Rituals & Recipes for Moonfolk (Or how I’m celebrating 13 years of community)

This past month marked thirteen years of Worts & Cunning Apothecary.

It feels like both a very long time and a very short time has passed since I first opened the Apothecary in a small Northeastern city at the end of autumn, specializing in home-made herbal remedies with a focus on alcohol-free options. Now, I write and teach full-time, helping others to craft their own remedies and explore their inner worlds and community connections through the lens of plant healing and magick. It's been an incredible (and wonderfully strange and challenging and joyful) journey so far.

I love what I do, I love our community, and I am so grateful to be able to fulfill this calling of mine to help connect people and plants for our collective liberation and joy.

While my ideas of what Worts & Cunning would be and what I’d be doing as an herbalist has changed over the years, a constant thread has connected all my various projects and offerings together - to create and share resources that are useful, that spark curiosity, and help folks to call themselves back home. I’ve doubted whether or not this calling of mine is useful (Maybe it’d be better to open a dog rescue instead! Camp out in a permanent protest on the steps of congress! Become a city planner to help our communities be centered around the planet and people instead of cars and corporations!), but I return again and again to what it feels like to share resources, to teach a class where I’m learning along with everyone else present, and to know that hours of quiet research might help someone grow more into their practice and community. I love the feeling of being able to share my joy of land and plants and stars and the unknowns of life with so many kind-hearted folks, and to hear their stories of land and plants and stars in return. For me, sharing resources is a form of sacred communion and expansive connection, and I’m so grateful that this is what I get to do.

While I don’t know all of what the future holds (though I’ve got a lot of exciting things I’m working on), I want to take a moment to celebrate what has already been done. I've been writing this community blog for thirteen years and it is chock-full of free and useful resources from plant profiles to seasonal apothecary guides, explorations of the energetic system of traditional western herbalism, a guide to creating financial access in your own business, and my growing collection of astroherbalism guides. I host four courses and a growing library of plant knowledge which you can access for as little as $1. I have hosted in-person workshops, classes, and sound baths featuring plant song which some of you have been able to attend (and those are all coming back!).  I've taught as a guest teacher in other herbal courses and been published in zines, planners, and plant guides (my self-published ebooks and zines are available in patreon). I've chatted on podcasts about plants and strange encounters with your ancestors and how healing is a community effort. Three years ago I started a patreon community which has been so much fun and features extra guides and posts, as well as plant song recordings, free access to The Plant Ally Library and a not-a-podcast audio class thing. 

All of this has only been possible because I've had a community supporting me along the way and it's why I continue to do this work. I have been able to grow into my kindness and softness and complexity as a person because I've been held in a community that values such paths and reflected them back to me. As I continue to grow and learn, my goal is to keep making the majority of what I do free and low-cost so that you can access useful information and inspiration on intersectional herbalism and magick that supports your ability to re-member how whole and holy you are.

Which is why it was such a joy to share The Moonfolk Book of Shadows with everyone. With over 120 rituals and recipes, Moonfolk is my big-hearted thank you for thirteen years of support. You can access it completely for free by signing up for my newsletter and if you’re already a subscriber to Magick Mail you’ll find all of the details in the Magick Mail Apothecary (yes, there’s a secret section of the blog for Magick Mail subscribers).

So, in celebration of Moonfolk and cycles of change and transformation, below I’ve shared the ritual and recipe inspired by the New Moon in Cancer.

But all of this is to say: thank you, friends, for helping to make possible this quiet and kind-hearted community space.

Developing Intuition
I am intuitive

So much of developing intuition is learning to trust oneself and that can be challenging for many of us. The experience of having influential people in our lives (parents, caretakers, friends, partners, etc.) denying or dismissing not only our intuition but our truths is all too common and can make it hard to connect with our intuition later in life. 

Reconnecting with our inherent intuition can be a long process, requiring multiple healing practices from therapy to spiritual explorations to boundary-setting and so on, so please don't feel bad if you feel like everyone else has an easy time with it. Fortunately, Cancerian energies are excellent at supporting our ability to connect our waking consciousness with intuitive states of being, which is why an intuition ritual at the New Moon in Cancer ritual can be so powerful. 

The following is a simple ritual and guided meditation that can and should be practiced over a length of time (at least a full lunar cycle) to help you cultivate your intuitive gifts. Approach it with a playful heart or at least a not too overly serious one too focused on "results" and you'll find yourself having an easier go at things. Why do I recommend a ritual performed every day or night for a full lunar cycle? Often it has been years that we've been hiding away from or denying our intuition, so we deserve to give ourselves plenty of time to make space for our intuition to awaken and be embraced again. The time and effort are part of the ritual, showing your intuitive self that you really do want them to come home to you and feel supported.

You will need:

• An intuition altar filled with inspiring things and supportive objects like quartz crystals, images of the divine and/or familiar and ancestral spirits, and so on

• Vessel of drinking water or tea such as a bowl and plate, cup and saucer 

• Incense or feather

• Stone of choice

• Candle

Once you have set up your altar, make a place for your water vessel with the feather, stone, and candle forming a triangle around it. Cast a circle if you like and practice some breathwork and/or your favorite grounding and centering technique. Light your incense or hold your feather and pass it around your water three times while saying:

By Air
I awaken my powers of intuition
Already within me
Ready to arise

Hold your candle and pass it around your water three times, saying:

By Fire
I awaken my powers of intuition
Already within me
Ready to illuminate

Pour some of the water on the plate or saucer, symbolizing your intuition spilling over from its current confinement, saying:

By Water
I awaken my powers of intuition
Already within me
Ready to flow free

Hold your stone and pass it around your water three times, saying:

By Earth
I awaken my powers of intuition
Already within me
Ready to be embraced

Visualize your water glowing with the power of the elements, here to help you awaken your own intuition. Take a sip and begin the following visualization:

In the air before you visualize a closed Rose. See it slowing turning in the air in front of you so that you can see it from all sides, its color and shape, the way it seems to glow with an inner magick. Slowly but surely the petals begin to open one by one. Take time to watch this happen, feeling that something within you is opening, slowly but surely. When the flower is fully open, a magnificent bloom, it comes close to you and lands upon your heart, where it glows and slowly fades into your energy.

Once you are done with your visualization you can drink the rest of your water, knowing that the magick of the Rose is working within you, its softness calling forth your intuition, its thorns protecting your boundaries. Continue to work this ritual for a lunar cycle, keeping your altar fresh, and playfully practicing intuitive when you feel called to them.

Intuition Tea
I am tending to my psychic nervous system

I believe that part of the work of reconnecting with or strengthening your intuition is not only to strengthen your psychic body, but to tend to your psychic nervous system. While our intuitive gifts can show up in all kinds of settings, not least of which in stressful or challenging ones, developing intuition over time requires an ability to develop a sense of peace and inner security. Cancer is an excellent sign to work with when developing your intuition because it reminds us that the security of our shell (i.e. our boundaries) allow us to protect our inner softness (i.e. our receptivity to psychic insight). The following blend incorporates herbs that help us feel protected and regulated, as well as the gift of helping us awaken our intuition.

Blend together the following herbs:

• 4 parts Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

• 1 part Rose (Rosa spp.)

• ½  part Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

Standard dosage. Placing blended herbs under the light of the New Moon adds to their magick. Store with a quartz crystal inside or on top of the jar. Make a cup before any form of divination, ritual, and/or meditation. 

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If you want more lunar-inspired rituals and recipes, be sure to sign-up for Magick Mail so you can access The Moonfolk Book of Shadows for free.

Thank you again for thirteen magickal years and here’s to many, many more!

Keeping Space for Healing: How To Organize Your Plant Profiles

Apparently, March has become the month that I write about plant profiles and materia medicas. So, at the risk of writing about increasingly niche topics on an already niche blog, I now want to talk about organizing your plant profiles as you start to write and/or collect them.

I know, I know what it sounds like. We're not heading into thrilling territory, but how you organize information that you need regular access to - whether that is as a community herbalist or a home herbalist - supports your ability to practice with ease as an herbalist. 

When I was a student herbalist, I was simultaneously thrilled by everything there was to learn and pretty overwhelmed by all the information on plants that I was studying. As with so many paths of study out there, I came to understand that the purpose of an herbalist was not to have memorized all the uses for all the herbs (though you'll certainly know many uses for many herbs through time and practice), but to learn what it is you need to know and how to seek it out. So when I have a client show up in clinic with a condition I've never heard of before, I've not already failed as an herbalist. Instead, my training helps me to ask the questions that need to be asked and listen deeply to what needs to be heard so that I can seek out the resources that'll support my client.

One of the most important tools in my kit is my collection of plant profiles and materia medicas. I've already written about plant profiles, why they're useful, and how to create your own, but now that you've got these useful plant profiles in your collection, how do you use them in a practical manner? In addition to the plant profiles I've written, I've got handouts from classes and workshops I've attended, a collection of herbal books both modern and historical, and lots and lots of notes. It took me a while to find a system of organization that worked best for me and if I can help some of you develop your own much sooner into your practice as an herbalist than I did, then this post will be a success!

Well-organized resources helps you to find the information you need efficiently which matters whether you're working one-on-one with clients in a time-constrained environment or as a home herbalist taking care of sick family members (and half the time being sick yourself). Hopefully, one or more of the suggestions below will be of use to you in your own practice or, at minimum, inspire thoughts of how to make your herbal practice feel more easeful and nourishing to you and those you serve.

image via @purejulia

Keeping It Accessible

I do much of my work on a computer where everything is digitally stored and organized, but when I'm working on a new recipe or sitting with a client, I prefer looking at paper than a screen. I like the physicality of being able to flip through books and scribble notes on a paper, plus having a screen free space, particularly within a client consultation setting, is an important part of how I am able to be present to the energy at hand. For me it's important to have non-digital reference material available, but you might prefer to have everything digitized. Figuring out how you want to access your plant profiles and other herbal tools is part of understanding how you're able to remain present and engaged, so if you're annoyed by having to pull books off the shelf every time you want to look up information about a particular plant and would much prefer being able to pull up that same book on your tablet of choice, make the switch! 

So much energy and concentration is needed to show up for others as an herbalist, whether clients or members of your family, which is why it's important to reduce any hassle or hindrance in your practice as much as possible. Make it easy for yourself, friends.

Questions to consider:

• What profiles, books, and other reference material do I want physical copies of?

• What profiles, books, and other reference material do I want digital copies of?

• Where will I keep my physical reference material (and herbal tools) for easy access?

Keeping It Together: Modes of Storage

How you choose to store your plant profiles and other tools of your trade is going to be deeply personal and informed by the space you have and your preferences. I like using physical materia medicas over digital ones so I always have my bookshelf within reach of my writing desk, but for those of you who keep everything digitized, you might not need this arrangement. Having a tablet stand equipped with ease for charging might be your priority instead. It takes time to figure out what works for you, but it is time well spent so that when your services are needed, what you need is organized in a way that makes the most sense for you to access. 

I hope the following suggestions help you to figure out how you organize your plant profiles, perhaps in a way you hadn't considered before.

Recipe Box

When I was making and selling remedies, the best way for me to store my recipes were on index cards in a wooden recipe box that I'd thrifted. They were organized alphabetically with dividing tabs because that made the most sense for me, but they could've easily been organized by body system, primary herb used, astrologically, and so on. While I also had my recipes written up and stored digitally, I didn't like having my computer around when making recipes because I did not want to risk spilling something on it and I worked in a very small space at the time and couldn't fit my laptop and remedy making supplies in the same area even if I wanted to.

You could store shorthand plant profiles in a recipe box, too (i.e. information about an herb that you use frequently such as herbal actions, energetics, indications, and contraindications). What I like about my recipe box full of recipes is that it is easy to add or subtract from, reorganize, and grab what I need (a index card or two) in a form that is not overly precious or takes up too much space. While you could organize your plant profiles alphabetically in a recipe box, there are a number of other ways that might be more useful to you and how you practice including by:

• Body System

• Energetics (traditional western energetics or otherwise)

• Disease or Imbalance (i.e. Prunella vulgaris for indigestion)

• Astrological Correspondence (i.e. the planets or by signs of the zodiac)

• Magickal Use

• Seasonal Herbs (i.e. what's in season in your garden and surrounding area throughout the year - check out my seasonal apothecary guides for inspiration)

• Seasonal Remedies (i.e. herbs organized by common seasonal imbalances such as a section for herbs for spring allergies and another section for cold and flu herbs for autumn and winter)

A recipe box system is great for students who can easily add a note card as they learn, expanding these cards into full profiles as they progress in their studies. It's a great system, too, for harried parents who want to know what plant will help this with the latest bug brought home from kindergarten without too much effort.

In the recipe box (or any of the following suggestions) you might keep a few cards with basic remedy making instructions and standard dosage guidelines (you can access my remedy making quick sheet for free as a member of Magick Mail).

image via @purejulia

Expanding File Folder

As someone who travels to teach, I don't have permanent storage set up within the classroom I visit, so I have to be mindful about how much stuff I carry around as well as being able to set-up a class quickly and in a way that doesn't leave me feeling scattered. One of my solutions is to use an expanding file folder to keep all of my class handouts organized which include any notes I'll be sharing, plant profiles, as well as one page medicine-making guides (i.e. a guide for making and taking tinctures). My file expanding file folder has become my traveling library full of resources that I can share with folks and it's made my ability to teach and share resources that much easier.

Side note: If you teach or work with clients, I highly recommend creating your own one page guides to hand students and clients, and when you keep them organized in something like an expanding file folder you always know what you have on hand or what needs printing.¹

Binder

For some printed resources, I really like having a three ring binder for them. In a binder is where I keep the plant profiles I've written myself or ones that I've received from classes and trainings I've attended. Some folks like using plastic page protectors so pages can be flipped frequently without tearing, but that's up to you. 

My binder is definitely reflective of my role as a community herbalist, but here's what a family herbalist binder might include to help you start to think about your own needs:

• A page for each family member summarizing allergies, medications, and other important information as well as a section to note remedies that work well for them. If you practice medical astrology, you can also include a birth chart here.

• The plant profiles you've written and/or collected.

• Seasonal guides to help you quickly determine a useful herb based on common seasonal conditions.

• Quick guides to ailments common to your household (i.e. steps for treating a fever with herbal recommendations). 

• Remedy making calendar (i.e. make elderberry syrup in August for the start of the school year). 

• A page of contact information for your family doctor, medical services, and so on.

If you're putting together a family herbal care binder ask yourself what would make your life easier when someone in your family is sick again. You can create a similar binder if you're a clinical herbalist and/or herbal teacher, asking yourself what would make your sessions or classes easier. 

Digital Storage

Whether on your own harddrive, cloud storage, or through an app like Goodnotes, having easy digital access to your plant profiles is a good option either exclusive of or in addition to paper storage. I created The Plant Ally Library not only because students and readers were asking for an easier way to access resources I've written but because I wanted an easy way to access all of the plant profiles I'd written over the years in one spot. There are so many digital storage options out there but the ones I prefer can be accessed anywhere on any device which not only  protects them from anything calamitous that might happen to my personal computer, but they need to be searchable (which is one of the biggest advantages of digital storage). 

The recipe box and binder idea can be translated into digital form through notes apps and other online options. If you choose a searchable option you've created a very useful and easy access resource. 

image via @purejulia

Keeping a Bird's Eye View

Regardless of how I store my plant profiles and various tools of the herbalist, I make sure to have a record of what I do have, don't have, and need. For me, this is a spreadsheet kept in an online drive where I keep track of what herbs I have in my home apothecary, what form they are in (i.e. whole plant, tincture, oil), what needs restocking, as well as my own correspondence charts (i.e. herbs in my home apothecary organized by body system and so on). If I could go back in time to my younger herbal student self I would tell them to start making this chart right away. A spreadsheet like this helps you to use what you have because you know you have it, prevent overstocking and potentially wasting herbs, and hopefully prevent the stress of searching through jars when you really need a plant but can't remember if you have it. Is my spreadsheet color coordinated? Yes. Is everyone going to get as excited about a spreadsheet like me? No, of course not, but if you sense that this might be useful for you, give it a try. And you can choose whatever pretty colors you like!²

Overview documents like this are especially essential if you are in any sort of community practice and working with other herbalists. Community work is hard enough without the stress of not knowing if you have the herb you need for clinic days or who has ordered what and when it is supposed to arrive. There is a reason that activist work is also referred to as "organizing" - that color-coded spreadsheet is a (very nerdy) revolutionary tool, use it.

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Creating your own system of organization for your plant profiles is an act of compassion by your present self for your future self by making what may come easier to manage with already prepared tools for your practice. If you're wanting to make your life harder as an herbalist, I've written about that, too. To support your nervous system and brain as you consider and implement your organizational options you might want to add Peppermint (Mentha piperita) and/or Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) to your tea. I find that connecting with your old self and future-dreaming self can be helpful, too. 

Finally, whether or not any of what I've suggested speaks to you, I do hope that you're feeling curious about the ways you can make it easy for yourself so you can do what you love with as little hindrance as possible: working with plants and people to create paths of wellness.  

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤ Thank you, friends. ❤

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Footnotes

1. It took me far too long to figure out this trick for my own classes, but when I did I felt so clever, ha! This is a great exercise for students, too, as part of your studies, and think of other one-page informational resources you can create for your clients. Creating resources like these are a practice in succinctness and accessibility as they should be to the point but also use language that is comprehensible to many types of folks. 

2. If you're curious, I've shared my spreadsheet and correspondence charts in The Plant Ally Library.

Herbs for Breathwork + Respiratory Health

Last month I wrote about how breathwork is a community tool and works in online spaces (thank the Holy Ones for transcendent digital magick). I wanted to follow-up that post with suggested herbs that can assist us in our breathwork but are also useful for respiratory health in general. We're in the midst of protest season which is looking like it's going to be an appropriately long one also while living through a pandemic. Respiratory health, whether we're being exposed to viruses or chemicals like pepper spray and tear gas, is really important right now. Breathwork combined with attention to the bodily systems which help us breath helps us to return home to our bodies and nourish our nervous system after prolonged periods of stress. You can combine these herbs not only with your breathwork but with other centering and body-grounding practices like healing movement modalities, therapy and mental health practices, walking, sex and sensual touch, ritual and spellcraft, and more.

I've listed four categories of herbs that I think are particularly useful for breathwork: Nervines, Adaptogens, Respiratory Tonics, and Heart Tonics. There are so many herbs present in each of these categories that I could recommend but hopefully by describing the types and qualities of herbs I recommend you'll be able to find ones that you are already familiar with, that are stocked in your cabinet, and/or more regionally relevant.

I'll follow these categorical descriptions with short profiles on eight herbal allies that I've been turning to frequently these days. Since these are just short descriptions of each herb, it is important for you to do your research with reliable materia medicas and consult with herbalists for further information, contraindications, and stories that will deepen your relationship with our plant friends. Of course, when you are able to, meet these plant allies in spaces where they grow and ask to sit with them to learn directly from their wisdom.

image by Isaac Quesada

The Four Categories of Breathwork Herbs

Nervines are plants that calm the nerves and often nourish the nervous system. Since so much of breathwork is about interacting with our nervous system in healing and beneficial ways, helping us to return to a state of rest and digest, nervines are beautiful companion herbs and guides in our practice. They help us to relax and open up to breathing deep and purposefully. So many of our diseases and ailments either have roots in or are exacerbated by stress which is why knowing and working with nervines not only in breathwork but in daily life can be of such great benefit to us. Nervines include Milky Oat (Avena sativa), Lavender (Lavandula spp.), Holy Basil (Ocimum spp.), Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), and Catnip (Nepeta cataria).

Adaptogens are herbs that do a multitude of healing actions, but are probably known most popularly as helping us to adapt to stress. Adaptogens and nervines work well together and when it comes to breathwork, adaptogens can help us stretch back into ourselves after a period of prolonged stress. It's important to remember that adaptogens don't "cure" stress and are not meant to replace stress-reducing actions and choices in our lives from healthy movement to mindful consumption. And also, the reality is that many of us are dealing with tremendous social and political stress in our lives further impacted by global environmental changes. Adaptogens can help us develop a sense of resiliency and purpose so we are less distracted by stress and more invested in the tools which help us (such as breathwork) continue on in life with a feeling of wholeness and purpose. Some adaptogens are Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus), Holy Basil (Ocimum spp.), Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) and Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea). The following wisdom from Toni Morrison from a talk at Portland Statue University in 1975 feels like an adaptogenic one to me, helping to tell the story of these plants:

“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing.”

Of course, if we're talking about herbs to support respiratory health, I'm going to feature Respiratory Tonics. These include herbs which can be immunostimulating (since the respiratory system is an primary entry way for viruses and bacterias) as well as decongestants, demulcents (herbs that moisten mucous membranes), and expectorants (herbs that relax lungs while promoting elimination of mucus from airways). Many respiratory tonics are also considered aromatics - herbs that are rich in volatile oils and deeply scented. Aromatics often do all the actions I just described for respiratory tonic herbs and have a wonderfully harmonizing or synergizing energy which helps to bring a blend together as well as helping a tea taste better. Respiratory tonics herbs include Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), Elecampane (Inula helenium), Licorice, Nettles (Urtica dioica), Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), Goldenrod (Solidago spp.), Wild Cherry Bark (Prunus serotina), and Pleurisy Root (Asclepius tuberose).

I also include Heart Tonics in my recommendations. In my experience, so much of breathwork is heart work. Yes, the benefits of mindful and meditative breathing are many - it is calming to our nervous systems, lower blood pressure, stimulate our immune systems, shift emotional and mental perspectives, disrupt anxiety and panic attacks, and so on. It is not unusual during breathwork and working with our respiratory system in general for there to be a feeling of opening, expanding, and along with that, grieving for un-grieved for experiences. Heart tonics help us to open our hearts with support (many heart tonics are protective along with being opening) and make space for grief to move through and out of our bodies instead of stagnating. Herbs include Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa), Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Rose (Rosa spp.), and Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca).

So sitting in the center of our circle, we sit with our backs against the tree of life, calling to us respiratory tonics from the east, nervines from the west, adaptogens from the south, and heart tonics from the north. Let's meet our plant allies gathered here... 

image by Wolfgang Hasselmann

Herbs for Breathwork + Respiratory Health

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) | Respiratory Tonic, Nervine
Mullein is great for all sorts of lung-related complaints from asthma to bronchitis, the herb opens the respiratory passageways helping us to breathe deeper and more effectively. It's a demulcent which also reduces inflammation and helps to protect against infection. Mullein is one of my favorite herbs for fire season here in California. Overall, it helps us to release tension from our bodies. Within breathwork, Mullein is good for those type of folks who overwork and stretch themselves thin - the herb helps them to soften and open up to relaxing as an act of justice and repair.

Elecampane (Inula helenium) | Respiratory Tonic, Heart Tonic
I've written a full plant profile on Elecampane and it is a well-regarded lung tonic in traditional western herbalism. The herb is an astringent decongestant as well as being antiseptic and antibacterial. It is really useful for treating chronic coughs and long-term lung complaints. Elecampane, also known as Elf Wort, has a traditional use for "elf shot" in Celtic culture which can be interpreted as a number of ways one of which is as a sudden energetic and emotional pain brought on by a traumatic event. Drop dosages of the herb or flower essence can be really helpful in cases like this. For breathwork, Elecampane is a helpful ally for those who are coming to the practice after a shock-inducing experience.

Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon californicum) | Respiratory Tonic, Nervine
Yerba Santa is an astringent decongestant that dries up excess mucous by normalizing excess mucous secretion. Normalizing mucous secretion means that you won't have to go back and forth between too much and too little secretion leading to being too dried out and equally uncomfortable. Along with Mullein it is also one of my favorite herbs for fire season here in California. In addition to its powers of mucous normalization, Yerba Santa is antimicrobial and antiseptic. On an energetic level, Yerba Santa sticky resinous quality helps to pull up and out old grief and trauma so that you no longer have to carry it around. For breathwork, it can be helpful if you struggle with breathing out deeply.

image by Maude Frédérique Lavoie

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) | Respiratory Tonic
Thyme is one of my favorite kitchen garden remedies - I always have the fresh herb growing in my garden or at least dried leaves in my spice cupboard. I add it to most of my respiratory tonics because it is pleasing in taste and effective in its actions as a decongestant expectorant. Thyme strengthens the immune system without being over-stimulating and protects against bacterias and microbes. It is one of my favorite allies in removing respiratory infections from the body and one I turn to often in the winter months. Thyme is not classically categorized as a nervine, but it certainly acts like one, helping to relieve tension and mental exhaustion. For breathwork, beyond being wonderfully aromatic and enhancing the physical breathwork experience, Thyme helps us to settle into our practice while gathering our inner resources and loosening our belief that there is not enough time for all the work that needs to be done.

Plantain (Plantago spp.) | Respiratory Tonic
Ubiquitous Plantain is commonly used in traditional western herbalism for topical treatments but in recent herbs I've come to know the plant for its respiratory tonic qualities. I live in fire country and have started working with Plantain as a smoke relief ally. Plantain heals tissue internally as well as it does externally which is especially useful for healing post-exposure to environmental pollutants and chemical weapons such as pepper spray and tear gas. For breathwork (and any sort of mindful practice or magick), Plantain helps us remind us of the abundant truth that simple practices cultivate profound peace.

Holy Basil (Ocimum spp.) | Respiratory Tonic, Adaptogen, Nervine
Holy Basil, also known as Sacred Basil and Tulsi, is an antispasmodic demulcent and expectorant. The herb is immunostimulating and protective against microorganisms like Staph infection. It's a lovely warming plant and one of my favorite adaptogens helping to reduce anxiety while uplifting the spirit and sparking hope within us. Of course, I have a personal love for Holy Basil that is tied to the lessons I have learned sitting with this plant and its ancestral stories, but I can't help but feel that the recognition of Holy Basil as an earthly embodiment of the Goddess Lakshmi speaks to the sacredness that Holy Basil helps us to recognize in people and places. Within breathwork, Holy Basil helps us to connect to our holiness and the holiness of the moment while releasing those things which no longer serve us. Here is one of my favorite tea blends featuring Holy Basil.

image by Belinda Fewings

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) | Respiratory Tonic, Heart Tonic
Holy heart opener and guardian of the gates, Hawthorn is one of the most treasured heart tonics within traditional western herbalism. I've written about its power of thorn, how it helps us to thrive in eclipse season, and why it is one of my favorite autumn season herbs. Hawthorn is known as a cardiac tophorestorative which means that it acts as a restorative for our heart bringing our physical and energetic heart back into balance. The herb helps with the brave journey of opening up again after heartbreak - no easy task and yet one essential to healing. In breathwork, Hawthorn is the ally of the broken-hearted and those who avoid quiet contemplative practices because of their broken-heartedness. It is an herb that works best when taken over an extended period of time.

Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) | Nervine, Heart Tonic
Rooibos is a relaxing nervine with anti-spasmodic qualities and cardioprotective qualities. It's one of my favorite herbs to use in daily morning teas - it's a gentle adaptogen, rich in antioxidants, incredibly calming to the nerves without being sedating, and it's just a really delicious tasting. Rooibos finds its way into many of my tea blends include this one for the First Harvest. Plants are storytellers and in this current wave of culture-changing Black Lives Matter protests, South African native Rooibos can act as an ancestral teacher and gifter of wisdom. For those of you of African descent wanting to work with ancestral herbs, Rooibos is one place to start since it is often easy to find and gentle enough for most folks to work with.  For folks of non-African descent we can learn from plants like Rooibos, too, practicing our listening skills and turning to quiet reflection with our plant teachers alongside the many other humxn teachers helping us to dream up a more just and kind future. Within breathwork, Rooibos helps us bring sweetness to our practice especially for those folks who have a hard time recognizing pleasure as an essential part of healing and justice work.

image by Kings Lee

Recommended Preparations

Many of the herbs above can be prepared in a variety of ways. I feel that the following three ways are particularly conducive to using these herbs in breathwork practices, but please use what you have available and what is appropriate for your individual needs. All of these preparations are water based and require very simple tools to make. 

Teas: One of our oldest forms of herbal medicine, teas or herbal tisanes - if we want to get fancy - are the infusion of plant material with water. Sitting with a cup of tea before, during, and after breathwork only enhances the experience in my opinion. Making tea can be a ritual, helping to set the space for your breathwork and, if drinking hot tea, the steamy aroma of the brew can further help to open airways and deliver the medicine through our breath. Typically, for herbal teas you’ll add 1 heaping teaspoon of herbs per 8 ounces of water and steep for 10 - 20 minutes.

Herbal Steams: Opening up the airways and delivery herbal medicine directly to our airways can be a lovely way to connect with plants before and during breathwork. Typically an herbal steam consists of pouring hot water over a bowl full of herbs and positioning your head above it so that you are breathing in the vapors. Some folks like to cover their head and the bowl with a towel, but this can be a bit too intense for others. It is important to be careful and not burn yourself with the steam which can be quite hot initially. I like to pour hot water over a bowl of herbs, cover with a towel and let sit for 5 minutes before breathing it. You can perform an herbal steam before breathwork or have a bowl of herbs and hot water positioned before you so that you are inhaling their fragrance while partaking in your breathwork practice.

Herbal Baths + Showers: Another option is to take an herbal bath or shower. Herbal baths consist of infusing your bathwater with herbs much like bathing in a large cup of tea. You can learn more about herbal baths and showers here. I like combining herbal baths and showers with breathwork because I find them inherently relaxing and opening - both energetic shifts useful for breathwork. While you can take an herbal bath or shower and then perform your breathwork, you can also perform simple and short breathwork while bathing. As a Witch, bathing is an opportunity for spiritual cleansing and releasing unwanted energetic entanglements - combined with herbs and breathwork bathing and showering can become a powerful ritual.

I hope that these suggestions are useful and that you are inspired to meet with any one of these plant teachers yourself. Be sure to check out my companion post on breathwork for more resources. If you're looking for more resources on herbs that help remind us of our wholeness check out my post on work and worth and those plant allies that are especially useful for the more sensitive among us. Since breathwork is often connected to (re)learning how to rest, here's my guide on how to find insights on ways to rest particular to your personal starmap.

If you’re looking for a deeper dive into breathwork, check out my course on the subject.

Finally, I just received a book in the mail today that I think many of you would find useful when it comes to the overall practice of arriving back into our bodies. Nourishing the Nervous System by tayla shanaye is a beautifully designed pocket-sized book (can I tell you of my deep love for pocket books?) with simple somatic exercises you can do daily for nervous system wellness. The book is produced by Loam which I was only recently introduced to (thanks, Yarrow!) and I’m sure many of you will be as happy to find them as I was.

❤︎ This post was made possible through patron support. Thanks, friends. ❤︎

Serving as Herbalists During a Pandemic

Edit: I’ve created a page for herbal calls to action and other community resources geared towards supporting our clients and communities during pandemic and beyond.

There is a lot of need in the world right now.

As an herbalist, serving our communities during times of pandemic can look a lot like what we already do - supporting folks in cultivating longevity and peace of spirit in a sustainable way. For many herbalists I know and certainly in the philosophy I was taught by my teachers, herbalism is slow and steady medicine. Of course, there are always moments of quick relief and insight, but plant medicine is strongest when it is integrated into our lives as an ongoing practice. While relationships with plants is one of the defining features of any herbalist, many of us bring a myriad of other techniques and tools and ways of seeing the world that inform and compliment our relationship with plants (who else is having regular dream visitations from their ancestors who lived through previous periods of pandemic?). All of these skills are needed now as we live through times of great sorrow and uncertainty, strangeness and joy, and begin to dream of how we might emerge in a way that continues to bring us together. 

While this post will not be about herbal treatments or recommended protocols during times of pandemic, what I hope to do here is to highlight practices many herbalists and holistic healers will be familiar with, but can be especially useful during periods of heightened and widespread trauma. For some herbalists serving communities that are under constant threat these suggestions may be more familiar than to others - may they serve as an affirmation of the needful and powerful work you're already doing. The work of emergence continues and what follows are some of the ways you might find useful in serving your community.

Encourage your clients to feel their feelings as they arise (or as soon as they can after the fact).

There are numerous powerful and effective therapies to help folks manage trauma after the fact, but one of the tools we can use during or shortly after a traumatic incident (including the prolonged trauma and disruption of pandemic) is to encourage those we serve to feel their feelings as they arise. One of the things that makes traumatic incidents so traumatic is that all too often we don't feel like we have the space or are afraid to or are unable to connect with the depth of our feelings. It's ok to grieve right now - the world has turned upside down and will not be the same again for better or for worse. It's ok to get angry, to get sad, to get happy - just get to where your feelings are. 

Now, it's also important to acknowledge that sometimes our feelings do feel too big - that's when it's especially important to reach out to friends and family for support or to a therapist. There are so many great therapeutic models out there and while it can be hard for folks of color and queer and trans folks to find adequate care you're still worth being cared for. Services like Crisis Text Line can be very helpful for in-the-moment situations of difficulty and it is easy to use. And if you're someone who is looking to support others during a pandemic and beyond in a very real and needed way, consider becoming a volunteer.

Anxiety is growing - share simple tools for managing it.

Here's a great guide talking about anxiety during times of pandemic (for those of you who serve earth-based spirituality and Pagan populations there's a great connection to made between the decision tree and holy trees in so many of our spiritual cosmology). I teach my clients and students breathwork techniques that I've found very useful over the years for all types of feelings and experiences as well as learning how to connect with plants. I have a sliding scale course on breathwork aimed at folks with a magickal practice but here's a free video resource on square breathing which I think is one of the most useful techniques out there for helping us to pause and expand our emotional possibilities beyond anxiety.

One of my favorite tools for managing anxiety is writing and journaling, so here's some of my tips for writing in your journal especially when you feel too anxious to do so.

• You don't have to start by writing about yourself or your feelings. When I'm feeling especially overwhelmed I start by writing super mundane things - I describe something on my bedside table or what the weather is like outside. It can be helpful to ease into what you think you want to write about by not writing about it at all.

• Establish a set length of time or paper that you're going to write. Depending on my journal size I usually write the front and back of a single page. If I want to write more I do, but my goal is to fill up the space of that single page. What this does is limit any feelings of how much one should write and sets a parameter for how long you should be writing. Sometimes I sit there for quite a while not knowing what to put on paper and that's alright. It makes me think and reflect, even get a bit bored. I've found this practice to be really helpful not only during times of heightened anxiety, but in maintaining a regular journal practice.

• Prompts can be really useful. There are all sorts of journal prompts out there - I have one for each New Moon - and you can choose to use different prompts every time you journal or stick with the same one(s) for every journaling session. When things are feeling hard for me I tend to stick with similar prompts again and again such as What am I feeling right now? What am I needing right now? Additionally, I’ll set a five minute timer and let myself right down, free flow style, everything I am feeling anxious, confused, or just big about. At the end of those five minutes I move on to my next suggestion.

• Practice gratitude. I feel fortunate that early on I was introduced to the importance of gratitude in one’s magickal practice. Whether it was gratitude to the Ancestors, Gods, Spirits of the Land and Waters, and my fellow magickal folk to gratitude for candles to light, for shelter, and food. Taking time to be in our gratitude helps to give us context, pause anxious cycles, and shift perspective. Gratitude doesn’t dismiss the seriousness or severity of a feeling or situation, but when we are faced with what can feel like oversimplified and intense emotions (i.e. everything is awful), gratitude can help us acknowledges complexity and expand what is possible (i.e. some things are awful right now, but there is still beauty and hope).

Connect your clients with resources on emotional and mental health. 

It's important to remember, especially when the needs in our communities can feel so big and overwhelming, that you are not the sole source of care for those that you are serving. You should be referring folks to additional care practitioners, especially mental health providers, as necessary throughout your interactions with your clients. Crisis Text Line is an inclusive and immediate point of support that you can send folks to. Sometimes the need in our community is so big that we can be mistaken in our compassion to think that we are the one to answer it all. I think it is a beautiful and healing practice to share with our clients all of the options and opportunities they have for community support by making sure we have appropriate references available for them. Additional mental health resources can be found here.

Know when to step back and take a break.
The world is changing and even when the immediate crisis of pandemic is over there will be work to do. But that's always been true - we're just experiencing everything on more directly global terms than ever before. Be sure to pace yourself, take breaks, and engage in the relaxing activities that allow your mind and body to rest. Teach your clients how to do the same by modeling this behavior to your community. Reassure your community that it's ok to have fun, celebrate joyful moments, and zone out when they need to. Ask for help, participate in the multitude of mutual aid and kindness groups that are growing and have been here for generations, and when you're able, offer aid in return.

Humble yourselves in the arms of the wild.
Those are the first words of a beautiful Pagan chant by Beverly Frederick that I've found myself singing again and again these days. The wild can mean many things from our plant allies to humbling ourselves to the spectacular wild uncertainty of our times. Remember to connect with the plants who have taught you, the ancestors who dreamed you, the living beloveds surrounding you in your life right now. We do not know where we are going or how we're going to get there but we can choose to know ourselves and each other through the process.

I hope that these suggestions have offered inspiration, affirmation, and reassurance. All of you deserve support and care during and I hope that you're receiving both.

How to Make Your Life As An Herbalist Harder

It’ll be nine years next month that I’ve been running this little business of mine. Nine years of making remedies, teaching classes, writing blog posts, finding my voice (currently singing in the key of soft dyke / salty hag), and making lots of mistakes along the way. I love the freedom of owning my own business but I’ve made it unnecessarily difficult for myself at times, too. I’m hoping that this post helps folk stop or avoid altogether these same mistakes. Or maybe this is just a big public post-it note to myself to continue to work on not making these mistakes, because I am certainly still making a few of the mistakes listed below.

While the following post does have someone who runs their own business as an herbalist in mind, it can apply to a wide array of those in self-employed in all sorts of businesses. To be clear for the folks who haven’t been paying attention in the far back, I am not in any way trained as a business coach but I do have a tea-stained certificate in Making Mistakes as a Solopreneur (it arrived three months late and torn in two!).

So here is what I’ve learned about making your life more difficult as an herbalist (or healer or friendly neighborhood witch).

Do unnecessarily (and often repetitive) work.

Whatever you can automate, do. I started my business during the whole “handmade gets itself online” movement and I loved all the purposeful details that went in to creating products. If you ordered from my shop when I was still selling tea and herbal remedies, for example, you would have received a tea-dyed receipt with your order hand written on it. I was particularly proud of this detail - something I didn’t see other folks doing in their packaging.

Precious as that was, it was an absurd thing to be doing when I was receiving as many orders as I did during the height of my remedy-making business. Because I was not only hand-writing receipts, I also hand-stamped and decorated all of the shipment boxes, handwrote addresses (again on that tea stained paper), and hand-wrapped all my remedies in colorful paper and washi tape. And that was just the effort spent after making the remedies in the first place (which were largely underpriced to begin with). But I was absolutely convinced that things like these hand-written receipts were what made folks like my business. And maybe that was true to a point - I got frequent feedback that receiving one of my packages was like getting a delivery from a store in a fantasy novel - but it burnt me out. I needed to choose to do one, maybe two of those things, and automate the rest.

Whatever I can automate these days, I do. And guess what? It’s not stripped the soul from my business but in fact given me more space to feel spiritually connected and renewed in my work. Ways to automate your work as a herbalist include:

• If you have a newsletter, at a minimum set-up automated emails for when someone joins your list. This is a great way to warmly welcome someone into your community and can act like a map and compass to your work and what thing on your website someone might look at next.

• Use the auto-generated receipts and shipping labels provided by whatever platform you sell your goods on.

• Use canned responses in replying to customers when appropriate. Gmail allows you to save a series of canned responses that you can generate into an email - I do this a lot and then customize the email from there.

• Create handouts for your clients and students that covers basic information that you find yourself sharing again and again. I have print-outs on making tea, taking herbal hand, foot, and body baths, using essences, and more.

Those are just a few broad suggestions - I’m sure you can find many more for your own particular practice. But, please, automate and let it open you up to the path of delegation, cooperation, and the psychic group witch mind dismantling the kyriarchy. Or whatever.

image source

Commit to your relentless belief that you are an imposter.

I wish someone had told me about imposter syndrome before I started my business. I was still  running high on my own special morning blend of imposter syndrome when I started studying herbalism and it colored my early learning experiences. If you’ve heard about imposter syndrome but don’t quite know what it means or if it applies to you here are some resources:

• Nine Ways to Fight Imposter Syndrome

• Dealing With Impostor Syndrome When You’re Treated as an Impostor

• 5 Different Types of Imposter Syndrome (and 5 Ways to Battle Each One)

Look, you’re not serving yourself or your community by feeding the imposter monster. It’s fed enough by society at large and overpowering systems that we can’t easily change as individuals. Want a magickal plant-centered suggestion? Give your feelings of being an imposter to a plant and see what they give you back.

Be overly complex in your communications - including client care instructions.

I mean, I love to extrapolate far beyond what is necessary (hi, have you read any of my blog posts?) but just because you can provide more doesn’t mean that it’s better. Folks are going to follow-through on your recommendations if you keep it simple and easy to incorporate into their lives.

Learn to edit down your emails, your newsletters, your product and class descriptions to a point where you’re still communicating the essentials and you and those you serve will be better for it. This goes for how you talk about your work face-to-face with folks. You want to hand folks the equivalent of a verbal business card and not a college length thesis.

It’s not to say that there is never time for lengthy communications, but overall, shorter is better. And remember when I mentioned those educational handouts in the first part of our journey down mistake lane? Make those concise, too. You want folks to actually read what you give them so that they’ll feel more empowered to follow-through with their care.  

Undercharge and still feel bad about what your rates.

I’ve written about money and accessibility already on this blog (part 1 | part 2), but struggling to charge what you and your services are worth are a big one. Then throw in the complexity of cultural identities and narratives around money and what you should and should not charge for (i.e. healing and magickal services) and it can feel even more complex. Since I’ll be continuing to write about money, worth, and feelings, here’s my short response to the voice in your head that’s constantly shaming you about your prices : The body that carries that voice needs to eat, needs a safe place to sleep, needs access to transportation, needs to be able to do the things which makes them feel pleasurable and whole. Honor that voice for trying to protect you and keep you safe, and then give it something shiny to look at while you get on with running a business and living a life beyond its fear.

image source

Set boundaries - and watch yourself roll right over them.

Appointments are only an hour but here I am two hours in and just now starting to wrap up.

I don’t do discounts but I’m afraid of losing business with this person so I better give them a big discount.

I shouldn’t be answering emails on 3 AM on a Saturday, but if I don’t respond right away I’ll lose business.

There’s too much suffering in the world for me to take regular time off!

Treat your boundaries like the edges of your most sacred space. Imagine your boundaries as the grove, the temple, the mountain, the church or sanctuary where your spirit is remembered in all its wholeness. When you begin to treat your boundaries as sacred and powerful in their sacredness and that your boundaries make you better as a healer, I can guarantee that you’ll be able to run your business better. And then, when the time comes to change a boundary, you’ll be doing it from a place of feeling empowered instead of backed into a corner.

Hold yourself to ridiculous standards of creativity and making.

Hey don’t do this! Take time off! Value what you’ve created! Creating something and then presenting it to the world can be absolutely terrifying - don’t welcome in any more fear than necessary to the process.

Eat some lunch. Take a breath. All of this is absurd and necessary and in both situations fear is a lousy companion.

Don’t listen to your own advice.

Please do the opposite of this.

I could insert a whole flowy bit here about trusting your intuition and turning the knowledge you’ve gained from experience into wisdom, but here’s the short cut. Do what you advise other folks to do all the time. I know for many herbalists, myself included, it includes things like, drink water, get more sleep, go outside, allow yourself to zone out, seek pleasure, ask for help, so on and so forth… Imagine if you took your own advice as sincerely as you dealt it out.

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Have some mistakes you want to share? Comment below and let us commiserate together. Let’s keep growing through and laughing at our mistakes - seeing them as the calling cards of the trickster gods that they are.