Nourishing the Soul: Milky Oat Plant Profile

I’m not exactly sure when I met Milky Oats as plant medicine. I feel like it was probably during my first few herbs classes, but it took a few rounds of meeting them for me to recognize how profoundly healing their gifts are. Milky Oats grow abundantly and are easy to harvest making them a great and versatile ally for many plant folk, especially those just starting our on the path. I find endless inspiration with Milky Oat and some of my most beloved memories of making herbal remedies are with Milky Oat.

So let’s meet the remedy for the soul known as Milky Oat.

Milky Oats
Avena sativa

Folk Names : Dousar, haver

Element : Water, Earth

Moon Phase : New Moon

Zodiac Signs : Cancer, Capricorn

Planets : Moon, Venus, Jupiter

Parts used : Unripe seeds (milky oats) and stem (oatstraw)

Habitat : An annual grass that has naturalized throughout much of North America and is indigenous to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.

Growing conditions : Full sun and rich soil with moderate water.

Collection : Collect the Milky Oat tops in early spring, when they excrete “milk” when squeezed. My favorite time to harvest Milky Oats is on the Spring Equinox or a New Moon (better it be when both are happening at the same time!).

Flavor : Sweet

Temperature : Neutral to Warm

Moisture : Moist

Tissue State : Cold/Depression, Dry/Atrophy

Constituents : Beta-carotene, B vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium, silicon, zinc, lipids, alkaloids, vitamin E

Actions : Antidepressant, alterative, demulcent, diaphoretic, nervine, nutritive, reproductive tonic, diuretic, endocrine tonic

Main Uses : Milky Oats are the best example of a trophorestorative for the nervous system found in traditional western herbalism. I love them because not only are the nourishing to the nervous system, but nourishing to the soul. Milky Oat is best used over a long period and even when you stop using the herb they body remembers the medicine, continuing to act as if it were still taking it. Rich in calcium, iron, manganese, and zinc, Milky Oats are very nourishing when the body feels depleted and exhausted. The herb is a great ally for convalescence and recovery after a period of debilitation whether from the flu or longterm illness or from a heightened period of stress and anxiety (like living through a global pandemic).

Milky Oats have a combination of qualities that make them useful for folks suffering from nervous tension whether brought on by anxiety, depression, injury, overwork or excess stress from a variety of life circumstances. They are mildly anti-depressant, helping to increase energy without being overstimulating which is great as insomnia is often a symptom of nervous tension. The herb can be very useful for those who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction as it will help to rebalance their damaged nervous systems. Seniors benefit from Milky Oats, especially if they are experiencing paralysis and wasting diseases. In general, Milky Oats helps the frazzled personality who have become oversensitive to life. Oats are helpful, too, in increasing stamina and helping with overall endurance.

image via @outimarjaana

They relieve tension headaches and melancholic states that might occur before and during menstruation and also help to relieve menopausal symptoms as they are gently balancing to the hormonal system. High in silicon, Milky Oats are strengthening to hair, nails, teeth, and bones when used internally and externally. Deeply healing to the nervous system, Milky Oats help us to experience life through a more pleasurable filter. The herbs are great postpartum, helping support the big life transitions that happen in the fourth trimester. 

Milky Oats can help with digestion as many restorative herbs are, and especially useful when constipation is present, as they are mucilaginous and can help with the passage of stools. Oat meal can help with the regulation of blood sugar as well as assist with digestion and being an overall good choice for folks looking to increase energy.

We’ve been using Milky Oats for a long time in traditional western herbalism and I wanted to share an interesting historical description of their use. Hildegard of Bingen was a 12th century herbalist, writer, composer, and mystic amongst many other things, wrote about Oats in her book on health, Physica. Using the limiting language of the time, Hildegard describes using Oats within a sweat bath for those suffering from mental illness which has brought on feelings of emptiness and a “split mind.” Her advice is:

“But let whoever is worn out with paralysis and as a result has a split mind and empty thoughts, so that the person is somewhat insane, be in a sweat bath when the wheat in the hot water in which it has been cooked is poured over the hot stones. Let them do this often; they will return to themselves and gain sanity.” (Hildegard’s Healing Plants, 7)

Her description aligns with modern understandings of Milky Oats usefulness: it is rebalancing to the nervous system, helps in recovering energy after a period of debilitation, and is a general restorative. Would a sweat bath as Hildegard described it be useful today for supporting someone struggling with nervous exhaustion? Probably - sweat baths used to be much more common in traditional western herbalism and eclectic medicine and I support their re-emergence. A bath of Milky Oat would be useful, too. Use Milky Oats in baths or as part of an herbal oil blend to relieve itchiness (eczema, psoriasis), lessen pain, and strengthen the skin’s elasticity. Neuralgia, rheumatism, eczema, and fibromyalgia are all helped by Milky Oats.

Milky Oats can be prepared in many ways and its mild flavor make it easy to add to most blends. As I look back on my time training and working as an herbalist, it is Milky Oat which has taught me a lot about how one plant can be prepared in a multitude of ways to bring about healing. I don’t use a lot of alcohol-based remedies for myself, but I always make sure to have Milky Oat tincture around because it is so effective in helping to settle the nerves and restore a sense of peace. You can prepare Milky Oat as a standard tea infusion, but it really shines as a decoction, helping to draw out its nourishing qualities. It is great in baths (either as an infusion or grinding up oatmeal). Oatmeal is also a great topical treatment for a variety of skin complaints and I like to combine ground oatmeal with Milky Oat tea to make a healing paste. Homemade oat milk can be wonderfully healing, too. Of course, you can also get a lot of similar benefits of Milky Oat by eating Oats as oatmeal or in other baked goods. Milky Oat is a versatile plant to befriend and I hope you’re feeling inspired to welcome them into your healing practice.

Magickal uses : Milky Oats are not generally associated with the moon, but as a warming nutritive tonic that builds the blood and alleviates nervous exhaustion, I find Milky Oats to have a special affinity for the New Moon. The white milk of fresh green Oat seeds makes me think of magickal Moon milk and the herb helps us to deal with the ever-changing experiences of life, much as we learn when working with the lunar rhythms. As the New Moon calls us to begin a cycle of emergence and to slowly expand our energy after a period of waning contraction, Milky Oats are richly nutritious lending us foundational strength for the work ahead. The generous nutritive qualities of Milky Oats give us a hint to its magickal uses, which are primarily for prosperity and abundance rituals. 

image source

The Oat Personality : The Milky Oat person is exhausted. Completely and utterly. They feel debilitated and lacking in energy, unable to sleep and struggling to wake. It is as if they move through a waking, blurry dream. Unable to focus for long on any one thing, Milky Oat folks struggle to determine their sense of purpose in life. Their energy seems to be flung far and wide with little to harvest in return. Even though they are exhausted they can be excessive in the way that they expend energy and fine themselves prone to regular burnout. Part of the struggle of Milky Oat folks is that they are interested and good at many things, yet fall prey to the idea of having a singular and sudden epiphany of their purpose and calling that they might even over-use drugs in an attempt to access such a “instant breakthrough.” The beauty of Milky Oat folks, though, is that they are good at so many things! Milky Oat medicine will help them learn to embrace the diversity of their passions into an interconnected melody of calling.

Contraindications : Generally regarded as safe. Be cautious with the use of oats if you have a gluten allergy.

Dosage : Standard dosage. Decoction is one of the best ways to enjoy Milky Oats. Decoct 1 tablespoon of oats per 2 cups of water for at least 15 minutes.

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Milky Oat is one of my favorite herbs for eclipse season and during the summer months I like to use Oat milk it to my rainbow lattes. And if you want to explore more about the connections between plants and the Moon, here’s a good place to start.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

The Healer’s Celtic Cross Tarot Spread & Plant Allies

As with any form of self-inquiry, the tarot helps to create space for healing to occur.

From sacred symbols with multilayered meaning to esoteric tradition and magickal practice, the tarot is abundant in possibilities for how it can be used to aid us in our own becoming and the returning home to ourselves and beloved community. I like to say that the tarot is a book of healing - it's just a matter of learning how to read it.

But where to begin our journey with tarot as a tool of healing? How about with one of the most common tarot spreads out there: The Celtic Cross. I and many tarot readers I know learned how to read the tarot with the Celtic Cross spread. This makes sense as it's the spread that's included in the little white book of one of the most popular tarot decks out there, the Rider Waite Smith Tarot (alternatively and increasingly more commonly known these days as the Waite Smith or Pamela Colman Smith tarot). The Waite Smith deck was the most easily found in bookstores and psychic shops to many of us before our current tarot publishing renaissance and so A.E. Waite's description of the Celtic Cross as the way to read the cards was foundational for many tarot readers of mine and earlier generations (you can read his full description of the Celtic Cross spread here). Published in 1911, Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot has been shaping the divinatory skills of tarot readers for over a century and the Celtic Cross has been in use for at least that long and probably longer. So where did it come from?

A Brief Mystery

Waite was not the originator of the Celtic Cross Spread and most likely learned it during the First Order teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, of which he was a member. I've seen it suggested that he based his work off of that of Florence Farr (here's a good short summary about her). In fact, Farr and Smith knew each other, with Smith designing scenes for a play by William Butler Yeats at the request of Farr. I've not seen an official Golden Dawn document (or letters between members) confirming Farr's creation and original teachings of the Celtic Cross spread, but a) it would match up with what is known about her and b) the Golden Dawn is not my area of expertise so the resources may be out there I've just not come across them yet. I've also thought that it would not be too much of a stretch to imagine that Moina Mathers may have had some role in the spread's creation. (1)

I get the sense with the tarot training in the Golden Dawn that if you could handle the complexities of the Celtic Cross you could progress to the very complicated (but so worth learning) Opening of the Key. Or someone in the Golden Dawn was frustrated with the overly complicated (and sometimes, let's be honest, not useful) Opening of the Key and created a much more convenient spread. 

After I wrote that last sentence I found a new resource - Secrets of the Celtic Cross by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin - that has some incredible research and discoveries in it pointing towards another Golden Dawn Member, F.L. Goodwin, as a possible source (or at least earlier transcriber than Waite) of the Celtic Cross spread. It's well worth the read, not only for the primary documents Katz found but the techniques for reading the Celtic Cross are really interesting, too!

With that brief look at the possible origins of the Celtic Cross, let's get into some practical work.

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The Original Celtic Cross Spread

I love the Celtic Cross spread. It's not the easiest spread to learn (especially for beginners) and can be obtuse and tricky to interpret at times. And yet, for many years it was the first spread that many beginners learned. The spread requires flexibility of thinking and an ability to stretch between the inner and outer worlds of the querent. But it never feels dull or outdated to me and has provided consistently useful spreads and insights since I started casting it as a wee little witchling. If you haven’t tried learning the Celtic Cross spread yet, I recommend it.

It's also a flexible spread that can be adapted to the needs of the reader and querent with relative ease. If you look up Celtic Cross spread online you'll be met with (mostly) the same interpretations for card positions with plenty of folk's preferences and adaptations thrown in (this site does a good job exploring many of the variations you'll find). I've always read the Celtic Cross as proposed by Waite with one exception - the first card and the significator are the same card in my readings. Why? I either misread the text when first learning the spread or somewhere along the way forgot that the two should be separate cards and it just became my style of reading the spread. Also, the order that I deal the cards is different from Waite - again, I probably just mixed up the original technique along the way but this is the way that the flow of the reading makes more sense for me.

Mistakes were made and yet the magick persisted.

So here is how I cast the Celtic Cross in a typical reading. 

• Card 1. The significator and card which represents the querent and the heart of the matter. 

• Card 2. The primary obstacle the querent is facing.

• Card 3. The recent past as relevant to the current situation (i.e. no further than 3 to 6 months in the past). 

• Card 4. The near future as relevant to the current situation (i.e. no further than 3 to 6 months in the future).

• Card 5. The best to be achieved in the current situation. 

• Card 6. The tools the querent has at hand to face their obstacles. 

• Card 7. Feelings about the matter. 

• Card 8. Home and environment (including opinions of people around the querent). 

• Card 9. Hopes and fears.

• Card 10. Outcome.

A quick note: I follow Waite's technique for positioning the past and future cards. The position of card 5 and 6 change depending on what way the primary figure in Card 1 is facing. So if the figure in Card 1 is facing towards the right, Card 3 goes to the left of Card 1 (signifying the past is behind them) and Card 4 goes to the right (signifying the future before them). 

Now, the spread as described above (or by Waite in his original description) has amazing potential for supporting yourself or the person you are reading for on their path of healing. What I've done with my adapted spread below is to weave in extra focus around healing as well as apply some simple astrological insight to each card position. By applying astrological correspondences to the reading we can bring in corresponding herbal allies to guide us. I’ve made note of the correspondence between card positions and the Houses of the birth chart below with a more in-depth discussion on what that means and how to apply it to healing work later on.

The Healer's Celtic Cross

Card 1. The card which represents the querent and the heart of the matter. 

This card can reveal a lot about the querent's view of themself, their situation, and what is really going on for them. It's ok if this card doesn't make sense immediately and it can be helpful to compare it to Card 10 to help it make sense (comparing the first and last card drawn in any spread can be a very useful and insightful practice). This card corresponds with the self and the filter that shapes how we are perceived by and perceive ourselves and the world (First House).

Variation: Choose the significator card purposefully as opposed to a random draw. Waite suggests choosing a significator based on correspondences between physical appearance of the querent and the court card, but choosing a significator card on appearances alone is a pretty limiting approach. Instead, you or the querent can look through the whole deck and choose a card which either looks like what their current healing concern feels like or resembles the vision they hope for themselves when it comes to feeling more whole.

Card 2. The primary obstacle the querent is facing.

This is the card that crosses the querent creating a source of difficulty, conflict or challenging energy in their life. Here we can really begin to tell a story about the ways that the dis-ease, imbalances or other health concerns that the querent has are impacting their life in a way that creates discomfort, unrest, suffering, and so on (all issues of the Sixth and Eighth House). 

Card 3. The recent past as relevant to the querent's current healing path.

Here we have a timing card which can help the querent understand some of the ways they've been affected by their healing path recently. If there is a sense that it would be helpful to explore issues further back in the past (i.e. the querent knows that this current healing crisis stems from childhood, etc) additional cards can be pulled to explore the energy of the past underlying the situation. With this card we're exploring the thread of where this healing imbalance may have originated from (Fourth House).

Card 4. The near future as relevant to the querent's current healing path.

With our second timing card it can be helpful to read the 3rd, 4th, and 10th card as their own mini spread highlighting important timing along their querent's healing path. This card can also reveal concerns that the querent may have about their future, where they might be headed, and their own personal (often rooted in philosophy and spiritual practice) opinions of what their illness says about them and what is possible moving forward (Ninth House). 

Card 5. The best to be achieved in the current situation.

This is the card which crowns the querent and highlights what might be achieved given the current circumstances.(2) Along with Card 10 we can begin to see what is possible for the querent when it comes to their healing. A challenging card here can highlight shortages of hope or a challenge with connecting with the tools shown by Card 6. The energies of this card can also be tied up to questions of worth and worthiness (Second House) and what the querent believes they have access to and a right to on their healing journey.

Card 6. The tools the querent has at hand to face their obstacles.

This is the card which serves as the foundation for the querent and the skills they can use to support their healing. Here we get to see what skills, gifts, and insights the querent has developed throughout their life so far and how they might put all of it to practical use (Tenth House). I consider this to be a really important card to help instill hope in the querent. Challenging and inverted cards here can highlight the ways that the querent has forgotten or denied their own power.

Card 7. Feelings about the matter.

The next three cards focus on the feelings of the querent. With so much going on in the spread (looking back and forwards in time, considering obstacles, finding tools and skills to use, preparing for what lies ahead), here is a card that is really important to spend some time with. This card helps us to connect with how the querent is feeling about everything that is going on - it can be a card that can help to put into words what is hidden (very Twelfth House energy) and maybe tie into larger patterns of life experience or where the querent is feeling extra sensitive or sensitized (again, Twelfth House issues). 

Card 8. Home and environment

This card is about how the querent connects to their environment (Third House) and who is in it (Eleventh House), including the opinions of people about the querent. Are they feeling supported or challenged in the places that they spend a great deal of time (home, work, school, etc)? Are they feeling supported or challenged by the people in these spaces? Often a particular person or place is being illuminated with this card but sometimes it can be more general such as feeling overwhelmed working in customer service and that the querent may need a less people-oriented position at work for their own wellbeing. 

Card 9. Hopes and fears.

This card highlights the intertwined feeling of what the querent hopes for in their given situation and what they fear. An example is that the qurerent might be hoping for healing but fear that feeling better is impossible to attain. We are looking for this important intersection of feeling which highlights what the querent desires and hopes to achieve (Fifth House) alongside the energies of how we are shaped by the actions of others, especially in close relationships, that are beyond our control (Seventh House). It can be very useful to read Card 7 and Card 9 side by side as they are often conversing with one another in the spread and in the querent's life.

Card 10. Outcome.

This card reflects on how much there is resonance between what the querent hopes for and is capable of imagining for themselves. By referring to the querent's capacity for imagining what is possible for themselves I'm not trying to do some sort of backhanded insult that they haven't achieved the right “mindset” for health. Health and wellness and healing is not something earned or manifested through sheer individual willpower alone. Healing and wellbeing is a process of being able to access and receive good care, rest, and a safe place to heal all while being supported by the community along the way. By imagining wellness for ourselves we are not trying to manifest a cure, but create an emotional landscape that helps someone to feel hope and joy, loved and held, no matter the circumstances they find themselves in (all First House issues of self-worth and love).

The Houses + Plant Allies

If there are one or more cards that stand out as particularly challenging, you can begin to explore different ways to support someone by exploring the corresponding astrological area of their life. In addition to untangling challenging energy, you can also support the corresponding astrological areas of the querent's life that are really beneficial and nourishing in order to bring more of that energy onto their healing path. I don’t recommend trying to find an herbal ally to work with for every card cast (that’s a lot!) but instead to practice discernment to find clarity and focus on the one to three herbal allies that might best support the querent.

I've given some very general herbal recommendations based on the astrological correspondence each card position and zodiacal house correspondence, but of course, you need to consult your materia medicas and work with an herbalist for the best recommendations for your needs.

Card 1. First House + the Sign of Aries 

The significator and heart of the matter. 

How we instinctually act including our instincts of self-expression, to mask, and the ways that we act and are acted upon (i.e. things like microaggressions to micro-kindnesses that aren't thought out ahead of time, but arise swiftly in the moment). Nutrient rich herbs like Nettles (Urtica dioica) can be a good choice for supporting our First House needs which correspond to the ways that we take care of ourselves on a daily basis. I like incorporating Nettles into daily wellness practices because it has so many bioavailable vitamins and minerals and is gentle enough to use daily supporting the practical nature of the First House to take care of ourselves in a consistent manner.

Card 2. Sixth House + the Sign of Virgo and Eighth House + the Sign of Scorpio

The primary obstacle the querent is facing.

While the obstacles they are facing may show up in multiple areas of their life, astrologically we're looking at the Sixth House of Health, guarded by Virgo, and the Eighth House of Healing Crises and Transformation, guarded by Scorpio. Both houses and signs help us to recognize and embrace our mortality and how we perceive ourselves and filter consciousness through our physical form. Heart tonics that help us to deal with the highs and lows of living as well as create space for us to recognize our own resilience can be really useful here. Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) comes to mind as both embodying the deep thorn magick of Scorpio as well as the heart-opening healer's magick of Virgo.

Card 3. Fourth House + the Sign of Cancer.

The recent past as relevant to the current situation.

There are a few paths one can take to find an herbal ally of the Fourth House. Since we are dealing with the past, memory, ancestral heritage, and childhood we can reach for herbs related to any of those areas. So, perhaps the querent was served comforting cups of Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) tea as a child and to bring that herb back into their practice may be very healing or there is an ancestral herb that is asking to work with the querent. I actually like Chamomile for Fourth House issues as it is such a friendly herb and is often in traditional western herbalism, one of the first herbs that a child will receive as a remedy. It is also a wonderfully Cancerian herb that helps soothe upset stomachs and calms the nervous system after a period of emotional upheaval. The herb also has a wonderful quality of helping bring us back to the present moment, putting everything in perspective. It can also be really helpful to  focus on comfort (including the comfort of herbs that taste good to the querent) and healing parenting for Fourth House plant allies.

Card 4. Ninth House + the Sign of Sagittarius

The near future as relevant to the current situation.

The first approach to take with an emphasis on this part of the reading is focusing on remedies that practice good preventative medicine. So, if the querent is dealing with a lot of stress which looks like it is aggravating their current healing challenges, then focusing on consistent stress-reducing remedies and practices in the querent's life. Another approach is to work with the philosophical, wisdom nurturing aspects of Sagittarius that help us to adapt to whatever may come. Sage (Salvia officinalis) can be a wonderful ally in this respect, especially if the querent is feeling like their future has been altered in unwanted and irrevocable ways due to their illness or health challenge. 

Card 5. Second House + the Sign of Taurus

The best to be achieved in the current situation.

When it comes to exploring issues of achievement alongside self-worth and what makes us worthy of healing (which can be answered through exploring cultural narratives as well as our own internalized beliefs of worthiness, but however you get there, the answer is that we're all deserving of our healing), my absolute favorite plant ally is Rose (Rosa spp.). Rose is a Taurus plant and one of our most ancient plant allies, helping us to explore our own inner mysteries while supporting rejuvenative health. Whatever plant ally you choose to work with for issues emphasized by Card 5 in the spread, I encourage you to choose an herb that is restorative in nature, having a broad spectrum of healing qualities that help bring the body back into balance.

Card 6. Tenth House + the Sign of Capricorn

The tools the querent has at hand to face their obstacles.

When there are Tenth House issues, there is a call to work with structures and systems in the querent’s life. This can be from supporting the structural integrity of the body through bodywork and herbs like Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), which support bone and muscle health. In general, mineral rich herbs are very helpful. It can also arrive in the form of examining how the querent structures their day, their work or school schedule, and their life in general and how in alignment with their healing desires it is. Capricorn and the Tenth House can be really practical when it comes to healing work but don't forget that we're working with the energy of the goatfish - what is practical for one person can seem impractical and strange to another. It is about discovering the systems that work best for the querent not for what the querent thinks others will approve or disapprove of. 

Card 7. Twelfth House + the Sign of Pisces

Feelings about the matter.

When it comes to formulating a remedy or working with plant allies, this card can help to keep the heart and the feeling self in focus. You might support the actions of clearing out old energy practices, and beliefs in order to cultivate regenerative energy. These are deeply personal sorts of plant allies that are going to change from querent to querent. One of my favorite Pisces herbs that has widespread healing qualities and can be useful for many folks is Milky Oat (Avena sativa). One of the ways that we can begin to feel our feelings is to support our nervous system and Milky Oat is food for the nervous system and the soul. It helps to create a feeling of safety within and around the body, which is ideal when it comes to being able to open up about what you’re feeling.

Card 8. Third House + the Sign of Gemini and Eleventh House + the Sign of Aquarius

Home and environment.

Here we can work with plant allies that are more about shifting the energies of the home environment including herbal incense, floor washes, and room sprays. Plants with strong and beautiful scents (i.e. full of volatile oils) like Lavender (Lavandula officinalis) and Peppermint (Mentha piperita) can be great to work with. I also like plants that help to set appropriate boundaries both in our homes and interpersonally (something that Gemini and Aquarius as Air signs can be skilled at).

Card 9. Fifth House + the Sign of Leo and Seventh House + the Sign of Libra.

Hopes and fears.

With Card 9 energies we are working with the heart - how we find our bravery (Leo) and our harmony (Libra) all while overcoming our fears. Heart tonics, heart openers, heart guardians are all beautiful allies to work with here. I've already mentioned Rose (Rosa spp.) and Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) which are two wonderful heart herbs. Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) and Damiana (Turnera diffusa) can be great allies, too, as the former helps to harmonize the querent in relation to the collective and their own needs, while the latter can be a really beautiful ally in knowing love through physical pleasure.

Card 10. First House + the Sign of Aries

Outcome.

Refer to Card 1 for suggestions as the first and final card of the spread are deeply connected. No matter where the querent is headed, how they care for themselves day-to-day is foundational to wellness.

In Practice

Here's an abbreviated recap of how I read a recent casting of the Healer's Celtic Cross (you can see a picture of the full spread at the beginning of the post). The querent was struggling with a chronic inflammatory condition that was turning into burnout after an extended period of trying to hide from friends and family (and themselves to a degree) how serious of an impairment their condition was in letting them live their life. In the reading all but one of the cards was inverted which reflected how the querent was feeling - stuck with a chronic inflammatory condition that was invisible to the world and often left them isolated in pain. This trapped heat which isolated them was reflected in the many cards, but especially all of the Wands that showed up inverted.

Right away it was clear that the pendulum of the querent's thinking and feeling had swung far into the territory of feeling unworthy of healing, unseen by their friends and family and that they believed that this was only going to get worse (Three of Cups inverted), and they felt stuck on what to do next (Two of Pentacles inverted) unable to see any options available to them as they were lacking creative vision (all of the inverted Wand cards). Fortunately, hope was present in a few areas of the spread which is what we focused on when seeking out herbal allies.

The two primary cards that offered insight into a way forward featured water - the Two of Cups (Card 5) and Temperance (Card 2). Temperance was both the obstacle and much needed as the querent was struggling to find a balance in their feelings about their current situation and their need for community. They admitted that it was easier to feed the belief that being isolated was their fate instead of being more vulnerable about the accommodations and considerations they needed from their family and friends. It sounded like they did have folks who would be all too willing to adapt, the querent just felt a lot of shame - again that internalized hidden heat - about asking for help. The Two of Cups points directly towards reaching out to others as a path of healing, while Temperance counsels a more balanced outlook about the situation. 

Finally, the Three of Swords inverted (Card 10) is a rather hopeful card. It's the only energy of Air (besides Temperance) in the spread and pointed towards the querent speaking of their vulnerability (the broken-heartedness the querent felt about their condition) as a path back into community and a greater sense of wellness.

At this point I've also done an herbal intake of the querent and I've also looked at their birth chart to see what was happening. I don't depend on the reading alone when suggesting plant allies (though if you are using purely vibrational remedies like flower essences you certainly can). Remember, facilitating connections between plants and people is a multilayered and intersectional path.

So focusing on the three cards already discussed, we have the following guideposts to help us determine what herbal allies may be of aid for our querent: 

With Card 10 and the First House + the Sign of Aries, Nettles (Urtica dioica) felt like a very good choice. In fact, the querent had already been using Nettles as part of their anti-inflammation protocol so we talked about connecting with Nettles as a teacher through meditation and pathworking (the querent had experience with both and was interested in trying). 

With Card 5 and the Second House + the Sign of Taurus, I turned to Rose (Rosa damascena), which will bring additional anti-inflammatory properties, but will also help with the needs of the heart and opening up to feeling worthy of the love and care that the querent deserves (and that it sounds like their friends and family would be willing to give). 

With Card 2 and Sixth House + the Sign of Virgo and Eighth House + the Sign of Scorpio, it was Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) who spoke up as an ally. Hawthorn helps to repair broken hearts and protect the heart when opening up again to the possibilities of being loved and loving in turn. It can help to walk with some thorn magick when one is feeling vulnerable and needs support in turning that vulnerability into an opportunity for healing.

As you can see, using the Healer's Celtic Cross is an interesting and hopefully useful way to help connect folks with their own healing potential, a bit of hope, and the beauty of our plant allies. There can be even more depth to the reading if you know how to read the birth chart and can follow the paths that the cards cast are leading the querent in their own natal constellation of planets and stars. For those familiar with the astrological correspondences of tarot you can add another layer to the reading by exploring the astrological correspondences of each card cast as compared to the houses I suggest for each card position. If you like it complex, make it complex! There’s a lot of way to make the Healer’s Celtic Cross work for you and your community and I hope you get creative with it.

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If you’re looking for more tarot inspiration, check out my tarot + divination section. I also teach a course on the intersections of tarot and herbal healing if you’re ready for a deeper dive. If you want to learn more about plants and astrology, come this way.

I really love the traditional Celtic Cross tarot spread - it shaped me as a tarot reader and has remained a reliable tool in my practice for many decades. My variation focused on healing is a way to celebrate the versatility of this spread, honoring those who first envisioned it, and hopefully inspiring readers to come up with ways to expand their practice and be of compassionate service to those they are reading for.

And maybe, someone years from now will be casting the Healer's Celtic Cross on their table, but in a slightly different way because they couldn't quite remember what order the cards were meant to be in and came up with something fantastically all their own.

May the magick persist no matter its path.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

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Footnotes

Decks used: Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot Deck (in a tin version) and The Arcana of Astrology Oracle.

(1) If you want to learn more about the women of the Golden Dawn I recommend checking out tarot reader, teacher, and scholar extraordinaire, Mary K. Greer’s book Women of the Golden Dawn: Rebels and Priestesses.

(2) Directionally in the tradition that the Celtic Cross was born from, the place above us and the crown represented the gateways to accessing the holiest parts of ourselves, often connected to angelic energy. Holiness is multidirectional in my own practice and in many feminist Pagan traditions which are reclaiming the holiness of the deep below. It can help to imagine this card like a star or lantern raised above the head which illuminates all of our energy bodies as well as the path around us - it helps us to see what needs to be seen.

Budding: New Moon Ritual & Healing Practices

The heat has arrived and I am seeking shade and water like many of the creatures and plants I share this garden with. With the variation of sun and shade, different plants come to bloom in the yard throughout the spring and early summer. Right now I'm watching birds and squirrels nibble on the flowering fruits of the Pineapple Guava Tree (Acca sellowiana or Feijoa sellowiana) that sits outside my office window. This tree is an energetic spot throughout the year whether as a resting point for multiple varieties of birds as they fly past our house or host to the amusing antics of squirrels who mostly keep their balance while traversing the branches.

Since it sits outside the window where I often write, it's budding, flowering, fruiting, and the different animals that come to visit it have come to mark energetic starting points throughout the year for me. And so it feels appropriate to be writing about the New Moon during this time of heat and energy as it represents the point of new beginnings and often sharp and swift energetic shifts in the lunar calendar.

After a long period of waning and eventual darkness, the Moon reappears in the sky as a silver crescent, marking the beginning of the next lunar cycle. It is a time of newness and possibility, of budding hope, and the result of the hard work of setting boundaries and cutting away the unnecessary in our lives. Energy, possibility, hope, transformation, new beginnings, and swiftness are all key energies of the New Moon.

image via @tonelisa

Herbal Traditions

In Traditional Western Herbalism the New Moon is considered a time of hot and moist herbs. Continuing on the sacred structure metaphor started in the last post in our Moon healing and ritual series, the New Moon creates the heat and damp necessary to create the material needed to build the walls of the temple. The heat begins to "cook" the clay that will eventually harden, but it is still early in the process where moisture is present, allowing for the malleability needed to form foundations and walls. In the garden, the right balance of heat and moisture are essential to beginning the process of breaking down plant and food material into rich and nutritive soil.

This is just one approach to imagining the energies of the New Moon, inspired by Traditional Western Herbalism, and you're encouraged to create and seek out stories of the New Moon that work for you. The energies of the New Moon are often exciting and can feel like the first step across the precipice of something new. When I think about herbs of the New Moon I'm drawn to more stimulating remedies, ones that nourish the internal fires of life and digestion (like warming bitters), and those remedies that might have a bit of sharpness to them (whether in the form of heat, bitterness or energetically such as thorn medicine). Remedies that call to me at this time are ones that help me to wake up to my dreams or new possibilities, that help to start a new project or release an old habit or way of thinking that no longer serves me, and almost all of them help me to shift my perspective. But this is from my personal experience and I encourage you to trust your intuition when seeking out plant allies for different phases of the Moon.

Examples of New Moon Herbs: Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Coffee (Coffee arabica), Tea (Camellia sinensis), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Ginger (Zingiber officinalis), Licorice (Glycyrrhiza spp), Ginseng (Panax ginseng), Lavender (Lavandula officinalis), Milky Oats (Avena sativa), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). 

Basil (Ocimum spp.)

Basil embodies the heat and energy-moving signature of the New Moon. Unlike other hot herbs, the heat of Basil is often more accessible and easily tolerated by a wide variety of folks. While it can be more drying, it's ability to move energy and accompanying fluid (for fluid is the primary mover of energy in our water-filled bodies) brings in the moist aspect of New Moon herbs. As a nervine and adaptogen, Basil adapts to the body’s needs, relaxing us when we need to rest and invigorating us when it is time to rise. The herb supports both the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system helping guide us through the cycle of fight or flight back to rest and digest.

The variety of Basil I use most often in my practice is Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum, tenuiflorum) also known as Sacred or Holy Basil. Sacred Basil is well studied as an adaptogenic herb and is a highly regarded herb within Ayurvedic tradition - it is a holy panacea. The plant itself is an embodiment of the Goddess Lakshmi and growing one in the home is considered a sacred act. I find the living herb to bring on a reverential meditative state in many who spend any amount of time with them. I have personally found the plant to be a generous teacher, pouring out an abundance of wisdom to those who would take the time to sit and be with them. There is a popular quote by herbalist David Hoffman that goes, "When in doubt, choose nettles" and while I definitely choose Nettles (Urtica dioica) often, my personal "in doubt" herb is Tulsi, with her broad and expansive healing gifts. 

Within Traditional Western Herbalism, Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is named for the dragons or mighty basilisks that haunt mountains and caves. The herb not only moves heat through our body, but Basil also stokes our inner fires, helping us to digest our food and move waste from our bodies. Connecting with plants associated with dragons is to connect with the energy moving and coursing through the land we live on as well as the landscape of our bodies. It is to connect with very old energies in order to bring about very new change. Basil helps us, in a New Moon fashion, direct our will, manifest our dreams with life-giving heat, and protect the fire of our hearts.

Basil features in one of my favorite teas, I love it for breathwork, and it is an herb I use often for empaths and highly sensitive folks.

Altars + Rituals

Decorate your altar with shiny and reflective items and items and images that bring a sense of energy and emerging brightness to your life. Symbols of scythes and swords, or your athames herb cutting blade or kitchen knives carry New Moon energy and fit well on the altar. Add bells and other musical instruments to stir up energy with sound. Before you begin any ritual, clap your hands, move your body, and participate in energy raising practices. Spells of fire and water, wax divination, herbal oils and hydrosols to anoint the body and scent the air. As an offering consider the habits that you can nudge towards a more value-aligned way of living such as choosing more zero waste options in your personal life while agitating for more corporate responsibility for the climate crisis (living more zero waste is great and the worst polluters are not individuals but massive, unresponsive corporations and capitalist greed - let us hold them responsible and dismantle them as necessary with the double-blade of justice-oriented legislation and reform). Learn about the sign that the Moon is in for more specific ideas and recommendations.

image via @mohamadaz

A Simple New Moon Ritual

To clear out old energy and make way for the new

Using pins and needles in spellcraft is an old form of witchery found in multiple cultures around the world. Within western esotericism and traditional witchcraft, pins and needles can act like little swords or daggers to direct energy. I recommend using quilting pins with glass heads, but sewing needles or thorns can be used, too. We'll be using a candle to represent you and your energy and the needles will work as both energetic massage and scythe, helping to work out knotted energy and release it.

Begin by creating sacred space in whatever way is meaningful to you.

Place two candles and the pins before you on your altar. Wake up the energy in your body, whether this is through clapping, dancing, swaying, breathwork - do whatever works for you. When you feel like you've raised enough energy, hold one of the candles between your hands and leave the other candle on the altar. Connect your energy to the candle in your hands by saying:

Candle body
My body bright
Holy body
Candle alight

Speak the charm repeatedly, a speedy murmuration, as you visualize it glowing bright with your energy. Place it back on your altar. Take a moment to scan your body, seeking out where energy may be stuck and holding you back from moving on into the next cycle of the Moon. When you find a stuck spot, pick up a needle and hold it over the area, pulling the knotted energy into the needle while saying:

Knot and needle
Needle and knot
In the needle
The knot I've caught

Then poke the needle into the side of the candle, near the top, so that it stays there on its own. Repeat this process until all knotted energy has been caught up in the needles. 

All is whole, the way made clear -
What is stuck, disappears,
What is knotted, comes undone, 
As needles fall one by one.

Now it is time to light your candle. Let it burn so that one by one the needles fall and the knotted energy is undone, clearing the path for you. During the candles' burning you can sing and move and dance or meditate quietly - whatever you are feeling called to. 

Just before that candle completely burns down, light the other candle on your altar. Here is the light of your energy burning bright and unhindered. You can let this burn out completely or light it periodically throughout the lunar cycle to help energize your ritual work.

Once the candle with needles has completely burned, you might choose to read the patterns of the needles and the shape of any residual wax as a form of divination (sort of like tasseomancy) as some Witchfolk do. Once the spell is done, you can cleanse the needles in salt water to use them again in future spells. For particularly tough and tangled energy, take the needles to the crossroads and bury them deep in the earth, walking away from them without looking back.

A Simple New Moon Tarot Spread

To understand what needs releasing and what needs nurturing

Card 1 · Fire

What needs to be offered to the fire so that you can burn bright unhindered? This card highlights the energy in your life that needs clearing out and releasing as you begin the next lunar cycle. 

Card 2 · Blade

How can I offer up what is no longer needed in my life? Calling on the scythe-like energy of the New Moon, this card gives suggestions on how to release stagnant, unneeded or hindering energy in your life.

Card 3 · Water

What needs to be nurtured so that I can flow unhindered? This card highlights the energy in your life that needs a bit more tenderness and care as you begin the next lunar cycle.

Card 4 · Cauldron

How can I nurture what needs extra care in my life? Calling on the hope-expanding energy of the New Moon, this card gives suggestions on how to nurture the part of your life that needs comfort, strength or extra love so that you can move forward with greater ease.

Card 5 · Story

The overall message of the New Moon in your life. If you are familiar with your birth chart and how to find the transiting Moon in your chart this card can help you to understand the message of the Waxing Quarter Moon in the context of where it lands in your chart.

These posts are part of a series on the lunar cycle that was inspired by my patrons who help me keep the majority of my work free to access. You can find the posts for the other phases here:

• Waxing Quarter Moon

• Full Moon

• Waning Quarter Moon

• Dark Moon

A few years back I did a year long dive into the energy of the New Moon for healers through each of the twelve signs of the zodiac. If that sounds like your cup of, come this way. For a deeper dive into the intersections of lunar herbalism and sacred self inquiry, I have a course for you.

If you’ve been feeling a lot of tenderness lately and are looking for a bit more care after the work of releasing unwanted energy at the New Moon, you might like this.

This post was made possible through patron support.
❤︎ Thanks, friends. ❤︎

Herbal Allies for Eclipse Season

Holy heck!

It's pretty clear that the energy of the last few weeks has sent so many folks in a tail-spin. We've been oversleeping, forgetting commitments and booking new ones, and generally feeling like sloths on a roller-coaster. Welcome to Eclipse Season.

Yes, eclipse season can feel like pulling the furniture away from the walls to find years of dust and grime, lost pens, crumpled up notes, and dead spiders. Yes, we are still lotus blossoms, but eclipse season reminds us that we have to push through the muck first to truly bloom.

You're not failing even though you feel like you might be falling.

Don't worry - it's not all direness and relieving old miseries. The surprising energy and sudden revelatory movements of eclipse season swings all ways. Sometimes when the veil is pulled back during eclipse season, we find ourselves laughing in joy. Those dark corners, in fact, were growing crystals and the perfect spot to brew a long-forgotten tincture of soul wisdom. 

Fortunately, we’ve never been meant to heal alone. Eclipse season can act like a shared community catharsis and coming together as we share in this celestial event.

Herbs can act as sturdy shields and gentle hugs. They can calm the roaring thoughts of a restless mind and repair the tenderness of a wounded heart. Often, our plant kin help us to adjust our physical and energetic stance so that we are better able to perceive what needs to be known in order to heal. And they are amazing allies during times like these when everything seems significant but sideways. 

What follows are short energetic profiles of a small selection of herbs that I find to be particularly for a wide variety of eclipse season experiences. As always, I affirm your ability to do your own research and work with herbal practitioners to to discover which plants will best suit your needs.

Let’s meet the herbal allies of eclipse season.

image source

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

One of the reasons that I think eclipse season can be such a challenge for folks is because the Moon, which represents the hidden nature of ourselves and the world(s), becomes writ large in our lives. What is usually hidden blocks out the light we are so accustomed to. And together we live, for a few moments, not by the light of the Sun, but by the dark of the Moon. Working with a Moon herb, such as Mugwort, helps us to connect with our lunar selves. While many of us know our Sun sign, we don’t know our Moon sign which represents our most intimate truths about ourselves. Knowing your Moon means that you are better able to distribute the power of your Sun throughout your life. Working with Mugwort during eclipse season is one way to enhance your dreams, a primary mode of communication between our conscious selves and lunar selves. The herb can also help to unlock and enhance psychic gifts. If you’ve been denying your psychic gifts, eclipse season can be a time to reconnect with them, and Mugwort can help to open the path.

image source

Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)

Skullcap is my go-to herb for folks with busy minds and racing thoughts. This is the herb that most often helps folks who tend to spin round-and-round in their heads. If you tend towards anxious thoughts that keep you up at night or generally draw you away from being present in the moment, Skullcap might be a good ally for you. I find that eclipse season can aggravate nervous thinking and hyper-vigilance, which is why I like to recommend Skullcap, both as a tincture and flower essence. Additionally, it can be enjoyed as a tea and it’s bitter taste helps with indigestion, especially when caused by nervous tension. Skullcap is also one of my favorite herbs for the season of Mabon or the Autumn Equinox which is just around the corner in the northern hemisphere - read more about it. 

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Rose (Rosa spp.)

When am I not recommending Rose? I know of some herbalists who work almost exclusively with Rose and I understand why. It’s a multifaceted healing flower that invites us to unravel the mystery of who we are, why we suffer, and how we might love while still being able to enjoy the side of life which will always remain mysterious. A Rose remedy is like ASMR for the aura - soft but energizing, soothing but inspiring. When I use Rose as a remedy I feel like I am stepping into a sacred temple that is outside of time and space. Eclipse season has a way of slowing things down and speeding them up all at once which is why Rose can be such a useful ally. It helps us deal with time and our experience of it (including memory and what is yet to come) with peace and steadiness. And if eclipse season is stirring up old heartache - try adding Rose into your remedy repertoire. 

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Catnip (Nepeta cataria)

Catnip is the herb for those whose emotional turmoil manifests as discomfort in the stomach. Folks who have an affinity for Catnip often have experienced a difficult childhood. For Catnip folks, early life experiences have taught them to keep things hidden away as an act of survival and protection. They believe that what they present to the rest of the world must remain calm and unflustered. Their suffering is present but remains hidden - sometimes the depth of which is even unknown to them. Catnip helps folks to be able to experience their emotions without becoming incapacitated by them. To learn and trust that they can be vulnerable without feeling unsafe. During the revelatory episodes of eclipse season, having Catnip nearby can help to remind us that we deserve to feel safe and at home in the world.

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Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

Hawthorn has similar energetics to Rose but with heightened protective qualities and an ability to help us connect with otherworldly guides - whether land spirits or ancestors. Eclipse season is inherently magickal but not necessarily the best time to be performing complex acts of magick. It makes more sense to find time to sit quietly beneath a tree or sipping tea before your house altar right now. Hawthorn, like Rose, connects us with the sacredness of time and it’s particularly talented at helping us learn how to establish boundaries to protect our time. So if the energy of eclipse season has you feeling like you need to be doing all the things at once, consider working Hawthorn into your herbal routine. I was on a podcast all about Hawthorn where I (if sometimes nervously but always enthusiastically) expressed my love and gratitude for the plant.

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Milky Oat (Avena sativa)

Ahhh, Milky Oat. A beautiful and powerful herb to nourish the nervous system and bring us out of state of unrest. I’ve not yet met anyone who has not benefitted in some small way by incorporating Milky Oat into their lives. If you’re someone who struggles with being a workaholic and taking time off, I would gently challenge you to start taking Milky Oat now and continue with it for at least three months. It’s an herb best enjoyed for an extended period of time and if you’re someone who puts off self-care or consistency (i.e. doing something nice for yourself more than once every six months) in self-care, I think you should consider Milky Oat. Milky Oat is one of my favorite New Moon herbs and you can read the full plant profile here.

My final closing advice for eclipse season is to observe and let it go. You are meant to have enough room in your own life to be completely and unapologetically yourself. Eclipse season is an opportunity to clear out the closets of psychic clutter. In a real physical way, clean your house, tidy up your altar, and drink enough water (no, really, most of us are super dehydrated). Don’t be afraid to take up space in your own life. Also, recognize when you might be taking up too much space in the lives of others because you're afraid of sorting through your own stuff.

Yes, eclipse season is about revelations. But it’s also about recentering. Be sure to take time to do just that.

Do you have herbal allies (or other tools such as crystals) that you find helpful during eclipse season? Be sure to let me know in the comments - I love learning about what it is that you find useful in your life.

How to Make Your Own Herbal Rainbow Lattes (to Feed Your Inner Unicorn)

We’re in a bit of a rainbow-everything moment so why not rainbow lattes with an herbal twist? Playing with colorful plants and making rainbow potions is the best and definitely brings out your inner potions professor. Instead of giving you a hard and fast recipe, I’ll be showing you how to construct your rainbow concoctions with whatever ingredients are easily available to you. 

Basically, rainbow lattes are created by using fluids at different densities to create layers of color. I used four different plant milks in my latte experimentation. You could weigh them out with a scale, but I just added different color to each and layered them slowly, watching where they all eventually settled. The milk that settled on the bottom was the densest and the milk at the top the lightest. I encourage you to do the same with whatever milk you buy or make before you go about making your final product.

Here is what I found out about the densities of my plant milks:

The lightest was Coconut milk, followed by Almond, then Rice, and the heaviest was Oat milk. 

I used a combination of sweetened and unsweetened milks so that I didn’t have to add any additional sweetener to my latte. If you’re adding sweetener do so before you layer your latte. Remember, that adding sugar or syrup to your milk will add density to your layer and may might it heavier than other layers in your latte.

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Choose Your Rainbow Layers

Basically if it is a plant, fruit or veggie that tastes good to you, you should try it in your rainbow latte experimentations. Here is my list of color-rich plants with latte-worthy flavors for you to try.  

Reds + Pinks : Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa), Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), Elderberry (Sambucus nigra), Beet

Oranges + Yellows : Turmeric (Curcuma longa) (always add a pinch of Black Pepper to enjoy its full medicinal benefits), Mango, Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), Banana, Carrot

Greens + Blues : Spirulina (Spirulina platensis), Chlorella (Chlorella vulgaris), Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria spp.), Green Tea (Camellia sinensis), Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea)

Purple : Blueberry, Elderberry (Sambucus nigra), Butterfly Pea (combine with Lemon to turn it from blue to purple), Black Tea (Camellia sinensis) (combined with red and pink ingredients), Acai (Euterpe oleracea)

I was in a Hibiscus mood when making my tea (thank you to the Hibiscus Mint sellers in Austin, TX for introducing me to the glory that is this iced red beverage), so both of my lattes feature that flavor.  you’re not a fan of the sour taste of Hibiscus (but it’s so gooood), I recommend replacing it with Beet powder which has a naturally sweet taste for your red layer. 

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I made my four layer rainbow latte with the following ingredients:

• Bottom layer : Oat Milk with Hibiscus and Rooibos

• Second to bottom layer : Rice Milk with Turmeric and a small pinch of Black Pepper

• Second to top layer : Almond Milk with Spirulina 

• Top layer : Coconut Milk with Acai and Elderberry

The dominant flavors are the Hibiscus and Rooibos which has a cooling, sweet and sour taste, combined with the other berry flavors or the latte made for a fun drink. Spirulina and Turmeric are both pretty neutral-tasting when used in small amounts, so while I was still enjoying their healing benefits, they did not disrupt the taste of the berry-flavored latte. 

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My three-layered rainbow latte features the refreshing flavors of mint and green tea to help you cool down during your summertime adventuring. It features:

• Bottom layer : Oat Milk and Hibiscus (I used a lot more Hibiscus than the first latte to get a darker color)

• Middle layer : Blue Green Algae, Peppermint Tea, and Green Tea

• Top Layer : Plain Coconut Milk

Putting It All Together

When making my colored layers, I would brew a strong infusion of my ingredient (such as Elderberry) in water and then add some to milk. A strong infusion might be 1 - 2 tablesoons of herb per 2 ounces of water. I typically added about 1 tablespoon of my tea to 2 ounces of plant milk. For powdered ingredients, such as Spirulina or Turmeric, I just added a little powder a bit at a time directly to the milk until I had achieved the color I wanted.  

With my colorful milks made, it's time to pour! Add some ice into the bottom of your glass and pour in your first layer. I did about 2 ounces of milk per layer, but you don't have to be so precise. I would add a little more ice and then slowly pour in the next layer, usually along the side of the jar. Repeat until all layers have been poured. Voilà!

Feeling inspired to create your own herbal rainbow lattes? Yay! Let me know about what you end up making in the comments below. If you need more colorful herbal remedies in your life, click here.