Hello Every Body, Every Heart, Every Spirit!
I’ve been thinking about how I could be of service right now and I was reminded by a friend of what I could share during this time, and what she suggested was this: Are there any Northeast plants that we can draw healing and wisdom from at this time of uncertainty and uprising? In other words, which plants can help us sustain our minds, bodies, and spirits through the long haul of doing The Work?*
So how can the plants help? Our green allies offer us guidance, nourishment, and healing so that we can show up in the ways we are needed while also reducing the risk of burning out. They help us stay grounded and allow us to better perceive universal truths.
I believe that it is essential to know and partner with the community of plants growing in our own backyards. These plants contain information for us about the land where we live.
And the plants we need also often grow close to us, showing up just when we need them. So I’m sharing plants that grow where I live, in northeastern North America. All of them can be found in Northeast Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 111 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness (Timber Press). Many of these plants grow in other parts of the world, too. If you aren’t in the Northeast, seek out the plants that grow near you, find the plant folk who live in your area, or look for related species to the plants listed here.
Agrimony (Agrimonia species)
The leaves, flowers, and burs of Agrimony in tea (infusion) or tincture from, as well as the flower essence, bring relief to those who hide their pain beneath a cheerful disposition. Agrimony leaves can be burned as an agent of cleansing and purification, to remove any energies projected onto us.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
This beautiful flowering plant is closely related to Echinacea and has similar immune stimulating properties. The flower essence allows our old trauma and shadows to come to the surface so that we may process them with compassion. Jordan Pagán of Ostara Apothecary describes it as an “anti-repressor,” making Black-eyed Susan a very fitting essence for the times.
Black-eyed Susan
Borage (Borago officinalis)
Borage for courage! Both Borage leaf infusion helps restore the nervous system when we become depleted and exhausted. The flower essence instills courage while lightening our hearts when we experience heaviness and grief.
Burdock (Arctium species)
Drinking a daily Burdock root decoction or infusion for several weeks at a time has the power to clear deep seated anger and toxicity in the blood. According to herbalist-yogini-doula Sokhna Mabin Burdock can bring healing to deep ancestral wounds. So deep your great-great granny will feel it.
Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
Have you seen this prickly plant? Pretty fierce looking. The funny thing is, it’s a signal to us that this plant relieves pain. The leaves and roots in tincture would be beneficial for this. The flower essence helps those who are being bullied or are in conflict with authority figures stand in their power.
Cinquefoil (Potentilla species)
Cinquefoil can be used similarly to Agrimony (see above). It also has a history of being used in Hoodoo. It can be used for unbinding. The plant sends a message to those meddling in our lives to keep their hands off. (Its 5 leaflets are reminiscent of the hand shape.)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Comfrey is a powerful wound healer. So powerful you must take care when using it topically as it can heal the skin over a wound, potentially trapping in infection. Use comfrey topically only on well cleaned superficial (not puncture) wounds. The flower essence can be partnered with for healing deep emotional wounds. Take care with using Comfrey internally (especially the root), particularly if there is a pre-existing liver condition.
Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
The Tree of Peace of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Instills peace in our hearts and our nerves. Wound healing. Pine flower essence promotes self acceptance and helps one to release long held guilt. Learn more information on the Bach Pine essence here. Eastern White Pine flower essence, according to Woodland Essences offers “the Foundation of ancient wisdom to help us remember how to ‘put the pieces back together.’ A guiding light to illuminate and support one's re-membering. Stability and balance in thought and action.”
Hawthorn (Crataegus species)
Hawthorn is a guardian tree offering us tender heart healing and protection. Check out those thorns – they are formidable. Birds nest in Hawthorn branches for a good reason. Protection. Also, each thorn has the potential to become a branch – sit with that metaphor for a while. Hawthorn leaves and flowers are gently calming and her fruit gently regulates heart rhythm, helps to move fat through the blood and digestive tract, and balances blood pressure.
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)
This gorgeous wild bitter mint soothes the heart and nervous system. She calms heart palpitations and eases hypertension. Whenever I feel like freaking out, Motherwort cools my nervous anxiety and tension. Tincture form is my favorite way to take this medicine. Take care to use low doses if you have hypothyroidism (the herb is used to calm hyperthyroidism).
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)
Mugwort initiates us into the ways of the medicine plants. She helps shift our perception so that we can see the world from a fresh perspective, one more aligned with the natural world. In other words, she help help you get and stay woke. Drinking Mugwort infusion, taking the tincture, or using the infused oil topically enhances our ability to dream (dreaming is happening all the time, dreaming is really waking up). With Mugwort’s help we can dream the new world we know is possible. Do not use Mugwort during pregnancy, it is stimulating to the uterus (which makes it helpful for regulating menstruation and stirring creativity).
Mugwort
Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
Standing tall like a beacon, Mullein activates and heals the physical and energetic spine. Drinking the infusion or tincture is calming to the nerves and helps us process grief, which is held in the lungs.
Rose (Rosa species)
One of my favorite spirit nurturing herbs. Rose shifts our mood, cools anger, and stimulates our senses. She is a powerful healer who opens us up to our true, peaceful, sensual selves.
Skullcap (Scutellaria species)
If you are looking to slow incessant mental chatter, Skullcap is a good friend to have around. Taking a bit of the tincture before bedtime slows the mental roll and eases us into restful sleep and healing dreams.
Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum species)
Solomon’s Seal is a gently restorative tonic for building the body and spirit back up after illness or exhaustion. The flower essence is used for protection and wise decision making. It is also said to enhance synchronicity. According to Healing Spirits Herb Farm, it helps us adapt to changes that have already occurred.
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
Everyone deserves a good night’s rest and Valerian does the job, for most people. For a small percentage of folks, Valerian is more activating than relaxing, so do a test on a day where you don’t have a lot of commitments to see if you are one of the rare few who don’t benefit from the relaxing effects of Valerian.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Last but certainly not least, Yarrow is a favorite herb for protection and clearing energy. The flower essence helps us establish and maintain healthy boundaries. The herb in poultice or salve form helps to stop injuries from bleeding. It’s an essential ally for every revolutionist’s first aid kit.
I dedicate this post to those with boots on the ground, doing the heavy lifting around undoing racial oppression. May you find your favorite green allies, may you find the ones to lean on when you need to nourish and restore your being.
*From my view, the work includes the reconfiguring of our perceptions, in concert with rebuilding and restructuring the systems and structures to be beneficial to all humans. The work is staying with the awareness of how we relate to the world, staying with the practice of relating to each other with care, and of being vulnerable and open to the ways we relate with regard to the construct of race. For me and other white folks, it’s opening our eyes to the ways in which we benefit from the systems and structures of racial oppression and how we can leverage our privilege to bring more awareness to this raw and gaping wound.
I am by no means an expert on this topic and this post is not meant as an education about the history of racial constructs and white supremacy. So I’m sharing a few organizations and resources to educate yourself on this topic. It is deep and there are many more to explore – this is just the tip of the iceberg to get you started.
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ)