We wish all of you all the best, now and always. And may it happen in the best ways possible, along with Strength and Faith in adversity, Vision for Opportunity and Gratitude in the present.
As we start a New Year, as well as a New Decade, which also happens to be a Leap Year, it feels like a drastic change, yet as always it all starts exactly as the old one ends. It is only a moment. And every moment we can make life-altering choices and enter New Dimensions of Existence.

In case you're interested, here is a good link to see what the stars hold at this time.
https://cafeastrology.com/thisweekinastrology.html

Celebrate safely!   

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)







Passionflower is not native to our Northeast climate but is found in warmer zones, where it sometimes reaches invasive status. You can grow it, however, and with some protection, it is able to survive a not so harsh winter. There are over 500 species. I will now quickly move away from the very interesting technical and scientific information, as well as how this incredible Herb/Flower got its name. There is plenty of information on the internet, should you be interested. I’m sure there could have been plenty of better names, and of course, you can come to your own conclusions.

For more information and authoritative confirmation also check out
Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E, which is the European Authority on Herbs.
http://cms.herbalgram.org/expandedE/Passionflowerherb.html?ts=1567952927&signature=fa2dc05e414fd4063d1c4ae29c4e6ac0

What I want to focus on, however, is Passionflower’s amazing ability to help us out, as well as her unique personality.
“ Passiflora is suited to conditions of nervous and cerebral overstimulation, excitement, and irritation…….it calms the cerebral cortex and has a special affinity to the medulla oblongata, the area of the brainstem that oversees sleep…..Passionflower is one of the most important remedies for insomnia from overstimulation of the mind, excessive thinking and chatter in the brain...”    Matthew Wood

I wholeheartedly agree. Passionflower “drops you down” a few levels, and allows you to deal with things yourself. It is powerful but does not sedate, it is not a narcotic, it just cleans up the mess that prevents you from thinking clearly. What a gift. Ultimately this is what it boils down to anyway. Nobody and nothing can solve problems for you, or even offer solutions. This is always up to us.
My sister worked as a Doctor’s Assistant in Germany. One of the Doctors prescribed Passionflower quite a lot. He too felt that many things could be solved by getting the patient in a state of mind where s/he (the patient) would be able to problem-solve themselves. This is how it should be done. And with no side effects and interactions, it is safe. Obviously, don’t use extreme amounts, or creative, crazy ways of using it, as well, allergies can always be a thing. So decide for yourself if this is true. I have however read some things as warnings, which I know to not be true.

Passionflower can even help with conditions that worsen with anxiety. Cough, for example, indigestion, blood pressure and more, which are caused by stress. You should still see your doctor if you experience problems, but we’ve all been there, where some condition gets aggravated by anxiety or stress. This, Passionflower can help with.
I have even seen it working in situations of shock and trauma. There are more specific remedies for this, but it makes sense that it would work here as well.

Passionflower is also interesting, that you might not think it is working, because you don’t feel anything. That is because it doesn’t “do” anything as a sedative or narcotic would. It just takes away the “overstrung” By the time you check if it is working, you’re already “there.” This might sound cryptic, but it isn’t. Hard to put in words, it might be easier to look at the picture of the flower to understand.
The many thin, purple strands can stand for the mental condition of being frazzled and overloaded with many, or just one, repetitive thoughts for example. There might be one or many root causes for this. Then look at the outer white petals which gently provide support for these many strands. Slightly curved up, in a protective shape. Not enclosing, but gently holding them together. Like fingers of a hand. Guiding, supporting, shielding, keeping safe.
Cunningham describes her as belonging to feminine, Venus, water, and gives her powers of peace, sleep and friendship. He advises placing Passionflower in the house to calm problems and troubles and bring peace. I would suggest putting a little in the soup as well, it most likely would be more effective.

I’ve grown Passionflower for several years. She is highly interactive. So interactive, I was not able to harvest her, aside from some flowers for a flower essence. She turned out to be so reactive and aware, it was more like having a pet than a plant. You can laugh if you like, but that’s what happened.
She also expresses her preferences clearly. Here is an example. I planted the babies in pots, near a metal trellis, knowing the vines would need support. When the time came that the little shoots looked for something to grab on, I noticed one, being taller and stronger than the rest, acting as support for all the others. I gently untangled them, hanging and weaving them into the trellis, to show them what to do. Only a couple of hours later, everything was as before. Off the trellis, around the “leader.” Slightly surprised, I started to repeat the process, when I clearly “just knew” that they had an aversion to the metal. So I went and got some bamboo sticks and wrapped them around those. Again they unwound. Now they really got my attention. I stuck in some branches and twigs from trees. Those were unstable, so I tied them to the trellis with natural twine, and wrapped the shoots around the branches. Again, only about two hours later, those little feeler-like vines had undone themselves from the branches, but now the did not cling to the leader, but they had tightly wrapped themselves around the string. That was what they were looking for. The “leader” always stayed the leader. Taller and stronger than all others, always making the first move in growing and exploring the next level. Once attached, the others followed. Of course, I played with this, exploring the “what would you do if I did this or that”....the “just know” factor, I quickly realized, was not my own. The plant seemed to express itself this way. The affinity to mind is strong, and clearly, you don’t even have to consume the plant. It certainly has a strong mind of its own, but it does not take over. Only at first I attributed the observation to myself, then it was clear that there was a lot more going on.
Passionflower will not do things for you, but it will help you by restoring functioning, impaired by stress.
Passionflower gets along really well with a lot of herbs, helping them, as well, by relaxing the system and hence allowing them to work better, without interference by stress-induced responses. If you want to enhance Passionflower’s gifts, Lemon Balm is a great choice, as well as Linden Flower, Scullcap and Hawthorn. These combinations will still not be sedative or narcotic. For extra help in severe situations, Valerian is a good choice. Valerian does not work the same for everyone, however. Lavender and Chamomille also work well. Which one to choose though? This depends on who you need. Each Plant has its own special gift and specific application. However, sometimes it comes down to what you have available, or are able to obtain. Herbs are unique and often will do what you need them to do, even if it is not a perfect match. That would never work with drugs. However, the better you understand the individual herbs, the more impressive their work. This is the advantage of creating your own little Apothecary. This way you have the option to tweak things to perfectly match the challenge. But there is no rush to go out and buy a lot. This happens little by little, ideally, you can wildcraft, maybe grow some things, but first, you want to understand why you want things in there, what they can do for you. So one herb at a time, I will try to help you with that.

I’d love to hear your experience with Passionflower or any other herb.

Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

It was a tough decision which Herb to start with. There are so many, and they all are so wonderful and valuable. However, I want to start with Goldenrod. To me, Goldenrod is one of the seasonal messengers. When you see the first few golden sprigs of Goldenrod flowers here and there, you know it is late summer, and fall is not far. This is regardless of the month, and regardless of soaring temperatures. You can now bet that soon days are getting a little shorter, and it is going to get a little cooler. As more and more Goldenrod is in flower, this is what is happening, until you notice large patches of these gorgeous golden flowers, and it is officially Fall. Harvest is in it’s prime, and you find yourself reaching for a light jacket in the early mornings.
Goldenrod makes me think of a traveler's staff. Larger stands, even fields of Goldenrod seem to be protective and inviting weary creatures to rest. It will provide a dense cover, not easily traveled, along with restorative scent, and medicine to heal wounds...all kinds of wounds, along with healing perfume to heal the mind and soul. She is a wonderful healer.
Year after year, when Goldenrod is in full bloom, I am pretty worn out from the demands of spring and summer. Even the sight of those golden staffs is uplifting and encouraging seemingly offering assistance to help you to keep going, with its help, to the finish line, which is not far now. And it does assist, make a tea, take a little tincture, stop to converse with it and smell its wonderful scent. And then you see it cheering you on wherever you go, even driving down the road, it waves to you from the sides. And then you find yourself smile. What a friend.

Goldenrod’s scent is, to me, incredible. Sweet, yet herbaceous, with slightly bitter tones, even if this is usually used as taste description. Hard to describe, since it is complex. I can, however, describe that the scent of Goldenrod relaxes me immediately, makes me stop and just enjoy it for a few moments. It seems to touch the soul, an essence at the core of being, and heal that. It is strengthening, encouraging, restorative. No surprise to learn then, that Goldenrod has an affinity with Kidneys, which are considered the keepers of life force in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Kidneys are also associated with worry and fear. The Latin solidus, solida means solid, dense, unbroken. Sometimes I found Solidago translated as strengthening, which might not be a correct translation, but is still true for Goldenrod. And Goldenrod can help us be “unbroken” in so many ways.
Another definition is, that it is “solidus + agere, meaning causing to solidify, or bring together, the lips of a wound. Solidago was one of the main wound-remedies prominent during the Middle Ages” (Matthew Wood) I found this to be true. I use the leaves of Solidago extensively for wounds.

Also, in my experience with this plant, it means more. It seems to me to also nod towards solitary, which is “alone” and the plant tells you that you are not. Goldenrod can be found by itself, but for the most part, it comes in larger patches. When you do feel alone, or lonely, or any variation of isolation or abandonment, in the midst of Goldenrod this just goes away. The medicine of Goldenrod helps a little with this, ingesting Godenrod when you need it, you feel a subtle, but powerful shift in mind and emotions, but it is one of the magical things plants do for us, that can not be bottled. The spirit of things stands alone, is alive within the beings which possess it.

There are various species of Goldenrod, all seem to be more or less interchangeable. Personally, I feel, use what is close to you, since it will have the special gift of local, meaning it is experiencing what you do, and it will provide medicine for that, specifically.

The medicine of Goldenrod is broad as well as specific. The slight bitterness points towards affecting digestion.
Solidago is bitter, warm, pungent. It contains flavonoids (including quercetin and rutin) tannins, triterpene saponins, bitters, and essential oils.
Goldenrod helps Kidneys, and interestingly enough, in TCM Kidneys are associated with emotions, and Solidago does help with that. And of course, anything helping out the Kidneys is a big deal, since when Kidneys have issues, it soon becomes a Domino Effect affecting other organ systems, since unprocessed waste gets returned, then affects the Liver (emotion of anger) then the blood and so on, everything getting worse as the cycle repeats itself.
Goldenrod affects the Stomach, Skin, is great for Allergies, esp when caused by Ragweed, which blooms at the same time. Like so often in nature, when something causes problems, the remedy is often found very close to it.
The symptoms pointing towards needing Goldenrod’s help are often in incorrect urine output..too much, too little, too dark or too light (it balances and restores, hence, like so often in Herbalism it addresses what are opposite imbalances). When there are scabs and sores. Tiny pimples, maybe itchy, swollen, tired legs and feet, sore back...that’s Kidneys, that is Goldenrod.
And of course, as already mentioned, wounds...similarly to Plantain, Goldenrod does not care how old and in which condition these wounds are, it will do what it can to heal them.
Another TCM concept is the Kidney-Lung relationship...so if it helps the Kidneys, it helps the Lungs..and of course, this goes both ways for better and worse. This is something demonstrated by Solidago as well.
Since a warm or hot infusion of Goldenrod opens the pores, which helps with elimination, especially important during colds and cases of flu, it can be used to great benefit when you have to deal with that.
Other labels for Goldenrod are Anti-inflammatory, astringent, anti-fungal, increases capillary strength and circulation, Anti-Oxidant and many more.

But as always, as far as I am concerned, it is more important to get to know the spirit of a being, then it’s physical constituents. That is how we make friends.

I will come back to this, but for now, this concludes Goldenrod. In the midst of Farm season, writing takes a back seat, but I do want to share with you the medicine of the season

There are now quite a few pictures in that Page, and I have a lot to tell you about each one. Of course, this is still only a start.

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This page is to talk about Herbs and a lot of other things