Spring Medicine

Two hands pouring honey into a bottle filled with violet flowers.

The energy of spring is to move up and out. In the tradition of Chinese medicine Spring is associated with Wood and the Liver. The work of spring is to stretch and awaken, move, and clear out what we’ve been storing for the winter. Here is where our lymphatic system comes into play. Our lymphatic system is an important part of the immune system. It moves fluid through our bodies so that it can be filtered through our lymph nodes. Unlike our circulatory system and blood there is no engine to pump it along. Our lymph only moves if we do. We can certainly do this through exercise but also through movement like walking and stretching. We can even help move it along through gentle massage.

Oxymels are a great preparation for this time. An oxymel is a combination of vinegar and honey, a sweet and sour combination that is perfect for easing us back into the world after a hibernation. Vinegar directs herbs to the Liver and the sour flavor is astringent. Honey is sweet and tonifying supporting the Spleen and digestive system. Both bring their own magic. Adding violet makes it a springtime treat. Violet flower or Zi Hua Di Ding helps us to clear heat and supports the lymphatic system. It has a special affinity for the breasts and heart. A tiny bit of cardamom or Sha Ren spices things up and help to move dampness and stagnation.

Ingredients

Violet Flower

Honey

Apple Cider Vinegar

Cardamom Pod

Directions

Fill your container about halfway full of violet flowers.

Add honey and vinegar in a ratio of one part honey to two parts vinegar.

Break open the cardamom pod and add the seeds.

Shake and let sit for a few days.

This preparation should last about three months.

This is delicious on its own, over salads or added to seltzer.

One hand holding a bottle of violet oxymel in front of a window.

Hawthorn for our Tender Hearts

May is the season for Hawthorn flower. One of my very favorites! The writing and recipe below are an excerpt from my 2019 zine, Protection and Abundance: Hawthorn.

Color cover of the zine, Protection and Abundance: Hawthorn

Hawthorn is a complex creature rich with contradictions (as we all are). Attributed to both Mars and Venus, its presence marking both good and bad luck. Deeply protective, yet manipulated to do harm. 

Another name of Hawthorn is May Flower for its beautiful and delicate blossoms that mark the transition from winter to spring. May Flower the name of the vessel that brought so much destruction and displacement to this land. 

Hawthorn marks the opening to the otherworld, it is inhabited by spirits and the good people. Hawthorn was used in England and Ireland to enclose the commons - a process that both required and facilitated the disenchantment of the world. 

Hawthorn serves to mark both sacred sites and private property. 

I feel deep sadness when I think about how this fierce and tender plant has been woven tightly into impenetrable fences and full of hope when I see other animals nourished and housed in the thorny branches. 

I sit with these contradictions as I walk under the Hawthorn on my block. They are not hedgerows, but do mark another process of displacement and colonization: gentrification. So while in these pages I also imagine the restorative potential of Hawthorn I also sit with the ways in which this plant has been used by people to uproot and the resistance to enclosure which meant uprooting the plant itself. Which history and legacy of Hawthorn will we follow? We don’t really get to choose. We don’t only get to reclaim the magic of our ancestors. We also have to look at the violence done.

Tender Heart Tincture

This is a sweet and simple formula for when you need some thorns around you to help you release sadness and grief. It makes use of all parts of the hawthorn tree. 

Ingredients

1 part rose petals

1 part hawthorn berry

1 part hawthorn leaf and flower

Brandy

Instructions

In a jar, cover rose petals and hawthorn berries, leaves and flowers with brandy. Let sit for 6 weeks. Shake often. Strain, bottle and label.