Reckless Abandon : The New Moon in Sagittarius

Restore us to memory
As the new ones begin to stir
We continue to kindle the hearth
To preserve the flame
For we are forged from stardust
The light of the heavens - 
We are filled by ancient cultures
Who lifted their eyes beyond.
We are the constellations.
The Cosmic Sea

- Karin A. Larsen -

The New Moon in Sagittarius is a bow pulled taut, it’s arrow not seen, but its point aimed at the distant horizon. For some the October New Moon in Libra marked Lunar Samhain while for others (like myself) it’s the New Moon in Scorpio which is Samhain’s Moon. For me, tonight marks the end of the lingering season of Samhain as Sagittarian energy pulls us towards the dark of winter with an archer’s precision and focus.

New Moon Sagittarian energy is recklessly bold. It’s not necessarily the best time to try and make big commitments, but to experiment with and try new things while the night holds sway over the year. Witches and other magickal beings have long understood the power of the dark. We can change forms more readily, move unwatched, and pull away from the glare of the scrutiny of our day lives. We have the opportunity to become more ourselves without the expectations of others cutting up our flow (work started at the New Moon in Libra).

Photo by Raul Petri

There’s a real optimistic streak to the New Moon in Sagittarius. We’re reminded to be playful and flexible in our mindsets in order to bring about healing. A healer’s purpose is to not only to help provide physical relief to their clients, but to help those they serve ask the question, “What if?”

What if I put my healing first?

What if I said no to people who are emotionally draining?

What if I said yes more?

What if I allowed myself to imagine a life that I love?

What if? What if?

I’ve experienced it again and again in my practice where I ask, “But what if…” and there’s a sudden - sometimes dramatic, sometimes subtle - shift in the person to whom I’m asking the question. And that’s when the adventure of healing really begins.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Plant Ally of the New Moon in Sagittarius

One of the greatest gifts of Dandelion to heal is through its ability to help vitality move freely through the body. The primary way that the herb accomplishes this is by clearing the blood of toxins and waste material. Dandelion has a tonic effect on the blood, lymph system, and liver, helping to detoxify all three and improve the eliminatory qualities of the liver and gallbladder. Part of its blood purifying qualities comes from its high nutritive salt contents which cleans the blood and clears excess acid. Nicholas Culpeper writes in his Herbal that Dandelion “is under the dominion of Jupiter. It is of an opening and cleansing quality, and therefore very effectual for the obstructions of the liver, gall and spleen, and the diseases that arise from them, as the jaundice, and hypochondriac.”

One of the indications that Dandelion might be useful for a client (and one of the ways that it shows its Sagittarian connections) is that symptoms improve with movement - such as through massage or gentle exercise. I love Dandelion’s ability to help us rewire us from a state of survival (where we rarely ask a what if question that is for our benefit) to one of thriving (where we’re always curious about what the future might hold). Magickally, Dandelion has become a modern symbol of revolution, resistance, and transformation (how very Sagittarian!). Incorporate it into your protest and march magick as well as other activism related pursuits.

Flower + Gem Essences for the New Moon of Sagittarius: Peach (Prunus persica), Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris), Sage (Salvia officinalis), Yellow Flag Flower (Patersonia xanthina), Zinnia (Zinnia elegan), Chrysocolla, Moonstone, Peacock Ore.

Essential Oils of Sagittarius: Black Pepper (Piper nigrum), Marjoram (Origanum majorana), Nutmeg, Ginger (Zingiber officinale), Pine (Pinus sylvestris).

Photo by Andrew Robinson

The Ritual of Dangerous Questions

As healers and magick makers we not only provide relief and refuge to our communities, but we ask dangerous questions that challenge cultural norms. We ask what would happen if Black lives mattered. What would change if womxn’s stories of sexual harassment and abuse were taken seriously from the start. What would happen if the rights of the environment were considered along with the rights of people and creatures. To be able to ask dangerous questions on a cultural level, which change minds and shift narratives, we also need to know how to ask them on a personal level.

For this ritual you will need a candle as well as a pen and paper. Begin in a sacred way (read the New Moon in Aquarius post for further inspiration). Place the candle before you and before you light it say:

Questions hidden
Wisdom hidden

Then light the candle and say:

Questions asked
Wisdom known

 Bring yourself to a meditative state where your mind is soft, your body comfortable, and your heart curious. Ask yourself, “What if?” Observe what follows. It might be a flurry of questions. It might be silence with a very tentative voice asking something in the background. After a few moments choose a few what if questions that came up for you - especially the ones that feel a mix of scary and exciting - and write them down. You can then free write under each question, continue to meditate with them, get up and dance with your question or whatever else feels good to you. Indulge your curiosity and the healing power it possesses.

When done with your ritual either let your candle burn out (if there is any left) or blow it out with the intention of lighting it again when you’re feeling resistance to asking “What if?” again in your life.

The World Spirit Tarot

Oracle

With a divinatory tool of your choosing ask the following question. You can also ponder it during meditation or through journaling.

What if I acted with reckless abandon?

Additional queries to consider:

• What problems have I been running from?
• Where am I most distracted in my life?

Tarot Cards of Sagittarius

Every card within the tarot deck has an astrological association. The following correspondences follow the system laid out by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. You can add these cards to your altar as part of your New Moon in Sagittarius magick or use them in readings to help with determining celestial influence or timing (i.e. this will come to pass at when the Moon is in Sagittarius).

• The Sign of Sagittarius: Temperance
• Mercury in Sagittarius: Eight of Wands
• Moon in Sagittarius: Nine of Wands
• Saturn in Sagittarius: Ten of Wands
• The Fire Signs of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius: Ace of Wands

Find all of the New Moon Healers Project posts right over here. Be sure to share your insights and experiences in the comments below or via instagram with the tag #NewMoonHealersProject.

Need more astroherbology in your life? You can learn more about the astroherbology of Sagittarius by reading my in-depth profile on the sign. Check out the magick of each phase of the Moon. For those of you ready to learn how to live your magick and create your herbal remedies by the cycle of Moon and star, you're invited to join the The Lunar Apothecary.

Blessed New Moon, wise healers.
May your healing be healing to us all.
May our healing be healing to you.
Blessed be! Blessed be! Blessed be!

Lunar Teas + Slow Magick

At the beginning of this year I was feeling the least magickal that I have in quite some time. To be honest, the last two years have been full of rewarding adventures and some truly challenging experiences that have stretched my “keep-it-together” capacity. 

On top of that, as I’ve been getting back into in-person teaching after a hiatus, I found myself struggling to find my flow again as a teacher. Including, finding myself struggling again with a resurgence in the dreaded imposter syndrome that so many of my fellow generation seem to experience. Not a pleasant place to be in especially considering that teaching in-person classes has traditionally been one of my absolute favorite things to do and is typically a time that I feel most comfortable and confident in myself. 

It’s easy when we come to these places of spiritual malaise to seek out something to fix it now - whether that’s a new shiny crystal or the latest book on magick or thinking that if we scroll through pinterest or instagram for hours we may suddenly find it. 

(I have, ahem, never done any of these things.)

(That last statement was entirely untrue.)

At some point I found myself returning to something which I know and love - making herbal remedies - to try and recenter. Now you might expect at this point of the story I will tell you that  I spent a blissful afternoon making tea as sunlight danced across my apothecary table and a song blossomed in my heart. Alas, twas not the case. I did make tea - a brew inspired by the Moon in hopes of falling back in love with my magick. But I felt lackluster. I combined nine carefully chosen herbs, for that is the sacred number of the Moon, in my large silver bowl and stirred and sang over them. But it felt like I was going through the motions.

As I stirred, I couldn’t shake that feeling running up and down my spine that I wasn’t enough.. Or the creeping sensation that I had lost my magick, never to be found again. 

But I still made that batch of tea. I brewed it and tasted it and decided that it was ok. Over the next few months, though, I somehow started to believe that it was one of the worst teas that I had made. I shoved it back in my herb cabinet, not wanting to waste the herbs, but not sure what to do with it quite yet. 

A few more months passed and I had another class to teach. It happened on the heels of a rough few days of bittersweet revelation. I needed to bring tea to the class and did not have time to create a new blend. I saw the jar of lunar tea sitting on the shelf and grabbed it. As I was brewing it for the class a strange peace settled over me and I had the feeling that it might just be ok. That I was ok.

The class gathered, the tea was served, and I left a few hours later feeling more like myself than I had in a very long time. And folks loved the tea - I ran out of it before the class was even halfway over.

Walking home after class, carrying a heart full of  healing vibes, and an empty tea canister, I was reminded that magick can be sudden but it’s most often slow. It requires us to trust in the long run. Magick asks us to trust in our future self even when we’re uncertain about who we currently are. And while magick doesn’t provide a predictable journey it’ll always provides a path. 

My experience with that Moon-inspired tea pulled together a lot of personal lessons that I’ve been wrestling with the past few years. It also helped me to re-member (to put back together), as the Moon so often does, my joy of slow magick. A magick that takes time. A magick that refuses to speed up to fit the needs of culture or fade. A magick that shows up in uncertainty and charts a path towards resiliency. A magick that asks more questions than provide answers.

I found myself dreaming up and planning classes that I had been too hesitant to consider before. And reconnecting to the truth that what I teach has value (if for any other reason than it brings me joy).  I’ve found myself wanting to write more openly about particularities of my spiritual path and what being a Witch and Priestx means to me. I started with a story on instagram about my spiritual geas (something which is both a prohibition and obligation, a restriction - or curse when particularly difficult - and gift) when working with crystals. Within it I mentioned a need for a slow magick movement within our magickal community. The conversations that sprung up around that post were amazing and this next year I’m going to spend time diving into the idea of slow magick with all of you (you can start to read some of my thoughts here). But for now, let’s make some tea…

Luna Love Spell Tea

A Moon-inspired tea of nine sacred herbs to help you fall back in love with your magick.

Combine all herbs and brew between 5 - 20 minutes.

• 4 parts Lemongass (Cymbopogon citratus)
• 1 part Damiana (Turnera diffusa)
• 1/2 part Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
• 1/4 part Blue Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)
• 1/4 part Lemon (Citrus x limon)
• 2 parts Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
• 1/2 part Lavender (Lavandula x intermedia)
• 1/4 part Jasmine (Jasminum spp.)
• 1/4 part Mugwort (Artemisa vulgaris)

May you fall in love with your magick again, wise ones and witch kin. I hope you'll join me on my journey this coming year through the world of slow magick. There'll be tea, new types of content (hiya, videos!), and a renewed commitment to a magick that is in pace with the values of love, fierce justice, and radical kindness that has drawn us altogether in the first place.

Depth of Power : The New Moon in Scorpio

It’s the journey that steels us.
The stumbling and
picking yourself back up,
the seeking, that staves off fear
and fills us with hope.

- Dr. Karen Tate -

The secret grin of the New Moon in Scorpio marks the end of the season of Samhain. Now we tumble headfirst into the dark. If Libra is about weighing our options, than Scorpio is about measuring our depths. A Scorpio Moon can bring heightened sensitivity to many of us and the New Moon is especially activating to our psychic centers. We find ourselves wanting to howl at the Moon, run our fingers through the starlight, and dissolve back into the earth from whence we came. The ecstatic, the erotic, the enchanted all become elevated during a Scorpio New Moon.

Even if folks don’t know much about western astrology they’ll know that Scorpio is supposed to be the sign of sex. I’m don't know the story of where Scorpio got that reputation from but it might be from the intense nature that this sign can bring out in folks. Perhaps it’s the intensity of exploration Scorpios tend to take and the resulting deaths (of ego, of expectation, of past selves) both big and little (and the subsequent rebirths). What I do know is that Scorpio is a sign of shadow work and transformation. At the New Moon in Libra we were asked to cut away the expectations of others and to choose to live our lives as we want to. Then the New Moon in Scorpio arrives and asks us, “Yes, that’s fine, but what lies beneath?”

Photo by Lyndsey Marie

Scorpio is a fixed water sign which means that it’s an ocean with no sea floor. In the mutable water sign of Pisces we are asked to feel while in the cardinal water sign of Cancer we are asked to shelter. In Scorpio we are asked to know. The depths that Scorpio takes us to aren’t always comfortable. They can feel be pressurized, yet endlessly vast, and what we thought was up is really down, what we thought was truth was really just assumption. But the mystery unfolds when it is sought and so it is the calling of Scorpio to seek. Who of us as healers has not met someone and marveled at the vastness of both their pain as well as their remarkable resilience? That is the power of Scorpio. 

Blessed Thistle (Cnicus bendictus)
The New Moon in Scorpio Plant Ally

Spiky and unexpectedly useful, Blessed Thistle is already distinguished as a Scorpio herb by the doctrine of signatures. Blessed Thistle has recorded use since ancient Greece and is a powerful bitter herb that awakens a damp and weak digestion (listen for sounds of gurgling, poor digestion of fats, as well as feelings of distention and flatulence). 

As an alterative, Blessed Thistle’s eliminatory powers are applied to the blood and acting as a purifier. In combination with its skin-opening diaphoretic properties, Blessed Thistle helps to re-establish balance or homeostasis in the body. The herb is also a nervine and can be used to relieve spastic pain and headaches, especially when brought on by nervous tension. Blessed Thistle relieves brain fog and has a markedly uplifting effect.

Blessed Thistle is a very protective herb and can be used in all sorts of charms and rituals for boundary-setting, warding, and making safe people and places. It’s an herb that helps keep us safe as we journey into our depths. Blessed Thistle also has a resonance with students, both for its medicinal use for clearing brain fog and its magickal properties in awakening the inner spark of inspiration.

Flower + Gems Essences for the New Moon in Scorpio: Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), Holly (Ilex aquifolium), Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis), Aquamarine, Bloodstone, Tiger’s Eye.

Essential Oils of Scorpio: Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin), Pine (Pinus sylvestris), Black Pepper (Piper nigrum), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium).

Photo by Falco Negenman

Scrying the Depths

What better way to dive into the depths than through the ancient art of water scrying? The key to successful scrying is learning how to relax your gaze which means being able to look at a fixed point and allow your vision to grow soft and blurry around the edges. For our rite, you can focus on a specific issue that you want revelation around (such as a path of healing for a particular ailment) or simply ask to have it be revealed something that you need to know as part of your personal development as a healer.

You will need a bowl of water and candle. Begin in a sacred way (read the New Moon in Aquarius post for further inspiration). Place the bowl of water in front of you and the candle in a place where it illuminates the water, but you cannot sees its reflection. With you intention in mind, touch your third eye and say:

Vision beyond vision,
open to me.

Touch the right side of the bowl and say:

The depths are known…

Touch the left side of the bowl and say:

And revealed to me.

Repeat this ritual sequence twice more. Press your palms together and hold them over the bowl. Open them slowly, visualizing the veil between the known and unknown parting, and the bowl acting as a portal for you to gaze through. Relax your gaze and let the images arise. 

After a period has passed and your scrying is complete, hold your hands over the bowl and slowly bring them together, visualizing the veil between the known and unknown coming back together. Touch your third eye and say:

I have seen what has been shown.

Touch the left side of the bowl and say:

The depths have revealed…

Touch the right side of the bowl and say:

What is to be known.

Ground and center, ending the right by blowing out the candle and pouring out the water (preferably outside) and saying, “Blessed be!”

Oracle

With a divinatory tool of your choosing ask the following question. You can also ponder it during meditation or through journaling.

When I gaze into my depths what is gazing back at me?

Additional queries to consider:

What emotions have I repressed that need to be honored and expressed?
How does resentment or jealously prevent me from living my dreams?

Tarot Cards of Scorpio

Every card within the tarot deck has an astrological association. The following correspondences follow the system laid out by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. You can add these cards to your altar as part of your New Moon in Libra magick or use them in readings to help with determining celestial influence or timing (i.e. this will come to pass at when the Moon is in Scorpio).

• The Sign of Scorpio: Death
• The Water Signs of Cancer, Scorpio, + Pisces: Ace of Cups
• Mars in Scorpio: Five of Cups
• Sun in Scorpio: Six of Cups
• Venus in Scorpio: Seven of Cups

Find all of the New Moon Healers Project posts right over here. Be sure to share your insights and experiences in the comments below or via instagram with the tag #NewMoonHealersProject.

Need more astroherbology in your life? You can learn more about the astroherbology of Scorpio by reading my in-depth profile on the sign. Check out the magick of each phase of the Moon. For those of you ready to learn how to live your magick and create your herbal remedies by the cycle of Moon and star, you're invited to join the The Lunar Apothecary.

Blessed New Moon, wise healers.
May your healing be healing to us all.
May our healing be healing to you.
Blessed be! Blessed be! Blessed be!

Winter Warmer : A Gentle Adaptogenic Bitters Brew

I was trading for a tarot deck (something which I love to do) and needed to come up with an herbal remedy as part of the deal. Looking at my tincture cabinet a glowing yellow extract sang out - use me! It was my batch of fresh Ginger (Zingiber officinalis) alcohol extract and from there I created a warming winter potion that has become one of my favorite seasonal remedies.

The winter time can be full of all sorts of enchantment. There's merriment to be had, good food to eat, dark skies to cuddle under, hot drinks to be drunk. And there's also family (for better or for worse), way too much emphasis on consumerism (rather than true giving), and it can be really, really cold (which can be hard on our sweet humxn bodies). 

What I like about my Winter Warmer blend is that it brings heat to the body while also helping out our nervous system and supporting our digestive health. One remedy, many uses - just how I like them. With only a few ingredients, it's easy to make, but the key is to use fresh Ginger to get that delicious spicy bite (don't worry though - I've adjusted the recipe if you only have dried Ginger on hand).

Image by Ian Schneider

Ginger (Zingiber officinalis) is a warming stimulant most often used in traditional western herbalism to energize a sluggish circulatory system. It assists with indigestion by waking up our internal digestive fires and clearing out stagnation. I like adding Ginger into blends where I want to break up some tension (hello family during the winter holidays) and find that the herb works well with other classic nervines like Milky Oat.

Milky Oat (Avena sativa) is my most favorite nervine. I love Milky Oat. I love standing in fields of it during the spring. I love it's milky green color when prepared fresh as a tea or as a tincture. I love the way that it feels like an infusion of cozy vibes straight to the nervous system. Milky Oat is one of those food-type herbs that is best taken over an extended period of time to really gain benefits from use. And beyond just working on the physical nervous system, it works on our energetic nerves, too, helping to retrain the ways we choose to take on or let go of stress. A beautiful ally all year round! Read the full Milky Oat plant profile.

Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) is an adaptogen that I reach for often because it works well for old folks, young folks, and all of us in-between. It's great for adrenal stress (especially when there are signs of disturbed sleep and brain fog) and it has the added benefit of environmental protectiveness, especially against radiation pollution. What I like about Eleuthero is that it is a gentler adaptogen - it's not too stimulating and can be used for the long-term as an everyday tonic. It's one of the herbs that teaches us a lot when it comes to understanding what being healthy and centered really feels like, helping us to shift away from the idea that adaptogens are "super herbs" (all herbs are super) that will hype us up and fix all our problems. If your life feels too fast, then you might want to try slow remedies like Eleuthero to get yourself re-centered for long-term, sustainable wellbeing.

Winter Warmer
A Gentle Adaptogenic Bitters Brew

Combine the following herbs if you are making a tincture from scratch or blend individual tinctures if you have them already made up:

• 4 parts Fresh Milky Oat (Avena sativa)

• 2 parts dried Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus)

• 1 part Fresh Ginger (Zingiber officinalis) or 2 parts Dried Ginger

• 1 part Maple Syrup (optional but super yummy)

Brew as a tincture (you can use the folk method or a 1:5 ratio would be just fine). You can make this into a tea - but note that I've not created this recipe with the taste in tea form in mind (though it would probably be quite nice).

Winter Warmer is a great remedy to take before and after meals, but I find myself taking 3 - 5 drops throughout my day when I feel I need a little extra support during the cold of the yuletide season.

Be sure to share your Winter Warmer creations and the other ways you keep it simple at during the season of Yule with the hashtag #ASimpleYule. I'd love to see the ways you're keeping cozy and content this winter.

What are herbs that you can't do without in the winter? Let me know in the comments. If you're looking for more winter inspiration holy heck do I have you covered. Check out my other winter-inspired resources:

• Snowfall: A Simple Yule Tea

• Creating a Winter Apothecary

• Winter Wellness: Healing Herbs for the Dark of the Year

• The Longest Night: Herbs for the Winter Solstice Season

• Winter Solstice: Recipes of Mirth + Brightness

If you're looking for herbal gifts for giving, look no further.

Happy wintering!

The Twelve Houses of Rest: Find Your Sweet Spot For Restorative Healing

It’s a Full Moon in Taurus tonight and I’m thinking of rest. I’m thinking of how rest is an act of resistance. How taking time for self-care is radical and necessary. I’m thinking of how I resist taking time off, playing into the dominant paradigm that busy-ness means you’re useful, you’re worthy, you’re doing something with your time. 

Holy Goddess, I'm done with resisting the necessity of rest. 

Recently in my bi-monthly newsletter to members of The Lunar Apothecary I wrote about the Twelve Houses of the zodiac and how they relate to rest. I’m bringing it to you now because I think it’s a simple way to create some custom care for your whole self.

If you haven’t yet, go ahead and pull up your birth chart (you can get a free one at astro.com). For those familiar with astrology, I use the whole house system when calculating my charts as this is the system that our medical astrology ancestors would have used and I find it to be the most useful in my practice. 

Photo by Annie Spratt

What are the Twelve Houses of the Zodiac?

The Houses represent different areas of experience within our lives from our ideas about our individuality, to our work life, relationships of all sorts, spiritual endeavors, and more.  Every planet and sign on your birth chart fall within a House. If the planets and signs are signposts on the map of your being, the Houses are the map itself.

When you have more than one planet in a House that can be an area of influence and importance in your life. For our purposes we’ll be focusing on the Moon’s position in your birth chart and what it says about your unique need for rest.

The Moon in the Houses

If you’ve signed-up for my Magick Mail newsletter, you’ll already have gotten access to my handout on the meaning of the Moon in each of the Twelve Houses. In general, the Moon highlights the emotional current of whatever House it's in (whether your natal Moon or a progressed Moon). But the Moon is the planet of rest and sleep (paired with Neptune) and it can be a sacred roadside indicating the way we need to rest. 

Look at your birth chart and find the symbol of the Moon on it. Notice what house it is in. In the chart below the Moon is in the Eleventh House. The Eleventh House is all about social groups, community, where we feel at home outside of our home, chosen family. In the Eleventh House The Moon focuses on or reveals how our individual emotional reality is connected to the shared emotional experience of the community at large. The Moon highlights what type of community we need to feel emotionally fulfilled, seen, and held. 

But what about rest? Usually, the gift of rest in each of the Houses is a break from whatever area of life that they represent. You can be a passionate entrepreneur but you still need a break from work to keep that passion well-cared for. You can be in the best, most romantic relationship, but you still need some alone time to recalibrate.

View fullsize

The Houses of Rest

Once you have located the position of the Moon on your birth chart, you can refer to the following list for a simple reminder on one important way that you need to rest:

First House: Rest Yourself (i.e. stop worrying about others and focus on you slowing down)

Second House: Rest from Acquiring (i.e. buying things or acquiring "likes")

Third House: Rest from Social Media (and/or Studying, School, Learning)

Fourth House: Rest from or with Family

Fifth House: Rest from Making + Creating + Childcare (if applicable)

Sixth House: Rest from Day-to-Day Regime

Seventh House: Rest from Relationships (i.e. take some alone time)

Eighth House: Rest from Emotional Labor

Ninth House: Rest from Travel (including commutes + philosophical wanderings)

Tenth House: Rest from Work

Eleventh House: Rest from Service + Social Events

Twelfth House: Rest from Seriousness (i.e. go and play!)

You can also apply this list to the current Moon and learn what it is right now you should take a rest from. Tonight’s Full Moon is in Taurus at 11 degrees and 58 seconds. On our sample chart that would put the Moon in the Third House. The Third House represents learning, education, exchange of information, and social networks. The Third House Moon focuses on or reveals the ways we learn best in order to express ourselves emotionally. Additionally, the Moon in the Third House focuses on or reveals how we want to be cared for by our social networks or community. For our sample chart, there is a wonderful synchronicity between their natal Moon and the current Moon. A break is called for from social media and perhaps even social events. 

Photo by Giulia Bertelli

Herbs for Rest

What herbs support our journey of rest? Relaxing nervines are generally a good place to start and many of them are lunar in nature. Milky Oat (Avena sativa) is a favorite of mine. Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) helps move energy out of the head and into the body if you tend to overthink and analyze instead of relaxing. Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is relaxing and an excellent herbal ally for sleep. California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Rose (Rosa spp.), Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), and Lavender (Lavandula spp.) are other restful options.

You can use these restful herbs in evening teas, herbal baths, and emotional bitters.

Using the Moon as our guide we can chart a path to a calm place of rest and rejuvenation. What House does your Moon fall in? Let me know in the comments. Want more Moon magick in your life? Come this way.

Blessed resting!