Sweet Spring, Bright Summer: Herbal Remedies for the Waking Season

I was lucky during the formative years of my herbal education to have many of my teachers emphasize the importance of time when it came to plant medicine. While there are plenty of situations where herbs work speedily (alleviating a fever within a few hours, opening up the airways within minutes, and so on), much of the healing power of plants takes place over many months, if not longer. While I was taught to alleviate as much suffering as soon as possible by addressing symptoms, more importantly, I was to focus on the underlying issues that had brought about the state of disease, and inform those I was serving that part of the healing of herbalism is giving time for plants to do their work.

As an earth-centered herbalist and Pagan, one of the ways that I help those I serve understand the ways that plants work in our lives, is to point to the wheel of the year and the changing seasons. We do not suddenly leave spring and arrive in summer, but the land is always in a state of transition, moving from one season to the next. So it is within our bodies (and I use the term "bodies" to represent our physical, emotional, mental, and energetic selves), that we are always in a state of transition and movement. One of the hardest places to be on a healing journey is to feel stuck in one place getting nowhere - yet, even in these moments we are already in motion and entering into a new season of our lives. 

Centering our practices as herbalists and plant folk around the cycles of seasons helps to protect us against the false marketing of herbs as "miraculous cures" and the desire for instantaneous healing exacerbated by social media - an influence that can sway any of us, especially when we are desperate to feel better. While the slow and steady nature of healing plants can feel disheartening at first, when we approach healing as something which is transformative, it can be easier to perceive the summer heat we're craving even during the long drizzle of spring. A transformative and seasonal approach to healing doesn't promise specific results or miraculous cures, but helps us to find hope and expansive connection through knowing that we are always in a state of transformative change. 

So as spring transforms into summer, I've collected a few of my favorite recipes for the waking season to help us make a little room for and connect with the sometimes hard-to-detect, other times bright and shining, transformations occurring all around and within us. 

image via @anniespratt

Spring to Summer Remedies

The following recipes are formulated as teas but can easily be made into herbal extracts, baths, or other forms of herbal remedies. I’ve crafted them with the transition from (roughly) Gemini to Cancer season in the northern hemisphere and from (roughly) Sagittarius to Capricorn season in the southern hemisphere in mind, but they can easily be adapted or used throughout the year.

image via @hasanalmasi

For When You Need Help Slowing Down

On the land I live with, spring moves fast and then summer is suddenly here - the time between wearing sweaters to wearing sandals can be dizzying. But even if you live someplace where the time between spring and summer seems to draw on and on, there can exist a social pressure to be extra "productive" in spring in order to get "summer ready" (yikes, no). Summer, with its days of long light and increased heat, can be a beautiful time to slow down and plant allies like the nervous system trophorestorative Milky Oat (Avena sativa) help us to do just that. Together with Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), an herb that helps us to find and connect with our own inner rhythms, and Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), a plant ally that helps to slow down racing thoughts and soothe anxiety, the following blend helps us to pause, rest, and recenter ourselves as spring tumbles into summer.

• 3 parts Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

• 1 part Milky Oat (Avena sativa)

• ½ part Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)

image via @anniespratt

For When You Need to Cool Off

Late spring and early summer can bring with it weather that oscillates between sweater weather and hot snaps, so it's good to have a few cooling herbs to work with. Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is one of my favorite hot season herbs, helping to calm, cool, and relax us. I love combining Hibiscus with Peppermint (Mentha piperita) which relaxes us when we need to calm down and energizes us when we need to wake up. The adaptogenic qualities of Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis) are great any time of year, but during the summer the plant helps to protect the skin from the inside out from the season's increased heat as well as helping to balance our overall energy. The following drink can be served hot, but I especially like it iced and sweetened (maybe even made into a swamp tea). 

• 4 parts Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

• 1 part Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

• ¼ part Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis)

image via @anniespratt

For When Your Heart Needs Nourishing

The expansive energy of the land blossoming from spring into summer, stirs the energy of our own heart centers. Working with heart herbs like Hawthorn Berry (Crataegus monogyna), which acts as rejuvenative cardiovascular tonic, and the heart-opening Rose (Rosa spp.) help us to get in touch with our own power of possibility. Both herbs are also excellent allies for those in the midst of heartbreak, helping to nourish not just the physical heart muscle, but the energetic heart muscle as well. Lovely Elder flower (Sambucus nigra) adds natural sweetness in addition to its restorative nervine qualities. 

• 4 parts Hawthorn Berry (Crataegus monogyna)

• 1 part Rose (Rosa spp.)

• ½ part Elder Flower (Sambucus nigra)

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Three simple recipes to help us move from spring to summer with inspiration and heart-centered excitement. You can find more seasonal inspiration for your practice by checking out spring wellness apothecary and summer wellness apothecary posts. You can also explore my series on herbal and magickal suggestions for every season. If you’re looking for more between-the-seasons guides:

• Slow Winter, Soft Spring: Herbal Remedies for the Quiet Season

May these days in-between seasons bring you a sense of wonder at the ways we are always in a state of becoming, full of possibility, filling up with hope like light increasing across the land.

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

Herbs and Essences for Empaths and Highly Sensitive People

Edit: Inspired by this post and the request of readers, I wrote a whole course for plant allies and highly sensitive people - check it out!

I learned what an empath was when I was about 12 years old and it was a turning point in my young development.

Having a name for what felt like an overwhelming experience of the emotional vibrations of others that felt like something bigger than just hormonal changes led me to learning techniques to protecting my sensitive side. Even though I wasn’t ingesting much herbal medicine at that point I would wear herbs and stones as charms and found that gentle magick to work well for me. I also learned how to ground and center as well as basic shielding and warding which are not only essential skills for empaths and highly sensitive folks but for anyone pursuing magickal studies. These skills made my teen years way more tolerable and shaped me into the herbalist and witch that I am today.

But what is an empath? Or highly sensitive person? While the two terms are not interchangeable they are similar enough in my opinion that my herbal and essence-based recommendations can be applied to both. An empath is a person who has the ability to perceive and experience the feelings of other people and sometimes places. We are all empathic, but some folks empathic ability is heightened to a point that it can become overwhelming or distracting in their life. Because of their skill set many empaths go into the healing and therapeutic arts.

Highly sensitive people (HSPs) experience a heightened sense of their surroundings and may even have a more sensitive nervous system. They are often keyed in to the subtleties of others and their surroundings (including sound, light, texture, and smell) than non-HSPs. Again, everyone is prone to be more sensitive to at least one sense - HSPs are generally more sensitive in all of their senses which, like empaths, can lead to becoming easily overwhelmed. Due to their sensitivity, however, lots of HSPs thrive in the arts and activities that require great amounts of subtlety.

In short, empaths experience a heightened sensitivity to their emotional environment, whereas HSPs experience a generalized heightened sensitivity. Of course, some folks are both Empaths and HSPs while other folks are one or the other.

When it comes to herbs and essences my recommendation for Empaths and Highly Sensitive People is as follows: 

Make friends with a nervine.

Connect with an adaptogen.

Create your custom rescue remedy.

These three remedies combined with a grounding, centering, and shielding practice can be beautifully effective in protecting your energetic senses and supporting your physical form. A bit of thorn magick helps, too. I’ll also talk about additional ways of supporting your Empathic or HSP self that I have found useful for myself and my community over the years. I’ve listed some of my favorite herbal allies for Empaths and HSPs below but as always, I I recommend doing your research or working with an herbalist to find the ones best suited for your constitution.

Make Friends with a Nervine

Nervines are herbs that are nourishing and restorative to the nervous system. There are two main types of nervines: relaxing and stimulating. We’ll be focusing on the relaxing nervines for our needs as Empaths and HSPs are often overstimulated when they’re feeling out of balance. Nervines help the body to return to a state of rest and relaxation and many of them are great tonic herbs meaning that they can be taken daily for a long time. I’ve listed a number of my favorite herbs for Empaths and HSPs below, highlighting three that I’m particularly fond of.

Milky Oat (Avena sativa) : I was just talking about Milky Oat in my most recent newsletter. It’s known as a tophorestorative to the nervous system meaning that it brings the nervous system back into balance. Milky Oat is a great nutritive herb that can be taken on a daily basis. I love it for Empaths and HSPs because it feels gentle in the body but has a powerful and long-lasting effect. Read my full plant profile on Milky Oat.

Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) : Skullcap is great for symptoms of anxiety, especially when there are hurried and worried thoughts, that can accompany heightened sensitivity. I’ve written about Skullcap a number of times including as an ingredient one of my favorite self-care teas that I highly recommend for Empaths and HSPs. Read my full Skullcap plant profile.

Rose (Rosa damascena) : Beautiful, amazing, unfolding Rose! Rose has gentle nervine qualities with the extra magick of thorn medicine. Rose is an ancient herbal ancestor and they’ve been a guide of healing wisdom through the ages - who better to turn to when life feels too big and overwhelming than to one who has seen it all and thrived? 

Additional nervine options:

• Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica)

• Blue Vervain (Verbena officinalis)

• Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)

• Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

• Lavender (Lavandula spp.)

• Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

• St. Joan’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Connect with an Adaptogen

Adaptogens are herbs that help us to adapt to stress. They are not meant to be a replacement to good stress management and therapeutic support, but they are excellent at supporting are ability to shift perspective and reconnect to a place of centeredness within ourselves. Many adaptogens can be stimulating because part of learning how to adapt to stress is having all of our organ systems working well and adaptogenic herbs can help to wake up sluggish systems. Too much stimulation from an herb, however, can be detrimental to Empaths and HSPs, but not always. Again, get to know yourself and your constitution when choosing herbs. I’ve listed adaptogens that are less stimulating in their energy as compared to some adaptogens, but still bring in that much needed ability to restore the body to balance after a period of stress.

Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) : I really like Eleuthero because of it’s gentle nature (you might be sensing a theme here with the emphasis on gentleness as an important form of remedy for Empaths and HSPs). It can be used with young and old for an extended period of time without overstimulation. Eleuthero strengthens our energy and inner vitality which in turn supports the resiliency of Empaths and HSPs. If you’ve found other adaptogens to be too stimulating, you might find yourself enjoying Eleuthero.

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) : Empaths and HSPs could learn a lot from the vibratory interconnectedness of the mushroom kingdom. Like other adaptogens, Reishi supports vitality and longevity with especial attention paid to the immune system. Reishi can help Empaths and HSPs transition from feeling overwhelmed by their heightened perceptions to being grounded in their gifts of interconnectedness.

Additional adaptogen options:

• Sacred Basil (Ocimum sanctum)

• Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)

• Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis)

• Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea)

Create your Custom Rescue Remedy

Here’s where the essence part of my recommendations come in. Many of you are probably familiar with Dr. Edward Bach’s Rescue Remedy. It’s a staple in many a holistic apothecary and for good reason - it’s effective, non-invasive, and can be used for everyone. If you don’t have time to put together your own personal rescue remedy based on my recommendations below, just go ahead and get your own bottle of Dr. Bach’s Rescue Remedy - it’ll serve you well.

The idea of a custom rescue remedy is to create an essence blend that meets your unique needs and the type of stress response you find yourself going through again and again. I’ve given recommendations for essences from the Bach and Flower Essence Society companies because they are easy to find in wellness stores and online. I’ve also recommended a handful of gem essences which you can either make yourself or find online. You can choose a 2 - 4 essences from the list below (or any that you come across in your studies) and combine a few drops of each into a one-ounce dosage bottle that you can then take 1 - 3 drops from as needed or three times daily as a tonic. Trust your intuition - your extra sensitivity is meant to help and guide you - and create a blend that will help you integrate useful information and leave out the rest.

Yarrow Environmental Essence : This is actually a blend of essences that I highly recommend for HSPs. In fact, if you were to take one essence long term, this is the one that I recommend. Yarrow Environmental Essence helps HSPs to deal with their increased sensitivity while also protecting against the impact of overstimulating and polluted environments. It’s an essence blend that I take regularly but one that I make sure to have with me any time that I travel as it’s an excellent adventuring companion.

Black Tourmaline Gemstone + Essence : A wonderfully protective and grounding essence for those Empaths and HSPs struggling to feel safe and centered in the world. I recommend keeping a piece of the stone near your work or study space as well as wearing it on your person in addition to using it as a gem essence.

Red Chestnut Flower Essence : Red Chestnut is especially useful for Empaths who get caught up in the emotions of others, trying to take on other’s problems, and become the ultimate harmonizer of all situations everywhere. The essence helps remind Empaths that these are not their feelings and they are not responsible for them. The essence teaches appropriate boundary-making.

Additional flower and gem essence options:

• Rose (Rosa damascena) Flower Essence

• Beech (Fagus Sylvatica) Flower Essence

• Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Flower Essence

• Dill (Anethum graveolens) Flower Essence

• Campion (Silene californica) Flower Essence

• Smoky Quartz Gem Essence

• Rose Quartz Gem Essence

• Kyanite Gem Essence

• Garnet Gem Essence

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Looking for plant allies for social gatherings? Come this way.

It's my hope for you that after reading this post you feel like you have a few new tools to use on your journey as an Empath and/or Highly Sensitive Person through this world. We need your gentleness and attention to subtlety to help keep us paying attention to the heartlines of the world.

P.S. Interested in learning more about your unique gifts and sensitivities as a healer? I've created a space to help you discover just that.