Category: Herbs and Herbalism

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Herbs and Herbalism seasons

Herbs to Love in January

January is such an odd time of year. We feel the pull to start things anew at the turning of the year, and yet we are also drawn to habits and practices of wintering and hibernation, especially those of us residing in places that get cold and snowy in the winter. It’s a strange dichotomy that tugs us from two directions! To get our footing firmly beneath us, it is best to try and tune outside influences out and pay attention to what our bodies and spirits are calling for. Not always an easy task, but certainly rewarding and stabilizing!

To that end, here are a few of the herbs I love to lean on in January for extra winter mind, body, and spirit support-

Eucalyptus: This camphorous, fragrant plant that is native to Australia but now naturalized much more widely is a wonderful winter ally due to its healing properties. There are few plants more soothing and refreshing to enjoy in a steam, summer pot, bath, or tea than eucalyptus – it is a go-to for easing cold symptoms and promoting healthy breathing. In spiritual terms eucalyptus has ties to water, the moon, feminine energy, and healing and protection. It has long been a traditional plant in smoke cleansing and is a lovely addition to smoke bundles and loose incense, and can be utilized in talismans and sachets for protection and health.

Hops: Though some might find hops an unusual choice for January, I find it to be a de-frazzling, nourishing, sleep-aiding miracle worker after a busy and stressful December. Hops helps you unwind, destress, sleep, cools off tense feelings, heals skin, and soothes digestion. This makes it an exceptional plant to depend on as a strong reset button of sorts! Hops has traditional uses in teas, baths, and especially sleep pillows and sachets – it is not just for brewing beer, though that is certainly also a big part of its history! This plant is associated with the air element, the planet Mars, the goddesses Brighid and Demeter, as well as Imbolc, winter, good dreams, and healing. 

Echinacea: I adore this flower, also called coneflower. It is native to the U.S. and is best known as a cold and flu remedy—so important this time of year! It is very stimulating to the immune system and isn’t something to reach for daily, but to certainly work with in times of need. It also helps with acne and other skin issues and infections. Use in teas and salves for these reasons! But make sure to source your echinacea responsibly, as it is a victim of over-harvesting and is an at-risk plant as a result. Echinacea also has spiritual ties to strengthening, so consider adding it to workings for that purpose and even to adopt the imagery (a responsible usage that doesn’t harm the species!) for strength as well. 

Schisandra: This five-flavored wonder berry is an equalizing adaptogen to get the body back into a better state after the holidays. It offers liver support, sleep support, heart support, balance, energy, immune support, and so much more. This plant has long been valued in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a restorative, nourishing botanical that can help to reset and rebuild the chronically stressed and wrung-out individual. One of the best ways to take schisandra is via decoction (long-simmered tea) to ensure extraction of all the good stuff it has to offer. In metaphysical terms, schisandra is thought to have the same balancing effect on the spirit and is highly valued for re-centering and helping to stabilize energy. 

Astragalus: This plant shows up in my January apothecary for very similar reasons to schisandra! Astragalus is a member of the pea family, and is a sweet root that supports and sustains. This adaptogen aids in immunity, helps with fatigue, promotes resilience, supports the heart and liver, improves digestion, and so much more. It is a wonderful herb to work with after you have been ill and need to rebuild your energy stores, and also after periods of stress when you feel wrung out and need restorative aid. Try it in a chai decoction – a wonderful and tasty way to enjoy this root! Like schisandra, astragalus is also quite important in TCM. It is associated with protection, strength, luck, enhancing vitality, and even boosting divination. 

Lemon: This citrus fruit is a tart, refreshing vitamin C boost in the cold of winter, with antimicrobial properties to help ward off winter illness, aromatherapy perks in a winter simmer pot, and useful properties for homemade cleaning products. Lemon works in so many applications, tastes and works wonderfully in so many recipes, and is an all-around powerhouse of a botanical ally! It is associated with the moon and water, as well as love, joy, friendship, purity, and longevity. 

Which of these are herbs YOU love in January? Or do you have some different favorites?

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Herbs and Herbalism seasons

Herbs to Love in October

October is here! It is, in my opinion, the most magical of months. The sensory delights of autumn transport me to childhood and to the most inspired and attuned spirit of imagination and nature connection. Maybe it is nostalgia, or maybe it’s something that runs far deeper. 

Even as the plants prepare to rest and the trees put on their blaze of glory, we can tune into our bodies and our relationship to the natural world via herbs. To that end, here are a few of the herbs I love to lean on in October!

Rooibos: also known as “red tea,” this shrub plant native to South Africa is treated and prepared like traditional tea. Less talked about in the herb world, it deserves recognition! High in vitamin C, great for immunity and inflammation, rich in antioxidants, grounding, tasty, and caffeine free—it’s a great coffee replacement and daily tonic. For some reason, I am just extra drawn to rooibos tea blends during the autumn months. When instinct tells me something like this, I listen! It certainly doesn’t hurt that some of my favorite autumn tea blends are based around rooibos – a couple tea companies make amazing rooibos-pumpkin spice and rooibos-apple blends.

Rose Hips: in season after the first frost of autumn, which I *hope* is coming soon! Rose hips are amazing for immunity, heart health, skin, digestion, modulating inflammation, and overall wellbeing. They are lovely in jams, baked goods, skin oils, teas, and more. What’s more, roses and rose hips have age-old associations to love, luck, protection, divination, and healing, as well as Venus, Demeter, Isis, and the water element. 

Garlic: not just for warding off vampires! Garlic is a fiery plant with ties to Hecate and Samhain, so for obvious reasons it fits perfectly with October. But its protective aid in preventing illness, its addition to cozy stews and soups, and its hearty flavor all compound garlic’s usefulness during this month. And don’t forget that it can be a wonderful remedy when applied topically, too! Garlic salve is a favorite recipe of mine that can be rubbed into stiff, aching joints and used as an ointment for minor wounds.

Black Tea: there is something about grounding, cardio-supportive black tea that I find I’m drawn to in October. It offers a balanced burst of energy without too much caffeine. Nothing better than an autumn cuppa! Like rooibos, black tea is naturally a gorgeous base for tea blends (ha, obviously) and pairs amazingly with other herbs. It also makes for a wonderful, universally appreciated gift to share with others. I am particularly fond of smoky lapsang souchong, which puts me in mind of October bonfires and burning leaf piles. Just breathing the aroma in makes me feel cozy and homey. 

Star Anise: licorice-like taste, so very pretty, and a star in chai and sweet spice blends! Star anise has associations with divination, luck, and purification. It can add an energy boost to your intentional recipes and workings, and with ties to both air and water it helps open channels of communication. The flavor itself is complex and adds layers of depth to sweet and savory culinary applications. Add it to your autumn ciders and sangrias for some extra oomph!

Ginkgo: said to promote longevity, aids brain and memory, helps with blood pressure and heart health. Ginkgo leaves turn golden this month where I live and taste amazing in tea! This ancient tree has long been regarded as sacred, with wisdom and longevity being its spiritual as well as medicinal associations. In both Western medicine and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), ginkgo is believed to aid in circulation, movement in the body, respiratory health, cognitive health, and ease anxiety and depression, too. 

Which of these are herbs YOU love in October? Or do you have some different favorites?

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Herbs and Herbalism seasons

Herbs to Love in June

June is here! For my family that means trips to nearby and faraway lakes, balmy-breezy backyard days, jar after jar of fresh herbal sun tea, and strawberries galore. Summer is here in spirit, even before the solstice has occurred, and we feel it on our sun-warmed shoulders. 

To that end, here are some of my favorite June plants!

Linden: the herb of the month with the Plant Wonder Collective this June, my local linden trees aren’t in bloom yet but I have some lovely, high quality dried linden leaf and blossom to work with. This gentle, soothing herb is perfect for refreshing and calming with its moist, cooling action, making it perfect for summer. I plan to make the most of working more closely with this herb in tension-taming recipes, inside and out! Whether applied to sunburn, added to cooking baths, or dipped in chilled herbal concoctions, I have a feeling linden will become a summertime staple for me and my rambunctious kiddos. Stay tuned to see how I work with it throughout the month!

Chamomile: these joyful, sunny blooms begin to really take off in my garden in June! I love sipping soothing chamomile on summer evenings to wind down, pairing it with strawberries in fresh and baked treats, and even just burying my nose in their little delicate blooms as I harvest them. I always make sure to dry at least one jar’s worth despite feeling greedy to enjoy it all fresh—because there is nothing like the honey-sweet scent of freshly dried chamomile when you open the jar and stick your nose in. It is true garden magic!

Mint: mint is so easy to grow, it thrives in June, and my kiddos love tending their own pots of it. I love making skin-soothing fresh hydrosols on my stovetop with mint! It’s easy to do and when stored in the fridge in a little mister bottle, it is the best thing ever to spritz onto sunburned skin or even just your overheated face after toiling away in the garden under the summer sun. I also adore adding mint to every cold drink I make in the summer, be it tea, lemonade, mocktail, or cocktail. 

Tulsi: it is my first year to grow tulsi in my garden, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! This amazing herb is beloved by plant nerds, and for good reason. Also called holy basil, and sacred in Ayurveda, it is the queen of herbs and a boon to mind, heart, body, and spirit. Though energetically it is gently warming and drying, it is still lovely in the summertime (perhaps I’m a good candidate as I can feel so soggy and wrung out in the hot weather). I plan to brew many jars of fresh tulsi chai to enjoy on ice this summer—here’s to that extra tulsi pep in my step!

Echinacea: I have recently fallen in love with this native species which begins to fan out its showy blooms in June where I live. It is more than just a cold remedy! Echinacea attracts pollinators to the garden, and planting it is a small act of giving back to the earth as the species has suffered from over-harvesting. Echinacea represents inner strength, healing, and prosperity. 

Strawberry: ripe for the picking, sweet strawberries are a June staple! So much so, that June’s full moon is often called the Strawberry Moon. These berries’ sweetness is the perfect pairing with many other herbs: with chamomile in shortbread, popsicles, or cakes; with lavender in delicious cocktails; with lemon balm and lemons for a super relaxing lemonade drink; with thyme, in a surprising savory-and-sweet combo; and the list goes on. 

Which herbs do you love in June? 

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Herbs and Herbalism plant wonder collective Recipes

May: Yarrow Behind the Scenes

The plant of the month for herbal studies in the Plant Wonder Collective and our Patreon Study Circle is Yarrow! 

Yarrow is a plant that I had not previously worked with very much, outside of adding a pinch of it to tea blends here and there. So I am really loving learning more about it in terms of its medicinal and spiritual attributes. 

Yarrow is a bit of a chameleon; it can be both cooling and warming, aiding flow and stopping it, and in astroherbalism terms it has ties to both water and air. But harmonizing lies at the center where these variances overlap. Finding wisdom in discernment, in balance, in both drawing clear boundaries yet allowing for flow and openness, all bring harmony. (Yarrow cards shown from The Herbal Astrology Oracle and The Herbcrafter’s Tarot.) 

In folklore, yarrow is associated with love and visionary abilities; the tides of emotion and the clarity of communication that a combination of water and air brings. 

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One of my new favorite ways to work with yarrow is in a lovely skin toner. Toners are not just about wiping down your face at night to improve skin and treat blemishes; they are a beneficial ritual that, when used before bed, can offer (magical-metaphorical-mindful-whatever you feel best calling it) plant-infused healing, nurturing, and intention. Botanical glamour magicks or simple self-care, it’s all the same. 

Yarrow is at the heart of this new skin toner recipe I’ve created to offer the medicinal applications of astringency (pore tightening and texture benefitting), anti-inflammation, promoting circulation, and anti-microbial action for acne. But it is also present for its more esoteric value of promoting love, beauty, attraction, happiness, balance, and protection. Its association with war and battle—Achilles was said to have treated his soldiers’ wounds on the battlefield with it—means that your use of it each night is like putting on your own magical armor to defend against outside forces. And the folk application that witches might have used yarrow to boost the potency of workings translates here as an amplifier for your own inner power. 

This toner also includes lavender for calming the skin and the mind, hawthorn for its antioxidants and heart-mending magic, and rose water for moisture, soothing, and beauty.

Materials

¼ cup dried yarrow

¼ cup dried lavender

2 Tbsp dried hawthorn leaf & flower 

2 Tbsp dried hawthorn berries 

½ cup rose water (rose hydrosol)

Witch hazel

1-pint mason jar

BPA-free plastic lid or waxed paper

Method

Add dried plant material to your jar. Add rose water, then top up with witch hazel, leaving about 1 inch of headspace at the top of the jar. Stir with a wooden chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon to make sure all the plant material is submerged and your liquids are well combined. 

If using a BPA-free plastic lid, cap it tightly; if using waxed paper and a regular metal canning lid, add the waxed paper first before screwing the lid on to prevent corrosion of the metal. 

Label your jar with the contents and date, and allow to steep for 2-4 weeks. Top up with extra witch hazel if the plant material floats to the top and dries out. 

Strain the plant material out with a mesh strainer and coffee filter or cheesecloth, bottle (a spray bottle works well), and use by spritzing or swiping over your face gently with a soft cloth. 

Note: you can also add a few drops of lavender, rose, jasmine, or geranium essential oil to the toner if you’d like!

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This year will be my first year to grow yarrow in my little chaotic herb garden at home. I am a bit of a “throw it at the wall and see what sticks” gardener, so I have a few spots where I plan to plant a bit: in those “luck garden” flower beds I mentioned earlier in this month’s Little Rituals post, in a couple containers in my patio tea garden, and around my daughter’s new rose bush because my fellow PWC friend Erin Harwood (@plantmagicwitherin on Instagram and Ponderings & Wanderings on Substack) shared that yarrow can aid in attracting helpful insects that feast on pesky aphids. Check out her Substack for lovely plant content, by the way!

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Aside from love, beauty, protection, and healing, yarrow is valued for its divinitory insight, emotional strength, and has ties with the faeries and animal magic. 

A simple yarrow tea can be drunk to aid in clarity and insight.

A pouch of yarrow can be carried as a token and talisman for courage, protection, and love. 

In the kitchen, yarrow has a long history of use in fermented drinks like beer and mead. If you are a brewer, try replacing hops with yarrow to mix things up! Or, perhaps infuse some yarrow honey, add the young fresh leaves to a salad, or grind the dried flowers for seasoning blends and salts—I plan on trying that soon!

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Herbs and Herbalism seasons

Herbs to Love in May

May is such a special month where I live. The “merry merry month of May” lyric comes to mind. It is generally a time of unabashed sunshine, warming breezes, flourishing blossoms, and frenetic energy. The joy of May is infectious and refreshing! Spring is fully awake, and we are energized and full of her spark. 

While the weather from one year to the next varies, and so, too, does the timing of May’s blooms, there are certainly favorite plant allies that I always find myself drawn to during this month. These are a few of them!

Yarrow: white, pinkish, or more yellow—these blossoms that flourish in mid-spring are magical no matter the color. A harmonizing herb that can both cool and warm, staunch and aid flow, it can be used medicinally for a wide variety of things including styptic powder, teas, salves, steams, incense, and more. In folklore, yarrow has quite the long tradition of use in love spells, protective charms, sachets, cleansing and divination preparations, among other uses. Yarrow is on my planting list this year. Plant some near your home for a bit of beauty and protection, and harvest some for a host of beneficial applications!

Lilac: fleeting May magic! Lilac blooms where I live for a short time in early May, so I have to enjoy it quickly! That’s all part of the fun. Lilac sugar, tea, honey, syrup or jelly, skin recipes, and baked-good adornments are some favorite ways to harness its powerful sweetness. I love the longstanding tradition of planting this shrubby plant near doorways—then when it is in bloom, you can access it easily and quickly. Lilac is also said to be a protector of the home. 

Hawthorn: ubiquitous with May, whether they’re blooming on Beltane where you live or not. Hawthorn guards the gates to faerie realms, protects, gladdens the heart, and calms the nerves. I adore a strong cup of hawthorn leaf & flower tea! Just be sure to show the hawthorn tree her due respect: Mother Hawthorn expects to be approached with care, asked permission before you harvest from her branches, and left with an offering near her roots. Also, it is said that you shouldn’t bring hawthorn branches indoors, as it is bad luck. 

Red Clover: this springtime beauty is equal parts medicinal and magical. Wonderfully nutritive, beneficial to the skin and female system, for balance and movement, and more…and also so lovely in salads, honey, sweets, fritters, teas, lemonade, and other special treats. It is also a wonderful ally in soothing skin applications including bath teas, salves, and more! Red clover tends to grow wild and free in many areas, especially meadows, fields, and pastures—so much plenty for the taking! Just be careful to ensure that the place you’re harvesting from is safe—not too near roads or where chemicals are sprayed. 

Honeysuckle: yes, I know it is an invasive non-native species here in the U.S. But it is so very prolific where I live, and it’s not honeysuckle’s fault it was brought here! It has always been a special plant to me, since I was a kid when we had a magical honeysuckle that grew entwined with a blackberry bush at my childhood home. The great thing about honeysuckle is you don’t have to feel bad about foraging it, and don’t have to worry about taking too much! It smells so nice tucked into vases, twisted and twined into wreaths, or enjoyed in teas, cordials, and jellies. 

Catnip: I adore catnip, and it seems to adore me! It reseeds itself in more of my herb pots each year and springs up in late April and May. This rampant herb in my little container garden is not just for cats. A member of the mint family, it is wonderful for calming frazzled nerves and stress in humans and is gentle enough for children. I like to think of catnip as bringing both a dash of calm and a dose of courage, all in one go. It imparts a strong yet gentle resilience. When my plants are ready to begin harvesting, I plan to incorporate catnip into sun teas, lemonade, and popsicles to share with my kiddos!

Which herbs do you find that you favor in May?

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Herbs and Herbalism Recipes Tea

Springtime Jasmine Pearls Tea Blend

One of my most favorite forms of tea is jasmine pearls! Green tea leaves scented with delicate, luscious jasmine are rolled into little “pearls,” of which you can use 3 or 4 to a cuppa. Not only do I adore the mild floral flavor and relaxing sensation of enjoying this fancy-feeling form of tea, but it is also so lovely acting as the base of springtime tea blends!

Jasmine pearl tea tastes as delightful cold brewed or iced as it does hot. The pearls are convenient for preparing in a pitcher or mason jar, as they are quite easy to avoid when sipping (or you can scoop them out with a spoon). As for a traditional hot brew, green tea needs slightly special treatment! It needs a lighter steep so as not to turn too bitter. However, I’ve found jasmine pearls to be a little more forgiving than other types of loose leaf green tea in this regard. 

It is true that green tea contains caffeine like its other Camellia sinensis counterparts, but less so, which lends well to the calming attributes it is found to possess. The tea plant in general is thought to aid in steadying and balancing the constitution, green tea especially. Jasmine’s presence adds further peace, calming, and uplifting.

This particular jasmine pearl tea blend includes catnip, chamomile, rose, and rosemary. The combination of light, flowery tea with nervine herbs that bolster the mind and soothe the spirit is the ultimate springtime self-care sigh of contentment!

Here is the full recipe!

For one cup of tea:

3 jasmine pearls 

½ tsp catnip

½ tsp chamomile

½ tsp rose petals

¼ tsp rosemary 

As this contains green tea, be sure to use a slightly lower water temperature (don’t quite bring the water to boiling) and a shorter brew time, about 3-4 minutes.

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

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Herbs and Herbalism

Damiana + Herbs for Headache Relief

I am lucky to not have chronic headache issues, which I know so many people have! But I do still sometimes deal with clusters of headaches, especially stress-related and cycle-related ones. And I’ve recently been ill and have experienced some unpleasant headaches associated with that. (Such a bad cold and flu season this year!) When those problems arise, herbs can absolutely help.

I have several favorite herbal allies to lean on in this circumstance, usually brewing them in tea, and damiana is the star of the show. Though perhaps better known as an aphrodisiac herb, damiana is amazing to relieve tension headaches and that pressure and pounding sensation in the head. It is my headache secret weapon and always in my headache tea blends! I love its warm (but not too warm) soothing, tension-relieving, and pain modulation and easing.

Other herbs I rely on for headache teas:

Meadowsweet– cooling, astringent, eases stabbing pain, high in salicylic acid (aspirin!)

Mint– cooling, antispasmodic, nutritious, pain-relieving, uplifting and relaxing

Lavender– soothing, relaxing, gentle, pain-relieving and aromatic 

Cramp bark– gentle, pain-relieving, spasm easing, muscle tension relieving

Skullcap & Passionflower– sleep aiding, nerve & tension easing, soothing

If you use essential oils, an oil roller or balm using peppermint and lavender oils mixed with a carrier oil is a great remedy, too. Roll or rub this on your temples, the back of your neck, or wherever your headaches tend to be concentrated. (Can you tell mine is well-loved? I need to replace that oily label!)

What are your favorite natural headache remedies?

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

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Herbs and Herbalism Recipes

Orange & Herb Infused Sugar

I love making herbal sugars! They are so versatile, and can be used for so many things—like to sweeten tea and hot beverages, adorn a mocktail or cocktail glass rim, sprinkle on sugar cookies / shortbread cookies / other baked goods, add pizzazz to oatmeal, and even to make a batch of sugar scrub for botanical skincare purposes!

Orange is the star of this particular blend of herbal sugar. With its bright, tangy flavor, vitamin C punch, and complexity of bitter + sour + sweet, it adds depth and delight. 

Orange offers so many nutritional and medicinal benefits. It aids the immune system, the heart, addresses inflammation, offers antioxidant benefits, and a host of other perks!

Herbal sugars can be utilized for ritual and spiritual purposes, too, and orange shines in this role. Orange is associated with love, joy, prosperity, luck, and divination. You could certainly change up the ingredients to suit your intentions, but the following recipe would certainly boost intentions of sweetness, joy, and love!

Orange & Herb Infused Sugar

Ingredients

Method

Mix white sugar, fresh orange zest, peppermint, and one vanilla bean (split and scraped, then the whole bean tossed in) in a bowl. Then spread it out to dry awhile on a cookie sheet before transferring the mixture (including the vanilla bean) to a jar. The vanilla bean will continue to impart its sweet flavor in the sugar and it will only get better!

Let the jar sit tightly lidded for a few days to infuse with all the lovely orange oil and vanilla before using it in all the delicious and creative ways you can imagine!

It is ORANGE month at the Plant Wonder Collective Patreon Study Circle! If you’d like to support the work of PWC, please consider joining our Study Circle for exclusive recipes, articles, digital downloads and printables for the plant of the month.

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

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Herbs and Herbalism plant wonder collective Recipes

Sumac Cider-Ade

It’s sumac month at the Plant Wonder Collective, and I am so excited because this is a new plant for me! I am loving getting acquainted with these little ruby gems. 

The taste of sumac is hard to describe; sour, tart, earthy, and in my opinion, delicious. It’s cooling and drying—very astringent and gives that tannin feeling of black tea or red wine. But the flavor is light, and both fruity yet complex and mineral-y.

From tea to spice rub, tincture to wound salve, and even a lovely pink dye, sumac has a host of applications. This plant is full of antioxidants, offers anti-inflammatory aid, is wonderfully healing inside and out, and can help with unpleasant conditions such as water retention and diarrhea. It is good for the cardiovascular system, can aid in drying out the sinuses, and can even lower blood sugar, too! Sumac is widely forageable in the U.S. and has a long history of use by indigenous peoples. 

(For more info on sumac, consider checking out the free mini month of content on the Plant Wonder Collective Study Circle Patreon!)

Sumac is tart and delicious as a cold beverage, much like lemonade, and so is often cold-brewed as such—I found lots of simple instructions for doing just that online. But of course I wanted to add a different spin on the typical sumac “lemon”ade, and a September-y flavor profile! 

Since I am a huge fan of tart apples and fall cider, I thought I’d try a sumac cider combining this month’s plant with apple and spices! It makes for a lip smacking, satisfyingly-sour and tasty beverage that’s easy to make and kid-friendly, too. 

Ingredients:

4 cups apple cider / juice

¼ cup sumac berries, crushed with mortar & pestle

2 tsp simple syrup

1 lemon or orange, juiced

1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces / crushed with mortar & pestle

3-4 slices fresh ginger or 1 Tbsp dried ginger pieces

7 cardamom pods

6 cloves

1 tsp allspice berries 

1 star anise

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher; you might decide to use a large tea strainer or large eco-friendly paper tea bag to hold the mulling spices for ease of removal. Allow to cold brew either at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 4 hours to overnight. 

Strain the spices and sumac berries out using a fine mesh sieve (a cheesecloth or coffee filter can help, too). Chill and serve over ice!

If you’d like to make this a bit more of an adult drink, you can always add a splash of bourbon or your preferred liquor to your cup; you could also make a stronger brew of the base cider-ade and add then Prosecco or champagne for fizz. 

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

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Herbs and Herbalism Tea wheel of the year

Lammas, Calendula, & a Tea Meditation

Lammas / Lughnasadh / the First Harvest festival is almost here, coming up on August 1!

In years past, I was very much NOT a fan of the month of August. Where I live it tends to be incredibly hot, buggy, and like a dragging obstacle between me and my favorite season: autumn.

But recently, I came to see August in a new light. I’ve learned about the sabbat of Lughnasadh / Lammas (they tend to be used interchangeably) on the wheel of the year. Lammas marks the first harvest festival—the first of three, including Mabon and Samhain. The connections with Lammas tend to be the late summer veg and herb harvests, grain, bread making, beer, wine, fruits and vegetables, abundance, and gratitude. This opens the doorway for our descent toward autumn. Nights begin to gradually get cooler, and sunflowers bloom at the flower farm near my home. I can get behind this imagery, this spirit of anticipating autumn and gratitude for the end of summer’s abundance!

Lammas and Calendula

When I first learned about Lammas, I immediately, intuitively connected it with calendula. This may not resonate for you—you may have another plant you feel called to at this time. But for me, it’s all about this gorgeous, sunny orange flower.

Medicinally, calendula offers immune boosting, gut healing, inflammation modulating, stagnation clearing, and liver supporting properties when used internally. Externally, it supports skin healing and treats bug bites, rashes, burns, wound healing, and overall skin health support.

Spiritually, calendula is connected to the sun, Leo and Cancer—giving fiery yet nurturing qualities, warmth, comfort, healing, protection, happiness, peace, abundance, hard work, and responsibility. I find that ingesting, and even just seeing this plant on my home altar spaces, helps bolster and nourish me during this industrious time! I tend to add calendula into most of my teas and baked goods during the Lammas season.

Lammas Tea Meditation Download

To celebrate this occasion, I am sharing with you a special Lammas Tea Meditation journaling page that you can download, print, and perhaps pair with a mug of calendula tea. Quiet your mind, breathe deeply, and allow your impressions of the herb to wash over you and impart its gifts.

Download, print, and use this mediation journal page along with any other Lammas / Lughnasadh / First Harvest celebrations and reflections!

Lammas meditation pg.pdfDownload