Yellow Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair

This is the third post in a series I’m sharing about colorful signatures in the plant realm. Here they are in order so far:

The Power of Red in Times of Disruption

Orange ya glad? How Orange Stimulates Joy

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Photo by Natalia Luchanko on Unsplash

Yellow is the colour of my true love's hair

In the morning when we rise
In the morning when we rise
That's the time, that's the time

I love the best

I wonder if Donovan was secretly singing about Dandelion, because that’s who I picture as my true love when I hear this song.

Dandelion blossoms in spring

Like the rays of the golden sun, yellow brings things to life. Yellow is the epitome of cheery. Yellow boosts our confidence and our energy.

Our bodies’ sun lies in the solar plexus, the 3rd chakra (sanskrit: manipurna meaning “city of jewels”). This is the center of identity, self-expression, and will. Our sun is how we show up, in every sense. How do we rise to the occasion? It’s also the place where we create boundaries; it’s where I end and you begin.

To restore the energy of an imbalanced solar plexus, add a little yellow to your life.

You can sit with yellow stones with an intention to boost your confidence or turn down those negative self-talk voices. Here are a few you might want to try: citrine, yellow calcite, yellow sapphire, golden healer, tiger’s eye, and pyrite.

The plants that balance our solar plexus are plentiful. Many of them have yellow flowers, and sometimes roots.

Black-eyed Susan bloom

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia species)

With gorgeously golden rays and a deep dark center, Black-eyed Susan flower essence brings our shadow to the light, allowing us to process what is at the recesses of our psyches with love and compassion. Medicinally, this beauty is akin to its relative, Echinacea, being a detoxifier and stimulant to the immune system. It is sometimes utilized in formulations for Lyme Disease, a condition that can rock a person to their core (aka, the solar plexus center).

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

One of my favorite plant allies. Dandelion is a rooted grounded reflection of the sun above, with radiant golden blooms. Dandelion blossoms used topically are a mild pain reliever and make a great massage oil for the solar plexus. The root is well known for its liver-supportive effects. (The liver and gallbladder are also located in the solar plexus region - yellow is a signature for these organs).

Goldenrod and Bull Thistle

Goldenrod (Solidago species)

As the light of the day begins to wane, Goldenrod shines the way into the darker months. Like Dandelion, Goldenrod makes a lovely massage oil for the solar plexus. It’s also a great ally for disorders of the urinary tract (yellow) and for treating candidiasis.

Saint John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Delicate golden blossoms that bleed red when you squeeze them speak to the ability of Saint John’s Wort to balance both the root (red) and solar plexus (yellow). Lots of caveats to working with this one. If you want to work with this plant but feel it’s contraindicated for you, you can work with the flower essence or the oil, topically applied to the solar plexus region.

Sunflower

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Towering above reaching toward the sky with its tall stalks, yet facing downward as if looking down upon us humble creatures below, Sunflower is a reminder of the fruitful relationship between the Earth and the Sun. Its abundant seeds are nourishing and cleansing, its fragrant petals infused in oil and blended with the other golden blossoms mentioned here, again, make an excellent solar plexus massage oil. The flower buds orient to the sun and the flower essence helps us do the same, bestowing a more shining expression of our truest selves.

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These are just some of my favorite plants that prominently feature yellow. Do you have a favorite yellow ally? Share in the comments below!

Photo by Dmitry Grigoriev on Unsplash

Orange ya glad? How Orange Stimulates Joy

This is the second post in a series I’m sharing about colorful signatures in the plant realm. Here’s the first, The Power of Red in Times of Disruption.

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(Knock knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who? Knock knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who? Knock knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who? Knock knock. Who’s there? Orange. Orange who? Orange ya glad I didn’t say banana?)

Oh I just couldn’t help myself. It’s one of the few jokes I know and like to tell my 7 year old. And it’s one of the first things that comes to find when I hear the word “Orange.” It kind of makes sense when I think on it, as Orange is the color of Joy.

What does Orange bring to mind for you?

Or rather, how does Orange make you feel?

Orange is rich and vibrant. Orange stirs emotions and encourages creativity. In the chakra system, Orange is the color of the sacral chakra (sanskrit: Svadisthana) where pleasure, sexuality, and abundance rule.

If we are feeling uninspired or not seeing the beauty in the world, Orange lifts us up and restores a sense of vitality.

We can work with color in a variety of ways to shift our mood, from the clothes we wear to the colors we paint our walls.

Some stones or crystals we can work with to stimulate our joy and vibrancy center are: orange calcite, sunstone, amber, carnelian, or fire agate.

Orange Yarrow (Achillea species)

There are a number of plants that enliven our sacral centers as well. And many of them feature Orange as a prominent color.

Calendula

Calendula (Calendula officinalis)

Vibrant orange blooms of Calendula are well known for their benefits for the skin, and they are also greatly beneficial to the digestive system, as well as the reproductive organs. Calendula blossoms in tea (infusion) or tincture form can be a warming balm to menstrual cramps in cases of cold stagnation in the uterus. It’s also been used as a remedy for candidiasis. Emotionally speaking, Calendula uplifts mood and brings joy to our hearts. According to Flower Essence Services, the flower essence invokes in us a healing warmth and receptivity.

California poppy by cogdogblog.

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

Beautifully delicate Cali Poppy, its grace and elegance are entrancing. As an herb, this plant eases the nervous system, instilling calm and bringing pain relief. According to Isha Lerner, Power of Flowers essences, California Poppy flower essence “is a magical golden cup flower that enchants the soul, offering imagination and a vibrant appreciation for nature's invisible forces.  It can help with the clearing of addictions and drug abuse.” Addictions and abuse often stem from imbalances in the sacral energy center.

Saffron (Crocus sativus)

Saffron makes me think of a big delicious pan of paella, which like this herb, is said to be an aphrodisiac. The “herb” is actually the orange stamens from Autumn Crocus – separating them out is a delicate and labor-intensive process. Aside from being a potent antioxidant, Saffron is purported to improve mood, ease premenstrual symptoms, and stimulate amorous feelings. If you are looking for a more accessible herb, Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) could act as a substitute.

Damiana (Turnera diffusa)

The flower of Damiana isn’t entirely orange, more a bright yellow with a concentrated almost orange center. But it’s certainly known for its sacral center stimulating properties. Drinking a Damiana infusion or taking the tincture stimulates circulation to the pelvic region. It’s also relaxing to the nervous system, lowering inhibitions. It’s these two qualities that have given this herb its reputation as an aphrodisiac. (Another way to express the botanical name is Turnera aphrodisiaca.)

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Colorwise perhaps this is a bit of a stretch. Admittedly, the color of the Ginger rhizome is more a beige than orange, and its flower is a vibrant magenta-fuschia. But there’s no doubt that ginger is stimulating and warming to the womb-space, easing cold stagnation in the case of menstrual cramps, and invoking a general sense of invigoration and enlivenment to the whole being.

Tuliptree bloom

Tuliptree, aka, Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)

When I look at the flower of Tuliptree I see a bright orange flame flickering up from its base. At the base of the orange bleeds in yellow and the whole flame emerges into a field of green. The message I receive from the flower is that it brings the energy of the sacral and solar plexus centers up into the heart, encouraging us to express ourselves in a heart-centered way from our core. This flame also speaks to the use of this plant (the root bark primarily) in treating intermittent fever, particularly in case of malaria.

Butterfly weed

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

This plant is at risk in the Northeast, so I suggest working with the flower essence, which affords us ease in our vulnerability, allowing us to be open in relationships and un-self-consciously express our creativity.

Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis)

Last but not least, we have the color’s namesake. Eating oranges in the winter months brings a certain level of vitality and sunshine to our lives when things are otherwise fairly colorless and dark. What I love about orange is the scent, and it’s the essential oils I use most often. Diffusing Sweet Orange oil or just taking a sniff of it straight from the bottle stirs my sense of creativity and a feeling that everything is just ducky.

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Photo by Jennifer Aldrich on Unsplash

Some are silver

While these plants don’t quite feature any orange, they do have a link with the sacral chakra. The giveaway is under their leaves. When you flip them over, they have a silvery white underside. This is their link with the moon, and in our bodies, the moon is seated at the sacral center. The moon is ruler of emotions, the tides of the body, and intuition.

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

If you know me, you know this is one plant I won’t ever stop talking about. Mugwort is magical on many levels. It brings flow to the body, mind, and spirit. And as far as the sacral center goes, Mugwort brings flow to creativity and to the physical space of the uterus, stimulating and regulating healthy menstrual cycles for those with a lack of circulation to that area of the body.

Raspberry (Rubus species)

Raspberry leaf is a well known remedy for the moons of women’s (womben’s, wimmin’s, womyn’s) bodies. Taken during pregnancy it helps prepare the uterus for childbirth, and taken after birth helps tone and restore the uterus and reduce heavy bleeding. It’s a regulator of hormones as well, particularly progesterone.

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How does Orange make you feel? Leave a reply in the comments below!

Next week, I’ll be sharing about… you guessed it, Yellow! Stay tuned.

The Power of Red in Times of Disruption

Do you have a favorite color? Or, like me, do you feel drawn to a particular color depending on the day, season, or mood?

Right now, the color that is calling to me is RED. It’s shouting to me, really, which is what Red can do sometimes. It’s really no surprise, given a moment to think on it, why Red has come into my awareness at this time. Read on, dear one, to find out why…

How does RED make you feel?

Red is anything but subtle. Red is seductive and provocative, grabbing our attention like a siren. Red is about extreme emotions. We can be red in the face with anger, blushing red with embarrassment, or feeling red hot for a lover.

Red pumps through our veins, through our hearts. Red is the foundation, the great equalizer. Our red blood reminds us that we are alive, we are mortal, and we are kin.

Red is the color of the root chakra (sanskrit: muladhara). The root is quite literally the seat of our sense of security. It is primal and reassuring. Spending time with Red in this sense, tells us that everything is going to be okay. It allows us to let go of our fears, our fear-based impulses, and encourages us to act from a grounded place and from the heart. Like the roots of a tree enmeshed in soil, our consciousness can be rooted in the solid ground of our Mother Earth. Slowing down to feel her pulse from groundedness, our own hearts are awakened and we remember: She provides us with all that we need. And knowing this we know not to fear for lack of having needs met. The abundance of the Earth is with us always.

Simply meditating on the color red or wearing it can bring about these feelings of security and courage (from Old French, corage, feeling from the heart). Sitting with or holding stones like carnelian, bloodstone, jasper, or garnet can invoke these feelings.

And of course, I must tell you about the herbs! Yes, there are medicinal plants that can help us feel more rooted, juicy, and abundant, too. And in the Divine Wisdom of the Universe, these plants feature red as a predominant color. Plants featuring red flowers, fruit, roots, or bark also have a physical influence on the blood, too. Here are just a few examples.

Rose (Rosa species)

One of my absolute favorites in the world of medicinal plants. Rose is ubiquitous for a reason. Rose is powerful! Energetically, she is cooling, drying, and anti-inflammatory. Read here for more on this amazing ally.

Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

Have you ever had Hibiscus tea? Jamaican Sorrel? That is some beautifully red stuff right there. Like Rose, Hibiscus is has a great effect on the blood. It’s cooling (refrigerant), antioxidant, and balances blood pressure and blood sugar, too. Hibiscus helps regulate menstruation, reducing excessive flow. According to David Frawley and Vasant Lad in their book The Yoga of Herbs, “Hibiscus flowers are sacred to Ganesh, the elephant god, the god of wisdom who destroys all obstacles and grants the realization of all goals, who dwells in the first or root chakra.”

Wild geranium

Wild Geranium (Geranium species)

The ethereal pink blossoms of Wild Geranium pull me in to a trance. Medicinally, the roots and leaves stanch bleeding internally and externally and check excessive discharges (like diarrhea). Energetically, the flower essence helps us release old stories, old trauma, and old insecurities allowing us to operate from a more empowered place.

Red Root (Ceanothus americanus)

If that name doesn’t say it all?! Red Root is warming and stimulating and gets things moving. It is typically used to improve lymphatic and blood flow in thick, heavy, cold, sluggish conditions. A tincture of the fresh root is preferred for this purpose. However, the dried root in a decoction (simmered “tea”) mixed with other warming roots and barks (ginger, cinnamon, clove, etc). makes a really great chai-inspired blend to stimulate the root and sacral chakras. It’s a delicious way to stoke creativity and the feeling that we live in an abundant universe. Precautions: Do not use red root if you are taking blood thinning or blood clotting medications or are pregnant.

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

Talk about abundance! Red Clover enriches the soil with nitrogen, improving the fertility of the Earth. It does the same for humans (increase fertility, that is), while also gently cleansing the blood. Its triple leaflet is symbolic of the magic number 3, the triskelion, the holy trinity. There is a sense of stability, wholeness, and completion in three: past/present/future, beginning/middle/end, birth/life/death, etc. I also associate red clover with Taurus, the most grounded and earthiest of signs. Precautions: Do not use red clover if you are taking blood thinning medication and discontinue use at least 2 weeks prior to scheduled surgery. There is some thinking that red clover is contraindicated for those with estrogen-sensitive breast cancer.

Bloodroot

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

I look forward every year to seeing this ephemeral beauty blooming in the woods. Its blooms are white, yet its root exudes a blood red sap when cut. Bloodroot flower essence helps us resolve deep-rooted traumas passed down through our family line. Certainly a very important remedy for our times. Only partner with this plant energetically or as a flower essence as it is endangered. To learn more about preserving wild spaces and species like bloodroot, check out United Plant Savers.

Trillium grandiflorum

Trillium (Trillium species)

Here’s that magic number 3 again: three petals, three sepals, and three leaves. Trillium is another beautiful native plant that is endangered due to habitat loss and disturbance. The flower essence couldn’t be a more spot on root-chakra remedy. According to Flower Essence Services, this remedy fosters a “secure sense of personal welfare and financial well-being; ability to serve and give to others” while balancing out “distortions in survival chakra, fear due to materialistic emphasis, greed for possessions and power; poverty consciousness that leads to overly-materialistic focus.”

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How does the color red make you feel? Is there a plant featuring red in its flowers, fruit, or bark that helps you feel especially courageous or rooted? Leave it in the comments below!

Herbal Resources for the Budding Herbalist

Are you just starting out on your herbal journey? Or maybe you’ve been on the path a while and are looking for some new herbal inspiration to add to your repertoire?

In either case, I want to share with you some of my favorite go-to herbal resources, from books and blogs to farmers and suppliers. Where possible, I link directly to the websites of the authors or publishers of books (as opposed to corporate giant sellers), otherwise I post a link to Thriftbooks. All recommendations are completely unsolicited and I receive no compensation for the links – these are just books and folks who’s perspectives I admire and appreciate.

If you are looking to purchase bulk dried herbs, jump here.

Ada Thilen (1852-1933) Reading

Enjoy!

And do share in the comments if you have your own favorites, too!

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Favorite Herbals (in no particular order)

Northeast Medicinal Plants by Liz Neves

• I would be remiss to omit my own book from this list! It’s a super user-friendly field guide to medicinal plants that grow wild in northeastern North America. Even more - it includes instructions on how to make a wide variety of medicinal preparations, how to ethically harvest from the wild, and where and when to find specific herbs at their peak.

Iwígara by Enrique Salmón

• A beautiful guide to native or naturalized plants and the relationships people native to Turtle Island (North America) have with them.

The Earthwise Herbal series from Matthew Wood

• Two book series featuring in depth profiles on a broad range of herbs used traditionally in the “old world” (Europe, Asia) and the “new world” (the Americas).

Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health by Rosemary Gladstar

• One of the first herbal books I acquired and still love dearly. Rosemary Gladstar is like an herbal fairy godmother who brings herbal medicine down to earth and super accessible.

The Gift of Healing Herbs by Robin Rose Bennett

• An excellent, comprehensive herbal from one of my first teachers.

The Complete Women’s Herbal by Anne McIntyre

• Great resource for folks who either once had or still have uteruses.

The Yoga of Herbs by Vasant Lad and David Frawley

• An Ayurvedic perspective on a wide range of herbs from two master herbalists.

Planetary Herbology by Michael Tierra

• An Eastern perspective on herbs from a west coast herbalist.

Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica by Dan Bensky, Steve Clavey, Erich Stöger, with Andrew Gamble

• A deep dive into the herbs most often used in Chinese Medicine.

Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask by Mary Siisip Geniusz, Edited by Wendy Makoons Geniusz

• Late great Native herbalist Keewaydinoquay Peschel is a big influence on this herbal in the Anishinaabe tradition, being a direct teacher to the author.

Working the Roots by Michele E. Lee

• One of the few herbals steeped in African American tradition.

Native Plants, Native Healing by Tis Mal Crow

• A nice concise guide to Muskogee Herbal Medicine.

Native American Ethnobotany by Daniel E. Moerman

• An encyclopedic volume documenting the herbal knowledge of indigenous people of North America.

Dandelion blooms (Taraxacum officinale)

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Favorite Herbal Specialty Books

The Language of Plants by Julia Graves

• An amazing resource on the Doctrine of Signatures, the language that plants speak to us that reveals their medicinal gifts.

Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susan Weed

• A classic herbal for pregnancy that is still relevant today.

Herbs for Children’s Health by Rosemary Gladstar

• A lovely basic herbal for common children’s ailments.

Naturally Healthy Babies and Children by Aviva Romm

• A trusted guide I turned to often when my son was a babe.

Herbal Antibiotics and Herbal Antivirals by Stephen Harrod Buhner

• Excellent, deeply researched resources on antibacterial and antiviral herbs.

Adaptogens by David Winston with Steven Maimes

• Just about everything you need to know about adaptogens, plants that help the body adapt to stress.

Invasive Plant Medicine by Timothy Lee Scott

• Yes! Let’s celebrate the gifts of the abundant weeds! That’s just what this book does and I’m grateful.

Planting the Future edited by Rosemary Gladstar and Pamela Hirsch

• And on the flip side, let’s also celebrate the native plants of North America that call for us to steward wild and mindfully cultivated spaces. A beautiful honoring of native medicinal plants.

Pharmako/Poeia by Dale Pendell

• A fascinating look at plants with a poetic and alchemical bent. One of a series, I haven’t yet had the pleasure to read its companions. I haven’t read it in a while, but adding this here makes me want to revisit it!

Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash

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Favorite Books About Herbal Spirituality

Plant Spirit Healing by Pam Montgomery

• A beautiful guide for connecting with plants on the spiritual level.

Plant Spirit Medicine by Eliot Cowan

• A shamanic treatise on our deep connection with plant spirits.

The Secret Teachings of Plants and Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm by Stephen Harrod Buhner

• A poetic and practical duo of books. Get ready to have your heart sing with the plants!

Healing Magic by Robin Rose Bennett

• A fun, witchy approach to honoring the plants and the wild Earth.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• A profoundly poetic love song to life with deep botanical and indigenous wisdom.

Image by Romany Soup

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Favorite Field Guides

Botany in a Day by Thomas J. Elpel

• An excellent way to learn how to identify plants based on the patterns found in their forms.

Native Plant Trust’s Go Botany

• Key out plants based on their physical characteristics and learn where they grow, specific to New England.

USDA Plants

• Discover the range of plants, their taxonomic classification, as well as their conservation status.

Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide

• A classic guide for identifying plants in the wild - the downside is your key to IDing success is that the plant in question is in flower.

Peterson’s Field Guide to Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs by Steven Foster

• A comprehensive field guide that includes full color photography and documented uses of herbs that grow in eastern and central regions of North America.

Cleavers (Galium aparine)

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Favorite Blogs & Herbalist Sites

Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine

• Juliet Blankespoor and Co. post amazingly comprehensive plant profiles, recipes, and more.

Enchanter’s Green

• I love Kiva Rose Hardin’s perspective on herbs and her well researched and experience-based herbal profiles.

HerbCraft

• Jim McDonald offers some great videos and posts on a variety of native and introduced herbs.

Northeast School of Botanical Medicine

• 7Song has a wonderfully in-depth knowledge of botany and herbal medicine based on 20 years of experience.

School of Evolutionary Herbalism

• Sajah Popham offers a wealth of herbal knowledge based in alchemy, astrology, and herbal wisdom traditions from around the world.

Sassafras in bloom (Sassafras albidum)

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FAVORITE FARMS & HERB SUPPLIERS

Frontier Co-op

• When all other places are out of stock, I turn to Frontier.

Healing Spirits Herb Farm

• Organic and biodynamic herb farm in the Finger Lakes region of NY that’s been around since the early 1980s.

Jeans Green’s

• One-stop-shop for most of your herbal medicine making needs.

Local Harvest

• Find local herbs, CSAs, food, and more locally grown products in your neck of the woods.

Maine Seaweed

• Larch Hansen, the Seaweed Man, is one of the kindest, most heart-centered folks. He’s been hand harvesting seaweed from the Atlantic Ocean for the last 40 years and counting. I recommend signing up for his very thoughtful newsletter.

Mountain Rose Herbs

• Many folks go-to for bulk herbs, me included!

Sawmill Herb Farm

• Susan Pincus is an amazing human who grows organic herbs for the Northeast region - this is where the herbs for my classes comes from!

Herbs from Sawmill Herb Farm

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A Selection of Favorite Herbal Artisans

Since I make most of my own herbal medicine, I don’t often have a need to purchase herbal products - though I do love to support friends and earth-conscious artisans who lovingly craft herbal medicine in small batches for market. Here are some of my favorites.

Dropping Seeds

• Looking for an herbal smoke blend to chill you out or help you kick a tobacco habit? Friends Johanna & SirRoan make a whole line of smoke blends that can also be made into tea for sipping or bathing.

Furnace Creek Farm

• A seller at our local greenmarket, FCF makes delicious herbal elixirs, pre-prepped tisanes, and other wonderful herbal products. I recommend the candied elecampane in particular for these times!

Gather Perfume

• Swoon-worthy scents for your sensual pleasure - from the very practical salve & skincare to indulgent perfumes.

Linden Tree Herbals

• Michigan-based, woman-run company that makes vibrant tisane blends, salves, and more herbal goodies.

Ostara Apothecary

• Friend and collaborator, Jordan Catherine Pagán handcrafts beautiful herbal elixirs and flower essences for your psycho-spiritual needs. She also offers private energy healing and breathwork sessions, which I highly recommend at this time!

The Root Circle

• Herbalist Lisa Fazio, based in the Adirondacks, crafts herbal tinctures, salves, bioregional incense, and more.

Tweenfontein Herb Farm

• New Paltz based Tweefontein Herb Farm uses biodynamic and permaculture principles in their herb growing and has a line of herbal elixirs, fire cider, and more.

Wild Carrot, aka, Queen Anne’s Lace
(Daucus carota)

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NYC-based Herb Shops

Flower Power

• The Original NYC herbal apothecary.

MINKA Brooklyn

• In addition to offering membership-based online mystical curriculum, MINKA now offers bulk herbs and herbal products (including some that I make), available for pickup or delivery.

Radicle Herb Shop

• Atlantic Avenue herb shop accepting pre-orders for pickup and delivery.

Remedies Herb Shop

• Brooklyn herb shop open for pickups and deliveries.

Sacred Vibes

• Karen Rose offers herbal consultations as well as a range of herbal formulations for a variety of needs.

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COVID-19 Herbal Resources

While there is currently no cure for COVID-19, the following resources may offer herbal guidance to lessen symptoms or shore up the immune system to better weather infection.

• Bunce, Larken. COVID-19 Resources for Herbalists and Community Health Workers

• O’Donoghue, Seán Pádraig. Thoughts on COVID-19

• Wood Buzzard, Heather. COVID-19 Herbal Resource Hub

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Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash

Have an herbal resource you’d like to share? Leave it in the comments!

And don’t forget to pre-order my new book, coming out in June: Northeast Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 111 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness (Timber Press).

food.curated feed your dreams

I’m super grateful to dear friend and fantastic filmmaker Liza de Guia for featuring me (once again) in her series, Food.Curated.

In this video I share a bit about the herbs I use to enhance dreaming and you’ll get a peek at what the monthly dream circle looks like.

Mine is the third segment but please watch the full episode to meet passionate food artisans Divya of Divya’s Kitchen and Tommaso from D’Abruzzo. Enjoy!

violet: calm, cool & collected

A few weeks ago, right at the beginning of Spring, I felt downright angry and resentful. I couldn't put a finger on exactly what was stirring this fire. The more I tapped into the energy of the season I realized it was simply that, the winds of Spring stirring up emotion. In Chinese Medicine, Spring energy is associated with the Liver and Gallbladder, and the mental-emotional characteristics can either lean toward creativity and compassion or anger and frustration. (Read more about that here.) I confirmed this with a few other people who were experiencing the same thing around the same time. 

I've been drawn to drinking roasted Chicory root tea since around that time, and my anger has subsided. In hindsight, another herbal ally that I could've turned to would be Violet. She's just started to bloom here in Brooklyn - I just love her gentle presence in the edges of the forest. Read on to find out how Violet can help relieve anger, headaches, and more....

 VIOLET (Viola spp.) 

Lesson: strength in grace & humility
Offering: compassion, soothing anger
Element & planetary affiliation: water, Venus
Energetics: bitter, sweet, moist, cool 

There are over 200 species of violet. The ones we’ll be referring to are mainly V. odorata, and V. sororia. 

When we are feeling frustrated, fatootsed, and just downright mad, violet can show us another way. Violet is a cool character, unassuming, humble, and compassionate. She shows us that forcefulness is not the way to solve our problems. Violet has a soothing, cooling, moist quality. She grows close to the ground and sends out delicate flowers of purple, blue, or white that do not produce fertile seeds. The flower is her gift of gentle beauty. 

All of violets reproductive action is done close to the ground. In the fall she sends out seeds in a small, hardly visible flower under the leaves. Violet also reproduces through runners underground. While violet doesn’t reproduce in a showy way, her visible parts are gently potent. 

The leaves and flowers of violet are an overall health tonic: she’s rich in vitamin A, C, beta-carotenes, bioflavonoids, calcium, and magnesium. 

Violet helps ease hot and dry conditions like constipation, dry coughs, and irritated skin. She helps move fluids through the body, and makes a lovely breast massage oil for hot, stuck conditions like mastitis. From Ancient Greece until today, she is said to cool us down in states of anger. Her heart shaped leaves show us that she’s beneficial for matters of the heart, specifically grief and heartache. Another common name for violet is Heartsease.

Violet is a humble warrior who brings us closer to the earth, right down there with her.

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MORE ABOUT VIOLET

Constituents and Nutrients
vitamins A, C, bioflavonoids (rutin), calcium, beta-carotenes, magnesium, salicylates

Actions
alterative (blood purifying), anodyne (pain relieving), antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, antitussive, demulcent, expectorant, mild laxative, lymphatic, mucilaginous, tonic, vulnerary (wound healing)

Conditions
breast swelling/cysts/tumors, bruising, constipation, coughs, cradle cap, cysts, eczema, headaches, hemorrhoids, irritation of mucous membranes and/or skin, mastitis, sore throat, swollen glands, urinary tract irritation, varicose veins

Distinguishing Features
Heart-shaped leaf that uncurls from the center, delicate violet-colored (sometimes white or white and blue) flower with 5 petals and 5 sepals that grows straight from the rhizome in early to mid spring.

Precautions
Not to be confused with African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha) which is poisonous!

Use only the aerial parts, excepting the seeds, which along with the roots, are emetic (cause vomiting).  

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RECIPES

Violet Leaf Infusion
Take a handful of dried herb (or at least twice as much fresh) and place it in a 1-quart jar. Pour boiling water over the herbs, cover, and let steep overnight (or at least 20 minutes). In the morning, strain the herbs and compost them. Use the leftover leaves as a poultice on tired eyes or irritated skin.

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Violet Flower Honey
adapted from Brigitte Mars

2 cups violet flowers
1/2 cup honey
1 lemon, juiced

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor. Blend until combined. Store in the freezer. Serve on crackers, baked goods, or straight off a spoon.

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Violet Leaf Salad

2 cups violet leaves, washed
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
sea salt
handful violet flowers

In a medium-sized salad bowl, whisk together honey (or maple syrup), vinegar, and sea salt. Toss in violet leaves. Garnish with violet flowers.

 ~~~

Candied Violets
adapted from Leda Meredith, Northeast Foraging

Beat an egg white until frothy. Dip each flower in the egg white and then in granulated sugar. Set the candied violets on waxed paper or parchment paper to dry for 24 hours. Use to decorate cakes and other desserts.

My sweet flower lover, kissing the Violets

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POETRY/SONGS/LORE

A Flower in a Letter
E. B. Browning

Deep violets, you liken to
The kindest eyes that look on you,
Without a thought disloyal.

~~~

from Sonnet 99
by William Shakespeare

(violets grow abundantly in Stratford-on-Avon, his hometown)

The forward violet thus did I chide:
Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells,
If not from my love’s breath? 

~~~

The Violet
by Goethe
(translated by Frederick Ricord)

A vi’let on the meadow grew,
That no one saw, that no one knew,
It was a modest flower.
A shepherdess pass’d by that way—
Light-footed, pretty and so gay;
That way she came,
Softly warbling forth her lay.

~~~

Violet Song

Written By: Jane Taylor (1783-1824)
Music Ascribed To: Dr. H. Harrington (1727-1816) 

Down in a green and shady bed,
A modest violet grew;
Its stalk was bent, it hung its head
As if to hide from view.
And yet it was a lovely flow'r,
Its colors bright and fair,
It might have graced a rosy bow'r
Instead of hiding there.

Yet there it was content to bloom,
In modest tints arrayed;
And there it spread its sweet perfume
Within the silent shade,
Then let me to the valley go,
This pretty flow'r to see,
That I may also learn to grow
In sweet humility.

~~~

Blue Violets
by Dora Read Goodale

A blossom of returning light,
An April flower of sun and dew;

The earth and sky, the day and night
Are melted in her depth of blue!

~~~

Violet Legends
From Maud Grieve, A Modern Herbal

“Violets were mentioned frequently by Homer and Virgil. They were used by the Athenians 'to moderate anger,' to procure sleep and 'to comfort and strengthen the heart.' Pliny prescribes a liniment of Violet root and vinegar for gout and disorder of the spleen, and states that a garland or chaplet of Violets worn about the head will dispel the fumes of wine and prevent headache and dizziness. The ancient Britons used the flowers as a cosmetic, and in a Celtic poem they are recommended to be employed steeped in goats' milk to increase female beauty, and in the Anglo-Saxon translation of the Herbarium of Apuleius (tenth century), the herb V. purpureum is recommended 'for new wounds and eke for old' and for 'hardness of the maw.’"

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FURTHER READING

McDonald, Jim. Violet herb.
http://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/violet-herb.html

Godino, Jessica. Violet. 
http://www.susunweed.com/An_Article_wisewoman3e.htm

Yang, Paj Nra. Viola sororia.
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2010/yang_paj/index.htm

plantain: nature's first aid kit

My son (who's 5) knows this valuable and humble plant so well. It's saved him from bee stings (twice) and cactus spines in the hand (yeow!). It's one of my favorite ubiquitous herbs – Plantain, and not the banana-shaped kind. Plantain is originally from Europe, most likely brought here intentionally by colonists as medicine and then adopted by First Peoples, who may have already been using native varieties. Plantain is a veritable medicine chest, used both externally for bites and booboos but also for several internal ailments.

Plantago major

Common plantain – “planta” is Latin for sole of the foot, and some liken this to the leaf shape, as well as being a plant that is commonly underfoot. The leaves can also be placed at the sole of the foot to draw away weariness. However, some etymologists suggest the root word is “planus” (as in flat, plane), “platus” (wide), or Celtic “plant” simply meaning, plant or kin.

Image source: Wikimedia

PLANTAIN (Plantago spp)

Lesson: firmly grounded, you will awaken to your strengths and gifts
Offering: protection, humility, awareness
Element & planetary affiliation: Earth, Venus
Energetics: bitter, cool, moist, dry

Sitting there in well trodden paths and lawns all across the planet, this humble warrior of a plant waits to be discovered. To the untrained eye, plantain is just another weed, but to the initiated, it is gold.

For wounds, rashes, and bites
According to Nicholas Culpeper, 17th century renegade herbalist, “All plantains are good wound herbs to heal fresh or old wounds, or sores, either inward or outward.” Got a mosquito bite? Here’s your field medicine. Chew up a leaf and spit it out. Place it on the wound. There you have a spit poultice, a primitive and effective method of applying an herbal remedy. The stinging, itching, irritation and inflammation are relieved. Keep applying until the symptoms have abated.

A salve or balm made with plantain-infused oil can soothe rashes, eczema, and hemorrhoids. Its ability to both draw away poison and relieve skin with moistening mucilage also make plantain a go-to for snake bite. The clue for this is in its flower or seed stalk, reminiscent of a snake about to strike. This is the beauty of the Doctrine of Signatures, an ancient system for identifying the usefulness of plants for healing. (Snakeweed is also one of its common names.)

Soothing to the inside, too
Internally, plantain is a wonder. Soothing an irritating cough and sore throat, plantain is an ally for those suffering from bronchitis and pneumonia. Plantain simultaneously tightens the tissues, lubricates mucous membranes, and draws away unwanted fluids (mucus, pus). Taken tonically (in larger doses over a period of weeks or months), plantain tones the kidneys and liver, and regulates the digestive and urinary tracts. According to herbalist Matthew Wood, this herb is also helpful for oral inflammation and pain. Herbalist Julia Graves says that it is one of the most useful remedies for trigeminal neuralgia (pain that can stem from dental maladies).

A very useful “weed”
Plantain has sprouted up wherever colonialist Europeans set foot, hence the nickname “White man’s footstep.” This now overlooked plant was included in the old English Nine Herbs Charm (10th C. C.E.) depicting 9 of the most important healing plants for poisoning and infection. From North America to New Zealand, indigenous, land-based peoples all the world round found the value of plantain as well. There are also species of plantain native to this content (eg, P. rugelii) – potentially 24 of them! – which First Peoples most likely used prior to the introduction of the European species.

There are several species of Plantago found throughout the world. Two of the most common seen here in the northeast are the introduced species P. major (common or broadleaf plantain) and P. lanceolata (long or lance leaf plantain) and they tend to prefer disturbed soils, which is likely why they are so common here. They are used interchangeably, though my sense is with its smoother, thicker leaves P. major has more mucilage. Its seeds are also more plentiful for use as a fiber supplement. These can be dried and added to baked goods to add bulk and aid digestion.

Flower essence
According to herbalist Anne McIntyre, plantain flower essence “is said to enhance enjoyment of life and with its grounding effect, it promotes strength and stability.”

Image source: WNMU

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MORE ABOUT PLANTAIN

Constituents
flavonoids, mucilage, tannins, acids (including vitamin C), allantoin, bitters, fixed oils, sugars, minerals (potassium, calcium)

Actions
alterative, anodyne, anticatarrhal, antimicrobial, antipruritic, antitussive, aperient, astringent, demulcent, diuretic (mild), emollient, hemostatic, mucilaginous, styptic, tonic, vulnerary

Conditions
bites/stings (bees, mosquitos, snakes), bladder infection, bronchitis, conjunctivitis, constipation, cough, diarrhea, eczema, hemorrhoids, hepatitis, kidney inflammation/swelling, oral pain & inflammation, neuralgia, pneumonia, rash, sprains & strains, urinary discomfort, vaginal discharge, wounds

Botanical Description
From a Modern Herbal (Maud Grieve), of Plantago major:
“It grows from a very short rhizome, which bears below a great number of long, straight, yellowish roots, and above, a large, radial rosette of leaves and a few Iong, slender, densely-flowered spikes. The leaves are ovate, blunt, abruptly contracted at the base into a long, broad, channelled footstalk (petiole). The blade is 4 to 10 inches long and about two-thirds as broad, usually smooth, thickish, five to eleven ribbed, the ribs having a strongly fibrous structure, the margin entire, or coarsely and unevenly toothed. The flower-spikes, erect, on long stalks, are as long as the leaves, 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick and usually blunt. The flowers are somewhat purplish green, the calyx four parted, the small corolla bell shaped and four-lobed, the stamens four, with purple anthers. The fruit is a two-celled capsule, not enclosed in the perianth, and containing four to sixteen seeds.”

Plantago major

Image source: Magic Screeches

Plantago lanceolata

Image source: Wikimedia

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RECIPES

Plantain Infusion
Place a handful (about 1/4 cup) of dried plantain in a quart jar. If using fresh herb, double the amount. Pour boiling water over and cover. Steep for at least 20 minutes, up to 8 hours (I like to make my infusions overnight). Strain and enjoy!

~~~~

Plantago Chips
From Leda Meredith
http://ledameredith.com/foraging-plantain-leaves-for-food-and-medicine-no-not-that-plant/

These chips are all about texture, I have to admit: the leaves themselves are somewhat bland. But they are a perfectly crisp vehicle for whatever seasoning you put on them. Amounts here are flexible – you can change the number of leaves, amount of salt, etc.

24 large leaves of any Plantago (plantain) species
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seasoning (try garlic powder, nutritional yeast, half the quantity of cayenne,
za’atar, or any of your favorite spice blends)

Preheat the oven to 250F. Wash the plantain leaves and dry them well in a salad spinner or by rolling them up in a clean dishtowel.

In a large bowl, toss the leaves with the oil until they are each well coated. Spread the leaves in a single later on baking sheets. Depending on the size of the leaves you gathered, you may need more than one baking sheet.

Sprinkle the leaves with the salt and seasoning. Bake until crisp but not burnt, which may take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes depending on the size of the leaves. Remember that they will continue to crisp up a bit as they cool, just like cookies do after you take them out of the oven. If you aren’t sure if they’re done, err on the side of underdone. Take them out, let them cool for just a minute, and if they’re not crunchy enough put them back in the oven. 

Once they are completely cooled, you can store your Plantago chips in an airtight container for several weeks. If the container is not airtight the chips may absorb some humidity from the air and lose their crispness. Not a problem: simply put them back into a 250F oven for 3 – 5 minutes.

~~~~

Plantain Oil & Salve

About 8 ounces (volume) fresh plantain leaves
About 8 ounces olive or sesame oil
1 ounce beeswax
About 1/4 teaspoon vitamin E oil (optional)
10 to 20 drops lavender essential oil (optional)

Slow method
Harvest fresh large leaves of Plantago major, enough to fill an 8 ounce jar to the top. Tear the leaves into small pieces, about the size of a dime (even a bit smaller). Cover the herbs in the jar with good quality olive or sesame oil. Stir the mixture to get all the bubbles out. Top off the jar with more oil. Cover with some muslin or cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band or metal mason jar band (if that’s the kind of jar you are using). Let the mixture sit in a sunny spot for at least 2 weeks before straining. Check for mold (if you see it, just skim it off the top) – if the plantain is submerged in oil you shouldn’t see any.

Quick method
Tear or cut up the leaves of fresh plantain and place in a glass Pyrex measuring cup or bowl. Cover with oil. In a double boiler fashion, place the measuring cup or bowl over a pot with some water at the bottom. Turn the heat to low-medium. Let the water under the mixture steam but not simmer or boil. Keep stirring the mixture every now and then. Warm the mixture in the double boiler for at least 2 hours. For a really strong infusion, heat it this way for 2 hours on and off for a 24 to 48 hour period (excepting the time when you’re sleeping!). Strain the mix and store in a dark glass jar for 1 to 2 years.

Salve
After straining the oil, pour it into a Pyrex measuring cup, add the beeswax and gently heat in a double boiler fashion. Check and stir occasionally until the beeswax is completely melted and incorporated. Remove mixture from the heat. Let the mixture cool until it is thick but pourable. Stir in Vitamin E oil and essential oil, if desired (they both add skin healing and preservative qualities). Pour the finished mixture into tins or small dark glass jars. Salves can last up to 3 years if stored in a cool, dry place.

Notes: Dried plantain leaves could be used as well. Just use about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount that you would fresh.

Image source: Magic Screeches

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 POETRY/SONGS/LORE

from Hiawatha
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wheresoe’er they tread, beneath them
Springs a flower unknown among us,
Springs the White-man’s Foot in blossom.

excerpt from the Nine Herbs Charm
from the Lacnunga
translated from Old English

And you, Plantain, mother of herbs, 
Open from the east, mighty inside.
Over you chariots creaked, over you queens rode,
Over you brides cried out, over you bulls snorted.
You withstood all of them, you dashed against them.
May you likewise withstand poison and infection
And the loathsome foe roving through the land.

anecdotes from A Modern Herbal
by Maud Grieve

“Erasmus, in his Colloquia, tells a story of a toad, who, being bitten by a spider, was straightway freed from any poisonous effects he may have dreaded by the prompt eating of a Plantain leaf.”

“From the days of Chaucer onwards we find reference in literature to the healing powers of Plantain. Gower (1390) says: 'And of Plantaine he hath his herb sovereine,' and Chaucer mentions it in the Prologue of the Chanounes Yeman. Shakespeare, both in Love's Labour's Lost, iii, i, and in Romeo and Juliet, I, ii, speaks of the 'plain Plantain' and 'Plantain leaf' as excellent for a broken shin, and again in Two Noble Kinsmen, I, ii: 'These poore slight sores neede not a Plantin.' His reference to it in Troilus and Cressida, III. ii: 'As true as steel, as Plantage to the moon,' is an allusion that is now no longer clear to us. Again, Shenstone in the Schoolmistress: 'And plantain rubb'd that heals the reaper's wound.’”

Long-leaf Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)

Image source: Magic Screeches

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FURTHER READING

Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal: A complete guide to old world medicinal plants. North Atlantic Books. 2008.

Grieve, Maud. A Modern Herbal. Plantain, Common. https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/placom43.html

Keeler, Kathleen. A Wandering Botanist. Plant Story: Plantains (Plantago), Tracking Your

Footsteps All Over the World. http://khkeeler.blogspot.com/2013/11/plant-story-plantainsplantago-tracking.html

handy dandy dandelion

Hello Spring! Well, sort of. Despite the blanket of snow outside, the gifts of Spring are emerging. A couple of weeks ago I was out in the park with my son and some of our friends. One of the kids excitedly pointed out the unmistakeable golden yellow blossom of the Dandelion. They were all very protective of it, yelling "don't pick it!" while the adults (especially me!) were taking pictures.

Each Spring when the Dandelions bloom I take the time to pick the yellow sun rays and make Dandelion blossom oil (see recipe below) and if I have enough left over I make Dandelion fritters. I always make sure to leave plenty for the bees and other insects. Read on for more about the beautifully humble Dandelion... 

Taraxacum officinale

Taraxacum, may be derived from the Greek taraxos (disorder), and akos (remedy). Officinale indicates the long history of use as a medicine.

DANDELION (Taraxacum officinale) 

Lesson: strong foundation to raise your vibration;
stay the course regardless of circumstances
Offering: purification, digestion, pain relief
Element & planetary affiliation: air, Jupiter, Sun
Energetics: bitter, sweet, dry, cool (root & leaf)

Humble warrior
Dandelion is sadly maligned and misunderstood. If only militant gardeners and lawn lovers knew what they were missing when they poisoned this beneficial beauty. This humble plant is tenacious – if you try to rip out dandelion it will only grow back stronger. Dandelion teaches us that to shine brightly, to raise our vibration, we need to have a strong root, a strong foundation. And to not give up regardless of circumstances.

The blossom of the dandelion is like the Great Eastern Sun – radiant, brilliant, awake. The stem, leaves, and root are tender, like the warrior’s heart. When I speak of a warrior, I mean a spiritual warrior. Someone who is confident and clear about where they stand, but also tender and vulnerable, open to the world around them. 

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche brought the concept of Shambhala Buddhism and Enlightened Society to the West. He endured great hardships to get here. He was forced to leave Tibet when the Chinese communist party took control in 1959. He led a small group of monks on horseback and on foot to escape to India. Often they would trek up a mountain in harsh, snowy conditions to then have to go back the way they came and find a new path. At times their robes were frozen solid with ice and snow. 

Despite being exiled from his homeland, and later experiencing a car accident that left him partially paralyzed, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche maintained his view of the Great Eastern Sun. I see the dandelion as an embodiment of this view. We choose to see the goodness in this humble plant, the goodness that is in all of us. 

Powerful and gentle medicine
Dandelion leaf is full of nutrients – it’s said to have more iron than spinach, and more vitamin A than carrots. It’s also a non-depleting diuretic; unlike pharmaceutical diuretics, dandelion does not deplete the body of essential minerals, like potassium. 

The root is an excellent spring tonic and a liver tonic, stimulating the production of bile and aiding the body in the elimination process. The root also contains inulin, a prebiotic fiber that helps feed beneficial bacteria in the gut.

Solar wonder
My favorite part to use is the blossom. The radiant golden flower has an affinity with the solar plexus. One of my first healing experiences with dandelion blossom was in an herbalism class with Robin Rose Bennett. She was straining off some dandelion blossom and goldenrod oils. At the time I had severe abdominal bloating and pain (I was just figuring out I had a strong gluten sensitivity). When she told the class these blossoms are especially relieving to pain in the solar plexus I jumped out of my seat. I took the oil and massaged my belly – within minutes there was a warm and radiating feeling of relief. 

Wise Woman Herbalist Susun Weed says this about dandelion blossom oil: 

“Dandelion has a special affinity for breasts. Regular use of dandelion flower oil promotes deep relaxation of the breast tissues, facilitating the release of held emotions. Applied regularly to the entire breast area, glowing golden dandelion flower oil can strengthen your sense of self worth as well as your immune system. Easily made, this oil is a superb ally for regular breast self-massage, and highly praised by those doing therapeutic breast massage. Dandelion root oil, used alone or in conjunction with the flower oil, can help clear minor infections, relieve impacted milk glands and reduce cysts in the breasts.”

I also love to make dandelion blossom fritters – all you do is make a batter, dip them in whole and fry them. Tastes like spring! Ethnobotanist and foraging expert (and friend) Leda Meredith turns the blossoms into wine, and sometimes beer. (Recipe here: http://ledameredith.com/dandelion-beer-recipe/) 

Weather predictions

Ancient traditions state that if dandelions stay closed in the morning, it will rain. 
If they bloom in April and July, the summer will be wet.

https://peninsulalighthouse.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/plant-lore-acanthus-to-dandelion/

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MORE ABOUT DANDELION

Constituents and Nutrients
B vitamins; vitamins A, C, E, and K; calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, inulin; flavonoids (luteolin, apigenin, isoquercitrin); caffeic and chlorogenic acid; terpenoids, triterpenes, sesquiterpenes 

Actions
leaf: bitter digestive, potassium-sparing diuretic, tonic
root: alterative, anti-rheumatic, mild aperient, bitter digestive, potassium-sparing diuretic, cholagogue, hepatic
flower: anodyne (topical)

Conditions
acne, arthritis, cirrhosis, constipation, eczema, edema, gout, hepatitis, jaundice, kidney stones, warts (using latex sap)

Distinguishing Features
From a Modern Herbal, by Maud Grieve: “From its thick tap root, dark brown, almost black on the outside though white and milky within, the long jagged leaves rise directly, radiating from it to form a rosette Iying close upon the ground, each leaf being grooved and constructed so that all the rain falling on it is conducted straight to the centre of the rosette and thus to the root which is, therefore, always kept well watered. The maximum amount of water is in this manner directed towards the proper region for utilization by the root, which but for this arrangement would not obtain sufficient moisture, the leaves being spread too close to the ground for the water to penetrate.

The leaves are shiny and without hairs, the margin of each leaf cut into great jagged teeth, either upright or pointing somewhat backwards, and these teeth are themselves cut here and there into lesser teeth. It is this somewhat fanciful resemblance to the canine teeth of a lion that (it is generally assumed) gives the plant its most familiar name of Dandelion, which is a corruption of the French Dent de Lion, an equivalent of this name being found not only in its former specific Latin name Dens leonis and in the Greek name for the genus to which Linnaeus assigned it, Leontodon, but also in nearly all the languages of Europe.”

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RECIPES

For roots, a decoction
Take a handful of dried roots and place it in one quart of water in a small pot. Gently simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and enjoy.

For leaves, an infusion
Take a handful of herb and place it in a 1-quart jar. Pour boiling water over the herbs, cover, and let steep overnight (or at least 20 minutes). In the morning, strain the herbs and compost them. This is the way I make most leaf and flower infusions. 

Dandelion Greens with Double Garlic
from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman
Makes: 4 servings; Time: 15 minutes

The first measure of garlic mellows as it cooks with the greens; it’s the second that adds a real kick. Substitute minced ginger for the second addition of garlic if you like.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic (5 or 6 cloves), plus
1 teaspoon minced garlic, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound dandelion greens with stems, well washed and roughly chopped
1/2 cup chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
Lemon wedges for serving

1. Put the olive oil in a large, deep saucepan with a lid over medium-high heat. When hot, add the sliced garlic, pepper flakes, and some salt and black pepper and cook for about 1 minute.

2. Add the greens and stock. Cover and cook until the greens are wilted and just tender but still a little firm, about 5 minutes.

3. Uncover the pan and continue to cook, stirring, until the liquid has all but evaporated and the greens are quite tender, at least 5 minutes more. Taste for seasoning and add red or black pepper and salt as needed; add the minced garlic, cook for 1 minute more, and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.

~~~~

Dandelion Blossom (Fridge) Jelly
from Martha Stewart

4 cups water
4 cups dandelion blossoms (yellow and white parts only)
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons ( 1/2 package) powdered pectin
4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Bring water and dandelion blossoms to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a measuring cup, pressing solids. Discard blossoms. (You should have 3 cups of liquid; add water if necessary.)

Combine pectin and 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl. Bring dandelion liquid and remaining 4 cups sugar to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Add the pectin mixture, stirring constantly to dissolve pectin and sugar. Add lemon juice, and boil for 1 minute. Skim foam from the surface. Let cool slightly. Pour mixture into an airtight container. Cover with a lid. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. Jelly can be refrigerated in the airtight container for up to  2 weeks.

~~~~

Dandelion Blossom Oil
For topical use only. 

Fill a small jar with dandelion blossoms (just blossoms, no stems). Cover blossoms completely with olive or sesame oil, filling the jar to the top. I like to cover the jar with some muslin or cheesecloth and if it’s a mason jar, just use the ring to close it (or a rubber band). This way the moisture from the blossom can escape, preventing mold from forming in the oil. After 2 to 4 weeks, strain out the blossoms. Use as is or make a salve by melting beeswax (1 part beeswax to 4 parts oil) and mixing in oil over a low heat. Pour into jars or tins. 

Poetry/songs/lore

The First Dandelion
from "Leaves of Grass," by Walt Whitman

Simple and fresh and fair from winter's close emerging,
As if no artifice of fashion, business, politics, had ever been,
Forth from its sunny nook of shelter'd grass--innocent, golden, calm as the dawn,
The spring's first dandelion shows its trustful face.

Dandelion Bubbles
From Highlights

"Dandelion" 

Dandelion
Rolling Stones
(Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)

Prince or pauper, beggar man or thing
Play the game with ev'ry flow'r you bring
Dandelion don't tell no lies
Dandelion will make you wise
Tell me if she laughs or cries
Blow away dandelion

One o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock, four o'clock chimes
Dandelions don't care about the time
Dandelion don't tell no lies
Dandelion will make you wise
Tell me if she laughs or cries
Blow away dandelion, blow away dandelion

Tho' you're older now its just the same
You can play this dandelion game
When you're finished with your childlike prayers
Well, you know you should wear it

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailors lives
Rich man, poor man, beautiful, daughters wives
Dandelion don't tell no lies
Dandelion will make you wise
Tell me if she laughs or cries
Blow away dandelion, blow away dandelion

Little girls, and boys come out to play
Bring your dandelions to blow away
Dandelion don't tell no lies
Dandelion will make you wise
Tell me if she laughs or cries
Blow away dandelion, blow away dandelion 

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Further Reading

The Eldrum Tree. Dandelion.
http://www.eldrumherbs.co.uk/content/content_files/profiles_dandelion_taraxacum-officinale.php?state=1

Grieve, Maud. A Modern Herbal. Dandelion. 
https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/d/dandel08.html

Image Sources:
1. Liz Neves
2. http://bluesolitaire.deviantart.com/art/Dandelion-Wine-Poem-133773013
3. Liz Neves
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum_officinale#/media/File:Taraxacum_officinale_-_K%C3%B6hler%E2%80%93s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-135.jpg
5. Liz Neves
6. https://www.highlightskids.com/poetry-player-poems/dandelions
7. Liz Neves

Dive deeper into the Magic & Medicine of Dandelion in INFUSE, a la carte, a month long immersion with this wonderful plant ally!

hawthorn: fierce & gentle protectress of the heart

Dear one, is your heart aching? Whether it be a personal emotional woe, the collective pain, or a physical manifestation of these in the heart organ or heart center, call Hawthorn your new best friend. Just sitting with Hawthorn and gazing at her protective thorns can give one the sense of relief to grief, heartbreak, or stress. Hawthorn is a beauty any time of year, with her May flowers, late summer to autumn berries, and always those magnificent thorns. Read on for more of Hawthorn's magic...

Crataegus monogyna. Image: Wikipedia

HAWTHORN (CRATAEGUS spp.)

Lesson:
you are protected, open your heart to love

Offering:
circulation of energy, protection, assimilation

Element & planetary affiliation:
Fire, Mars

Energetics:
sweet, tart, slightly warming (some consider cooling)

In Western Medicine (meaning European and American traditions of medicine), Hawthorn is
the ultimate heart tonic. It has the power to both raise and lower blood pressure (this is known as being “amphoteric”). How does it do this? According to herbalist Matthew Wood, it "improves the deposition of lipids in the walls of the capillaries and red blood cells that are squeeze through them.” This cuts down on “irritability” allowing free passage of the blood flow. Hawthorn also helps lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and increase HDL (“good”) cholesterol.

Hawthorn can help heal a broken heart and is often recommended during times of grief. The flower essence can also be useful in addition to the herb, or alone, to heal emotional wounds.

Symbolism and lore

With its abundance of healing properties, Hawthorn also holds several strong associations. Death, fertility, chastity, marriage, witchery, fae, and protection are all linked to this shrubby, thorny tree. I’d also add longevity to this mix, considering Hawthorns can live 400 years.

Perhaps its association with death comes from the scent of the flowers – some liken it to a rotting fish odor – thanks to trimethylamine. And such the flowers attract carrion insects. Others associate the same scent with sex and therefore fertility. I suppose the association with fertility could also be due to Hawthorn’s ability to cross breed so easily. Or maybe it’s because Hawthorn flowers in May, during Beltane, a time of pagan fertility rituals.

Sleeping under the “May tree” when in bloom is said do bring you to fairyland. The same goes for being amongst Oak, Ash, and ‘Thorn trees simultaneously (see below for Rudyard Kipling's "Oak, Ash and Thorn" poem). Witches are said to be able to turn themselves into Hawthorn trees. Merlin was also trapped in a Hawthorn by a witch.

Birds find refuge in the thorny branches of Crataegus, nesting there to keep away from predators. I learned something fascinating about the true thorns of Hawthorn (versus the "prickles" of roses) from friend and teacher Leda Meredith – true thorns have the potential to become branches. If you look closely at one of these trees you might spot thorns with leaves, flowers, and berries growing off of them. Consider all of that potential energy stored in this healing tree and you begin to get a sense of her power. 

Etymology

The botanical name Crataegus comes from the name given this tree “krátaios” by Dioscorides. The root of this word is “krátys" meaning “strong” or “hard” (referring to the wood).

“Haw” is an old word for “hedge,” and Hawthorn is used in that way. I really like this description of the etymology of Hawthorn from Sacred Earth:

But in the mindset of the ancients a hedge was more than just a living fence; it signified the boundary between the known, safe and civilized world, and the wild woods beyond. The word 'hedge' derives from 'Haga' which is contained in the old name for Hawthorn 'Hagathorn' and shares the same root as 'hag'. The hag, in old English was not just an old, ugly woman, but is cognate with 'haegtesse', a woman of prophetic powers, and 'hagzusa' spirit beings, and 'hedge riders' - in other words, beings that live 'between' the worlds of mundane reality and the otherworld beyond, and who could easily traverse the boundaries between them. Likewise, healers, seers and soothsayers were also considered 'boundary-walkers'. Thus, Hawthorn's symbolism is that of protection, but also as a gateway to this other world of magical beings.

Yes! 

Clockwise from top left, fruit of clockwise from top left: Crataegus coccinea, C. punctata var. aurea, C, ambigua, C. douglasii. Image: Wikipedia

MORE ABOUT HAWTHORN

Constituents and Nutrients
crategolic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, glavone, sugars, glycosides, flavonoids and oligomeric procyanidins, pectin, saponins, tannins, selenium, chromium, B vitamins, vitamin C

Actions
amphoteric, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, cholesterol lowering, circulatory stimulant, digestive, diuretic, expectorant, hypotensive, mild sedative, tonic, vasodilator

Conditions
ADHD, abdominal distention, angina, anxiety, arrhythmia, arteriosclerosis, boils, cough, diarrhea, dysentery, fluid retention, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, hypotension, indigestion (esp. stuck food, esp. meat), migraines, palpitations, poor memory, stagnation, stones/tumors, tightness and/or weakness around heart, valvular insufficiency

Botanical Description
From A. Vogel: “The monostyle (single seed) hawthorn is a very branchy, small bush to medium-sized tree with thorny branches. The latter bear oval to rhombic, deeply and three- to five-lobed, dark green leaves. The flowers have five white to pink petals and one pistil. They are arranged in cymes. In the autumn or Fall, they form brilliant red, ovate to spherical berries (pseudocarps), 4mm to 8 mm in diameter and 6 mm to 10 mm long. The mealy, yellowish flesh contains a pip. The end of the berry has a small dimple, around which the remains of the five corolla tips can be seen. The di-style (double seed) hawthorn is very similar. But its leaves are only three-lobed and display rounded, serrate sections. Its flowers have two to three pistils and the berries have two to three pips. The two species cross readily and are thus difficult to distinguish. The hawthorn flowers from May to June. Other species of hawthorn, some of which are also used in medicine, include C. azarolus L., Azaroldorn, with yellowish-orange fruits; C. nigra, the black-fruited hawthorn; C. pentagyna, the pentastylous or five-pistilled hawthorn, with dull, dark purple fruits; and C. laciniata, the oriental hawthorn, with small, pear-shaped, red fruits.”

~~~

PRECAUTIONS
If you are using cardioactive pharmaceuticals like digoxin, consult your doctor for supervision. Dose adjustment may be necessary.

---

Hawthorn berry jam. Image: China Sichuan Food

RECIPES

Hawthorn Berry Decoction
Add 1 ounce of berries to 1 quart of water. Simmer for 20 minutes. Drink 1/2 cup up to 3 times per day.

~~~

Love Me Tender Tea Blend
Makes 5.25 ounces (net weight)

2.5 ounces oatstraw (Avena sativa)
1 ounce rose (Rosa spp.)
.5 ounce hawthorn berries (Crataegus spp.)
.5 ounce ginger (Zingiber officinale)
.25 ounce red clover blossoms (Trifolium pratense)
.25 ounce cinnamon chips (Cinnamomum verum)
.25 ounce cardamom, hulled (Elettaria cardamomum)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Store in an airtight glass container. To make an infusion, steep 1 to 2 tablespoons per cup of boiling water.

~~~

Hawthorn Berry Cordial
from Wild Foods & Medicine

2 oz dried hawthorn berries
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon dried ginger
4 oz tart cherry juice concentrate
4 oz honey (this could be rose, lavender or hawthorn flower honey)
12 oz alcohol (this could be vodka, brandy or better yet, a tincture of hawthorn leaf and
flower or berry with a minimum of 40% alcohol.

Place hawthorn in 16 ounces of cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the water is reduced to 8 ounces. Strain through muslin cloth and place the tea back in a clean pot. Add black cherry concentrate and honey. Heat and stir until honey is dissolved but do not allow to boil. Turn off and allow to cool. Add alcohol, stir ingredients well, then bottle in glass jars and store in the refrigerator. This cordial will last 6 months to a year.

Hawthorn berry is high in a thickening agent called pectin. When making fresh plant tincture, it may become jelly-like. This is less likely to happen if the berry is dried. Pectin is an adventitious ingredient when making jelly and a simple recipe of ground hawthorn berry, ground rosehips and apple juice makes a delicious tonic jelly.

~~~

Hawthorn Ketchup
from Great British Chefs

You can find another recipe for this ketchup in Leda Meredith's book, The Forager's Feast: How to Identify, Gather, and Prepare Wild Edibles.

500g of hawthorn berry
300ml of cider vinegar
300ml of water
170g of sugar
1/2 tsp salt freshly ground black pepper

1. To begin, remove the berries from the stalks and wash well with cold water. Add to a large pan with the water and vinegar, then bring to the boil. Allow to simmer for approximately half an hour, until the skins of the berries begin to burst

2. Take off the heat and pour the contents of the pan through a sieve to remove any stones and tough pieces of skin

3. Transfer the liquid to a clean pan with the sugar and place over a low heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar

4. Once dissolved, bring to the boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes more, until syrup-like and reduced

5. Season the syrup to taste with salt and pepper, then transfer to sterilised bottles. The syrup is good to use for 1 year

~~~

Hawthorn Jam
from China Sichuan Food

1 pound of fresh hawthorn berries
1 cup sugar or more as needed
1 and 1/2 cup water
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Airtight and clean containers

Wash and rinse your storage containers. Clean the fresh hawthorn berry and then soak in slightly salted water for around 20 minutes. Then wash again and remove the core. Transfer hawthorn into a food processor, add water. Blend until almost smooth but there are some small particles or smooth according to your own taste.

Pour the mixture to a sauce pan; add sugar and simmer for around 80 to 100 minutes. Add fresh lemon juice in the middle. Stir from time to time. Pour the jam into the prepared containers. Leave 1/3 of space at the top of each container to allow room for the jam to expand in the freezer. Seal the containers and let the jam sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Then store the jam the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

For a longer storage time, you can increase the amount of sugar used in the recipe.

---

Image: "Hawthorn Tree" by Arthur Rackham

POETRY/SONGS/LORE

The Hawthorn Tree
by Willa Cather (1873-1947)

CROSS the shimmering meadows--
Ah, when he came to me!
In the spring-time,
In the night-time,
In the starlight,
Beneath the hawthorn tree.

Up from the misty marsh-land--
Ah, when he climbed to me!
To my white bower,
To my sweet rest,
To my warm breast,
Beneath the hawthorn tree.

Ask of me what the birds sang,
High in the hawthorn tree;
What the breeze tells,
What the rose smells,
What the stars shine--
Not what he said to me!

From The Traveller
by Kathleen Raine

A hundred years I slept beneath a thorn
Until the tree was root and branches of my thought,
Until white petals blossomed in my crown.

Oak, Ash, and Thorn
by Rudyard Kipling

Of all the trees that grow so fair, old England to adorn,
Greater are none beneath the sun than Oak, and Ash, and Thorn
Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn good sirs,
All on a midsummer's morn.
Surely we sing of no little thing
In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn.
Oak of the clay lived many a day o'er ever Aeneas began
Ash of the loam was a lady at home when Brut was an outlaw man,
And Thorn of the down saw new Troy town, from which was London born
Witness hereby the ancient try of Oak, and Ash, and Thorn.

Sing . . .

Yew that is old, in churchyard mould, he breedeth a mighty bow
Alder for shoes do wise men choose, and Beech for cups also
But when you have killed, and you bowl it is filled, and your
shoes are clean outworn
Back you must speed for all that you need to Oak, and Ash, and Thorn

Sing . . .

Elm, she hates mankind, and waits till every gust be laid,
To drop a limb on the head of him that anyway trusts her shade,
But whether a lad be sober or sad, or mellow with ale from the horn,
He'll taketh no wrong when he lyeth along 'neath Oak, and Ash, and Thorn

Sing . . .

Oh, do not tell the priest our plight, or he would call it a sin,
But we've been out in the woods all night, a-conjuring summer in,
And we bring you good news by word of mouth, good news for cattle and corn
Now is the sun come up from the south, by Oak, and Ash, and Thorn.

Sing . . .

Image: Cicely Mary Barker

The Song Of The Hawthorn Fairy
by Cicely Mary Barker

These thorny branches bore the May
So many months ago,
That when the scattered petals lay
Like drifts of fallen snow,
"This is the story's end," you said;
But O, not half was told!
For see, my haws are here instead,
And hungry birdies shall be fed
On these when days are cold.

The Hawthorn Tree
by Nathaniel Haskell Dole (1895)

At the edge of the hedge is a Hawthorn Tree,
And its blossoms are sweet as sweet can be,
And the bees are humming there all the day,
And these are the words that I hear them say:
Sweet, sweet is the Hawthorn Tree!

All the breezes that breathe o er those blossoms rare
A burden of perfume happily bear;
And the songsters revel there all day long,
And these are the words of their merry song:
Sweet, sweet is the Hawthorn Tree!

And a maid and her lover wander by
As the twilight glories fade and die;
And they pause neath the fragrant boughs to rest,
And above them sways the robin's nest:
Sweet, sweet is the Hawthorn Tree !

We too, they whisper, shall soon build a home
Neath the azure arch of the infinite dome;
And we, all the day, shall sing like the birds,
But with deeper meaning in music and words:
Sweet, sweet is the Hawthorn Tree!

~~~

MORE LORE
from Mandy Haggith

• Hymen, Greek goddess of marriage, carried a torch of hawthorn

• Greek goddess Hera touched hawthorn and had an immaculate conception of twins Ares (Mars) and Eris (Venus)

• Hawthorn-decorated May ceremonies were traditionally scenes of 'lascivious revelry and sexual merriment'

Read more beautiful magic about Hawthorn at Eco Enchantments.

---

RESOURCES

Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal: A complete guide to old world medicinal plants.
North Atlantic Books. 2008.

The Goddess Tree. Hawthorn. Available at: http://www.thegoddesstree.com/trees/Hawthorn.htm

Wild Foods and Medicines. Available at: http://wildfoodsandmedicines.com/hawthorn/

Weed, Susun. Take Heart From Hawthorn. Wise Woman Herbal Ezine. Available at: http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/November08/healingwise.htm

Connect even deeper with the Magic & Medicine of Hawthorn in INFUSE a la carte, a monthly immersion to steep in the wisdom of this amazing plant ally!

motherwort: an ally for troubling times

Finally, the second installment of Plant Ally Spotlight! Life has a way of breezing by at an incredible pace, ya know? And I hope to continue posting these herbal profiles with more frequency. I'm focusing on plants that we need right now, to heal our hearts in this time of chaos.

May we all learn to turn to our Mother during this time, to the plants and other nature allies. It is imperative, really. I know with direct experience the powerful healing these beings can bring. Without even ingesting plants, by sitting with them and experiencing their spirit, we receive great insight and transformation. They have so many lessons for us, they teach us how to be human, how to simply be. So without further ado, I introduce you to, Motherwort!

“there is no better herb to take melancholy vapors from the heart and make a merry, cheerful soul.”

— Nicholas Culpeper, 17th Century Herbalist

Image: Wikipedia

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)

Lesson: a fierce and tender heart grows wings

Offering: steadiness, courage, protection, calm

Element & planetary affiliation: water, Venus

Energetics: bitter, acrid, dry, aromatic

OH, MOTHER!

The name Leonurus cardiaca comes from the Greek for lion (leon) and tail (ouros). The leaves emerging from the flower whorls were said to resemble lion’s tails. Cardiaca comes from the tradition of using the plant as a heart tonic. Motherwort is so named for its long standing use as a mother’s remedy. It eased a pregnant mother’s anxiety (though it is no longer recommended during pregnancy except in the last 4 weeks as a partus prep as it can act as an abortifacient) and soothes the nerves of a new mother.

In Japan and China, the herb has been linked with longevity. “An old legend states that there was once a town whose spring ran through a patch of Motherwort. All the local townspeople got their daily drinking water from that spring and all of them lived to be over 100 years old.” (http://witchipedia.com/herb:motherwort) There is a saying in Japan “drink Motherwort to the despair of your heirs” and on the 9th day of the 9th month there is a Motherwort festival known as Kikousouki.

The Doctrine of Signatures suggests that motherwort has an affinity to the heart with its thorny flower axils which also grow in a syncopated fashion up the stem (like a heartbeat). The pattern of flowers up the stem is also evocative of the vertebra, linking Motherwort with spinal afflictions. And the hairy flowers suggest this bitter mint is good for the nervous system. And indeed, Motherwort is a helper for those who are remarkably anxious with a rapid heartbeat and/or palpitations. This minty beauty is also a wonderful partner for easing premenstrual symptoms, especially cramps. You only need a few drops of tincture to feel her power.

When I look at Motherwort, I see a protective ally who can show us how to maintain healthy boundaries and a healthy attitude, especially toward mothering. The thorny axils say “don’t mess with mama!” The hardy leaves and stem and bitter principle (allowing for assimilation and digestion) provide an ability to cope with difficult circumstances. The leaves emerging symmetrically from the thorny flower whorls look to me like wings – and what comes to me is “give your heart wings.”

---

MORE ABOUT MOTHERWORT

Constituents and Nutrients
alkaloids (leonurinine, stachydrine), bitter principle, caffeic acid, diterpenes, essential oil, flavonoids, glycosides (leonurine, leonuridin), lauric acid, oleic acid, resins, tannins, vitamin A

Actions
anodyne, anti-adrenergic, anti-rheumatic, anti-spasmodic, anxiolytic, astringent, carminative,
diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, heart tonic, hypotensive (short term), nervine, oxytocic,
uterine tonic, mild vasodilation

Conditions
anxiety, bloating, cold, flu, fever, flatulence, stress-induced heart palpitations, hot flashes,
hyperthyroidism, menstrual cramps, menopausal insomnia (with passionflower), overstimulated sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight), white coat hypertension

Image: Unknown

Distinguishing Features
I love this description from Witchipedia “Motherwort is an interesting and distinctive member of the mint family (Lamiaceae). It grows on a single, tall square stem decorated from top to bottom with opposite leaves. The leaf shape varies somewhat by location, but are generally lobed and palmate. The flowers appear in early summer and are quite unique and distinctive. They appear at the leaf axils. They are the labiate flowers of the mint family but have a rather furry appearance so that at first glance, motherwort looks like a tall plant with bits of fluff tucked into its leaf axils.” 

Precautions
Avoid during pregnancy, except in the last 4 weeks.
Take care with blood-thinning medications as Motherwort may have anti-clotting effects.

Image: Eleanor Saulys, via Connecticut Botanical Society

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RECIPES

Motherwort Infusion
Use 1 tablespoon of dried motherwort per cup of boiling water. Cover and steep for 20 minutes or longer. Strain and sip as needed.

~~~

Cool as a Cucumber Tea
from Herbalpedia, via Susun Weed
1 oz motherwort
2 oz linden flower
1 oz chamomile flower
4 oz skullcap herb
3 oz borage flowers, stems, and leaves
2 oz marshmallow root
2 oz hibiscus flower

Combine 1 oz of the mixture with 4 cups of boiling water in a teapot or container with a well fitting lid. Let stand for fifteen minutes; then strain the tea and store it in a closed container. Allow to cool; drink at room temperature. During daytime hot flashes, drink 1 cup as often as needed. Or it can be sipped all day. Just be sure to drink the entire amount each day.

~~~

Rested Mama Sleep Tincture
1 part dried Motherwort aerial parts
1 part dried Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) leaves and flowers
1/4 part dried Lavender (Lavandula sp.) flowers
Vodka to cover (100 proof or higher if possible)

Measure herbs by weight and place in a glass jar. Cover entirely with vodka and fill to the top of the jar. Place the lid on and give the jar a shake. Let steep for at least 6 weeks. Strain and bottle in dark colored bottles. Take 1 dropperful (30 drops) in a little water each hour, 2 hours leading up to bedtime.

~~~

Sarawakian Confinement Recipe - Motherwort Chicken
from http://bit.ly/1NjVYta

(I haven’t personally tried this recipe, but I just had to share it. We don’t have a lot of “confinement” recipes or traditions in our culture, but I hope that’s something that changes. Confinement is the time after a mother gives birth and needs to rest and be taken care of. This recipe is perfect for supporting mama through this trying time.)

1 medium sized chicken, cut into smaller sizes
1/2 cup of dry motherwort herb
2 cups of Chinese cooking wine
200 grams of fresh ginger, pounded and extract juice
2 tablespoons of sesame oil

Pound the ginger and squeeze the ginger juice into the chicken. Marinate the chicken for at least one to two hours. Keep the pounded ginger for later use. In a pan, use the smallest heat to stir fry the motherwort. Depending on your heat, it should take from 15-20 minutes until the leaves are very dry, easily broken and aroma starts to penetrate the house. In addition, the leaves should become very fine until that it stick to the sides of the pan. Be patience, too high heat will burn the leaves very easily and the end result is bitter taste motherwort. Therefore, patience is required. Once ready, set aside.

In the same pan, stir fry the minced ginger with medium heat, stir fry until it is dry and aromatic. The main purpose of this step is the same as in the above step, to make the ginger dry and aromatic. Once ready, set aside.

Put 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in the pan, place the chicken in the pan, stir fry under medium heat and well combined. Place the lid and simmer the chicken until it is cooked and soft. Note that there is no water used in the pan frying. As you cook the chicken, meat juices will be secreted out and the juices simmer the chicken.

Once it almost dries up, add in ginger and motherwort, followed by the Chinese cooking wine, let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes. If the wine dries up too fast, as more wine to get the gravy.

From the above procedure, you may note that there is no seasoning such as salt or water being used. That is for the confinement ladies where salt is a not supposed to be added to confinement food. For normal home consumption, you can add salt and sugar to taste and replace some of the wine with plain water. Best serve hot with a bowl of hot rice.

---

Image: New Hampshire Garden Solutions

POETRY/SONGS/LORE

Secret Love. Motherwort
by Frances Sargent Osgood

MOTHERWORT .
Yes! tell him — tell him I am well,
Say that this cheek doth deeper glow,
Than was its wont — but do not tell,
'Tis the heart's fever makes it so!
And tell him how my lip has curled,
And named his name with idle smile;
But do not tell him for the world,
That tears were in mine eyes the while!

(presumably inspired by the Victorian language of flowers, where Motherwort signified concealed love)

~~~

The Chung Ku Yu T‘ui; allusive.
The sad case of a woman forced to separate from her husband by the pressure of famine.
(from The She King [or The Book of Ancient Poetry], translated from Chinese by James Legge)

1. The valleys show the motherwort,
Now scorched in each dry spot.
Behold a wife driven forth from home,
Beneath hard famine's lot!
She sadly sighs, she sadly sighs,
From husband torn and dearest ties.

2. The valleys show the motherwort,
Now scorched where tall it rose.
Behold a wife driven forth from home,
By stern misfortune's blows!
We hear her groans, we hear her groans,
As she her hapless fate bemoans.

3. The valleys show the motherwort,
Scorched in each dampest place.
Behold a wife driven forth from home—
Bewail in vain her ease!
Her tears aye flow, her tears aye flow;
How’er she grieve, ne’er ends her woe!

---

 RESOURCES

Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal, Volume I: A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants. North Atlantic Books. 2008.

Graves, Julia. The Language of Plants: A Guide to the Doctrine of Signatures. Lindisfarne Books. 2012.

Weed, Susun. Motherwort - Leonurus cardiaca. Herbal Adventures with Susun S Weed. http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/July08/wisewoman.htm

ode to rose: plant ally spotlight

Welcome to a new series of posts highlighting the many virtues of medicinal plants. I aim to focus mainly on plants native or naturalized to the Northeastern US bioregion, with a few exceptional exceptions. 

This month I introduce you to ROSE, a personal favorite whom I turn to again and again for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. The name Rose happens to be my paternal grandmother's name, and my middle name, but that's not why I'm partial to her. There is so much to say about Rose and perhaps there will be a part two in the future. Read on below for her many lovable attributes...

“The rose distils a healing balm, the beating pulse of pain to calm.”

— Anacreon, 5th Century BCE Greek poet

Rosa centifolia, image credit: Wikipedia

Rose (Rosa spp.)

Message: you are divine

Offering: passion, beauty, love

Element & planetary affiliation: Water, Venus

Energetics: sweet, slightly bitter, cooling, moist, aromatic

Rosa canina, image credit: Wikipedia

A rose is a rose...

Is there a flower with more poems written of it, more lore surrounding it, more feelings evoked by it, than the rose? Rose is the enduring symbol of beauty, romance, femininity, higher awareness, the cycle of life and death, impermanence, spirituality (the list goes on and on). 

Sappho, 6th C BCE Greek poet, called rose “queen of flowers.” I might go further to say rose is the goddess of flowers. Aside from her symbolism, rose is a medicinal treasure. Her scent has the power to turn us on, to lift us out of dark emotions, and soothe the spirit. Rose attar, or pure rose essential oil, is potent yet gentle medicine. It is precious in that it is extremely expensive and intensive to make – 60,000 roses are needed to make 1 ounce of essential oil!

Rose water is a much more accessible and probably equally effective form of medicine. It is most commonly known as a skin toner and as a flavoring in confections from the Near East. The color of the rose is indicative of its effectiveness in redness and inflammation of the skin – rose water or infusion can be applied topically to relieve rashes and burns.

There are other signatures that indicate the use of rose. Her prickles (not true thorns, despite what all the songs say) tell us that she has an effect on the blood – if a plant can prick you and make you bleed, it is likely useful for the blood. Taken internally, rose petal infusion cools and cleanses the blood. In Ayurvedic medicine, gulkand is a cooling summer treat of rose petals mixed with sugar (see recipe below). The slightly bitter aspect of rose lets us know that there is a carminative effect, easing digestive upset. According to herbalist Anne McIntyre, rose petals have the ability to help restore healthy gut flora.

Rose has an affinity with the heart and root chakras. According to herbalist Michael Tierra, rose helps relieve a “constrictive feeling of chest and abdomen” while it “harmonizes blood.”

Rose also has an connection with the eyes, both physically and spiritually. The blossoms are taken as a tea or put into a dream pillow to encourage prophetic sight in dreams. Relieve eye inflammation by making a strong infusion of rose petals, then soaking a cloth in the infusion. Apply this to the eyes, re-soak and reapply for as long as possible. Keep doing this periodically over a few days until the inflammation is relieved.

More about Rose

Constituents and Nutrients
vitamin C, vitamins B, E, and K, essential oils, nicotinamide, organic acids, tannin, pectin

Actions
alterative, anodyne, anticatarrhal, antidepressant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, aphrodisiac, astringent, carminative, emmenagogue, immunostimulant, laxative, nervine, refrigerant, mild sedative

Conditions
amenorrhea, colds, cough, depression, diarrhea, dysentery, dysmenorrhea, eye inflammation/irritation/soreness, fever, frigidity, headache, hemorrhage (esp. nose, uterus), infertility, insomnia, leucorrhea, mastitis, rash, skin inflammation, sore throat, sunburn, uterine congestion, weakness

Distinguishing Features
From The American Rose Society: “The true roses (genus Rosa) have stipules (usually attached to the base of the leaf), compound leaves, usually with an odd number of leaflets, often produce prickles (outgrowths of the epidermis at any point along the stem) but never true thorns (modified stems, specifically from the buds just above the leaves). They have 5-petal flowers (R. omiensis is an exception with only 4, and cultivated “double” roses have been selected by horticulturists, as desirable “freaks.”) And, unique to the roses, they produce “hips” as their fruit type – a sort of inside-out strawberry, which is a deep, bowl- or snifter-shaped structure formed from the hypanthium. Inside are the hard, angular objects that most of us refer to as “seeds,” but which are actually small fruits (achenes), each of which contains a single seed. Other examples of achenes are the so-called “seeds” of a strawberry or a sunflower. In each case, the shell is structurally a fruit, with a single true seed inside, attached to the achene at one end.”

Contraindications

• Not recommended for high Kapha types

• Some herbalists recommend avoiding during pregnancy due to its properties as an emmenagogue

Recipes

Rose Infusion
Place a handful of rose petals and/or buds in a quart jar. For a refreshing summer cooler, cover with cold water and steep overnight. For a stronger tonic brew, use boiling water. Strain and enjoy!

---

Simple Rose Water
This is a simple version (not distilled) of a beautiful classic, from Rodale’s 21st Century Herbal.

• 6 cups fresh rose petals (organic if possible)

• 1 quart water

Heat gently in medium saucepan, simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, steep for several hours. Strain out petals. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 1 month.

For a home-distilled version, go here or refer to my book, Northeast Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 111 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness (Timber Press).

---

Instant Gulkand
adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor

1 cup fresh rose petals
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp sugar*
2 tbsp dried rose petals

Grind rose petals with water to make a coarse paste. In a non-stick pan, add sugar and dried rose petals to this paste. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes on medium heat or until thick. Remove from heat, set aside to cool. Store in air tight bottle.

*You can use honey or your favorite sugar substitute as well.

Meditative Rose, Salvadore Dalí, 1958

Poetry & Lore

We lovers laugh to hear
“This should be more that and that should be more this”
coming from people sitting in a wagon tilted in a ditch.
Going in search of the heart,
I found a huge rose under my feet,
and roses under all our feet…

~ Rumi

---

The Rose Family
by Robert Frost

The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple’s a rose,
And the pear is, and so’s
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose.
You, of course, are a rose-
But were always a rose.

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How did the rose ever open its heart
And give to the world all of its beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light against its being,
Otherwise we all remain too frightened.

~ Hafiz

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References & Further Reading

Hutton, Frankie, (Ed.). Rose Lore. http://www.roseproject.com/fhutton.html

Warner, Lucina (Whispering Earth blog). The Rose: Whisper of the Divine. https://whisperingearth.co.uk/2010/05/25/the-rose-whisper-of-the-divine/

Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal, Volume I: A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants. North Atlantic Books. 2008.

Wood, Matthew. The Earthwise Herbal, Volume II: A Complete Guide to New World Medicinal Plants. North Atlantic Books. 2009.

Graves, Julia. The Language of Plants: A Guide to the Doctrine of Signatures. Lindisfarne Books. 2012.

what's emerging /the color of spring...

When we think Spring, usually there's a color that comes to mind. What is it for you? 

Perhaps you said Green, and yes, certainly green is the dominating color of the season. The green grass pops out, no longer covered in a blanket of snow. The leaf buds grow, ready to spring forth; there is an almost imperceptible mossy green hue covering all. But before the first leaves fully unfurl there are dashes of other colors: pink cherry blossoms, purple hyacinths, blue periwinkles, and lots of yellow.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis sp) with my friend Olivia Lovejoy as a hand model.

Yellow, the color of the glowing sun as daylight grows longer and longer. Even before the first crocus pokes up out of the ground, there is Witch Hazel - a glowing beacon of sunshine in the still dark days of winter, a symbol of hopefulness in the stark leafless landscape. Then comes Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas) – not a cherry at all, but a Dogwood, it's one of the first trees of spring to bloom. And Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), once called Filius ante patrem "son before father" as the yellow blossom emerges before the leaves. There's also Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna), aka "Pilewort" named for its traditional use as a hemorrhoid remedy (I think its emergence in spring comes at an opportune time, after everyone has been sitting around on their bums all winter!).

Lesser celandine, one of the first yellow blooms of spring.

Yellow, the color of the 3rd chakra or solar plexus, where our fire is, our willpower, our boundaries and from where we spring to action. The 3rd chakra is also associated with the liver and gallbladder, and so yellow is also associated with these organs and systems. And wouldn't you know, the bitter herbs that can support liver and gallbladder very often happen to be yellow and some emerge around this time, specifically Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). We think of spring as a time to clean our homes and our bodies through "detoxing." Herbs like Dandelion leaf and root can help, as well as Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus) root and Burdock (Arctium kappa) two other common "weeds."

First little dandy blossom I spotted this year.

Soaking burdock leaves the water yellow, a signature for both liver/gallbladder and kidneys.

Of course there are yellow Daffodils, so synonymous with the start of spring. According to Power of Flowers, Daffodil flower essence has a positive effect on those who are in need of a boost of happiness and light. Considering the liver is the seat of anger, and anger is a dominating emotion of spring, Daffodil flower essence could be a nice remedy for this time of year. Forsythia is another yellow bloom opening now, and according to Pacific Essences, Forsythia flower essence provides motivation for the transformation of old, useless patterns of behavior, and is associated with the gallbladder meridian. It's like spring cleaning for your emotions and habits. In addition to these flower essences, I highly recommend the essences from Tree Frog Farm, especially the ones intended for spring energies, such as Dandelion and Liver Organ Energy Meridian blend. (They also happen to be on sale this month. I don't rep for this company, I swear! I just love their essences).

Forsythia! Image: Wikimedia Commons

I hope you'll join me in Prospect Park soon to see all of the colors of spring emerging! We have 2 free trial classes coming up this Friday and Sunday. Register here!

spring is for self-care, and nature as healer

Happy Spring Equinox! 

Spring is a time of renewal and growth, and we are balanced in equal amounts of sunlight and darkness. Signs of spring were evident weeks ago here in Brooklyn, with blooming cherry trees, viburnum bushes, crocuses, and even daffodils. And while the plants were responding to unusually warm days in February, at least we can now say, spring is officially here.

Cherry blossoms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, taken February 27.

With this energy of new beginnings, it's an ideal time to commit ourselves to something new or recommit ourselves to something we hold dear. For me, self-care is rising as a priority at this moment. In taking care of our body, mind, and spirit, we are able to approach everything with more clarity and ease. I notice that when I stop taking care of my self I become tense, more reactive, less open, and hyper focused on the "small stuff." The forms of self-care I've adopted bring spaciousness, subtlety, appreciation for the beauty in all things, and a big picture perspective. 

What can you commit to this spring that will bring you joy?

Crocuses, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, March 2.

Here are some of the ways I prioritize my health and well being:

Eating well – recommitting to a real food diet free from sugar, grains, legumes, and processed foods for the next 30 days (here's more info on that if you're interested!)

Moving my body – stretching, dancing, Sacred Warrior training

Tending my body – skin brushing, self massage, making and using homemade body care products (see recipe below)

Exploring the inner world – meditation, journeywork, journaling, reiki

Expressing creativity – drawing, journaling, jewelry making, creating art projects with my son

Connecting with nature – plant meditations, earth touching, listening to the birds, and Gathering Ground classes!

Viburnum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, March 2.

Reveal a new layer of yourself

Snakes shed their skin, leaving behind the old to reveal a new layer of themselves. This is partly why they have been a symbol of spring for thousands of years. We can make like a snake and help our body remove its old skin to reveal our glowing selves beneath. Here's a super simple recipe for a body scrub to help you do just that:

• 1/4 cup sea salt (course/unrefined)
• 2 tablespoons oil (I like to use Castor oil, but you could use coconut, olive, almond, avocado, etc)
• 10 drops of essential oil (optional)*

Mix ingredients in a small bowl. Step into tub and gently scrub, starting at the feet and ending with the scalp (if you don't mind temporarily greasy hair). Take a warm shower or if you have time a hot bath. Step out feeling renewed!

*Suggestions: peppermint to invigorate; tea tree to cleanse; cedarwood to ground; chamomile to calm; orange to uplift.

My boy, age 2, Prospect Park.

Turning to nature is my number one restorative practice

Of all the self-care practices listed above, perhaps the most accessible and effective one is nature connection. There is something inexplicably healing about being immersed in a natural environment, even an urban one. We are surrounded by nature, or more correctly we are inseparable from nature because we are it. The moment nature becomes an experience is when we engage it. Some of the very basic ways we can do this:

Gaze up at the sky – notice the clouds, the blueness, the stars; simply notice what is above you

Touch the earth – get down on your hands and knees and touch the unpaved earth; if that's too difficult, take off your shoes and step on the earth; what do you feel? 

Interact with a plant – find a plant that you are drawn to, it could even be a house plant. Introduce yourself; now just sit with the plant, exchanging breath; be open to what arises

There are so many more ways to interact with the natural world. And though we don't need science to confirm that it makes us feel good, there have been plenty of studies on how nature connection makes us happier, more in awe, more generous, and healthier as individuals and as a community. (Here's an article from my favorite magazine, Yes! all about it). We always have the opportunity to connect with nature, but spring presents one of the most dramatic times to witness the beauty of the earth. 

I'll be leading some free Gathering Ground classes in Prospect Park this Friday, March 24 and next Sunday, April 2. Perhaps you'll join me for some nature connection?

nyc parks department, please stop spraying herbicide

Every year around this time I get so angry and perplexed. Along with the joy of warmer, longer, greener days comes the poisoning of plants, people, and animals – by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. Year after year, the parks department continues to spray poison in highly populated places, most often places where kids play. A few weeks ago we were walking past our favorite neighborhood playground and posted outside was that dreaded notice.

Cities like Chicago and entire countries like France, The Netherlands, and Sweden have banned the use of RoundUp, even before the EU Parliament called for severe restrictions affecting all EU nations. Why?

Problem

The "inert" ingredients in RoundUp that make it a more effective plant killer also make it more effective at penetrating and killing human cells as well. "One specific inert ingredient, polyethoxylated tallowamine, or POEA, was more deadly to human embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells than the herbicide itself – a finding the researchers call 'astonishing,'" according to a report in Scientific American.

In the same article, a Monsanto spokesperson goes on to tout its safety and that it's used to "protect schools." Protect schools from a few weeds? I'm trying to imagine a scenario where weeds are hurting people (other than maybe giant hogweed.) On the contrary, many of the so-called weeds targeted by RoundUp are edible and/or medicinal. So instead of hand-weeding, weed-whacking or even just picking these plants to use, we poison them, and ourselves in the process. 

Here are just a few of the plants targeted by the NYC parks department along with some of their benefits:

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) – All parts edible/medicinal. Roots have been used for healing liver conditions for centuries (at least). Leaves and roots are a non-depleting diuretic. Both are also highly nutritious. Flowers are delicious edibles that have pain-relieving properties when used topically. (See that word "officinale" in the botanical name? That means it was in the pharmacopeia, in other words used as medicine for centuries)

Chickweed (Stellaria sp.) – Anti-inflammatory; helps improve assimilation of nutrients from other foods; helps dissolve cysts and fatty deposits; wound healing. Also a highly nutritious green with abundant minerals and vitamins including calcium, magnesium, and A, C and B vitamins.  

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) – Bitter digestive; antispasmodic, relaxing to muscles; emmenagogue (brings on delayed menstruation); oneirogen (enhances dreaming); traditionally burned as moxabustion in acupuncture to improve chi flow and as incense. Rich in magnesium and calcium, best eaten when young. (Also one of my personal favorite herbs!)

Solution

Now I understand there are times when someone might favor cultivated or native plants in certain places and want to remove so called "exotic invasives."* In those cases, there are inexpensive, safe alternatives to commercial herbicides. Here's a recipe that anyone can whip up with ingredients from the grocery store. In places where there are large stands of unwanted plants, hire goats! Or call on volunteer groups to do hand or mechanical weeding. 

Action

Several groups are actively trying to stop the practice of spraying RoundUp in public places. Here are a few (a roundup, if you will!):

Stop Spraying Cancerous RoundUp WeedKiller in NYC Parks (a petition, please sign if you feel called to!)

The Black Institute

Food and Water Watch (scroll down for another RoundUp petition)

While petitions can be helpful, I feel there's more work to be done to stop these practices. I'm organizing a group of individuals, parents, and children, an action group if you will. You can sign up for updates on this group here.

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*Stay tuned for a future post regarding this choice of words to describe plants and animals and its impact on our perceptions and behaviors.