Well, as I said in my last post, I certainly love this time of year, but like many other people feel, it can also make me go bonkers. There’s just so much TO DO. Funny when it’s the winter season and all the natural cycles are telling us to hibernate, to sleep more, to do less, to withdraw from the active world…and we proceed to do the exact opposite. Anyway, this week my whole house looks like a disaster area – with herbs, oils and beeswax in chaotic piles everywhere. Or should I say to the untrained eye it looks chaotic; despite the state of things I know exactly where everything is at any given moment: where the Ylang Ylang oil is hiding or where the Elderberries have snuck away to under that pile of Nettles. This is what it’s like to be an herbalist. Plants start to take over your whole world. From the minute you walk in the door they are calling you to create with – to be put into tea blends or tinctures, or new luscious herbal creams, or infused in oil or spooned into honey. Honestly the possibilities are endless when it comes to using herbs in our daily lives, and this I love. And slightly go crazy over because there’s so much I want to make with them, so many variations, so much magic that is possible that I sometimes have a hard time not doing herbal-related projects whenever I am home. I guess this is a good, or at least interesting, problem to have. Here’s what my kitchen table looks like today:

Beautiful herbal madness. And here’s what comes out of this….

A new Damiana-infused cream I’m excited about and…

…a stockpile of my concoctions ready to go to market….

…and some newly made beeswax candles that I love. (Not exactly herbal, but I like to mix it up.)

Oh, these herbs spur me on to keep creating and experimenting…
I feel so grateful that they are my chosen medium with which to work.

“Happy is she who hath the power to gather wisdom from a flower.”

The winter season means holiday markets, and so I’ve been busily concocting away in my herbal workshop. I love this time of year, despite all the extra hectic-ness, and always feel a burst of creativity and productivity come upon me. I’ve been putting this energy to good use the past couple of weeks as I prepare for a few holiday events coming up. This Sunday, for instance, I’ll be participating in Somerville’s annual Snow Mall at the Armory. You can stop by anytime from 12 to 6 to shop local handmade items. Of course I’ll have plenty of my salves, face cleansers, floral waters, aromatherapy sprays and elixirs on hand. And I’m excited to reveal a couple of new items I’ve been working on, involving infused oils with Damiana and Ylang Ylang….a divine combination if you ask me. I’ll take a few pics while I’m there and report back later. In the meantime, it’s back to the kitchen, where herbs, bottles, beeswax and essential oils are strewn about everywhere in perfect chaos!…

Last weekend I completed a 9 month herbal course with the Gaia School of Healing and Earth Education. What a journey this was – not only did it birth a deeper, more whole relationship to the plant world for me, it also facilitated a deeper, stronger relationship to myself. For this I cannot be more grateful. Although I have worked with herbs on my own for years, this class was the first time I had participated in a community of like-minded, like-hearted people who care about, respect and listen to the plants just as much as I do. With our beautiful, wise teacher Sage leading us on, we opened doors into the plant realms that we had always sensed were there, but never truly stepped into.

Our final weekend included a lot of ceremony to honor the time we spent together and all the work and energy we put into the course. We also each presented a final project related to our herbal interests and gave handmade gifts to one another. Here’s a few photos of the weekend and the year:

There was so much medicine making, collecting, listening, journeying, creating, loving, and healing going on. I send thanks to my teacher and my classmates for walking with me on this path. (I miss you already! Let’s see each other soon!)

Most of all, I thank the plants for all of their deep wisdom, for accepting me into their arms, for teaching me their healing powers, for rooting me deeper into this good earth, for giving of themselves so selflessly. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I will forever be a student of the green beings.

The other weekend I took a brief jaunt to the enchanting island of Nantucket to visit dear friends. Have you been? All I can say is that this special, magical place is truly one of my favorites. The Gray Lady, aptly named for the fog that often descends upon the land, is a place where elfin forests of Tupelo trees grow tall, where lighthouses beam steadily throughout the dark silent nights, where the town is cobblestoned and quaint and recalls older, slower days.

While I was there the Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) was in full bloom, spreading its sunshine hue across the island and adorning the Gray Lady in gold. I was able to gather some of this wild growing island herb, and it dries now in my kitchen until I store it away in dark cupboards.

Aptly the genus name Solidago comes from the Latin words  ’solido‘, which means ”to strengthen or make whole.” Traditionally this herb was used as a vulnerary to treat and heal external wounds. But I also find it quite interesting that the genus name begins with Sol – Spanish for ‘sun’ – for this sunshine-holding herb certainly does capture the essence of summer sun, summer warmth. For this reason it is such a lovely herb to have on hand for the winter months, when dark days need brighter light. Goldenrod makes a delicious tea, one of my favorites. I use it when I want to feel some sun in my body and find that it has a cheery, warm energy about it.

The time for harvesting Goldenrod has now past and the yellow flowers have turned to white seeds that disperse in the wind. We will not see this herbal gold again until late next summer – look for it along roadsides, railroad tracks, on the edges of water or in open meadows.

I thank this herbal beauty for the golden medicine it gives, keeping me in touch with summer as dark winter descends.

I have been terribly absent here of late… July, August, where did you go? Surely it is not almost fall?…

Though I’ve neglected this space for a good part of the summer, I was busily carrying on with my herbal work. In fact, I’ve become even more energized and inspired by the herbs and the messages of the plant world lately. Much of this is due to the amazing herbal apprenticeship I’ve been doing over the majority of the year, and which I will be finishing up this October. This course has taken my relationship with the plant world to an even deeper level, and for this I couldn’t be more grateful. Here’s where I’ve been studying if you wish to check it out. On top of this I’ve also been finishing up Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbology distance course and, to keep things ever-interesting, have just begun a year long study with herbalists Maia Toll and Deb Soule. So thrilled for all this herbal education!

But, back to the summer… It was bountiful and beautiful, full of plant walks, harvesting and medicine making. Here’s some of my favorite plant allies pictured below: Borage, Pokeweed, and Mugwort (by dusk light).

I even did a couple of farmers’ markets this summer (but nothing compared to last year’s hustle and bustle) and that was quite fun. More to come this holiday season, too…

Crowned in summer’s fullness, I go happily into fall. I’ve filled up my baskets, my herb cabinet and all my jars with the medicine of the earth. I plan patiently my next steps for sharing the wisdom of the green world with others, for keeping the traditional ways burning brightly.

I hope you all have been having a lovely start to the summer season. It always feels like such a busy time, when we are all out and about, enjoying the warm weather, making plans and getting together with our dear ones. No different here. I’ve been taking in all the beautiful abundance of green herbs that are growing all around, and spending a lot of time outside collecting nettles, roses, violets, willow, raspberry leaf and comfrey …. and using all these healing plants for making medicines and nourishing formulations. (Below are some pictures of the gorgeous comfrey patch I visited and a bagful of fresh red roses.) And just last weekend I attended an inspiring herbal conference down in the mountains of North Carolina where I felt re-newed and re-inspired. Thank you southern mountain lands! I’m now getting ready for a market appearance this Saturday, June 11th  - I’ll be at the vibrant Union Sq. farmers market from 9 to 1. This market is one of my favorites – there are always lovely vendors with beautiful produce and baked goods, and usually there’s some fun live music. It is a perfect way to start off the weekend. Sure hope to see some of your smiling faces there. Till soon, then.