Welcome Winter
Dear Wildling,
How is it already December? We have reached the close of the calendar year and are here in the host month to the Winter Solstice on the 21st.
It’s wise to pause now for a moment.
At a time of so much ritual and celebration, of tradition and excess, of feeling all the wildly varied expressions across the spectrum of human emotions, we might look to Ma Nature for some peaceful practices. While we retreat indoors with cold weather, it is vital that we resist the temptation to avoid a bit of temporary discomfort at the expense of direct connection with the energy of living creation. We must still feel soil under foot, the expansion of lungs breathing fresh air, the heart beating in rhythm with Panchamama, the mother earth. This is where harmony within/without is secured and brings us into the flow that enables us to navigate the frenzy, the frantic, and the chaos of a season seemingly lost to the material world’s foibles. Balance is available. And with intention it is found.
Regardless of where you might live, there are simple practices to help you deepen into the experience of Winter’s gifts.
Light candles. Build Fires. Sip Tea. Bathe in botanicals. Make broth.
And each morning, as we anticipate the sun’s rise in the sky, say thank you.
Step outside and pause, take a deep inhalation of that cold air, and say thank you.
And you might also lean into the love of a few plants that hold summer’s energy within them so that we can enjoy warm light in the dark days when we need it.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis: this mint family plant is a gentle nervine used to help with anxiety, nervous tension, restlessness and disquiet. She is super kid-friendly (I love a lemon balm glycerite for children) and is also an anti-viral. I use Lemon Balm in several of my Appalachian Teas and Botanicals blends–Queen of Hearts, Lost Provinces Anti-Anxietea (along with hops and hemp flower) and Appalachian Immunitea (available here: ) Melissa as she is known, is liquid sunshine and is also wonderful alone as a simple tea sweetened with honey.
St. John’s Wort, Hypericum perforatum: another gem of a plant for easing the nervous system on a deep level. A true trophorestorative for the overworked nervous system, St. John’s has been used to assist seasonal affective disorder and mild depression for centuries. The bright yellow flowers exude a lovely blood red resin that infuses into oil for external use that helps ease pain associated with nervous tissue damage, muscle spasms and overexerted muscles. In fact, the gifts that St. John’s Wort offers are quite extensive and worth a deep dive.
Pine, Pinaceae spp.: Renown southern folk herbalist Tommie Bass loved the pine medicines so prevalent in his Alabama homeland. This evergreen has been a traditional tonic, expectorant, and Vitamin C wonder. Pine resin, or pitch is nature’s best first-aid for drawing out toxicity from bites as well as in use as an antimicrobial bandage. Nothing is simpler than brewing up a batch of pine needle tea during the winter months to bring us into the presence of the season with the right medicine at the right time.
Let us settle into Winter, into the phase of darkness that enables quiet and deep rest. It serves us, this time of incubation, so that we might reset, rejuvenate and restore; just as the plants are storing their energy in preparation for the next season when it is time to rebirth anew.
In Peace,
Lori
And as always, some sweet Tunes:
Xavier Rudd, Follow the Sun (a classic!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E1bNmyPWww
Gillian Welch, Winter’s Come and Gone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzZLpjT5jgM
Sam Garrett, I & I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kGkwSPCzMw
