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The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by

publishing practical information that encourages personal

independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Carleen Madigan

Art direction and book design by Jessica Armstrong

Text production by Erin Dawson

Illustrations by © Kate O’Hara

Author photo by © Emily Nichols Photography

© 2018 by Maia Toll

Ebook production by Kristy L. MacWilliams

Ebook version 1.1

August 7, 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission

from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce

illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means —

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other — without written permission

from the publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All

recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey

Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this

information.

Storey books are available for special premium and promotional uses and for customized

editions. For further information, please call 800-793-9396.

Storey Publishing

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Toll, Maia, author.

Title: The illustrated herbiary : guidance and rituals from 36 bewitching botanicals / by

Maia Toll.

Description: North Adams, MA : Storey Publishing, 2018.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018002245 (print) | LCCN 2018004090 (ebook) | ISBN 9781612129693

(ebook) | ISBN 9781612129686 (hardcover with 9 cardstock sheets in a bound-in envelope :

alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Medicinal plants. | Plants—Symbolic aspects.

Classification: LCC QK99.A1 (ebook) | LCC QK99.A1 T64 2018 (print) | DDC 581.6/34—

dc23

LC record available at

https://lccn.loc.gov/2018002245

This publication is intended to provide educational information on the covered subject. It is

not intended to take the place of personalized medical conseling, diagnosis, and treatment

from a trained health professional.

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To the wild ones and the mythic souls who walk amongst us, unseen

. . .

. . . And to Gina McGarry, for teaching me to listen for them.

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C O N T E N T S

Preface

Introduction

The Herbiary

CHICKWEED: Start Fresh

DAISY: Be Yourself

RED CLOVER: Center and Ground

SWEET VIOLET: Inner Sanctum

APPLE: Forbidden Fruit

WHITE SAGE: Clear the Way

SELF-HEAL: Ripple Outward

THYME: Distill Your Self

DANDELION: Perseverance

BURDOCK: Tap Your Resources

ROSE: Crack Open

RASPBERRY: Create Space

HAWTHORN: Heart’s Home

PLANTAIN: Rewild

VALERIAN: Release Rigidity

CALIFORNIA POPPY: Resurrection

MUGWORT: Between Dreams

ELDERBERRY: Cyclicality

LADY’S MANTLE: Fortitude

STARFLOWER: Finding Grace

LAVENDER: Tough Love

COMFREY: What Needs Mending?

MARSHMALLOW: A Spoonful of Sugar

YARROW: Pocket of Protection

OATS: Just Be

ST. JOHN’S WORT: Light in the Darkness

TRILLIUM: Spirit into Matter

WHITE WILLOW: The Ways of Water

QUAKING ASPEN: We Are One

MULLEIN: Integration

REISHI: Defying Gravity

PASSIONFLOWER: Exuberant Quietude

NETTLE: Pay Attention!

TULSI: You Are Sacred

VERVAIN: Let Magic In

ROSEMARY: Remembrance

How to Work with the Herbiary Cards

Thank-Yous

About the Author

Enjoy Better Health, Mindfulness, and Nature’s Wonders with these Books

from Storey

Share Your Experience!

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A BESTIARY is a collection of short descriptions about

all sorts of animals, real and imaginary, birds and even rocks,

accompanied by a moralising explanation. Although it deals

with the natural world it was never meant to be a scientific

text and should not be read as such. Some observations may

be quite accurate but they are given the same weight as totally

fabulous accounts. . . . A great deal of its charm comes from

the humour and imagination of the illustrations, painted partly

for pleasure but justified as a didactic tool “to improve the

minds of ordinary people, in such a way that the soul will at

least perceive physically things which it has difficulty

grasping mentally: that what they have difficulty

comprehending with their ears, they will perceive with their

eyes.” (Aberdeen Bestiary, folio 25v, circa 1200).

- UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN, THE ABERDEEN BESTIARY

MS24 ABOUT THE MANUSCRIPT (FROM THE WEBSITE)

AN HERBIARY is a collection of short writings about

botanicals: medicinal, decorative, and whimsical. Although it

alludes to healing properties, it was never meant to be

prescriptive. Many observations are quite accurate, but they

should not be seen as superior to creative or fanciful

descriptions and symbolic flights of fancy. A great deal of its

charm comes from the depth and creativity of its illustrations,

allowing us to see what otherwise would remain hidden.

- MAIA TOLL

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Preface

The bus rolled through the Irish countryside, pulling over from time

to time so the driver could shout a greeting to a gentleman corralling

sheep off the road or a woman parking her car a few blocks from the

next station stop.

What I remember now, more than a dozen years later, is the

vibrancy of the green that surrounded us. The air seemed to shimmer

with it, the color refracting and multiplying.

I had come to Ireland to study plants, apprenticing myself to a

traditional healer and herbalist for a year’s span. I was to live in her

house, help with the gardens and medicine making, sit with her as

clients came to call, and, through osmosis, learn a calling that has

always been as much an art as a science.

Back home in the States we focused on the science. We justified

using “alternative medicine” by pointing to properly conducted

studies with statistically significant control groups. We could make

the sensuous beauty of a rose as dry and antiseptic as an aspirin

tablet . . . and feel justified in doing so because it gained a modicum

of acceptance, albeit grudging, for this age-old healing practice.

But in the emerald swath of Ireland’s center, near the Hill of

Uisneach (said to be the umbilicus of the island), I learned the art of

botanical medicine and the magic of coming into communion with

the plant world. And that has changed everything for me.

I want to gift you this sense of connection.

Connection with the plant world may seem a small thing, but once

you step into it you’ll realize it is profound and playful, granular and

encompassing. Whether this is a first step on your journey into the

green world or a reminder of magic you’ve come to know deeply, I

hope this book, this herbiary, ignites your imagination, your passion,

and your love for living in deep connection with the earth.

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Introduction

“Apprenticed to a medicine woman” sounds terribly romantic.

Indeed, at times it was terrible, and at times it was romantic.

Sometimes it was mystical, but most often it was simply lonely.

Living in the middle of cow pastures with no car, an hour’s walk

from town, leads to introspection, experimentation, and a lot of

listening — to the wind, to the birds, and to the plants.

I ended up studying herbalism after the Manhattan medical

community scratched their collective heads and said, “You’re

obviously sick but we don’t know why.” After seven years of reading

and experimenting on my own, I landed in Ireland, living and

learning from a woman who was by turns a scientist, a witch, a

gardener, and a detective.

I was continually flabbergasted that this was my life. And yet I

was finding more wisdom in this little house set among the Irish

cattle fields than I’d found in three years of graduate school, which,

though it filled my head with information, left me feeling strangely

flat.

I spent evenings taking advantage of my teacher’s prodigious

library, reading and studying in the manner I’d mastered at the

university. During the day I dug in the dirt, drank teas that tasted

like salad (or the dirt I’d just been digging in!), and learned to use my

nose to tell plantain tincture from nettle vinegar. One of my teacher’s

favorite games was to take the caps off dozens of bottles of essential

oils and leave me to sniff out which cap went on which bottle.

This was somatic learning at its finest. My body began to know all

sorts of things and in the evening my brain would turn to the books

to catch up. This odd sort of “knowing” went against everything I’d

been taught and enculturated to believe, and often it left me at war

with myself as my heart and my head tried to learn to coexist.

I’ll confess: I meant to keep my distance. I meant to learn the

medicine of the plants without dipping into the “woo-woo” and hippy

skirts. But learning with my senses, instead of through the power of

my intellect, moved me incrementally into my right brain — my

intuitive brain.

What you hold in your hands is the fruit of that slow transition

from left brain to right. Each plant’s description is woven with a warp

of modern knowledge and a weft of ancient wisdom. Or perhaps a

more apt description is a double helix, the modern and ancient

twined together on a cellular level.

Personal experience is a profound teacher. The lessons I learned

through my nose and my tongue, my hands and my heart, trump

anything I’ve read in a book. And yet, miraculously and affirmatively,

the book learning almost always supports the somatic experience and

so science explains what we have known all along.

LISTENING FOR THE SECOND SONG

“If doctors had to take the medicines they prescribe before giving

them to anyone else, I suspect they’d be writing fewer prescriptions.”

My teacher made this particular pronouncement while we were

sorting elderberries, picking the plump fruit off the toxic fuchsia

stems. We were sitting at her dining room table, the same table

where we ate our meals, gathered with classes, and sat to consult

with clients.

There were many such pronouncements during my year-long

apprenticeship in Ireland. This one felt no more or less profound

than any of the others, and as my fingers continued to sift berry from

stem, I amused myself imagining med students popping colored pills

and suffering mythical fates, like growing wings and horns, as the

chemicals combined in turbulent and unexpected ways.

I never suspected that this tart statement would become a guiding

principle in my pursuit of knowledge, both for healing the body and

for salving the spirit. But in many ways it encapsulates the difference

between traditional shamanic healing and the modern health care

system.

Pause for a second and think about medical students or doctors

experiencing the effects of the medications they prescribe (and the

effects of mixing meds) before they dose others; it’s completely

antithetical to how “medicine” is taught today.

And yet this is exactly how medicine was learned for thousands of

years. Traditional wisdom and healing are based on the healer

knowing the medicine deeply and personally through sight, scent,

taste, and the feel of it moving within her body. Even beyond these

very tangible interactions, a traditional healer, medicine person, or

shaman knows the story of the medicine, the song it sings in the

universe, its unique energy signature.

I call this energy the second song.

When someone asks, “Do you think this herb will work for me?”

two different songs play through my mind. The first is the song of the

chemicals, the notes science can see, which clearly say this plant goes

with that disease. The other song is more subtle; it’s the song of

synchronicity and alignment, the deep sense of harmony and

dialogue that happens when a person finds the right Medicine

(capital M!) for them in that moment — something mystical, an elixir

not only for the body, but for the soul as well.

The first song is easy to teach. It’s simply a matter of

memorization and wrapping your tongue around a bunch of

multisyllabic words (which luckily come from Latin and so have a

structure that can be parsed). You can learn this first song from any

competent teacher.

But the second song . . .

I’ve worked for years finding a way to transmit the second song,

to find the right exercises to help you hear the harmonies that

happen when a plant and person come together. This book gives

voice to the plants’ Medicine songs, so you can feel their energy for

yourself and access their cadences for your own learning and healing.

While other teachers might choose different words or images, the

energy that runs underneath my chosen language is universal. If

you’re a plant person, I suspect you’ll quickly recognize the vibration

of your botanical friends as they appear on these pages.

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The Herbiary

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Start Fresh

CHICKWEED

Stellaria media

Chickweed sings of bright beginnings, welcoming you to your path.

Her tiny, starlike flowers whisper, It’s time. Not sure you’re ready?

No worries. Gently, she’ll break cells open, renewing energy and life.

Chickweed reminds you: wherever you are is a fine place to begin

(she’ll joyously demonstrate by tumbling from any possible place for

new growth, from neglected farmstead flowerpots to abandoned

urban planters). She chips away at old ideas on a foundational level,

opening your internal windows to let in fresh thoughts, sloughing off

what no longer serves. What’s keeping you from making the changes

you crave? Perhaps you’ve been hauling around slowly accreted

insecurities or anger’s quicksilver flame. See who you are without

those burdens, she suggests, smiling, as she guides you to begin.

Ritual

NOTICE THE MICROWORLD

Like many tiny treasures, Chickweed is easily overlooked. In honor of

Chickweed, spend time noticing the microworld.

Sometimes it’s the smallest things that make

the biggest impact.

Broaden your field of attention to include the tiny cotyledons

pushing up in early spring and the flecks of mica decorating the face

of a boulder. Notice the myriad spots on a butterfly’s wings, the tiny

seedlike capsules (called sori) on the underside of a fern’s leaf, the

shifting colors in the sands on a beach. Listen for the small sounds:

the rustle of a bird’s wings and the click-clack of a squirrel breaking

open acorns. In this way, you’ll train yourself to pay attention to the

subtler currents of not only the world around you but also your own

life.

Reflection

LOOK FOR LITTLE STARS

It’s easy to figure out the best way to move forward when life gives

you big, flashy signposts, but it can be harder when the path seems

mundane and mapped by only the smallest of lights. Chickweed

reminds you to look for those small lights; her Latin name, stellaria,

means “little star.”

What little stars are you ignoring as you

search for floodlights and fireworks?

What bright beginnings are moldering as you

wish for something bigger?

Is the trail unspooling at your feet while you

have your eye on a distant horizon?

That my complicated life could be made so simple was

astounding.

CHERYL STRAYED, WILD

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Be Yourself

DAISY

Bellis perennis

Daisy comes from a huge family. Her sisters — Chamomile,

Echinacea, Boneset, Elecampane, Feverfew, and Milk Thistle (to

name just a few!) — are among our greatest healers. Luckily Daisy

learned early on that the best way to distinguish herself was simply

to be herself. So, despite her tomboy appearance, with white petals

often tatty or rumpled, and her status as the most common of

Medicines (she’ll heal a bruise and quiet inflammation, but nothing

like her cousin Arnica montana), she’s a favorite guest. She

persistently finds her way into our homes and gardens to remind us,

over and over again, that loving ourselves as we are is the very best

Medicine.

Ritual

BE KIND TO YOURSELF

If you’re prone to perfectionism or wanting to be in some way special

(more beautiful, more magical, smarter, or the best cook), it’s hard to

realize that you’re already wonderful just the way you are. Daisy can

help; this is her specialty.

HERE’S YOUR RITUAL: Find a photo of yourself from when you

were young. Why use a photo of yourself as a kid? Because it’s

human nature to have greater empathy for children than for adults.

Use this evolutionary idiosyncrasy to your advantage as you work to

develop empathy for yourself. It’s easy to think kind thoughts —

which is what you’re going to do — when you see the child you once

were. Who could be mean to that little one? Can you?

After you’ve chosen a cute photo of kid-you, decorate it with

daisies! You can cut out photos of daisies and collage them onto the

photo or use a marker and hand-draw them. Get creative, because

this photo is becoming a shrine to you.

Whenever you feel like you’re not enough (not

good enough, rich enough, pretty enough,

smart enough), pull out your photo, absorb

Daisy’s easy self-acceptance, and shine it into

your heart.

Reflection

MOVE TOWARD YOUR

TRUTH

Do you compare yourself to those around you, questioning your

looks, intelligence, ambition, or wealth? When you’re in competition

with others, you’re moving away from your truth and toward some

artificial version of success. If no one were looking, who would you

be?

GET SPECIFIC: How would you wear your hair? What would you

eat? Where would you sleep? Dive deep into Daisy Medicine and

unearth your true self.

Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we

think we are supposed to be and embracing who we are.

BRENE BROWN, THE GIFTS OF IMPERFECTION

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Center and Ground

RED CLOVER

Trifolium pratense

This commonly cultivated forage crop feeds horses, cows, sheep,

goats, and just about anything else humans keep at pasture. She

plants your feet on the ground (two or four, it doesn’t matter to her)

while encouraging you to run a few miles or dive into that art project

you’ve been avoiding. Red Clover wants you to get moving — in body

and in spirit! She loves grounded action and will happily bolster your

courage (from the Latin word cor, which means “heart”) when you’re

acting from a strong center, so you can step out and move forward.

Bold but not rash, Red Clover gets your blood up so you can show up

fully.

Ritual

GROUNDED ENERGY AND

FLOW

“Grounded energy and flow” might seem like an oxymoron, but this

exercise will help you feel these two forces working hand in hand.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your arms held loosely at

your sides, and your gaze focused gently forward.

Imagine a string lifting you from the top of your head and two more

pulling your feet toward the center of the earth. This is yoga’s

Mountain pose, which will teach you the vitality of stillness.

Now add breath, inhaling all the way down to your belly and exhaling

fully. This is flow.

Finally, picture Red Clover, calling her into your heart as you expand

your energy.

Storms make trees take deeper roots.

DOLLY PARTON

Reflection

COUNTER REACTIVITY

Often we deplete ourselves with ungrounded bursts of energy —

physical, mental, or emotional — instead of cultivating steady flow.

Red Clover’s gift is grounded action. She helps us harness our vitality

so we can move forward with purpose.

REVIEW YOUR PAST WEEK: Can you think of any moments

when you were overzealous, manic, frenzied, or overreactive? Maybe

you overdid it on a hike. Perhaps you promised more than you could

comfortably deliver to your boss or a friend. Maybe you felt a burst of

impatience or even rage when the driver in the car in front of you

slowed to a near stop before a right-hand turn, or perhaps you were

fuming behind your smile as the person ahead of you in the checkout

line counted out twelve dollars and eighty-seven cents in loose

change.

Now, in contrast, think of a time when you acted from a grounded

and centered place — that is, when you were present and measured

in your action or response.

Compare the feelings from these two opposite situations. Locate

them in your physical body. How does it feel within you when you

are grounded, centered, and purposeful?

Look for patterns and then make a plan to keep yourself centered.

Having a plan offers you an option other than reactivity!

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Inner Sanctum

SWEET VIOLET

Viola odorata

Sweet, sweet Violet sings of sun and springtime, carpeting meadows

and lawns with lush purple petals. But this glorious show is mere

flirtation. Her true abundance comes in autumn when, quietly and

with little fanfare, she shares her seed with the earth, setting the

stage for next spring’s performance. Violet has no trouble separating

public from private; she knows both have their place and season.

She’s the gossip- column socialite who quietly works in a soup

kitchen on Wednesdays, knowing life’s most important work isn’t

always done in the public eye.

Ritual

HONOR YOUR INNER

SANCTUM

In Victorian homes, rooms were divided between those that were

public and those that were wholly private and used only by family. In

modern times, the distinctions between public and private have

broken down, leading us to sometimes overshare or overexpose

ourselves.

Violet whispers, Each of us has a sacred heart that needs

nurturing and protection. This sacred inner sanctum is like a

nursery for our deepest, most authentic self. It’s here that new truths

are born and, when allowed, grow strong before being armored in

rationality and sent out into the world.

Honor the truths being born within you. Create an altar to your

inner sanctum. Or honor it with words or breath or song. Make a

promise to hold space within to grow into your truest self.

Each of us has a sacred heart that needs

nurturing and protection.

Reflection

UNWRAPPING YOUR TRUTH

Violet understands something that most of us have forgotten: it’s

okay to have a public face that is different from the one we wear in

private. In fact, in order to deeply know ourselves, it’s necessary.

You may think that you are being your true, authentic self by fully

expressing each thought and feeling out in the world and sharing,

well, everything. But overexposure will send truth scurrying.

Befriend your truth in the quiet and dark. Become intimate with its

contours and inner dimensions before you carry it out into the light.

You learn yourself one truth at a time.

What lives in your sacred heart that is yours

and yours alone, or shared only with those

closest to you?

Dig past your first answer and maybe even your second — sometimes

we protect our inner sanctums even from ourselves.

What do you show to the world and what do

you hold back? Do you overexpose yourself

under the pretext of honesty?

It’s okay to wear a mask as long as you know what’s behind it.

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Forbidden Fruit

APPLE

Malus pumila

Apple has been given grief since “In the beginning . . . ,” when she

learned that feeding people and teaching them to know themselves

can be a dangerous thing. She became associated with snakes,

shame, and fig leaves, and it’s been all dance lessons, curtsies, and

domestication from there. Apple is the witch of the wild wood forced

to clean up and come in for tea. But a skirt and pumps can’t hide her

knowledge of the circling stars and cycling seasons, the deep loam of

the earth and the warm weep of a summer rain. We may think that

we’ve tamed wild Apple and brought her to heel, but even quasidomesticated,

she still gifts us with the sweetness of understanding

ourselves.

Apple asks, What have you forbidden yourself?

Ritual

STEP INTO SENSATION

What is self? We tend to define it narrowly as our thoughts, our

relationships, or our jobs. But Apple knows that getting to know

ourselves is a multidimensional process. The self begins in our

physical body and everything it can feel, taste, see, hear, and smell.

For this ritual, Apple asks us to focus on sensation.

Start with an apple (or any fruit or vegetable you can eat raw).

Use your senses to investigate its taste, scent, feel, the sound made

when the skin tears open . . . But here’s the trick: Instead of noting

your observations about the apple, note your observations about

yourself observing your interactions with the apple. When you hold

the apple, how and where do you feel it? Does your body focus on the

sensation of the skin on your fingertips or on the weight of the apple

in your hand? When you bite into the apple, where specifically on

your tongue do you taste its flesh? Does the taste disappear when you

swallow? Does your body feel the apple passing down your throat

and into your stomach?

When you observe how your physical being interacts with the

world — even in something as routine as eating an apple — you can

begin to better understand and accept your whole self.

Reflection

HIDDEN DESIRES

We try to tame things that scare us. Self-knowledge is no different.

We hide our deep wisdom, our intuition, our needs and desires,

under a layer of enculturation, refusing to acknowledge what we

consider inappropriate or grandiose. These hidden knowings and

longings are snakes in the garden, the susurrus of knowledge trying

to wake us up.

Do you stifle your body when it wants to move in certain ways?

Do you choke back your voice when it wants to chant or sing? Do you

eat what you’re supposed to instead of what your body craves? Do

you listen to the quiet voice of your intuition?

Do you have thoughts that feel like snakes in

the garden, pointing you toward

embarrassing or dark truths?

(If you’re having trouble finding what’s hidden, start by recalling the

last time you felt ashamed, insecure, or out of integrity with

yourself.)

Knowledge is a knife that cuts both ways. It can be self- conscious

and used to beat yourself into submission. Or it can be self-aware,

used to rejoice in the incredible creation you are. How can you both

know and love yourself?

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Clear the Way

WHITE SAGE

Salvia apiana

Life can be sticky. Members of the Sage clan have been used in a

multitude of cultures for clearing the invisible wisps of energy that

cling, barnacle-like, to people and places. Whether you think of those

energies as your own spent emotions or the leftover emanations of

someone else’s, Sage can help you make your peace and move on.

Sage is sacred because it clears the way, creating a blank canvas and

an open path, allowing you the opportunity to reach your full

potential. Sage’s appearance tells you that a block needs to be cleared

(whether you can name it or not) so you can move forward.

Ritual

SMUDGE

Smudging uses smoke from Sage, Cedar, Palo Santo, Sweetgrass, and

other culturally important plants as a blessing or way of clearing

negative energy. It does for your energy field what hitting the reset

button does for your computer.

The ancients believed that burning released the plant’s spirit so it

could assist us in keeping the air clear of emotions and emanations

of illness. Modern science shows that Sage smoke contains volatile

compounds that kill airborne bacteria . . . and so the ancient and

modern align!

Even if you’ve smudged a zillion times before, smudge regularly.

You can use White Sage or culinary Sage (Salvia officinalis), which

both Celtic and Middle Eastern cultures have used for this purpose.

SMUDGING IS SIMPLE TO DO: Take either a bundle or a loose

piece of Sage, light it, and then tamp out the actual flame so the

leaves are smoldering and smoking. Move the Sage around your body

or home so the smoke touches everything. If you’re smudging a

person, be sure to pass smoke over the palms of the hands, because

that’s where we make contact with other people.

Reflection

LETTING GO

Modern psychology teaches that we need to understand our

emotions before we can release them. In contrast, traditional healing

and shamanic practices offer release without conscious, cognitive

awareness. When you smudge you’re taking advantage of the latter,

letting the smoke lift away whatever isn’t serving your path in life.

Check in with yourself.

Are you willing to release without analyzing?

The Four Elements

When I smudge, I like to use a seashell to catch the

ash and a feather as a fan. This allows me to

represent the four elements in my ritual:

Sage = earth

Feather = air

Flame = fire

Shell = water

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Ripple Outward

SELF-HEAL

Prunella vulgaris

“Pretty, pretty Prunella,” my teacher used to murmur to this tiny

flower with fuzzy leaves and a snapdragon face. Prunella, or Selfheal,

is a wee thing, small in the way of butterflies whose flapping

wings can stir a hurricane half a world away. Like a pebble dropped

in a pond, Self-heal ripples outward, allowing healing to begin. She

reminds you that one properly placed shift, no matter how small,

creates concentric circles of effect, each amplifying change. Self-heal

knows how to find this center from which all else flows. Ripple out

from here, she whispers as she helps you discover the secret of your

own true healing. If Self-heal appears for you, it’s time to drop your

pebble in the pool.

Ritual

CENTERING

Self-heal reminds you to come to your center because, from that

place, a small change can make a significant difference. When your

life is out of balance, you’re rarely operating from your core.

Sometimes you get so stuck in your head that you forget you have a

core at all! Let’s remedy that.

Find a comfortable place to sit.

Take a few deep breaths. With each inhalation, coax your breath

lower until you can feel it landing deep down in your lower lungs.

Now imagine each breath is a small pebble of light dropping down

into your middle. No one drop is particularly large, but drop by

drop they accumulate until your core is filled with light.

Allow the light to ripple outward through your body in a concentric

circle, carrying Self-heal’s gentle changes.

Reflection

WHAT ENERGY DO YOU

RADIATE?

Each of us is a pebble dropped into the pond of our family, friends,

community, and world. Looking beyond your everyday work in the

world, ask yourself:

What ripples emanate from the pebble that is

you?

What is your soul’s purpose here?

What do you dream of becoming?

What energy do you radiate as you walk

through this life?

What energy would you like to radiate?

Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little

bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.

DESMOND TUTU

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Distill Your Self

THYME

Thymus vulgaris

Mythology teaches that a minotaur haunts the labyrinth of your

psyche. As you walk toward your center, this monster prowls and

roars, trying to scare you off your path by revealing your fears and

inadequacies. But you’re never truly alone; you have allies like

Thyme, her scent purifying your thoughts so you can you see what’s

true. Thyme kills off what’s “other,” whether that’s germs and

microbes or thoughts and feelings. This is Thyme’s special magic: she

calls your inner flame to burn the dross, distilling your spirit.

Intuitively she knows you from not you, and she sees you clearly

when you cannot. Thyme is a powerful plant; do not call on her

unless you’re truly ready to be tempered in her flame.

Ritual

UNDERSTAND YOUR

JOURNEY

The labyrinth is an ancient construct meant to mirror our path

through life — the twisting and turnings, the feeling of being so close

to our goal, only to be guided away. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has no

dead ends or wrong turns. Walking it eases the mind and relaxes the

body.

If you have a labyrinth nearby (which you can easily find with an

Internet search including your town name and the word labyrinth),

go out and walk it — you won’t regret it! If you don’t have one near

you, create some quiet for yourself and trace the labyrinth (see

illustration here)

with your finger, letting your eyes follow your

finger as it moves toward the center.

Your movement through a labyrinth is a microcosmic metaphor

for the macrocosm of your life’s journey. Reflect on any thoughts or

feelings that come up as though they concern not just the micromoment

of being in the labyrinth but the macro-movement of your

life path.

Always follow the path all the way to center and then follow the

same path back out. Move at your own pace, pause where you want

to (especially in the center), and layer in any meditative practices

that speak to your soul.

Reflection

RETURNING TO YOUR PATH

Have you seen your true path and turned away? Or have you stepped

onto the path only to become unsure or distracted? Thyme is calling

you back. If you accept, if you whisper “yes” in the wee hours of the

morning, you’ll find Thyme both demanding and true.

So . . . which path will you walk? Which

callings will you consciously deny and which

will you accept?

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Perseverance

DANDELION

Taraxacum officinale

Dandelion is bold, bright, and sunny. She pushes through cracks in

cement and worms her way into the mortar of stone walls.

Cheerfully. Dandelion’s Medicine is perseverance. But not the

perseverance of the martyr. Instead Dandelion is the eternal

optimist: like the Fool in the tarot deck, she’s always happy to set off

on a new adventure in hope of learning more and digging deeper.

She’s not an airy optimist, though, with no grounding in reality. Her

roots are strong. She’s the shaman and the buddha, and her message

is this: happiness is an inner landscape that has little to do with

where you’re planted. When you’re ready to make your own joy —

whatever life throws at you — call on Dandelion.

Ritual

VISIT WITH DANDELION

Most plants need very specific climates to thrive, but Dandelion

adapts to a wide range of environments, which means that no matter

where you are (and no matter which season you’re in), you’re likely

to find Dandelion hanging about. If you’re feeling the pull of

Dandelion Medicine, head out for a walk and see if you can spot this

golden weed in the wild — urban or rural, it doesn’t matter!

(Don’t feel like walking? Call on Dandelion’s cheerful

perseverance to get yourself moving.)

On your walk, see if you can find Dandelion’s sunny face. If you

want, smile back at her . . . you might find yourself suddenly a tiny

bit happier. Notice where she’s growing and what she has to

overcome to thrive there:

Is she standing tall or hugging the ground?

Is she in sun or in shade?

Does she grow through soil or rock or

concrete?

What can you learn from your observations?

Finally, notice whether you come home from your visit with

Dandelion feeling a bit more able to handle the ups and downs of

modern life.

Reflection

LEARNING TO ADAPT

DANDELION DOES THIS AMAZING THING: when she grows

on a lawn that’s mowed regularly, she stays short, so her flowers pass

under the mower’s blades. How can you, like Dandelion, adapt to the

world around you? What little change can you make that will allow

you to thrive in your current situation? If your mood turns sour and

you’re unable to maintain Dandelion’s cheerfulness, ask yourself

whether you need a mood adjustment or whether you’re pushing up

against an obstacle that’s taking you off your true path. Remember,

perseverance isn’t about putting up with untenable situations; it’s

about knowing the difference between that which is difficult but

doable and that which is simply unhealthy for your soul.

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Tap Your Resources

BURDOCK

Arctium lappa

You know the burrs that get matted into your dog’s coat in autumn?

The ones that prick your fingers and refuse to come untangled?

That’s Burdock. She’s a tireless companion, and, yes, she sticks with

you, cheering you on when you’re running low on steam (or selfesteem!)

or recovering from a lingering ailment. Burdock’s a

nurturer, building you up with gentle sweetness and asking nothing

in return. Her taproot runs deep; once she sets her sights on

breaking up crusty soil or shifting old habits, she’s persistently

relentless. She’s the friend of your childhood, the one you could

always count on to have your back. Trust me, she says, all will be

well.

Ritual

RECONNECT WITH YOUR

INNER FLAME

Burdock helps you find strength when you think you have none,

warming you from the inside and nourishing deeply. In this way

she’s a hearth fire: she offers gentle heat, warm light, and the

promise of a home-cooked meal.

To reconnect with your inner flame — your own sustenance — start

by lighting a candle. Stare into the flame, and imagine a small

spark lighting deep in your core. See the candle’s flame mirrored

within as a glowing ember.

Breathe gently, letting your inner flame grow with each inhalation

and shrink to an ember with each exhalation. Inhale, exhale.

Inhale, exhale.

After you have this visualization down, add a sense of warmth.

Feel your innards warming on the inhalation and cooling on the

exhalation.

Practice for 1 minute at the start, and work up to 10 minutes of

practice. Know that, like Burdock, each breath is nourishing you

deep within.

Reflection

FIND YOUR HEARTH FIRE

We’re not always kind to those who love us best and nurture us

deeply. It’s easy to neglect, accidentally or cruelly, the friend or loved

one who’s always present and never demanding. Who do you count

on when you’re feeling burned out and your soul is malnourished?

This person is your hearth fire.

Once a year the ancient Celts would extinguish their individual

hearth fires and relight them from a communal flame. Does your

hearth fire need to be tended or relit?

One of the most beautiful gifts in the world is the gift of

encouragement. When someone encourages you, that

person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise

never have crossed on your own.

JOHN O’DONOHUE, ETERNAL ECHOES

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Crack Open

ROSE

Rosa species

Yes, that, Rose sighs as she contemplates Rainer Maria Rilke’s take

on relationships. Rose adores poetry, but despite popular belief, she

simply can’t countenance mushy love. Rose knows that to experience

love in full, you need to be a strong vessel while at the same time

cracking open. A contradiction? No more a contradiction than

flowers and thorns, murmurs Rose. Rose reminds you to embrace

dualities and say “both/and” instead of “either/or.”

Once the realization is accepted that even between the

closest human beings infinite distances exist, a wonderful

living side by side can grow, if they succeed in loving the

distance between them which makes it possible for each

to see the other whole against the sky.

RAINER MARIA RILKE, LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET

Ritual

WEAR YOUR THORNS

Like Rose, we have been cultivated for beauty. Male or female, we

tend our appearance, choosing clothing colors that complement our

complexion, styling our hair, and adorning ourselves with jewelry or

makeup. And, like hybrid roses, as we cultivate ourselves it’s easy to

become rather thornless.

Add a layer of thorns to your primping by incorporating a symbol

of protection into your attire. Maybe it’s a color that acts as a

warning; in nature, bright red and black are warning colors (think:

black leather jacket or red scarf). Maybe it’s protective jewelry: Celtic

cultures wore amber for protection, and some Native American

tribes wore turquoise. If you have long hair, try adding hair sticks —

symbolic weaponry — to your updo. (Occasionally you can find hair

sticks made from porcupine quills; you’ll feel like Rose, with your

very own thorns!) Notice how your awareness of these thorns makes

it easier to walk the world with an open heart.

Reflection

SEE YOURSELF WHOLE

Often we’re much better at loving others than we are at loving

ourselves. The reason for this, according to Rose? We’re too close to

ourselves and so are constantly examining our own minutiae. How to

break the habit? Look at the big picture.

What kind of friend are you?

How do you care for, nurture, or protect the

people you love?

How do you care for, nurture, or protect

yourself?

What are you exceptionally good at?

If your soul had a color, what color would it

be?

When we can’t see ourselves whole, we pick and pull at our tiny

imperfections, turning them into gaping wounds and fatal flaws.

Zoom back! See yourself “whole against the sky.”

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Create Space

RASPBERRY

Rubus species

Raspberry is Rose’s younger sister: sweet and wild, but also steadyhanded.

She loves the earth and its smallest creatures, so her

ebullient branches twist and crawl, creating nests for birds and

sanctuaries for snails. She’ll rock wee babes and scurry about with

toddlers, rarely giving in to the gravitas that permeates most

members of her family. Laughter floats through her leaves as she

flexes and twists. You too can be like this! she says, demonstrating

pliability earned by drinking deeply of mineral-rich soil. Sit with her

and she’ll share with you the secret of weaving space and creating

strong containers for the emptiness that new life needs in order to

thrive. When Raspberry appears, look to how you are (or aren’t!)

nurturing space within.

Ritual

MAKE SPACE WITHOUT

Nurturing space within yourself often begins with a physical space

and a structured experience of it. That structured space allows us to

enjoy a regular ritual of reflection and holding space for new energy

and ideas. Your structured space needn’t be large or expensive to

create; it simply needs to be yours. What might this look like?

A special chair with a side table for tea and reflection

A corner in the garage or basement turned into an art studio

A bit of garden to plant as you wish

A clear spot on top of the fridge where your altar is out of reach of

tiny hands

You get your intuition back when you make space for it,

when you stop the chattering of the rational mind.

ANNE LAMOTT, BIRD BY BIRD

Reflection

HOLD SPACE WITHIN

We often don’t make space for ourselves in our daily lives or create a

structure that lets us grow and fully express our dreams. Before

creating in the world, Raspberry teaches, we must learn to hold space

within.

Is there room for you in your mind and heart,

or are your thoughts filled with the needs and

schedules of others?

Do you have guilt or other toxic thoughts

popping up when you contemplate claiming

space — mental, physical, or emotional — for

yourself?

Are you fearful of taking up too much space,

intellectually or physically?

Picture your creative womb as a place of starlight or forest loam, of

ocean waves or sunlit meadows. Use whatever metaphor speaks to

you. Step into this internal landscape. Notice its natural edges: the

place where the trees end or the ocean recedes. Trace these

boundaries, affirming that you hold the space within sacred and safe.

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Heart’s Home

HAWTHORN

Crataegus species

Hawthorn remembers a time when local gods watched over knolls

and wells, frolicking and making mischief in her branches. She

remembers her limbs hung with strands of beads glittering in the sun

and scraps of fabric fluttering in the wind like prayer flags: offerings

to the land itself and to the gods who kept alive the vital conduit

between spirit and matter. Those days are mostly past, but Hawthorn

holds the portals open, knowing these inner connections provide true

nourishment to keep the heart whole. If Hawthorn appears for you,

strengthen your heart and guard it from homesickness by tending

the connections between the spirit realms and material world.

Ritual

ANCHORING THE LAND

Many landscapes around the globe lost their genius loci — spirit of

place — when natural landmarks were removed to make way for

roads, buildings, and other human endeavors. You can reanimate the

genius loci in the landscapes you call home with a simple

visualization; do it as often as you feel called.

Begin by either walking or imagining the boundaries of your

space, whether you define it as your land, your neighborhood, your

house, or the contours of your fifth-floor apartment. When you have

a clear idea of the breadth of space you’re anchoring, identify the

umbilicus — the physical and energetic center — of that space. From

this spot, imagine a golden cord dropping into the earth, sinking

until it roots itself in the molten core at the earth’s center. Feel the

vibrancy, the “aliveness,” of this connection.

Next, send a silver cord from the same central point up to the

heavens, allowing the energies of moonlight and starshine to infuse

your space with light and peace.

Your space is now anchored to earth and sky, a part of the larger

whole.

Reflection

CONNECTING TO HOME

In times past you wouldn’t have wandered terribly far from the place

where you were born and raised. The world is different now, and you

have the glorious opportunity to call many places home. And yet . . .

your heart sometimes longs for a landscape vastly different from the

one in which you find yourself. If the answer to the following

questions is no, use the ritual above connect.

Are you connected to the place where you

live?

Can your heart call it home?

Can you feel the gentle pulses of the earth?

The Faerie Tree

In Ireland Hawthorn is used to create hedgerows

that form the boundaries of pastures. These

hedgerows create a patchwork of contiguous

spaces, each energetically unique and held by

Hawthorn’s thorns.

Hawthorn hedgerows are different from the solitary

Hawthorn. A singular Hawthorn, or Faerie Tree, is a

portal to the spirit realm. It nurtures your

connection to the Other World, feeding your soul the

food of dreams and stories. It’s bad luck to cut down

a Faerie Tree; if you do, you damage this necessary

connection with the collective unconscious.

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Rewild

PLANTAIN

Plantago major

If you let her, Plantain will share stories of wagon trains and ocean

crossings and Alexander’s shenanigans in Egypt. Given a chance,

she’ll make a traveler of you, too, drawing you gently out of your

comfort zone, moving you from safe to the edge of the wild, pushing

the boundaries of “civilized behavior,” and laughing at your scruples.

It will start with a small thing — Plantain might offer a leaf to ease a

sting or the itch of poison ivy. Just chew it and spit it on the bite,

she’ll encourage. “Great Aunt Hilda would have a heart attack,” you

think, while your inner wild child smiles gleefully at this baby step

away from “civilized.”

Ritual

REMEMBER THE BASICS

Remember when you were a kid and you’d lie on the ground, feeling

the grass tickle your back and the sun warm your face? Remember

when rolling, log-like, down a hill was the perfect afternoon activity?

Plantain doesn’t ask you to step away from your true self and into

some unknown version of you. She asks instead that you dust off the

unruly and slightly wild but deeply connected side of yourself that

gets pushed into the background when you’re busy being an adult.

She reminds you of your childlike wonder and joy in the basics.

Lie on the ground and let the earth support you. Feel the sun on

your face and sense the clouds chasing shadows across your closed

eyelids. Remember the joy in this simplicity; this is a place to which

you can always return.

Reflection

DRAWING OUT

Plantain’s special magic is pulling out what’s stuck. She’ll draw out

feelings in much the same way that she removes splinters and insect

stingers. If you were to sit down with Plantain and let her cradle your

soul, what would happen?

What shards would she pluck from your

heart?

What poison would she draw from your

spirit?

What pain or discomfort would she dig out

from your body?

Are you willing to let Plantain draw this

suffering from you? If not, why?

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out

of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is

familiar.

THICH NHAT HANH

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Release Rigidity

VALERIAN

Valeriana officinalis

Valerian stands tall in the garden, her stem stiff to compensate for a

hollow core. But don’t let her upright stance fool you: Valerian

dreams of being a cat. In her efforts to become more mammalian,

she’s evolved an animal-like oil that acts as perfume to those with

feline proclivities (while smelling like sweaty gym socks to the rest of

us!).

Why a cat, you ask? Valerian’s been watching felines and has come to

the gleeful conclusion that cats are rather shameless and more

content because of it. She asks you to aspire to a life free of selfflagellation

and daily denigrations. Valerian begs you to relax — your

armored body, your stiff thoughts, your rigid emotions — and then

join her for a (shameless) afternoon nap.

Ritual

REST

VALERIAN WANTS ONLY ONE THING FROM YOU: an

afternoon nap (especially if you have the idea that naps are lazy,

languorous, or too luxurious for you to indulge in!). Find a sunny

spot and curl up for 10 to 20 minutes, which is the ideal length of

time for napping because it allows your body to deeply relax without

your mind dropping into REM sleep.

Cat Nap

Research has found that when we are left to our

own devices, humans do a big sleep at night and a

second shorter sleep in the afternoon. So not

napping is actually unnatural; you are hardwired for

an afternoon siesta. If you know you’re going to have

a late night, preemptive napping (for up to 2 hours)

is the way to go. And, as with all things, one size does

not fit all: some people are simply not good nappers.

Listen to your body!

Reflection

EXPLORING SHAME

Shame is the feeling you get when you behave in a way that’s

antithetical to your ideals. We’ve all experienced big shames,

necessary learning moments that allow us to fine-tune our moral

compass. But when we allow our thinking to become overly rigid or

self-righteous, we create a million corrosive small shames.

Think about when you last felt ashamed:

What ideal did you not quite live up to?

Looking back, was your shame attached to

unnecessarily rigid thinking?

Is there a way to be kinder, while still being

true, to yourself?

Shame is the dream killer, because shame (or the

possibility of shame) amplifies our fear of fear, keeps us

from contributing, and short circuits our willingness to

explore.

SETH GODIN

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Resurrection

CALIFORNIA POPPY

Eschscholzia californica

Sometimes the day needs to disappear so you can sink into the lush

blackness of night. Sometimes your eyes, whether open or shut, need

the inky darkness of forgetting. Golden Poppy lives in both sun and

shadow. She opens her petals in daylight and closes them when night

comes, giving in easily, knowing resurrection will come with the

dawn. It’s okay to sleep without dreaming, Poppy soothes, to fall

deep and far. Have no fear. Day will come, and you’ll once again

stretch and unfurl.

Ritual

TRUE DARK

When was the last time you let yourself go? Released your day--

walking personality and slipped fully into night? Forgot the rules of

being yourself?

We no longer know true dark. Lights and electronics glow

through the night and the stars are obscured. Still, with a little effort

we can get a good approximation of darkness.

Choose a night to go dark. Turn off all the

lights and all electronics. If you have

streetlights near your windows, draw the

curtains. Don’t use flashlights or electric

lamps; instead, light a candle or use batteryoperated

tea lights.

Your Circadian Rhythms

Exposure to light at night suppresses your body’s

production of melatonin, the hormone secreted by

your pineal gland to regulate your circadian

rhythms.

Reflection

MEETING YOUR NIGHTTIME

SELF

As you let go of artificial light and step into true dark, observe

yourself:

Do your thoughts change when you’re in true

dark?

Are your movements different?

Do you find yourself wanting to be more

truthful or less?

Do you find yourself wanting to be more

sensual or less?

What is the rhythm of your conversations

when the light is low?

Are you wanting sleep earlier than usual?

This is your nighttime self, a self you may have rarely met. Breathe

into her and see how she complements the daytime self you know so

well.

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Between Dreams

MUGWORT

Artemisia vulgaris

Mugwort lives in the space between deep rest and waking. She’s the

daughter of moonlight and protector of those who travel the

dreamtime. Mugwort curls around your mind, whispering your

dreams into words and images that you can clutch as you climb levels

of consciousness and return to your waking self. While Mugwort’s

constant vigil makes her a bit waspish and bitter, she knows the

many layered worlds and can guide you through the serpentine paths

of the collective unconscious. Call on her to guide you through

dreams or journey work. If Mugwort appears to you, she’s calling you

to dip into these subtler realms.

Ritual

REMEMBERING DREAMS

Before sleep, sit on the edge of your bed. Plant your feet on the

ground, anchoring into the earth. Stretch tall and imagine starlight

reaching for your crown. Set the intention to remember your dreams

and call on Mugwort to assist you. If you’re able, slip a fresh sprig or

some dried Mugwort (in a pouch or wrapped in a cloth or a tissue)

into your pillowcase.

Put a journal by your bed, opened to a fresh page. If you wake in

the night, jot down anything you remember without turning on a

light (your handwriting will be messy but you’ll lose the dream more

quickly if you leave the darkness).

In the morning, before you’re fully awake, lie in bed with your

eyes closed and pull your dreams into your conscious mind. Reach

for your journal and write them down in the present tense, as though

they are currently happening. It may take a few days of having the

journal by the bed to encourage your subconscious to carry your

dreams to the surface. Be patient with yourself!

Reflection

DIFFERENTIATING

DREAMSCAPES

Dreams have different textures, which indicate to the initiated

whether a dream is a simple emptying of the unconscious mind or a

passage into a different state of consciousness. Think back on your

dreaming life:

Can you remember dreams that felt different

from your usual dreams?

Perhaps the color was brighter or the sequences more realistic.

Maybe you heard voices clearly or felt like you received a message.

Maybe you inhabited a body not your own so fully that you could feel

the texture of fabric against your skin.

Know that there are different spaces within which you dream.

Track their contours and particularities. As you begin to differentiate

dream states, you’re creating a map of your nighttime journeys that

will assist you as you further explore Mugwort’s mysteries.

Nightmares

Bringing lucidity to your dreamtime can help lay to

rest recurring night fears. Before you go to bed,

choose a superpower that will help you during the

nightmare. Picture yourself wielding the

superpower you’ve chosen. Tell yourself you can call

on this superpower while you’re dreaming. Need an

example? If you have dreams of falling, give yourself

the power of flight. If you have chase dreams, give

yourself the power of speed then turn the chase

around and become the chaser.

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Cyclicality

ELDERBERRY

Sambucus nigra

Elderberry traditionally lives at the center of the garden, telling

stories of winters past and springs yet to come. Though often

scraggly and a questionable centerpiece, her three faces embody the

Goddess: Maiden in the spring, abundant with white petals; Mother

in the summer, when wine-red berries adorn her branches; and

Crone in autumn, when her leaves are falling away (she looks quite

dead in winter — all bare branches and hollow bones). Elderberry’s

yearly evolution teaches you to dance with the closely twined cycles

of life, death, and rebirth. Wherever you are in your life, she reminds

you that acceptance of life’s cyclicality is the key to earning your spot

at the garden’s center.

Ritual

THE WISDOM OF RETURN

In the modern world, time can feel quite linear. We march from birth

to death, forgetful of the the ancient wisdom of return. Living

cyclically — with an awareness of the cycles that form the foundation

of our existence — can change our perspective in profound ways.

OUR BREATH IS OUR FIRST CYCLE: inhale, exhale. Next is the

cycle of day and night, from dawn to dusk and back again. Beyond

that is the 28-day cycle of the moon, and on and on.

Choose a cycle to celebrate. You might, for example, greet the sun

each day and send her off in the evening, or you might commit to

standing outside for a few minutes each night observing the

movements of the moon. A cycle includes the next beginning, so if

you celebrate dawn and dusk, celebrate the following sunrise as well.

If you are a moon watcher, commit to following the moon past the

beginning of her next cycle so you can witness repetition as she

comes round again.

Reflection

THE UPWARD-CLIMBING

SPIRAL

OUR EVOLUTION IS AN UPWARD-CLIMBING SPIRAL: we

repeat lessons, gaining wisdom as we go. But if we hop from thing to

thing, never repeating, declaring things done after one go-round, we

deny ourselves this growth, this ability to evolve into the goddess at

the center of the garden.

Do you take the time to dive deep, allowing

cycles of repetition to enhance your

understanding?

Do you allow new knowledge to take root in

your hands and your heart through practice,

or do you hold knowledge only in your head

(denying yourself true learning and wisdom)?

It is odd that we never question the feasibility of a

football team practicing long hours for one game; yet in

writing we rarely give ourselves the space for practice.

NATALIE GOLDBERG, WRITING DOWN THE BONES

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Fortitude

LADY’S MANTLE

Alchemilla vulgaris

Lady’s Mantle will be there when you’re ready to wrap a blanket

around your shoulders, call in her protection, and enter the dark

forest. She whispers, You can make it through this lifetime. Your

soul is whole, and no matter what pains or abuse the physical world

throws at you, you have integrity of spirit. She’s particularly wise in

cases of trauma, murmuring the names of the roads that will carry

you through and out of those dark woods. Lady’s Mantle doesn’t

demand; she waits, knowing you’ll find both bravery and fortitude

within. She never loses faith in your strength, and with her help,

neither will you.

Ritual

AND THEN?

To begin to build your fortitude, play the “And Then?” game by

taking an imaginary journey through your own worst fears.

I have to pause here and reassure you that imagining scary things

does not call them into being! While your thoughts do shape your

reality, it’s because thought directs action, not because mere thinking

shifts the foundations of the universe.

Back to your journey through the forest of your fears: This is both

scary and enlightening. On the one hand, you will be imagining your

worst nightmares; on the other hand, you’ll see that you have the

skills and fortitude you need to make this journey. Ready?

What’s your biggest fear? Is it that a loved one will die? Or you’ll

lose your house or job? Maybe you’re afraid of never finding love at

all or of your partner having an affair. Whatever this thing is,

imagine it’s happened. Then ask yourself, “And then?”

For instance, you might dread your mother’s death. Imagine this

has happened. Ask yourself, “And then?”

“And then I can’t stop crying.”

“And then?”

Keep repeating “And then?” as you unpack your fears and

unspool possible futures. The game isn’t over until you’re out of the

woods and your answers no longer terrify you.

Reflection

FACE YOUR SHADOW

When we avoid our own shadows, it’s often because we feel we lack

the strength to face them. We believe that they will overpower our

light, or that our life will change irrevocably . . . and we doubt we

have the fortitude to deal with that.

Lady’s Mantle knows this isn’t true. She knows unexplored dark

spaces can become black holes, sucking at our happiness. Her faith

in our strength is absolute.

Do you doubt your ability to visit the dark

forest and come out stronger and more

whole?

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Finding Grace

STARFLOWER

Borago officinalis

Some call this plant by her more common name — Borage — but she

prefers Starflower (and wouldn’t you?). Her blue star-shaped petals

shine among the garden’s more usual yellows and pinks, shimmering

yet understated, like an old-time movie starlet. Starflower shares a

timeless philosophy with these legends of the silver screen: Grace

isn’t something you keep for yourself, she tells us. Grace, Starflower

knows, is a gift you give over and over again to the world around you.

If you’re thoughtful, caring, and true, grace develops a patina over

time, becoming wisdom, cradling those lucky enough to be in your

presence. How can you let a little more grace into your life?

Ritual

GOING FALLOW

Once Starflower graces our garden, it seems she’s always there. But

she’s not a perennial. Each year she lets herself go to seed so she can

return in the year that follows. Like Starflower, we all need time to go

fallow — time when we’re nothing but seeds of potential lying

dormant in the earth, when nothing is expected from us and we have

no task but simply being.

Most of us have such busy lives that we have to schedule

everything, even our downtime. Pull out your calendar and designate

an hour a week as fallow time. It’s this downtime that will allow you,

like Starflower, to truly shine.

Why Put It in Your Calendar?

This date with yourself is as important as picking up

your sister from the airport or going to the dentist.

When you schedule time to go fallow, you’re making

your self-care time as important as everything else

in your week.

Reflection

SHINE IN THE SHARING

We all have gifts. Whether yours is being able to connect people with

exactly whom they need to know, baking the perfect crème brûlée, or

understanding the tax code, these gifts are meant to be shared. You

shine in the sharing. If you find yourself trivializing or unable to

appreciate your unique gifts, look to Starflower to find the gentle

courage to shine.

Are you gracing the world with your special

skills?

Remember, having faith means recognizing the value of

what you are here to contribute to the world and

allowing your actions to be grounded in that truth.

MARIE FORLEO

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Tough Love

LAVENDER

Lavandula angustifolia

People think Lavender is soft, useful for shaping quiet space and

calming rowdy children. But beneath her powdery scent is a hint of

menthol. Smell it? That bite at the back of your palate? While

Lavender appears to be the down-to-earth and gracious grandmother

who’ll soothe your soul and sing you to sleep, you’re living a rare and

blessed life if that’s all you ever need from her. If circumstances

should change, call on Lavender. She handles emergencies with

military precision, keeping a cool head and a stout heart. She’d make

a fine spy, field nurse, or leader of the resistance, cloaking her steely

strength under a sloppy gray bun and the familiar scent of summer.

When Lavender appears, it’s time to ground yourself and dig into the

task at hand.

Ritual

FOOT BATHING

Foot baths are more than mere luxury — they open the blood vessels,

helping to keep things flowing both literally and metaphorically.

Treat yourself to a warm foot bath with some lavender flowers or a

bit of lavender essential oil.

A warm, scented foot bath evokes Lavender’s nurturing side. If

you want to experience her true might, though, set up both a warm

foot bath and a cold one, side by side. Alternate your feet between

the two: warm for 60 seconds, cold for 10 seconds, and repeat. This

alternation causes your blood vessels to contract and expand, and it’s

an excellent healing remedy. It also illustrates Lavender at her finest:

healing even when it doesn’t feel quite like pampering.

Mixing Water and Oil

Remember the saying ”Water and oil don’t mix”? To

keep Lavender (or any other) essential oil from

floating on the surface of your bathwater, mix it with

mineral or sea salt. Just 3 to 5 drops of essential oil

in

1⁄

4

cup of mineral or sea salt is enough for a foot

bath. Mash it around with a fork or in a mortar and

pestle and then add the mixture to the bathwater.

Reflection

DO YOU COOL OR INFLAME?

How do you handle the ups and downs of

daily life?

Are you cool-headed and empathetic? Or do

your own emotions rise up, keeping you from

helping yourself or others?

Do you step in or walk away?

Do you thrive on drama, inflaming situations

simply to watch them burn?

Lavender approaches every emergency with the same question: what

can I do to create calm on every level — physical, mental, emotional,

and spiritual? How can you bring this Lavender lesson into your life?

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What Needs Mending?

COMFREY

Symphytum officinale

Comfrey loves to mend — skin, bones, soil, there’s so much to do!

She dives deep, magicking molecules, rebuilding broken chains,

restacking cells into tissue and tissue into muscle. This is joyous

work for Comfrey, so she tends to work quickly . . . sometimes too

quickly! Her boldness can border on recklessness, and in her madscientist

exuberance she can get ahead of herself and forget first

steps. Comfrey is a reminder to work systematically, starting with the

deepest layers and working your way out. Even creative endeavors

need to be built on a solid foundation. If Comfrey appears, ask what

needs mending, and then pause to assess and plan before diving in.

Ritual

BREAKING APART

The flip side of mending is breaking. We’re trained to appear strong

and often feel guilt or shame when we break. But unmaking is as

much a part of the cycle as making . . . and breaking can be incredibly

liberating (if you’ve swung a sledgehammer during a home

renovation project, you know this is true).

Find something you can (safely!) smash, hurl, stomp on, or

pummel. Do it!

Allow yourself to scream (or at least grunt loudly!).

Nothing like that in your house? Beat up your bed with a pillow!

What you’re going for is the moment when your mind stops

chattering and you simply release.

Reflection

DISSOLUTION

It’s easier to break something than it is to repair it. And yet there’s a

rare release in breaking — in dissolution — that we seldom let

ourselves feel. Think of the caterpillar that turns into DNA soup

during its time in the cocoon so it can emerge as a butterfly.

What if you knew without a doubt that you

could break and be remade?

What if you could find joy in the breaking?

What possibilities might this open up in you?

When real metamorphosis has begun, we run into a

welter of “dissolving” experiences. We may feel that

everything is falling apart, that we’re losing everyone

and everything. Dissolving feels like death, because it is

— it’s the demise of the person you’ve been.

MARTHA BECK

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A Spoonful of Sugar

MARSHMALLOW

Althaea officinalis

There’s nothing Marshmallow would love more than to spend time in

your kitchen. She’ll lean over your shoulder offering suggestions for

adorning your salads and thickening your soups. There’s no reason

for foul-tasting anything, including Medicine! declares the Grande

Dame of dessert. She should know, having been at it since around

2000 BCE. (Egypt, dear, she’ll tell you, a lovely place. I fed pharaohs

and gods.) But Marshmallow’s not one to dwell in the past; she takes

too much joy in bringing ease to the present. And there’s much work

to do: Digestion these days! she tsks as she sets about creating her

latest confection. Call on Marshmallow when you need to soften and

rediscover sweetness.

Ritual

CONSCIOUS COOKERY

Any act can be ritual if done with intention. Marshmallow

remembers the days when baking and medicine making weren’t far

removed from each other. In honor of her long history in the kitchen,

create a dish that’s deliciously nourishing. As you chop and blend,

focus on how this food will nurture those who eat it. Allow yourself to

picture the vibrancy that will come with each delectable bite.

Creating Confections

There’s a reason Marshmallow confections were

the province of pharaohs in ancient times: they were

time consuming and difficult to make. Unlike modern

Marshmallow revival recipes (which call for only a

small amount of Marshmallow’s root added, as a

nod to the traditional use of the plant), the oldest

recipes call for the sap of the fresh plant, which then

underwent a multiday process before being eaten.

Reflection

SOFTEN AND SOOTHE

Marshmallow’s magic is to soften and soothe. When the edges of life

are too much, when you feel raw and scraped, picture Marshmallow

growing in the moist soil of a wetland, water eddying gently,

softening hard earth and loosening what’s been stuck.

What can Marshmallow help you soften?

What rough edges are rubbing at your spirit?

Marshmallow is not scared of processes — she knows sometimes

there are many steps to a recipe, and that the best flavors are created

in layers, step by slow step.

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Pocket of Protection

YARROW

Achillea millefolium

In older times, Yarrow traveled with warriors. While her official job

was staunching wounds — keeping the insides in and the outsides

out — her presence brought bravery to the soldiers she kissed. Today

she has much the same task: Yarrow assists you in keeping your

boundaries, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. She creates

personal pockets of protection so you can slow down, gather your

strength, and find your courage. Yarrow reminds you that

boundaries are not just for keeping the outside from coming in but

also for keeping yourself from leaking out, letting thought and

emotions run rampant in the world. Yarrow will create a bubble of

protection — a bit of sacred space — within which you can regroup,

regenerate, and re-create yourself.

Ritual

REESTABLISH PERSONAL

SPACE

In order to ask Yarrow to hold a little space for us, we need to know

what space we’re asking her to hold!

Close your eyes and pretend you’re inside a glass bubble (some

people would call this glass bubble your aura; you can think of it that

way or stick with “glass bubble” if that’s more comfortable for your

mind). Run your fingers along the inside of your bubble, feeling the

edges of your body’s energy. Willingly suspend your disbelief and

trust your fingers!

Is your bubble smooth and whole? Are there

areas that feel in need of shoring up?

If you feel a gap in your bubble (your aura), call on Yarrow to help

you re-create the boundaries of your personal space.

Reflection

CAN YOU SAY NO?

Yarrow has enthusiastically adapted to modern times; she helps us

all establish personal space and hold boundary lines. Remember,

though, that she’s a partner, not a guard dog. In order for Yarrow to

do her job, you have to learn to say one magic word: no. These two

letters can be tough to spit out! If you’re concerned about being

“nice” or cooperative, you may find yourself saying yes (or maybe)

when your heart is actually saying no. How does saying no sit with

you? Are you able to say no to being overextended and protect the

dreamy little bubble Yarrow offers you?

In one healing charm for gathering Yarrow, the healer

says the plant is being gathered so their hand will be

more brave, their foot more swift, and their speech like

the beams of the sun.

SHARON PAICE MACLEOD, CELTIC MYTH AND RELIGION

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Just Be

OATS

Avena sativa

Shhhhhh, shhhhhh, shhhhh, Oat murmurs as you run your hands

over her tops. Shhhhh, shhhhh, she says as the wind picks up, trying

to ruffle Oat’s ever-present calm. If the breeze continues she’ll gently

chide, Chiii, chiii, chiii, but that’s all the reaction you’ll get as she

rubs shoulders with her sisters, laughing quietly and murmuring that

all really is well despite what the wind, the radio waves, or the

Internet has to say. When you slip into stress, Oat smiles gently and

runs her fingers through your hair: Stop grappling endlessly with

your thoughts, she whispers. Soften to the wind, be open to the sky,

and ground yourself in earth to know the truth of this one precious

moment.

Ritual

OAT BATHING

Get to know Oat a bit more intimately with an Oat scrubby or bath!

Oat softens your skin, and she’ll do the same for the rough edges of

your nerves.

TO MAKE A SCRUBBY: Take a handful of rolled oats (the kind

you use for cooking) and put them in the center of a washcloth. Pull

the sides of the washcloth up over the oats to make a bundle and

close the top with a rubber band. Use this scrubby the next time you

shower.

TO MAKE A BATH: Use a blender or coffee grinder to powder 1

cup of rolled oats. If you have dried rose, lavender, or chamomile

flowers, powder these as well and add them to the powdered oats. If

you’d like to add essential oil, mix 3 to 5 drops of the oil into

1⁄

4

cup

of mineral or sea salt and add this mixture to the oat mix. If your oats

and herbs are fully powdered, add them to warm bathwater. If your

blender did not achieve a fine powder, put the mixture in a muslin

bag or bundle up in a washcloth (as above) and float this in the tub to

avoid clogging the drain. Slip into the bath and relax.

Reflection

GOING SILENT

Can you just be?

Can you let go of expectations and the need to

know?

Can you release the quest for answers to your

questions or conclusions to your stories?

This is Oat Medicine. In a way it’s quite like meditation — the

floating in a soft space, letting your nerves relax. And it takes

practice. Can you gift yourself a minute of this softness? Two?

Twenty-five?

See if your mind rebels at the thought of going silent.

Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves

away and become something better, it’s about befriending

who we are.

PEMA CHÖDRÖN, THE WISDOM OF NO ESCAPE

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Light in the Darkness

ST. JOHN’S WORT

Hypericum perforatum

Truth? St. John’s Wort is scraggly and scrappy, completely lacking

the charisma one would expect from an herb reputed to tame

depression in a single bound. But that’s her beauty — she’s a

magician and a thief, not the belle of the ball. She knows how to steal

the heat from summer’s solstice sun, hold it in her flowers, and make

it last all winter long. This is her greatest trick: bringing light and

warmth to your darkness by helping to re-create the electric leap of

synapses firing and energy moving along. Call on St. John’s Wort

when you need a sip of sunshine so you can find your light in the

darkness.

Ritual

SIPPING SUNSHINE

Like St. John’s Wort, you can store sunshine! Stand facing the sun

with your eyes closed and your feet planted firmly on the earth. Feel

the light coming through your eyelids. Breathe the sunshine in

through your nose and taste it on your tongue. Repeat often, allowing

the sun’s fire to stoke your inner fires.

A Feast of Radiance

Nicole Cody, who learned from Aboriginal elders in

Kimberley, Australia, shares her first experience of

“eating the sun” on her blog, Cauldrons and

Cupcakes:

It sounded silly. Eating the sun.

I stood there with my eyes closed but I couldn’t

understand how to eat energy.

Someone lightly smacked my arm. Little Aunty

chastised me in a way that needed no

translation. Self-consciously I opened my mouth

and found that I literally could eat the sun. I

could feel that golden light as I swallowed it

down.

Reflection

WINTER MEDICINE

Modern culture demands we be our same selves day in and out,

summer and winter. But our bodies know otherwise. Our bodies

remember a time when winter was for staying close to the hearth

fires. St. John’s Wort is a solstice plant, blooming near the summer

solstice and perfect Medicine for the winter.

What Medicine do you need in the winter

months?

How do you keep the sun in your spirit when

the nights are long?

A Seasonal Note

Many people need to begin tending to their winter

selves as early as the autumn equinox, when the

balance of dark and light shifts and nights begin to

become incrementally longer.

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Spirit into Matter

TRILLIUM

Trillium erectum

Trillium is a rare jewel brightening the forest floor, quietly watching

the darkness. She’s not waiting for ghouls or ghosts — she fears

nothing in these dim-lit woods. No, Trillium is waiting on the first

fleeting sparks of new life. Come, she says, drawing you deeper into

the consciousness of the trees, let’s see what shall be born!

While she’s been awaiting births for millennia, Trillium’s recently

developed her invisibility, quietly blending into leaf mulch and fern

patches, the dark places where ideas are incubated. On the edge of

the abyss of all and nothing, she’s ready to ease the transition from

spirit to matter. Trillium helps with births; she often sees the first

spark when other eyes still see darkness.

Ritual

NURTURE NEW IDEAS

Daydreams are like seeds — we have so many, but few take root. How

do you breathe life into an idea and create a new way of being in the

world? From inception, the new seed needs to be nurtured or it will

dry up and wither. So when you’re contemplating a fresh idea, give it

some love. Envision it fully formed and living in the world. Then

create a space for it to grow: a blank canvas, a folder on your

desktop, or a cleared side table with an image representing this

glorious thing that is to come.

Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made

manifest. And the only way an idea can be made manifest

in our world is through collaboration with a human

partner. It is only through a human’s efforts that an idea

can be escorted out of the ether and into the realm of the

actual.

ELIZABETH GILBERT, BIG MAGIC

Reflection

SEED TIME

Oftentimes we have to cultivate the dark womb of self to foster the

evolution of an idea or new self-awareness. This growth needs to be

nurtured: buried in peat and fallen leaves, and left for sometimes

inconceivably long periods before it’s ready to be born into the world.

Sometimes it requires pinching off other ideas and choosing the one

we will help grow strong.

What are you nurturing?

Are you willing to sit in the woodsy darkness

with Trillium, holding space for inspiration?

Do you expose ideas to air and light too soon,

denying them their womb time?

What new ways of being are buried in your

psyche, awaiting birth?

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The Ways of Water

WHITE WILLOW

Salix alba

Most people think of Willow as graceful and soft, a beautiful tree

with weak wood. She’s happy to let you have your delusions. But

underground she sends her expansive roots questing for water, the

element of emotion, which feeds her extraordinary flexibility. Willow

loves to dunk her feet, sampling the flow of feelings, tasting anger

and joy, sorrow and sass. Pliancy allows her to have great empathy

without becoming overwhelmed by the emotions of others; instead

they flow through her like water. If you find yourself armoring up to

handle high emotions, call on Willow to teach you the ways of water.

Ritual

SENDING TO WATER

Working with water can help you handle the many emotions you feel

over the course of a day.

In the morning, fill a bowl with water and place it in a special spot

— maybe outside in your garden or on a sunny windowsill.

When you encounter strong emotions, instead of holding on to

them, envision sending them to your bowl of water.

At the end of the day, offer your water to the earth (or a potted

plant), asking that your spent feelings be composted to help

something new to grow.

Notice how you feel on the days when you perform this ritual. Notice

how water softens and dilutes intense feelings and keeps them from

overwhelming you.

Are you an empath? Set the intention to send others’ emotions to

your water instead of letting them swamp you.

Reflection

WHAT’S STAGNANT?

If you find yourself getting yanked hither and yon by the pull of your

feelings, call on Willow to remind you of the importance of letting

emotions flow and then go. Emotional waters aren’t meant to be

stagnant. Still water breeds disease and blood-sucking mosquitos,

and nobody wants that! Call on Willow to remind you to stay open,

so that emotions can flow through you with grace.

Do you know the difference between thoughts

(which happen in your head) and feelings

(which happen in your body)?

Can you have a feeling without putting it into

words?

When you give words to a feeling, do you then

chew them like cud, masticating and

replaying the same words over and over

again?

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We Are One

QUAKING ASPEN

Populus tremuloides

Despite the trembling of her leaves, Aspen isn’t really scared. How do

I know? Because deep underground, all the Aspens hold hands.

To our eyes Aspen trees are individuals, but in their roots and hearts

they’re one. This is not mere metaphor: Aspens grow in what’s called

a clonal colony, sending out underground suckers to find a lovely

spot to sprout a sister-tree. Aspen groves are among the largest and

oldest single organisms on the planet.

When you see Aspen quivering, it’s often with laughter; she giggles

gently at the human race, who seem to have forgotten that deep in

our roots we too are one. Aspen asks us to root into this sense of

connection so we can let go of our fears.

Ritual

JOIN YOUR ROOTS

Aspen always knows she’s part of something greater than herself, a

sense we humans often lack. Take a few moments to connect with the

comforting awareness that everything is connected.

Stand with your eyes closed and breathe gently. When you feel

your shoulders relax and your breath come easily, begin to imagine

your feet as roots gently pushing into the earth (it doesn’t matter if

the ground is three floors away; your energetic roots know how to

find dirt!).

As you sink down, picture the feet of others near you also

burrowing into the earth, feet turning to roots and runners. Embrace

the crisscross tangling of your feet-roots, traveling along these

connections to the place where you know we are all one.

Reflection

HEALING THE WHOLE

The Cherokee see our obsessive need for individ ualism as a sickness.

In that culture, when a person is ill, healing is considered requisite

not only for the individual but also for the family and community.

How do you balance your individuality with

your place in your family? Your community?

Does your drive to be your unique self leave

you more alone than you wish?

Or have you lost your sense of self, of

personal space, within the collective of your

marriage, family, or workspace?

Call on Aspen. She knows how to be cradled

by the collective while stretching her very

individual limbs up to the stars.

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Integration

MULLEIN

Verbascum species

Mullein appears where she’s needed and has trouble staying where

she’s not. Because of her penchant for moving about, over the years

she’s learned quite a bit about quite a bit, making her a wise guide on

any journey. Mullein brings multifaceted understandings into

alignment with each other — easily building intellectual bridges

between seemingly disparate or disjointed things — because her gift

is seeing the structure of the whole. She’ll sing the relationship of

bone to water, or air to skin, in a way that makes you wonder how

you never saw those patterns for yourself. Call on Mullein when you

need a torch in the darkness or an overview of the whole so you can

understand the parts.

Ritual

THINK MACRO

Understanding how things influence each other is key to seeing the

deeper patterns at work in the world. In your mind, as a sketch, or in

a journal, find the threads that connect these seemingly separate

things.

an acorn and a butterfly

the moon and a ship

your head and your heart

Connect Disparate Things

Many years ago I took a workshop with Tom

Robbins, author of Jitterbug Perfume. Since it was a

long time ago, I’m running fast and loose with Tom’s

exact phrasing, but essentially he said that the job of

a writer is to connect disparate things, like a Twinkie

and Jupiter or the chiming of a grandfather clock

and a swallow’s mad dash from the barn eaves.

Writing can help you make connections and see the

macro.

Reflection

SPIDER MEDICINE

Mullein is like a spider sitting on her web, feeling the vibrations

along various threads and seeing from the center how it all connects.

Imagine all the parts of your life as a giant network, with every

person, place, and thing connected. Think of yourself as Spider

sitting in the center of her web. Imagine the threads stretching out

from where you sit. Bring consciousness to your connectivity. Are

there parts of your life that need to be integrated into the whole?

Now choose an action you’re considering or a decision you’re

making. Feel out along your web. What or who will be affected by

your choice?

However far back you go you will find all experiences linked by

slender threads.

ROBERT HELLENGA, PHILOSOPHY MADE SIMPLE

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Defying Gravity

REISHI

Ganoderma lucidum

Reishi mushroom is the Yoda of the plant world, helping you

assimilate life’s experiences and turn them into wisdom. The Taoists

teach that Reishi can show you where your power lies, which some

might call your destiny. Reishi’s not some soft, clingy mushroom but

instead a strong, structured, gravity-defying shelf. She asks no less

from you: how can you defy anything keeping you from finding

meaning, purpose, and health? Like all the best teachers, Reishi

points to the path and lets you walk it, taking your lumps and bumps

along the way. She doesn’t want you to rely on her strength; she

wants you to find your own. But if you’re willing to do the work,

Reishi will help you transform from the inside out.

Ritual

WRITE AND BURN

To find your path and step into your own power, you need to release

whatever is no longer serving your highest good. If your home or

work space is full of stuff, call on Reishi energy and move along what

you no longer need. Clutter, whether material or emotional, blocks

you from stepping into your true work. If stale thoughts or ways of

being need to be released, try this:

Write down thoughts or emotions you want to be rid of. Don’t

worry about spelling or grammar or handwriting — just write!

When you feel emptied, take the paper and burn it to ash, setting

the intention to fully release the thoughts and feelings that no

longer serve.

Sprinkle the ashes on the earth (or add them to the dirt in a potted

plant), where the thoughts and feelings can be further broken

down and composted.

Reflection

STEP INTO YOUR

SUPERPOWER

Do you know where your power lies? What

gives you strength and vitality?

Oftentimes we think our superpower is the thing that makes those

around us happy or comfortable. But Reishi knows that your gift,

your strength, is the thing that makes you vital and alive.

TO BE CLEAR: Reishi doesn’t care how you make your money.

Your destiny may have nothing to do with how you pay your

mortgage, but it has everything to do with how you feed your soul.

“We know what the world wants from us. We know we

must decide whether to stay small, quiet, and

uncomplicated or allow ourselves to grow as big, loud,

and complex as we were made to be.”

GLENNON DOYLE MELTON, LOVE WARRIOR

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Exuberant Quietude

PASSIONFLOWER

Passiflora incarnata

Passionflower is a study in opposites. She climbs vigorously (some

say invasively), sending exploring fingers through fence slats and

wall crevices. What’s over there? she wonders, always trying to get to

the other side, to expand beyond her current boundaries. Even her

flower exudes frenetic energy, vibrantly bursting out into the world.

Every inch of Passionflower is reaching, striving, and climbing. And

yet . . . her Medicine is the magical calm that happens when the

television, computer, and phone are all suddenly silent. She begs you

to pause in your questing and take the time for a new experience:

inner quietude. Why? Because being able to be quiet and still is

Passionflower’s secret to exuberant expansion without stress or

burnout.

Ritual

FEELING EXPANSIVE

Expand yourself, instructs Passionflower as she reaches around a

flowerpot on her way to the far corner of the garden.

Are you ready to get a body sense of what it feels like to be calm

and contained yet exuberantly expansive?

Stand in a doorway with your palms turned inward toward your

body.

Press the backs of your hands against the doorframe.

Push outward with your arms as hard as you can (your muscles

might shake a little; that’s okay) while counting slowly to 40. Then

step out of the doorway . . .

(Just go do it! Passionflower says. She’s not giving away the ending

and ruining your chance to explore for yourself.)

Reflection

LIFE INVENTORY

Passionflower teaches us the power of balance: doing and not doing,

critical thinking and daydreaming, waking and sleeping. Her power

is in doing all things with vigor, giving equal weight and zest to every

activity, which is accomplished by keeping our thoughts centered in

the present moment. Take a life inventory:

Which parts of your life do you feel joyously

engaged with?

Have you lost your passion for some parts of

your daily life?

Are you trudging through your work or family

time?

Passionflower approaches everything with curiosity, even doing the

dishes and bathing the dog. Passionflower doesn’t want you to

jettison the mundane parts of your life; she knows that you need to

water the plants and make the bed. Instead she wants you to attempt

to bring simple joy and curiosity to all aspects of your day.

I have no special talents. I am only persistently curious.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

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Pay Attention!

NETTLE

Urtica dioica

If we do not know the names of the plants around us, if we do not

acknowledge the individualistic curl of a leaf or creep of a rhizome,

they all run together and look like a wall of greenery. That’s when we

humans start to generalize, lumping anything without a showy flower

into the category of “Weed.” Nettle will have none of this. Pay

attention! she admonishes. We’re all different, all unique. When you

acknowledge Nettle’s individuality and treat her with thoughtful

respect, she’ll let you close. But forget yourself and you won’t forget

her sting. Nettle reminds you to see individuality and treat the world

around you accordingly. If Nettle is pricking you, pause and pay

greater attention!

Ritual

TRUE SEEING

Nettle says, See me, and, really, isn’t that what each of us wants? To

be seen and acknowledged?

MAKE THIS YOUR RITUAL TODAY: See the people around you

as unique individuals. Walk through the world with presence,

acknowledging in your heart your family, the people with whom you

work or study, the folks standing in line with you at the market. In

your mind say two unique things about every person you meet. When

you slip into your internal world, that place where other people

become a bit blurry, consciously pull yourself back to being

externally present. As you focus outward, imagine every cell in your

body being aware of the details of life around you.

Reflection

WHO IS UNSEEN?

Nettle Medicine is both vast and fundamental. She gifts us the

building blocks needed not only for the human body but for healthy

soil. Because she’s not showy or flashy, she’s not often grown in the

garden and her sting pushes her to the outskirts of civilization. But

once known, she is beloved.

Are there entire groups of people relegated to

the outskirts of your consciousness?

Older folks often feel like they’re no longer seen as individuals, and

whole groups of people are often lumped together under the title of

their race, ethnicity, or affiliation.

Nettle asks, Who has become invisible to you? She reminds you

of the gifts you’re missing when you stop seeing individuality.

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You Are Sacred

TULSI

Ocimum sanctum

Tulsi, also called Holy Basil, is traditionally planted in a special pot

by the front door of homes in South Asia. This holiest of plants,

thought of alternately as a household deity and a manifestation of the

goddess Lakshmi, brings heaven to earth. Her spicy scent reminds

you to be aware of the unseen, of spirit flowing in and out. Tulsi says,

You’re strongest when you let spirit help you adapt to the ups and

downs of daily life.

If you befriend Tulsi, she might give you a further message: your

spirit flows through your physical form, and so your soul is fed

through your body’s senses. You might wear Tulsi beads around your

neck to remind you that you are the home for your spirit and you are

sacred.

Ritual

COME HOME TO YOURSELF

Tulsi asks you to come home to yourself. We often look externally for

the sacred while treating our own selves — our bodies, our inner

knowings, our spirits — like so much flotsam on life’s current. Holy

Basil knows that coming home to yourself is not something you do

once but a practice to be repeated over and over. Her presence is

your reminder: Come home.

Plant Tulsi in a pot by your door to remind you to carry blessings

into the world and, upon your return, to take time to care for and

nurture yourself.

No place for a potted plant? No worries! Instead, place a

photograph or drawing of Tulsi near the doorway.

Hang Tulsi beads in such a way that they brush you, gently

reminding you of her presence, every time you enter and leave

your house. Carry the sacred out into the world and gift it to

yourself upon your return. Come home, again and again.

Reflection

WHAT IF YOU ARE HOLY?

Tulsi’s benediction: What if you are holy, just as you are? What if you

don’t need to be more “spiritual,” more kind, more anything?

What if you acknowledged yourself, just the

way you already are, as a sacred being?

How would that thought shift who you are

and how you show up in the world?

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our

deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is

our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. . . .

Your playing small does not serve the world.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON, A RETURN TO LOVE

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Let Magic In

VERVAIN

Verbena officinalis

Vervain whispers of enchantment and worlds not quite seen. She’ll

teach you to see beyond the ordinary and help you explore the

liminal lands of the psyche. Through her easy access to the inbetween,

she can call in the Medicine of plants not present, making

her a must for any healer’s garden. Ask Vervain to channel her sisters

and hold their place in a tea blend or incense. But remember, even

though she is wispy, Vervain is powerful: a sip of her tea is magical, a

cup nauseating. Why? Because too much mystery puts us off balance;

think of it as motion sickness of the soul. So let Vervain dance lightly

on the edges of your consciousness, reminding you of the infinite

possibilities that unfold when you let magic in.

Ritual

STUDY THE INTERSTITIAL

Celtic lore says the Druids harvested Vervain when neither the sun

nor the moon was in the sky. These magical times occur almost daily:

we call them dawn and dusk. Vervain’s Medicine is the Medicine of

these interstitial times and of liminal places (doorways, crossroads,

and the place where the sea foam curls onto the beach). The way to

truly understand her is to hone your knowledge of the in-between.

When was the last time you truly took in those

moments when night slips into day or day into

night?

For three days, choose to observe the sunrise or sunset (or both).

Carve out 10 minutes to stand under the sky, holding Vervain in your

heart, as you absorb the magic of the in-between. If you have

something weighing on your mind, be open to the possibility of

unexpected answers.

Reflection

STANDING AT THE

CROSSROADS

The ancient mystics venerated the in-between and the interstitial as

places where possibilities overlap, creating the perfect petri dish for

synchronicity and magic. These places are often called crossroads

because there, instead of continuing on your current path, you could

choose to make a hard turn and explore the unknown.

In mythology, crossroads have a guardian, because major life

changes often require the death of an old way of being and humans

need guidance (or a trial!) to help them through this rite of passage.

If you were standing at a crossroads today, what would you be willing

to leave behind to take a new road?

Crossroads Guardians

Many cultures have a guide or guardian who stands

at the crossroads.

Hecate is the Greek goddess of the night, the

moon, and the crossroads.

Janus, the Roman god of endings and beginnings,

has two faces, one turned toward the future, the

other to the past.

Legba is the West African crossroads spirit who

facilitates messages between people and the gods.

Cailleach, the Celtic Crone, is a gatekeeper to the

spirit world.

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Remembrance

ROSEMARY

Rosmarinus officinalis

Rosemary is the smell of déjà vu and the after-breath of nostalgia.

Her gift is the faint scent that teases and vanishes, leaving you

longing for something you can’t quite name, and with memories that

crest and crash, pulling you gasping into their undertow.

In Victorian times Rosemary was said to say, “Remember me.” This

is but a small part of her magic. Rosemary can ease remembrance,

softening sharp edges, or she can dredge the distant past, pulling on

your DNA to bring forward the longings of lineage. Crush the leaves.

Hold them to your nose. The past is encoded into our cellular

memory. Rosemary whispers, Sink into the knowledge that lives in

your bones. Let memory rise up from the body of your being.

Ritual

HONORING ANCESTRAL

MEMORY

Rosemary’s magic lies in her scent and the volatile oil hidden in her

leaves. Science has affirmed that the smell of Rosemary’s essential oil

enhances memory. Here’s how it works: When you inhale Rosemary,

her vaporous oils cross through the mucous membranes in your nose

and enter your bloodstream. Recall is significantly improved with

Rosemary flowing in your veins.

You can get a good whiff of rosemary by crushing fresh leaves

between your fingers or by rubbing a drop of rosemary essential oil

between your palms. Then hold your hands over your nose and

inhale for a few minutes. Notice how you feel.

Remembering Your Lineage

Connect with your ancestral past through

freewriting. Here’s how: Grab a notebook and set a

timer for 10 minutes. Below is a prompt to start you

writing. After you read it, begin writing and don't

stop until your timer goes off.

I can almost guarantee that you’ll feel silly or lost or

confused for at least the first 3 minutes. You’ll feel

like you are making things up, or that you don’t know

what to write. Keep writing. At a certain point your

ego will step aside and that is when the magic

happens!

Here’s your writing prompt: Dear (name of

ancestor), I’m working to deepen my ancestral ties.

Is there anything you’d like to share with me? Now

start writing, answering in the voice of your

ancestor.

Reflection

YOU ARE MADE OF

MEMORIES

Rosemary whispers the memories of this lifetime, but she also

reminds us of the kitchens of generations past and the scent of

camphor mixing with sea air. Our DNA has traveled through

millennia. When we think of memory, we focus on the people we

ourselves have known — grandparents, great-aunts, cousins twice

removed. Our thoughts tend to be based on personalities,

experiences, likes or dislikes. Rosemary asks us to travel beyond

those associations to feel for the memory that lives in the twisting

threads of our chromosomes. This is what it means to honor our

ancestors and to be rooted in our own history.

What if your bones are ancient bedrock and your laugh the wild

wind? What if you are not only an individual but the present

incarnation in a long lineage?

Remember.

Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but

not its twin.

BARBARA KINGSOLVER, ANIMAL DREAMS

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How to Work with the Herbiary

Cards

When you first download your cards ( whol.st/illustrated-herbiarycards),

spend a few minutes getting acquainted. Allow your eyes and

your mind to wander as you look at the pictures.

If you’re familiar with smudging (see Smudge),

smudge with

sage, palo santo, cedar, or sweetgrass as you set an intention for how

you want to use your cards. You are beginning a relationship with

your cards; open your heart and introduce yourself.

As you read through the Herbiary, you’ll notice that each plant

holds a spectrum of energy. For instance, Apple speaks to us of

knowledge. Knowledge in itself is neither good nor bad. Considering

how knowledge is used begins to weave in moral implications. So

Apple is both knowledge used for helping and knowledge used for

harming. Always keep in mind the full range of each plant’s

Medicine.

ONE-CARD DRAW

The simplest way to use your deck is to focus your mind on a

particular topic or conundrum in your life and hold this thought as

you shuffle the deck. When you feel ready, pick a card. While some

people say to draw a card off the top of the deck, I think it’s just as

useful to fan the cards and pull whichever one you’re drawn to.

You can also simply use a soft gaze to study the pictures, drawing

the card that feels intuitively right for you to work with in this

moment.

Drawing a card cracks open the door to the collective

unconscious, the world of meanings and symbols, where you can

gain a new way of approaching or thinking about aspects of your

personality or circumstances of your life. I find it far more useful to

think of the cards as illuminating (which acknowledges your free will

and gives you room to pivot on your path) than prophesizing (which

denies your ability to create many possible futures). Remember that

these cards are merely a tool to help you tap in. Your own insights

are as valuable as mine, so let your intuition sing!

TWO CARDS: THE CROSSING

A different way to approach the cards is to choose one card to

represent you and then draw a card to see what’s crossing you.

The card that crosses you gives you insight into places where you

might be stuck or perhaps to a situation that you’re not seeing

clearly. It also might indicate where your thinking might be false or

where the story you’re telling yourself needs to shift.

FOUR CARDS: THE CYCLE

There are many other ways to work with your cards, and you can

apply the principles used in tarot layouts to this deck, but the final

method I’m going to talk about here is unique to Plant Medicine.

We’re going to lay the cards out in circle, like a compass or

medicine wheel, with one card in each of the cardinal directions.

THE ROOT card gives you insight into the beginnings of the

situation you’re holding in your mind.

THE SHOOT card helps you understand what has grown from

those beginnings.

THE FLOWER card is the first bloom, the ephemeral beauty of

the situation. Remember, flowers are lovely but passing, so this

card could also indicate illusions you have about the situation.

THE FRUIT is your outcome — what will nourish you as you

move forward and provide the seeds for the next beginning.

Each reading reflects what you need to know in the present moment.

Change is constant; there is no one reading that lasts forever.

Instead, use your cards to have an ongoing dialogue and deepening

of your relationship with yourself and the world around you.

Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at

the beauty of earth’s greenings . . . .All nature is at the

disposal of humankind. We are to work with it. For

without nature we cannot survive.

HILDEGARD OF BINGEN

Download the printable Herbiary Cards at whol.st/illustratedherbiary-cards

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Thank-Yous

Immense gratitude to my many herbal teachers — even when I was

knitting I was paying attention! Thanks also to all the plants who

have filled my head and heart, especially Rose, who’s been a starting

point and portal as I have bumbled about the green world.

Many thanks to Rosemary Gladstar, for paving the way for this

creation, and to everyone at Storey Publishing: Deborah, for

answering random messages and sharing really good chocolate;

Carleen, for riding through a million iterations ’til we hit the right

one; Jessica, for a gorgeous design; Alee and Sarah, for marketing

consults; and all the Storey people I met in passing or not at all who

worked hard to make this book a success.

Kate O’Hara: Your illustrations make this book. A thousand

thank-yous.

Sending deep bows to Danielle LaPorte for a much-needed buttkicking

during a group coaching call and Professor Eric Rabkin at the

University of Michigan for teaching me how to express a complete

idea in one page or less. While neither of these folks knows me

personally, this book wouldn’t be here without them.

The biggest love to:

All of my students — you’ve been my greatest mirror and my best

teachers.

Jess, Shannon, and the Herbiary team for encouragement, sanity,

and frivolity in equal measures.

Book Mama Linda Sivertsen and the entire Carmel gang,

especially Suzanne Boothby and Taylor Dayne, for giving me the

confidence to make this happen.

My gaggle of girlfriends who showed up in an ice storm on New

Year’s Eve to get me through final edits — Rebecca, Katie, Paige,

Emily, Mary Kay, Camille, and Olive.

Christine Kane, for the “come as you will be” party, which

reminded me of my deep need to write and publish.

Brigit Esselmont and Nicole Cody, for years of crazy

entrepreneurial friendship and getting me through the hard stuff of

birthing this book.

Deb Geary, for delivering reality checks with a side of snark.

My parents, for believing and not believing (both helped me

grow), my brother-in-law David, for making me live with the word

“witch”; my sister Hillary, for trusting me to doctor her kids; and

Talia, Ben, and Matan, for endless curiosity and willingness to try

Aunt Maia’a potions.

All my heart and thanks always, Andrew, for creating space for

me to succeed or fail and loving me the same either way.

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MAIA TOLL is an herbalist, storyteller, folklorist, and women’s

wisdom mentor. She opened her natural products shop, Herbiary

( herbiary.com), after returning from a year-long apprenticeship

with a traditional healer in Ireland. She is a registered herbalist with

the American Herbalists Guild and teaches across the globe. You can

find her latest writings, online classes, and information about her inperson

retreats at maiatoll.com.

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