Guest Post: Herbs to hold close during the fall seasonal transition
We will be periodically posting Western Herbal Medicine material on the H&H blog courtesy of our good friends at Green Muse Herbs. It is intended to compliment and support our acupuncture & TCM content as well as in solidarity of supporting other like-minded, community-based small businesses. We look forward to sharing the plant knowledge, wisdom and reflection of the gifts from this land of which we are uninvited visitors.
As we descend into the twilight of the year, there are herbs I tend to hold closer. Herbs that help my body through this time of transition; herbs that help to warm, move, protect, strengthen, and release what no longer serves.
As the living world shifts its attention downward and inward, I too feel a draw to tend the inner soil. What needs to be given death at this time? What is there, underneath, awaiting rebirth? This is a blend I have been drinking to help me lean into the season. It is full of warming expectorants, aromatic digestives, circulatory tonics, and nutritive herbs.
They are herbs born of this season and you will see them around you – their fruit ripening, their roots thickening. They are herbs to help with achy joints worsened by damp or cold, lingering coughs or congestion, and slow or stagnant digestion. They are full of vitamins, antioxidants, and other timely nutrients.
This blend can be drunk as a tea, but it is most helpful when made as a decoction – in other words, kept in a pot simmering on the stove, as if making a broth. These are herbs to be integrated into your life, this season and the next, and the more time you can spend with them the better.
“Fire building” Herbal Blend
- 1 part Dandelion root
- 1 part Burdock root
- 1 part Angelica root
- 1 part Elecampane root
- 1 part Lovage root
- 1 part Hawthorn berry
- 1 part Rosehip
This warming, supportive and seasonally relevant herbal blend is available for purchase at Green Muse Herbs. Consultation and customization are encouraged to meet your specific constitution and needs.
Green Muse is located at 1038 Fort St, on Lekwungen Territories.
Wishing you all a smooth descent + deep life-giving rest,
Anna
practicing herbalist & Co-owner/Operator of Green Muse Herbs
