English French German Italian Portuguese Russian Spanish

Herb Post: Horsetails

plants and movement, feet and tails

Herb Post: Horsetails

Riddle me this: how can I write an herb post that fits in with the theme of moment/momentum?

When people talk about plant toxins, it's become somewhat a cliche to say "a plant can't run away from you, so it poisons you instead." Not much movement there, is the implication.

And riddle me this: when you think of silica, one of the first associations you might have is glass, which is about as brittle as it gets, but the mineral silica is essential to healthy skin, hair, and joints, all about flexibility.

Let's talk about horsetail.

Moment is Movement

moment and my newt

Moment is Movement

Equinox is like twilight: midway point on the way to solstice, or to midday/midnight, point at which momentum has built so the energy is solidly toward more light, more heat, more day (or, in September, more dark, more cold, more night).

If you're paying attention, you can feel the energy change over. But, as I said in the equinox post, it doesn't all happen right in the key moment. Momentum builds to that point and continues for some time afterward.

And so this spell's "word" post is dedicated to moment/momentum.

Equinox: Casting a Shadow Both Sides of the Line

equinox, new moon, solar eclipse

Equinox: Casting a Shadow Both Sides of the Line

The solstice was special because it coincided with new moon. Yesterday's equinox was special because it coincided not only with a new moon, but with a total solar eclipse thirteen hours prior. It's also a super moon, being in Pisces--the final zodiac sign--as we pass into Aries--the first sign--and begin the cycle again.

The solar eclipse together with the Pisces energy weaves in some finality amid the forward-looking springtime aspect of the equinox. A good time to move out of one set of habits and begin to inhabit one's life in a new way, but also a good time to move out of life altogether. Several people I know have had loved ones pass over, some of their own volition, in the past couple of weeks, and there will be more in the next few weeks. Death is change, and change is death.

Herb for an Apprentice: Dandelion

what counts as a mistake?

Herb for an Apprentice: Dandelion

Although some places are still under snow, it's feeling like spring here. Several 80+ degree days here this week, some more rain today. I'm told that this my first winter/spring in Tucson has been a kindly one in terms of the volume of rain we've been gifted. 

The rains gift a spectacular blooming of this desert place. As the trees leaf out and all sorts of small weeds unfurl from the ground, there are flowers everywhere. My neighbor's magenta bougainvillea vine. Cactus and yucca and agaves sprouting spiky and marvelous inflorescences. Mesquite trees covered in yellow blossoms and bees.

A time of beginnings for plants, then. In other words, there were so many choices available to me for a plant related to the theme of apprenticing and beginning. (Mindfulness post and word post for this series.)

Word of the Spell: Apprentice

catching hold, holding on

Word of the Spell: Apprentice

It seems appropriate that this spell's word should be

apprentice

since we're talking about undertaking an herbal apprenticeship, and about apprenticing to the plants. There's a nice parallelism, word-wise, event-wise, life-wise, with my recent initiation into the Sufi order--both are part of my "spell" nexus, and both involve setting aside my own judgments, preconceptions, and stories, and opening my ears and heart to guidance.

The "surrender" piece is so important, but let's take a look at the etymology of "apprentice" and see how there's another side to the story.

Learning to Listen, Giving Time to the Plants

Herbal Apprenticeship with the Sonoran Herbalist

Learning to Listen, Giving Time to the Plants

This Saturday, March 14th, begins John Slattery's Sonoran herbalist apprenticeship program. I'll be participating. Actually, I'm already participating, since I'm doing partial work trade. I'm so grateful to be spending time in an herbalist's office--that milieu, those aromas, working with other herb-minded folks.

The classes, two-to-four days a month for the next seven months, are often overnight camping trips. We're going to be introduced to many different zones of this bioregion, which is far more than just desert thanks to the mountain ranges. But balancing the wide geographical range, I know from having taken a couple classes with John already that we'll be directed, encouraged, urged, to look exquisitely closely at what grows right at our feet.

Herb of the Spell: "Rosemary for Remembrance"

remembrance, fragrance, versatility

Herb of the Spell:

Okay, part 3 of our first tripartite spell! Since the mindfulness part was about remembering/forgetting in connection with boundaries and the language part was about the word "remember," you might have expected me to pick "forget-me-not" as the herb for the spell.

But  there was never any doubt for me that I'd be writing about "rosemary, for remembrance." It's such a wonderfully versatile aromatic herb, and although it doesn't have as much associated folklore as parsley or fennel do (stories for another day, perhaps),  it's been used and loved for millennia.

Keep a vial of its essential oil by your desk and take a whiff if your energy flags. Notice the renewed wave of clarity.

FREE Newsletter

Upcoming Events

No events