Pinus spp.

Pinus spp. (Pines)

 

Family

Pinaceae (Pine Family)

 

The Pine family originated about 100 million years ago.

 

Pine family genera differentials, from Elpel and Moore:

- Pines (Pinus spp.) have 1 to 8 needles in bundles of two or more, wrapped together at the base by a little papery sheath. P. monophylla is the only pine that doesn’t have this characteristic. Pine cones are woody and stiff, instead of the papery scaled and flexible spruce cones.

- Larches (Larix spp.) have deciduous neeles arranged in a spiral at the branch buds.

- Spruces (Picea spp.) have sharp, pointy needles that roll between the fingers. The cones hang down.

- Firs (Abies spp.) have soft, “furry” needles that are flat, and don’t roll between the fingers. The cones point up.

- Hemlocks (Tsuga spp.) have short, flat, blunt needles attached by a small stem.

 

Botany

Michael Moore includes for medicinal usage: P. aristata, P. arizonica, P. attenuata, P. balfouriana, P. contorta, P. discolor, P. edulis, P. engelmannii, P. flexilis, P. jeffreyi, P. lembertiana, P. leiophylla, P. longaeva, P. monophylla, P. moticola, P. ponderosa, and P. strobiformis. There are 100 Pinus spp. plants in the world, and 50 species in the USA. (Elpel)

 

Pines will grow from timberline up to 5000 feet in elevation. The pinon pines grow at the lowest elevation, followed by the yellow pine and ponderosas.

 

Male strobili (reproductive parts) are smaller than female strobili. They usually reside in the lower parts of trees, and die soon after releasing their pollen to the wind. Female strobili are larger and usually located higher in the trees. The female cones are aerodynamically shaped to create swirling wind currents to catch the pollen. The pollen and cones are aerodynamically matched to each other, so that each species catches its own pollen. (Elpel)

 

Pine differentials:

- Red pines usually have needle bundles of 2.

- Yellow pines usually have needle bundles of 3.

- White pines usually have needle bundles of 5.

 

Vitalist Actions and Energetics

Bitter, warm. Affects liver and kidney (Tierra).

 

Clinical Actions

Analgesic, anti-spasmodic, stimulant.

Pine needle essential oil: rubefacient, antimicrobial, expectorant. (Skenderi)

Buds: (dried, of P. sylvestris) mild expectorant, antiseptic, circulatory stimulant (Skenderi)

Resin: chew and swallow and currant-sized piece, as an expectorant that generally softens bronchial mucus (Moore). helpful also as a lower urinary tract disinfectant, but not when kidney inflammation is present.

 

Constituents

From Michael Moore:

Plant: 3-beta-methoxy-14-serraten-21-on, cis-abienol, leucocyanidin, neoabietinic acid, strobic acid, pinosylvin-monomethylester

Resin, exudate, sap: dehydroabietic acid, elliotic acid, abietic acid, isopimaric acid, laevopimaric acid, palustric acid, pimaric acid, sandaracopimaric acid, strobinic acid

Leaf: anticopalic acid

 

From Tierra:

Lignin, a-pinene, camphene. Oil of P. Sylvestris contains terebenthine. The young resinous branches contain oils with esters, phellandrene, and pinene. It also produces glycosides (pinicrine, piceine, and coniferoside)

 

From Skenderi:

Pine needle essential oil: (from P. mugo) alpha and beta phellandrene, bornyl acetate, alpha and beta pinene, etc.

(From P. sylvestris) alpha pinene, beta phellandrene, 3-carene, etc.

 

Buds: (dried, of P. sylvestris) volatile oils (bornyl acetate, alpha and beta piene), bitter principles (pinipicrin), organic acids (quinic acid), flavanoids, acetophenone (piecein), sugars, etc.

 

Uses

 

Fresh resin

The fresh sticky pine resin is useful for acute care of cuts. It literally sticks together the cut, while keeping it clean via its antiseptic properties. Stuff may stick to the resin though, so consider sticking a cloth or bandage on top, to keep it clean.

 

Incense

You can directly crumble the dried resin onto charcoal, or onto a metal or earthen plate on a wood stove. Use a small amount, as the resins are quite smoky and aromatic, and the scent can easily become overwhelming. Besides enjoying the scent, I feel like the smoke is physically and energetically cleansing and energizing.

 

Kyphi

You can make a more complex incense with Kiva Rose’s kyphi recipe (listed in parts, below):

Resin 1

Berries 1

Besswax 1/2

Root/ bark 1/2

Flowers and leaves 3

 

Basically, you just dry, powderize, and mix all of your ingredients. Then, you add enough warmed mead/ honey/ wine until it’s all sticky (but not wet). Smear a half inch coat over wax paper, then warm on low heat, until the resins melt and the entire mixture coagulates into a whole (also known as a nice gooey delicious-smelling mess). Press flat against tray once more, then place in warm dry place to dry/ cure for 5-7 days. Once it’s mostly dry, break it into smaller pieces, store away, and burn as you please! These make lovely gifts, and I like to use them in ceremonies. You can mix and match your plant medicines and scents, like you would any other formula, but with attention to medicinal and energetic properties, plant stories and personal relationships, and scents. I like the idea of making kyphi with solstice and equinox, as a way to mark the seasons by engaging the gifts of the natural world into a cohesive aromatic memory-trigger and sensory stimulant.

 

Pine Resin Oil

It’s warming, stimulating, aromatic, and anti-microbial. A strong pine-infused oil or salve works as a counter-irritant, drawing out foreign material (such as splinters) within 48 hours of topical application. 7song also uses it for this purpose, though he cautions not to use it on wounds that are too deep or potentially infected, as the pine pitch salve may seal up the wound, and seal in the infection, if it’s there. For smaller cuts though, it creates a nice “natural bandage” over the area which is antiseptic, and keeps the wound sealed up. Just make sure that you have something to cover the pitch on your wound, such as a leaf, cloth, or bandage, otherwise you will stick to everything. Moore notes that “the abietic resins stimulate topial circulation, increase inflammation, and noticeably speed up the foreign body response; pus and fluids build up much more quickly than if unattended, and the splinter will usually pop out the next day.” He warns about a small healing crisis, a possible 20 hour period of greater inflammation and discomfort, before the foreign particle is counter-irritated out of the body.

 

A more diluted pine oil, added into a salve, creme, or oil blend, is a warming circulatory stimulant that may be helpful for sore muscles and joints, and with old injuries.

 

Summer is the best time to harvest pine resin. Make sure that you leave enough with the tree, as it may need it to repair its own wounds. After collecting half a jar of resin, separate the gooey and semi-solid resin from the hard resin. Break up the hard pieces. You can wrap it in cloth, and hammer it. Do not put it into a blender, or even mortar and pestle, as your equipment will then be forever sticky and resinous. (You can use rubbing alcohol to clean up afterwards, but get mixed results). Add the fresher, stickier resins into your jar first, then add your broken up harder pieces. Fill your jar up with your oil of choice, such as extra virgin organic olive oil. Take note that whatever jar you choose to do this in, will always be a resin jar. Heat is needed to dissolve the resin into the oil. Kiva likes to place the entire jar in her wood stove warmer for a few weeks. I don’t know how she does it, so that the glass jar doesn’t burn or explode (having had negative experiences trying this). I could imagine doing this by placing the jar close to, or right above (but not touching) a wood stove, for extended heat. After the resins are mostly dissolved, strain your oil... then it’s ready to use!

 

Kiva Rose reminds us that, “When harvesting, it’s important to realize that resin circulates through the body of conifers, and helps to seal off any injury to the tree from insect infestation or microbial invasion. Thus, in order to avoid further harm to a tree, we need to be careful to harvest resin where it has dripped down the body of the tree or fallen on the ground, rather than harvesting directly from the wound.”

 

Tincture

1:5 95% resin tincture (Kiva Rose)

Add small amounts to food, such as shortbread, to add flavor. A powerful expectorant, use in small quantities in formulas, similar to how you’d use Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha). Kiva will sometimes add it to her cough formulae.

 

Note that the resin is not water soluble, and will likely come out of solution if added to formulas with greater water content. Anti-microbial, useful in mouth washes. Because of the resinous nature of the medicine, I would refrain from using internally, unless absolutely necessary.

 

Perfume base

Infuse the resin into a high quality oil, such as jojoba. Or, use a tincture as a base. It helps to preserve the perfume, while adding its own woodsy grounding aromatics.

 

Food

All pine nuts are edible, but many are difficult to harvest. Pinus edulis and P. monophylla are harvested and eaten for their pinon nuts, rich in polyunsaturated oils, protein, potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, and carotenes. They are considered warm and sweet, tonifying yin, and boosting the circulation, in Chinese medicine. Brill says, “Store the cones in a dry places, so they release their seeds. Roasting the dry cones facilitates seed removal. Shell the nuts and use them raw or roasted... the high oil content makes shelled pine quite perishable, so refrigerate or freeze them, or use them soon.” Wind, a man I met living mostly primitively in the desert southwest, enjoys pine nuts as one of his primary food sources. He harvests a bunch, and lightly roasts them, then lets them dry in the sun for a day. He then stores them in earthen containers that keep them cool and dry. They last over the winter. He will sometimes grind them into flour, or just eat them directly. They are absolutely delicious.

 

Spring is the best time to harvest fresh leaf buds for food, but needles can be used in food and beverages all through the year, as a flavoring agent. (Rose)

 

Brill doesn’t like the taste of pine inner bark, pollen cones, or fresh shoots, though they are all “edible.” Pine inner bark is full of starches, sugars, vitamins and minerals. Brill suggests eating it only as a survival food, only if absolutely necessary. He recommends boiling it in multiple changes of water to make it more digestible, and to reduce the piney taste.

 

Brill highly recommends collecting and eating the pollen from the male strobiles. To collect them, just grab a handful of needle bundles with male strobiles, stick them into a paper bag, close the mouth of the bag by tightening your hand over that part, then shake! Collecting enough pollen to eat is quite time-consuming, but the pollen is plentiful when it’s the season, it tastes good and is highly nutritious, and you can combine the pollen with other foods to help bulk it up. I use it as a seasoning, instead of a primary food source.

 

Tea

Pine needles make a tea that’s high in vitamin C and antioxidants. The tea is also mildly diuretic and expectorant.

 

A decoction of the inner bark mixed with honey is a stronger expectorant, useful after the feverish stage of a chest cold has passed. (Moore)

 

Livestock were reportedly poisoned by eating ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa) and loblolly pine (P. taeda) needles. Those are both western species of pines. Brill suggests only using eastern pines for tea. But, I disagree. I think that dosage is the difference between poison and medicine, and even food and medicine. But, use your own judgment, and follow your taste buds and literal gut feelings. Pine needle tea saved the lives of scurvy-ridden European explorers, through their high vitamin C content. I like to drink it in the winter, especially infused over a woodstove, as the aromatic smells waft through my home, warming and nourishing my being on all levels.

 

I especially enjoy making pine needle sun tea with my kid students, as pines are readily available in most places, and sun tea is gorgeous and delicious. If it’s a cloudy day, then pine needle tea made over the fire is also a favorite.

 

Flower essence

The Bach flower essence of Scots pine (P. sylvestris) enhances self acceptance through self forgiveness. It helps one move forward, despite past mistakes. It’s indicated for melancholic obsession with past events, overly blaming or guilting oneself, and paralysis due to excessive self criticism.

 

Pine bark syrup

Brill suggests making and using a cough syrup of the pine bark. (See Moore’s directives above, in regards to this). Fill a jar with pine bark and hot water. Let steep for a few hours (I would prefer to use a decoction). Add 3/4 C alcohol per 1 C water (decoction or infusion). Let sit for a day, then strain out the bark. Add 1/2-1 C honey. You can also add cherry bark, sassafras roots, etc.

 

Glue

The pine resin makes a marvelous glue. At a wilderness camp I worked at in Utah, we called it “poo glue.” We’d mix together equal parts pine resin, dried cow dung, and charcoal. First, you melt down the pine resin over a small warm fire in a tin can. Then, you mix in the powderized cow dung and charcoal. Finally, you immediately apply your poo glue to whatever it is that you want to glue together. It dries quickly, and is very strong. We used the poo glue to glue sharpened stones onto sticks, which we used instead of knives (yes, sexy cave woman and man style). The poo glue is strong enough to keep the stones on the sticks, even as we used them for knives, hammers, etc. I said “equal parts” of the resin, dung, and charcoal... but really, you’ll have to experiment with proportions. If it’s too much resin, then the glue will be too brittle. If it’s too much dung or charcoal, then it won’t stick together.

 

General uses, listed by author

 

Tierra

He mostly uses Pinus tabulaeformis and P. Sylvetris. Oil of pine used as an external treatment for local relief of rheumatism, sciatica, chronic bronchitis, cough, pneumonia, and nephritis.

 

Skenderi

Pine needle essential oil: external use (liniment, creme, salve) for upper respiratory inflammation. Internally used via steam inhalation for the same.

 

Buds: (dried, of P. sylvestris) internal use as a tea for upper respiratory inflammations, such as the smoon cold, or as a diaphoretic hot tea. Externally used as a liniment or salve for minor neuralgic pains.

 

Chevallier

Internal use of leaves are mildly antiseptic, and may be used for arthritic and rheumatic problems. Essential oils of P. sylvestris leaves may be taken for asthma, respiratory infections, and as a carminative. Essential oil of the seeds have diuretic and respiratory-stimulant properites. Seeds used for bronchitis, tuberculosis, and bladder infections. Decoction of seeds may be applied to suppress excessive vaginal discharge.

 

Historical Usage

Pines were important timber trees. The Greeks most preferentially used mountain pines, such as the Austrian Pine (P. nigra), for boat and house building. The lodgepole pine (P. contorta) was thus named, for the Blackfoot, Dakota, Montana, Paiute, Cheyenne, and Thompson tribes made their tipi frames from its wood.

 

The Blackfoot make “story sticks” from the lodgepole pine wood, which elders give to their children as rewards for doing small errands or chores. The sticks are notched with the “stories” of these deeds. The more notches, the better!

 

The Hopi apply pinyon pine resin to their forehead as protection from sorcery. The Navajo used pinyon needles as a ceremonial medicine for their War Dances, and the resin as body paint.

 

The Kawaiisu hang a baby boy’s outgrown cradle in a Ponderosa pine, so that he will grow strong, like the tree.

 

Taoist hermits and monks living in the high deep mountains of China are purported to eat very little, but their diet includes pine nuts. These nuts are said to bestow eternal life. Pine nuts have been found buried in Egyptian coffins.

 

It’s a tree often used in burials. Viking chiefs were buried in their dragon ships made of pine. Scottish clan chiefs and warriors liked to be buried under pines. Most of the wall-panels of the royal burial chamber of the “Midas Mound” complex at Phrygia (from 8^th century BCE) were made of pine.

 

When the Romans occupied Israel, they liked to use the Jerusalem pine (P. halapensis) for many things, including for crucifixions. It’s said that Jesus Christ was crucified on this Pine.

 

Mythology and Magic

The Greeks associate Pine with the god, Pan. Pines are associated with life force, vitality, death, and resurrection. Many old pine trees in Greece are dedicated to Pan, with a small shrine or altar next to it, sometimes with a small sacred fire.

 

In Phrygian myth, Attis, the god of vegetation, dies in self-sacrifice. His goddess mother, Cybele, transforms him into a pine tree at his death. The yearly Festival of Attis takes place at the Spring Equinox, when a decorated pine is festively carried into the village, and ancient fertility cult celebrations ensue.

 

In Greek and Roman legend, Dionysus gave Icarus information regarding how to make wine. Icarus was murdered, and buried under a pine tree. Afterwards, pines were associated with Dionysus and Bacchus, the god of wine.

 

In Breton legend, Merlin climbed the Pine of Barenton (“sacred grove of Bel”), where he received a profound revelation, and never returned to the mortal world.

 

Pairs and Triplets

- Pinus (1 oz), Capsicum (1 dram), Myrica (4 oz), Zingiber (4 oz), Zanthoxylum (1 dram): composition powder (Cook)

- Pinus (2 oz), Lobelia 1, Nepeta 2, Zingiber (4 drams powder to 3 pints water): enema for hypertension, intestinal obstruction, neurasthenia (Priest)

- Pinus, Prunus, Sassafras, Aralia racemosa: drying expectorant (Clymer)

- The inner bark is decocted with dong quai (Angelica sinensis) and angelica for rheumatoid arthritis. Also used with clematis, acanthopanax, quince, and mulberry branches. (Tierra)

 

Cautions and Contraindications

Frequent use of the bark or needle tea may irritate the kidneys. (Moore)

 

Personal Experience

 

Bath

I took a bath last night in a day-long infusion and decoction of P. ponderosa branches, needles, and male strobiles. I always feel relaxed and happy when taking a bath, so am unsure about the effects of the bath itself. The pine scent was so deliciously strong, that I felt as if I had just climbed a pine tree, and had resin all over my body. After emerging from the bath, I noted a slightly resinous feeling to my body. The strong decoction and infusion had resins and oils in a thin layer on the surface of the potion. I think that it coated my body. It felt protective, yet also mildly sticky. It is a similar feeling to wearing a “chaparral oil jacket.” In the morning, I feel decadent, with a slight smell of Pine still on my skin and in my hair, which complements my natural eau de femme.

 

Salve

Two friends gave me two different salves that contain pine resin in it. One is strongly resinous. It is sticky and uncomfortable. I would only use it if I absolutely needed to. The content of resin is very high in that salve, in proportion to oil and beeswax. I applied it to a splinter, that was deep in the palm of my hand. The next day, the splinter still sat in my palm, but the swelling had decreased. The resinous salve seemed to have sealed the splinter into my hand smoothly and painlessly. This is contrary to what 7song and Kiva Rose say, in regards to using pine resin as a drawing agent. Perhaps I didn’t put on enough of it?

 

The second salve is less resinous and sticky, but still strongly pine scented. I like to use this one for bug bites, as it helps to reduce swelling and itching, creating a lightly protective layer over my bites, and making them less temptingly scratchable. It feels warming, a counter-irritant circulatory stimulant. When I apply it to my wrist that experiences chronic dull achey pain, I feel a nice penetrating yet soothing heat that is maintained for half the day, and helps to reduce the cold, damp, pain that I experience there.

 

Kombucha

I infused pine needles, along with other wild herbs, into my kombucha’s second batch of brewing. As soon as I put in the pine needles, the kombucha bubbled and fizzed, as if it were literally jumping for joy. After a few days, I sampled the infusion. The taste of the pine is delicious (I just put in a few needles). I could feel my digestive enzymes churning with more ecstatic aliveness, after drinking it. Slight pulse increase, increase of core heat emanating out to extremities. Astringes mucous membranes slightly (more with a stronger infusion). An initial heady feeling, then gradually sinking, and eventually deeply grounding.

 

Overall Experience

I associate Pines with mountains. Growing up, I relished when we went hiking. The higher we went, the more Pines there seemed to be. I love the rough texture of their bark, the silence in their forests, with the soft piney carpet underfoot. I love the scent of their needles, and playing with their cones. We’d collect pine cones, and line them up in order from tallest to smallest, and create family stories. We’d stockpile cones, and chuck them at each other. We’d peel apart the cones one scale at a time, “He loves me, he loves me not... he loves me!” The scales would then turn into little mandalas, or little creatures that had names, or little fairy glens that we created with love, on the mysterious universe of the forest floor.

 

Pines are so easy to climb, if they haven’t grown too tall. Their branches spread widely and plentifully, and are easy to climb up into, and go high above the Earth. It’s important to stick close to the tree trunk, as the fresh branches tend to break easily. I love sitting up in a Pine and observing the surrounding landscape and skyscape. I feel the bending of the tree with the wind, and can imagine the xylem and phloem, carrying nutrients up and down through the tree.

 

I don’t use Pines much for chronic conditions. They are more useful as an acute medicine, an easily available resource, if you happen to be where they live. I like to carry around a ball of pine resin with me for the reasons listed above (under “Uses”), and for chewing gum, sticking glue, and aromatic comfort. I love Pine as pleasure medicine, through their aromatic resins, in my perfumes and incenses. I feel like a forest queen, whenever I anoint myself with Pine-infused perfumes. The incense brings me back into the forest with all its mysteries, wherever I am in the world.

 

Formulas

 

Forest Chai

(Proportions listed in parts. Adjust, as delighteth thee)

 

First, decoct for 10 minutes:

- Reishi or Chaga (2)

- Ginger (fresh, 0.5)

- Cardamon (a few pods)

- Cinnamon (a few sticks)

 

Then, add the below ingredients. Turn off heat, and let sit, covered, for 10 more minutes:

- Pine needles (2)

- Rose hips (0.5)

- Nettles (0.5)

- Orange peel (small handful)

- Nutmeg (a pinch or two of powder)

- Cacao (1 tsp powder, per cup of chai)

- Cayenne (a pinch or two)

 

Strain out the herbal material (save it! You can make more dilute batches, later). Then, add:

- Vanilla (1 tsp extract)

- Heated coconut milk (or other fatty milky yumminess, to taste)

- Rose honey (or other herbally-infused heart-delighting sweetness, to taste)

 

Enjoy with a candle (or bonfire), a friend (or group), and some chocolate (or likewise decadence).

 

Dosage

Let’s indulge. Drink as you wish. Especially if it’s the cold winter, and your heart is dark and sunken. Don’t drink it everyday. It might be too drying, and over-consumption of pine needles might damage your kidneys. I’d drink this once a week tops. Or, you can modulate the recipe, adjusting it to suit your personal needs and constitution. Take it like a ceremony. Set your space, invite the right people, and enjoy it slowly. Inhale the scents of the forest chai, allowing your eyes to gently close, imagining all the plants that went into your brew, and where they came from. As you enjoy the first sip, hold that taste in your mouth, savoring the initial sensorial awakenings, noticing your body’s responses. Then, swallow. Imagine all the forest entering your body, permeating your being, enveloping your senses. Enjoy.

---

 

First Aid Forest Salve

- Chaparral infused-oil (Larrea tridentata) (1)

- Poplar bud infused-oil (Populus spp.) (1)

- Pine resin infused-oil (Pinus spp.) (1)

- Black birch infused-oil (Betula lenta) or Willow infused-oil (Salix spp.) (0.5)

 

Dosage

Use this anti-inflammatory antiseptic salve as needed for acute cuts, scrapes, bug bites, bruises, etc. See action formula below, for more on why. Not for deep cuts. Clean a deeper cut well, before application, as this salve may seal the wound quickly. You can add some wintergreen essential oil, if you wish to modulate the heating nature of the Salve.

---

 

Sacred Earth Oil

- Pine resin infused-oil

- Myrrh EO

- Frankincense EO

- Sandalwood EO

- Osha EO

- Palo santo EO

- Sagebrush EO

- Ylang ylang EO

(In a Jojoba or Almond oil base, with some vitamin E to help preservation)

 

Play around with proportions, as desired. A little goes a long way. Put only a few drops of essential oil (EO) into your mix, at a time. Go slow. Mix well. Let sit overnight. Smell. You can always add, you can never subtract. Go slow. Anoint yourself. Smell yourself. See how your body aroma interacts with the oil’s scent. Enjoy the play, until you feel finished, until it smells just right. Then, enjoy your personalized Sacred Earth Oil blend.

 

Dosage

Anoint yourself with this oil during ceremonies, or whenever you desire to reconnect with the energies of sacred Earthy medicines.

 

Witchilly yours,

Jiling

 

Resources Cited

Herbal Vade Mecum, Skenderi (pg. 296-298)

Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, Chevallier (pg. 248-249)

Planetary Herbology, Tierra (pg. 236-237, 279, 414)

Herbal Formulation in the Physiomedicalist Tradition, Paul Bergner

Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, Michael Moore (pg. 195-197)

Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants, “Wildman” Steve Brill (pg. 217-219)

Botany in a Day, Tom Elpel (pg. 46-47)

Pine Pitch Salve, Kiva Rose (http://bearmedicineherbals.com/pine-pitch-salve.html)

Winter Conifer Resins, Kiva Rose (http://mountainroseblog.com/forest-winter-conifer-resins-healing-pleasure/)

Incense, Kiva Rose (http://bearmedicineherbals.com/incense.html)

The Meaning of Trees, Fred Hageneder (pg. 146-149) 

Making Flower Essences

It’s spring. Flowers are blossoming everywhere. Pollinators buzz around, intoxicated in their fragrance. What to do, with all these lovely flowers?

Time to make flower essences!

It’s best to make flower essences when the flower is at the peak of its blossoming, or right before the peak. Go out in the morning with clippers, undistilled spring water, and a glass bowl or jar. Approach the flower or plant that you wish to make an essence of. Ask for permission to extract its essence, in whatever way feels the best to you. I like to make a prayer of gratitude, and sit with the plant for a while, before doing anything. Maybe I’ll observe the plant, draw it, photograph it, or just meditate with it. Do whatever feels the best for you, but it’s integral to establish a healthy relationship with the plant, before you try and make medicine with it. And, do not physically touch the plant that you are planning to make medicine with.

Once you are both ready for the next step, you can fill your glass bowl with water. Once again, make sure that you do not touch the plant with your hands, through this entire process. If you do touch the plant, your own energy may affect the flower essence. You can either clip the flower directly into the water, or you can just place the flower head into the water. I like to move around the flowers with tweezers. The traditional method is to clip the flowers directly into water, and cover the surface of the water with the flowers. Do what feels the best for you, in the moment. You can even experiment with both methods, and see how the different medicines feel.

Let the flowers sit in the water, in the sunlight, uncovered in a safe and lovely spot, for 4-6 hours. This amount of time depends upon your personal preferences, belief system, and the plant itself. Herbalist Mimi Kamp suggests leaving the flower in the water until the energetic feeling of the flower essence is stronger than the energetic feeling of the plant itself. She tests this by placing her hand over the plant and feeling its energy, then placing her hand over the essence and feeling that energy. Sometimes, people can be energetically sensitive and feel these subtle differences. Sometimes, this is difficult to experience. Do what feels best for you. The one rule with making flower essences is that there is no real rule. It’s an energetic medicine, and an intuitive art.

Once your essence is ready, carefully remove the flowers from the essence. Return them back to the Earth, giving thanks for their gifts. Dilute the water essence 1:1 with brandy, or 40% alcohol. (This can be substituted with vinegar too, but alcohol lasts longer.) Now, you have your mother essence!

Bottle and label your mother essence. Preserved in alcohol, she should last for a long time, if not indefinitely. Make sure you share! We tend to make too much flower essences, for a little goes a long way.

When you are ready to use your flower essence, fill a 1 ounce tincture bottle with 1:1 spring water to brandy. Add 10-30 drops of the mother essence to your bottle. Now, you have your stock essence. This is what is usually sold in the store.

Do the same thing again to make your dosage bottle. Fill a 1 ounce tincture bottle with 1:1 spring water to brandy. This time, just add 1 drop of the stock essence into this bottle. This is the final product. This is what you will carry around in your pocket, and take 4 drops 4 times a day, or as needed.

To effect long-lasting subtle change, take 4 drops of your dosage bottle flower essence, 4 times a day. It is like a constant subtle reminder to your self, to effect long-lasting change. Flower essences can also just be taken one drop at a time, for an experience, or to help relieve acute symptoms.

Flowers are the reproductive part of a plant, carrying all the genetic material for a new plant to grow. These seed stories are thus infused into the flower essence, and energetically intaked into your body to continue gestating, as you ingest them. It’s still new, a mystery to me. You can easily buy flower essences, at ridiculous prices, in the store. I’d much rather enjoy the experience of getting to know the plants, making the medicines, and experimenting. Do as you choose. This medicine is so dilute, that it is very safe to use. 

Enjoy your explorations, and please share your discoveries!

Flower Essence Supplier Resources

Bach Essences

http://www.bachflower.com/

Mimi Kamp: Essence of the Desert

https://essenceofthedesert.wordpress.com/

Flower Essence Services

http://www.fesflowers.com/

6 Days, 7 Herbalists

(A week of herbalist-centric explorations around southwestern New Mexico)

I was originally going to spend spring break hiking, exploring, making medicines, and wild-crafting with just one herbalist. But, a family emergency arose, and he had to cancel. He kindly informed me of this 1.5 days before our planned journey, through a brief email. I read his message at the end of lunch break, heart sinking. I couldn’t concentrate for the remainder of class. What now?

That night, I went home and thought for a while, then eked out three potential solutions:

1. Go visit my parents and wild-craft plants that I know already.

2. Don’t go anywhere. Explore where I am currently living, which is new to me, anyhow.

3. Continue with the journey, as planned... except that I’d be landing in a place I’d never been, late at night, not knowing anyone, with just an intention to meet local plants and herbalists.

I normally travel with purpose, going places where I either know people already, or have some reason to be there. With the change of plans, now I didn’t know anything, or have any clear purpose.

Indecisive, overwhelmed, and confused, I wrote a quick message to my teacher, 7song, “Plans just changed. Feeling confused. You got ideas?” He wrote back, “Call me.” We had a great discussion. “Why would you go back to your parents’ place?” Asked 7song, “You know those plants already. Go learn something new.” He gave me a list of people to contact around the area that my bus was landing in, and told me to make my own choice, though he’d suggest leaping.

I came away from our phone conversation feeling energized and optimized, yet still indecisive. I lit white sage, palo santo, and chaparral incense. “Give me clear dreams,” I prayed, as the plant smokes spiraled upwards, “And I will listen.” I ingested some chaparral flower essence with another prayer of gratitude and request for clarity, once more reviewing all my options in my head, then blew out my candle and went to sleep.

My dreams were illuminating that night. I woke with the clear message of, “Heed the call to adventure.” I wrote that in my journal in huge block letters with a line that started off quivering, then concluded confidently with the swirling spiral of a road that led to a distant star. I contacted every person that 7song suggested, and prepared for the journey.

I landed in southern New Mexico around 10 PM. I had found a place to stay merely a few hours before landing. A local herbalist, Deborah, met me at the tiny bus stop with a huge smile on her face, a twinkle in her eye. The first herbalist of the trip, our time together is limited to driving from the bus stop to her Apothecary. Our 15 minutes car-conversation quickly turns to our herbal paths. “I’m trying to figure out what to do after herb school,” I admit to Deborah. We laugh, acknowledging the lack of an actual “path” as an herbalist, just the presence of a million possibilities. She responds, “I’m actually writing a book on that very topic.” Deborah’s been working intimately in her community as an herbalist for the past 30 years. She’s also a registered nurse, but primarily works with herbal medicine. Her apothecary is grassroots, earthy, and adorable. Tinctures line the walls of the little room, which is cozy, in an earthy, southwestern sort of way. Deborah gives me a brief tour, then shows me upstairs, where I sleep for the night.

I came downstairs in the morning, and met Cathy. She was sitting in the welcoming room with an older man who talked faster than he moved. He was listing all the medications that he was on, and the endless list of previous injuries and insults to his health. Invited by Cathy, I sat down and listened as she asked him questions and suggested a treatment protocol for him.

Cathy used to be a psychiatrist. That experience proved to be too traumatic. I was brought to tears as she shared horrifying stories from her psychiatrist days, feeling confused about humanity and the origins of our madness, sanity, and general being. She went to work in a health food store, instead. While there, she one day met Deborah (who owns the herb store). Cathy ended up taking an intro-to-herbalism class with Deborah, falling in love with herbal medicine, then accepting Deborah’s invitation to come work at the herb store. Two years later, she is still there, now living on a little homestead right outside of town, and passionate about herbal medicine. She works with plant medicines daily, grows her own food, and counsels people in herbal medicine, food, but wants to learn more about botany and wild-crafting, which she feels is one of the most important elements of being an herbalist.

I met Andy, Deborah’s son, that afternoon. He happened to come into town that day to pick up his daughter, Wahali. Within minutes of meeting each other, Wahali declares, “We’re going to be great friends. I just know it,” and, “I’m going to show you my favorite climbing tree once we get home; I can’t wait.” She’s only 13, has a million ideas, and talks with passion and excitement. She knows the names and uses of most of the plants in the area, and has bright eyes that read my soul. She’s a living example of the kind of radiant, Earth-connected, naturally confident child (turning into a young adult) that I like to cultivate, with the nature connection work I do.

Andy’s land is surrounded by BLM and National Forest Land, which fit my visions for my own dream land, one day soon. There’s a spring at the top of the land. Andy hand dug a water encatchment, and a trench that draws water down through the land, irrigating various medicinal plants that are planted along the water’s edge. He’s building a new cabin near the spring. It’s all a work in progress, a loving process of dreaming big and working hard, only two years young. Walking through the land, I notice little details such as a circle of rocks around a little cactus here, a fallen log dragged strategically under a shady tree, there. Andy leads plant walks on his land and around the area, and wild-crafts medicines for various herbalists and healers. He knows most of the plants we come across, having grown up with an herbalist mother, and hanging out with renowned herbalist Michael Moore, since age 8. Andy makes medicines in the folk tradition. He is not a clinical herbalist; he is a an Earth herbalist, a mountain man. “I can just refer people who need to see a clinician to to my mom, or the apothecary,” he explains. Seeing his project, I am further inspired to homestead a little piece of paradise one day, and invite community to create paradise with me. I am also inspired to stay in one place, and get to know it really well, through all the seasons.

I met Irene a few mornings later, traveling with her into the next large town. She’s like me, a budding herbalist with a few years of experience. She’s taken classes, gone to conferences, and apprenticed with a range of teachers. She’s just starting her own herbal business selling products, focusing on aromatic medicines. I appreciated hearing stories about working with different teachers and her struggles and inspirations that mirror my own. She has big dreams and deep love for the plants. Her kitchen counter is covered with glass jars filled with medicine, her living room table covered with more herbal experiments, and there are books and little idea notes everywhere. We cooked up a feast in the evening, laughing as the table grew heavy with more and more food, giggling with each tasty herbal medicine that we sampled through the night.

The next morning, I hitchhiked up to visit Julie, a few hours away by thumb. She greeted me with my traveler’s dream come true: a huge hug, a pot of soup bubbling on the stove, hot water ready for making tea, scintillating conversation, good company, a beautiful place to sleep, wild national forest to explore, and the brightest stars in the night sky, complete with shooting stars and frog songs. Similar to Andy, Julie lives in a locale akin to my dream home: surrounded by National Forest and BLM land, close enough to a good town but far enough away for peace and tranquility, and a stream running nearby. Even better, hot springs were close by, too. A dream home, indeed! I greatly enjoyed Julie’s company. She exudes a peaceful and grounded energy, and asks questions that reveal hidden layers of my soul. Julie primarily works with people through phone consultations. She is especially well-versed in Lyme treatment protocol. She’s familiar enough with the logical, intellectual, side of plant medicine to operate mostly from intuition in her work with people and plants, through plant spirit medicine, Earth-based spirituality, western herbalism, and more. We explored a magical little canyon, discussing plant spirits, and the connection between our inner child, intuition, and plant connection. We explored connecting to plants through connecting with our inner child and intuition with a flowering Corydalis aurea (golden smoke) plant, a plant that I’d harvested near Andy’s land. The exercise brought me to a joyous combination of tears and laughter, as did the subsequent exercise of “expanding the heart field.” The heart field exercise involves connecting with the feeling of the heart, then allowing and visualizing that feeling radiating outwards. I was further inspired to listen, love, and reconnect with the energetic world of Spirit.

Another morning, another hitch, another place, another herbalist. I had last visited Doug five years ago, before I left the country for my Asiatic pilgrimage. He was the only herbalist on this trip that wasn’t introduced to me by 7song. In fact, Doug was one of the first actual “herbalists” that I’d ever met. He was one of the first people to inspire me to learn the secrets of the plants through deepening my relationship with them. Before leaving the country, he suggested I “talk with everything. Just keep speaking with everything. One day, you will start to hear things speaking back.” I thus communicated verbally and otherwise with all of my surrounding landscapes throughout my travels. I prayed and spoked with spirits and the natural world around me, as if I were chatting with friends. The worlds of nature and spirit have always felt like friends, especially while traveling in distant unfamiliar locales. By verbally communicating with everything in a familiar way though, I further opened and deepened those lines of communication.

Doug has changed a lot since I last saw him. I first met him bumbling through the desert pre-dawn, at a primitive skills gathering. He’d just returned to civilization after a dozen years of living off the land, and was glowing. Now, having returned to civilization and seeking to bridge between worlds, he says, “I’m having so much fun.” But, when I look into his eyes, I am unsure. I understand that it is difficult to live in both worlds, as I am currently struggling with this bridge. We walked barefoot through sand, water, and stone in the moonlit night-scape, accompanying neighbors and their flock of baby sheep back to their land, across two rivers. We admired the evening primrose opening in the twilight, then glowing in full bloom, by the light of the nearly full moon. Splashing barefoot through the streams and moonlit landscape laughing, I could feel our delight and connection with the natural world. We continued to climb up the hill, to set Doug’s burros into high pastures for the evening. He expounded upon the sacredness of plants, the importance of simple medicines, and the importance of plant connection. He works with people primarily via the world of spirit, and simple plant medicines, primarily wild-crafted, and in teas. Doug seeks to teach people empowered medicine, where they can harvest their own medicines and collectively care-take their own health, in a respectful and connected way with the surrounding natural landscape. I heard a lot of frustration with the western medical system, even the western herbal rising paradigm of working allopathically with plants, instead of holistically.

I connected deeper with Wind. I first met Wind five years ago, while visiting Doug. I was exploring the neighboring public lands, and following what I thought was an odd deer trail. Much to my surprise, the weird trail led me to a drying rack, fire pit, and then an adorable shelter that looked like an upturned cone-shaped fish-basket. Wind was as surprised to see me, as I was to see him. “How did you track me?” he asked. We ended up sharing several meals and conversations together.

This time, when I first returned to the area, I headed upstream, following the river on a whim. I saw a beautiful little shelter that I’d never seen before, and went to explore. Not wanting to intrude, I skirted around it, then continued following some fresh bare foot tracks along the river. “That guy,” I thought to myself, “he must still be here.” I came across Wind and Henry working on Wind’s new shelter, or “hooch,” as he likes to call it. We had a joyous reunion. While I’d been off wandering through different landscapes and countries meeting new people and learning new things, Wind had spent the same amount of time in one place, only. He had built one new hooch, lived in it successfully, started building a second hooch, developed a loving romantic partnership, improved his health and well-being, intimately gotten to know the landscape around him, and was living more and more off the land. He’s aiming towards stone age style self sufficiency, and is one of the few people I’ve met who’s actually living his life like this, long-term.

I was most inspired by Wind’s relationship with the land. He uses plants for food, shelter, medicine, and beauty. He knows when and how to harvest, and how best to process plants. Of all the people that I’ve reunited with since I’ve returned from Asia, Wind’s eyes are the brightest. There’s a shining twinkle in his eyes that speaks of winds, wildness, rain, cold, hunger, fear, pleasure, joy, and more, all met in a pure, raw, format. His body is fit and strong. Instead of growing fat and weak, as have most of my city-dwelling friends, Wind (and my other nature-dwelling friends) looks even better than I remembered him. When I last saw him, he looked a little malnourished, less energetic. Doug had given him some lifestyle suggestions, which he directly implemented. He cut gluten out of his diet, started processing his food in a more easily assimilable way, and eats less quantity, more quality foods. He lives a semi hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and associates with people if and when he chooses to. What a rich life. It’s not easy, but life isn’t easy in the modern world, either. Wind voiced confusion over why so many are interested in learning primitive skills, but no one is really willing or wanting to live that way, long term. I discussed my idea of building bridges, my own desire for being a bridge between the worlds of nature and spirit, and modern humans. I questioned my own reasons for returning to the developed world. What are my goals, motivations, and visions? I too am happiest in the natural world. How shall I build this living bridge?

I spent the night near the river, in the same place that I had last slept five years ago, before I left the country. It’s the same place where Doug used to sleep when he lived off the land: a little clearing with an amazing view of the orange cliffs, desert green mountains, and starry night sky. I stayed awake until almost dawn, tending my fire, watching the sky, singing songs, giving thanks, praying, and listening.

I reunited with naturalist Caleb the next afternoon. He calls himself a “budding botanist,” though he knew the common and Latin names of most of the plants we saw, as well as the stories of the pollinators, stars, and stones. Herbalists are often intimidated by botany, though it’s an important skill to have, to safely identify and use plant medicines. Even more than botany, I enjoy knowing all about the natural world, and aspire to be a well-rounded naturalist like 7song, who specializes in the realm of botany and plant medicine, but knows a lot about the natural world at large. This knowledge of the natural world is cultivated through relationship, “dirt time” spent exploring, questioning, and learning sensorially. Caleb also possesses this knowledge of and deep relationship with the natural world, inspiring me in my own naturalist adventures.

After the 6 day journey of visiting 7 herbalists, I expanded my personal understanding of what it means to be an “herbalist.” There are so many diverse (infinite) paths as an herbalist. For me, it’s a life-long dance, interacting with plants as individual beings, noting their interactions with people and combined together, their uses, medicine, and beauty. This journey expanded my relationships with people from heart-centered, community, family, and clinical perspectives. It expands my personal definitions, increasing possibilities, and opening doors for further exploration, deeper understanding, and wider inspiration for exploring, sharing, and living with the plant world as an “herbalist.”

Addendum: our advanced herbalism class just had our first botany field day of the season. I was greatly inspired by a discussion about ethical wild-crafting that Josh, our botany teacher, facilitated during lunch. Josh closed the discussion with an open-ended quote, a simple yet profound statement from his teacher, Howie Brounstein, “Wild-crafting is stewardship.” He invited us to share what that statement meant for us. As we each shared our personal relationships with wild-crafting, plant medicine, and the natural world, I felt more connected with my classmates than I’ve felt, all semester. For me, “wild-crafting” means knowing the plants: understanding where they grow, their individual and collective preferences of soil, sunlight, water, and more. It means knowing when to harvest, how to propagate and cultivate, how much to take, which parts to take for which actions, how to process and use the plants, and more. “Wild-crafting” includes understanding how plants dance solo, collectively, and with humans, too. Care-taking ourselves is intimately connected with care-taking our plant medicines, the stewardship of the Earth as a whole. It’s all tied together. What does “wild-crafting is stewardship” mean, for you?

8 major plant families

Below's a list of 8 major plant families, and some foods/ medicines that I eat/ use from that family. 

(8 major plant families, as listed from Tom Elpel's book, "Botany in a Day.") 

Brassicaceae:

The foothills are covered with little flowering Brassicas. They are typically the first plants to come up in the spring, and I love eating, photographing, watching, and touching them. I counted about 6 different species. I've only keyed one out thus far, a little "Blue Skeleton Mustard" (we named it), Schoenocrambe linearifolia. Every time I go hiking, I snack on mustards. I like their spicy, heating, digestive stimulant taste and effects. I feel like they clear my nasal passages and wintery digestive stagnation. I will sometimes put these little wild mustards into my sandwiches, or make pesto out of them. I particularly like their flowers and leaves. The seeds are more difficult to collect in a bug-free fashion, and are more bitter.I like to eat mustards, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and other Brassica plants regularly in my diet. I also use mustard seeds as a spice in my cooking, and pickling. 

Apiaceae: 

Water Hemlock (Conium maculatum) was one of the first plants that I saw peeking out of the snow, near the end of winter. It was in the foothills, and I was running down the trail. I noticed neon green under the bushes, and screeched to a halt. Bending down low, I noticed what looked like a mat of green under a hip-high tangle of dried branches. It was this plant! I thought about it, and realized that I use quite a bit of Apiaceaes for medicine, but rarely for food. I can't think of any trail-side Apiaceae nibbles that I enjoy, besides occasionally partaking of a small yarrow nibble (Achillea millefolium- cultivars are flowering; wild ones are not) , but only for its energetic quality, and because I like the taste. I would never eat it plentifully, or make a pesto of it, as I would with a Brassica. I do however, adore carrots, celery, and Daikon radish. Some Apiaceae medicines that I enjoy include Osha, Yarrow, and Fennel. Lomatium orientalis is another Apiaceae that's come up, right now. 

 

Asteraceae: 

I just wrote a mini-monograph about Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), one of the first plants that I ever keyed out (with 7song). I've been eating dandelion leaf and flower salad, made pesto and saurkraut, stir-fry and eat it, and drink tea. Some of my well-loved Asteraceae medicines include Dandelion, Chamomile, Calendula, Boneset, Mugwort, and Echinacea. I've been watching the various Artemesia spp. plants growing around us. I like to nibble on them sometimes, but mostly just enjoy their aroma. We have A. ludoviciana and A. frigida in the foothills and mountains around Boulder, CO. I imagine A. tridentata must be lurking around, too. 

Rosaceae: 

Rose petal wine made my mom (organic roses in their front yard) is my liquor of choice. I also regularly ingest rose hip preserves, rose honey, and rose sugar from last year's bumper crop harvest from 7song's garden. Roses (Rosa spp.) are one of my favorite plants. I regularly ingest apples, pears, almonds, and more Rosaceae plants. Wild Plum  (Prunus virginiana), Chokecherry (Prunus americanus), and Hawthorne (Crataegus rivularis) have little white aromatic flowers that have taken over the hill and roadsides, this spring. Some Rosaceae medicines I use include Rose, Cherry bark, and Hawthorne flowers and berries. 

Fabaceae: 

I'm a vegetarian, so most of my protein comes from Fabaceae plants such as Garbanzo beans, Lentils, and other Beans of all colors (and seeds, too... but they are not Fabaceae's.) I can't think of any wild Fabaceae's that I like to eat, besides Clover (Trifolium pratense). Fabaceae Medicines I use include Clover, Astragalus, and Licorice. We have a variety of wild Astragalus spp. growing, now. 

Poaceae: 

I grew up eating white rice, indicative of a rich ancestral history of farming rice on paddy fields, and hearty meals with a quick carb fix. Rice is certainly a Chinese food staple, and a staple for most of the world. As my parents became more health conscious, they started mixing other grains into their rice. This included brown rice, barley, millet, and more. I now eat a lot of quinoa. I don't know much about Poacaeae differentials, but am excited to learn about them from my friend Caleb, who just took a "grass class," and learned to key out various grasses. I remember living in a bamboo tree house above a little stream in Thailand (it's a huge Poaceae plant!), and admiring all the things you could do with bamboo all around Asia, especially savoring digging it up that morning, then eating it that night in a bamboo bowl. Wild oats (Avena sativa) is a beloved Poaceae medicine that I often use. 

Liliaceae: 

Leucocrinum montanum (Sand Lily) grows in little patches around the foothills. I would eat Daylilies in Connecticut and growing up in California. Those are beautiful in salads, and are used in traditional Chinese cooking with soups and stir-fries. I don't eat many Liliaceae plants in my diet, or use them much in my medicine. I find them beautiful though, and just made a flower essence from the Sand Lily. 

Lamiaceae: 

Lamiaceae plants are easily identifiable, and readily available with their aromatic scent, and usually tingly warming-cooling taste sensation. Catnip (Nepeta), Motherwort (Leonurus), Sage (Salvia) and Heal-All (Prunella) are all growing in the garden right now. Some of those grow wild in the foothills, too. I am excited to see Monarda spp. (Bee Balm) growing near the water. I like to ingest Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) as a tea, tincture, and honey (from 7song's garden last year). It's one of my favorite medicines. I also burn a little White sage (Salvia apiana) from my childhood mountains daily, as an incense. 

Dreams

“When each child is born, a morning star rises and sings to the Universe who we are... we are our Grandfathers’ prayers... we are our Grandmothers’ dreaming.. we are the voice of our Ancestors... we are the Spirit of Love.” (song from Sweet Honey in the Rock)

---

Each human is a seed capsule. Each seed holds all the stories, songs, dreams, and genetic material of all of the previous seeds that came before, and all of the future seeds that will come after. What magic, what beauty!

Enough of the cliche conversation-starters of, “So, where do you work? Where do you live?” I prefer to start off conversations with, “What are your dreams like?” That opens up whole new worlds of discovery. “Dreams” can be interpreted in a variety of ways: night dreams, day dreams, life dreams, and more. What do you mean when you think, talk, write about your dreams? What do I mean?

It’s all interconnected. All of our dreams are interwoven together, encapsulated within the seeds of our being. I will discuss our nights dreams in this article, for each night, filled with dreams, is an exploration of our inner landscape and outer life experiences. What is your relationship with your dreams?

I give a gratitude prayer before sleep, quickly debriefing my day, rose-thorn-bud style: my favorite “rosy” parts of the day, my most challenging “thorny” parts of the day, and the “budding” lessons and projects that will carry on into the next day. I then ask for a dream: perhaps I have a question that needs answering, or I just want a clear night with sweet dreams. Whatever it is, I send out that prayer, place my journal within arm’s reach, and go to sleep.

I write down my dreams first thing in the morning, when I wake up. If I don’t write them down immediately, then my thoughts and plans for the day infiltrate my mind, and quickly dissipate my misty dream-scapes. When I write down my dreams, not only does it help me remember them, but it also allows me to access their stories and teachings far into the future.

I open up my journal; the organization is clear. I can find what I am looking for easily, and it only gets better with time, as my journaling techniques evolve. I write my daily journal-entries from top to bottom, holding the book right side up. When I input my dreams, I turn my book clockwise to the write, and write on the side wall of the page. Skimming through the book, I can easily access day-musings or night-dreamings. I underline dream messages and other important points, while writing. My eyes are easily drawn to the underlined words and statements; years of journaling and two buckets of books are thus naturally organized into understandable volumes. (Oh, and a final touch: when I am in a bad mood, I flip my book upside down, and write from there.)

I used to write down every detail that I could remember from my dreams. This was back when I was unemployed and living in the forest. I’d spend 1-2 hours every morning writing down, reviewing, and contemplating my dreams. I don’t have that kind of luxurious time, anymore. And, after so many years of cultivating a relationship with my dreams, I can grasp their messages easier, too. Instead of strenuously detailing your dreams, it’s most important to paint broad brush strokes. I write down my dreams stream-of-consciousness style. The most important elements will usually rise to the top. Write those down, before you forget them. You can fill in the details later, if you wish. Focus on the emotional content of your dream, and note the general progression of feelings as you move through the dream. This emotions-sequence, and whatever else calls your attention, is the most important part of your dream to remember.

When do you feel these emotions in your life? What parallels can you draw between your waking existence and your dreaming reality?

Sometimes, it’s helpful to title the dream, so that you can condense the entire experience into just a few words, which also makes it easier to reference in the future. Dream messages can usually be condensed into one simple statement, which I usually underline in my journal, and use as a tracking reference. Tamarack Song calls this the Dream Message.

The best way to remember, process, and come to relationship with dreams is in sharing with a partner. At the Teaching Drum Outdoor School in WI, we shared our dream messages together every morning, as a group. Tamarack taught us to focus on the sequence of feelings through the dream, especially noting any sudden change of emotional content at the end of the dream. The Dream Message usually lies there.

How do my dreams intersect with my day to day reality? There are different kinds of dreams: day-on-repeat dreams, Message-bearing dreams, Prophetic Dreams, and more. Day-on-repeat dreams tend to be an inane repetition of what I’ve been thinking throughout the day; Message-bearing dreams are meaningful; Prophetic dreams are futuristic. I don’t find day-on-repeat dreams so useful. They feel like mental chatter, like my day has not finished, and I am not fully resting. This is partly why I debrief my day before resting, so that I can release it, and progress forward into more interesting and useful dreams. Prophetic dreams tell me something about the future. I don’t get these too often in a literal sense. I mostly get Message-bearing dreams which, according to Tamarack, form the bulk of most of the Dreams that we receive.

Dreams speak through symbols. Dream symbols are personal. Ditch the dream interpretation books. They can help get you started with ideas of which direction to take things, but oftentimes get confusing, and are subject to individual interpretation. There are some symbols and archetypes that are universal, but I like to cultivate a personal relationship with my dreams, and deeply consider my own relationship with the people, places, plants, objects, and other elements that arise in my dreams.

Dreams are rarely literal. Characters in dreams are all symbols and pieces of your self. Sometimes characters are literal, but they are usually just manifestations of yourself. What does this person mean to you in your life? What do they represent to you? What part of you are they playing in the dream?

I enjoy experimenting with my dreams. I sometimes try ingesting a plant medicine, usually a flower essence, several nights in a row right before sleep, to see how it affects my dreams. Or, if there is something that I am working on that a plant medicine can support in a physical, emotional, energetic (or all of that) fashion, then I will ingest that plant before sleep. Plants may be ingested in a variety of forms, which vary from plant to plant. I generally like to take energetic doses (minute amounts) of my dream plant medicines, lightly burn the plant as an incense, or even just place the plant near my bedside or under my pillow.

If there is a topic that you’d specifically like to explore, you can welcome them into your dream world. If you hold a thought, person, or question strongly in your mind before going to sleep or during the falling asleep process, then you can usually dream about that. When I have questions, I will usually journal stream-of-consciously right before bed, make a prayer to ask for help, then fall asleep while holding that question in my mind.

I enjoy lucid dreaming, but usually prefer to just let my dreams take me where I need to go. If I am lucid dreaming though, then I take it as an opportunity to direct my journey, instead of being drawn on my journey. There are various ways of inducing lucid dreaming, but I don’t do it often, and do not know enough about these techniques to write about them, as I prefer to just dream.

Sometimes, I get nightmares. I feel like there are two primary kinds of nightmares: an important message, or negative spirits. Regardless, I’ll usually wake up and smudge myself and my sleeping area with cleansing prayers, before returning to sleep. If I am sleeping in a new place, I will usually make a prayer before going to sleep, asking permission from the spirits of the area to sleep there, and giving gratitude to my own protective spirits for joining me on the journey. This usually helps deter negative spirits. If negative spirit induced dreams still arise, then I usually just politely ask them to leave, and stand my ground. I understand that this is my body, and I am living inside. With both feet down and both eyes politely yet firmly engaged, I do not allow negative spirits to enter.

Most nightmares bear important messages, rather than negative spirits. Tamarack said that if we do not listen to repeated Dream messages, and something is very important, then sometimes a louder message--- but the same message--- may come in the form of a “nightmare.” It’s basically a wake-up call, an alarm call to pay attention to something that we are not noticing, or avoiding. And then, you work with the nightmare like with any other dream. Pay attention, note the emotional content, and listen to the message: take action in your life, as indicated.

Accessing dreams accesses the deepest part of ourselves that often goes unnoticed, unheard, slowly dying in the stinking shell of our unprocessed emotions and untended body temples. Eat fresh local food that you have a relationship with, exercise in ways that give you pleasure and light up your body, live a life that illuminates your highest gifts and is of utmost benefit to the global community, sleep with the satisfaction of having lived another magical and meaningful day, and dream dreams solid, ethereal, beautiful, powerful, and filled with Medicine. May you dive deeply, and connect as fully with your dreams as you do with all the other parts of yourself, and the world around you!