 April 30th, Walpurgisnacht approaches. This lesser known pagan Germanic holiday is defined by Sturm and Drang or “Storm and stress”. They say March is, “in like a lion, out like a lamb,” and this is in my opinion most definitely reflected in the energetic flavor of this season. Both Celts and Germans valued the time of year modern pagans and witches know now as Beltane, for their cultures often overlapped in sacred observances. They both observed the night before May Day as well with bonfires in which they burned fennel, rue, chervil, thyme, chamomile, pennyroyal, and geranium for Celts, and rosemary, juniper, rue, hemlock, blackthorn, and wild caper for Germans. Johann Wulfgang von Geothe, the influential German romantic late 18th century writer, used the wild night as a backdrop for Faust, revealing this obscure night to a much broader audience, thus reigniting an interest in this wicked holiday through his devilish play. I read Faust as a 15 year old and was immediately transported along with him to the devilish reveries described and the wild evening had at the top of the mountain described in that infernal play. This night, as often is the case, is named after the Saint: Walpurga. She is an 8th-century abbess of Francia, and is celebrated on the night of 30 April and the day of 1 May. This night celebrated the canonization of Saint Walpurga and the movement of her relics to Eichstätt, both of which were said to have occurred on the 1st of May 870. Saint Walpurga was hailed by the Christians of Germany for battling "pest, rabies and whooping cough, as well as against witchcraft." In Germanic folklore, Hexennacht, literally "Witches' Night", was believed to be the night of a witches' meeting on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, a range of woodland in central Germany. As is often the story, this Saint's day superseded the festivities of May Day and supplanted the Old Pagan celebrations, or perhaps grew up alongside them, for folk culture is constantly being born. In Eastern Europe, pitchforks of burning hay were waved about this eve to impart the power of the sun to the fields in an act of imitative magic. As in many Scandinavian traditions, people made noise with loud gun firing and noisemaking to drive out evil. In medieval Europe, the night of April 30th represented Queen May’s 11th hour bid to take back forest and field from king winter before he was driven off; one can see a reflection of this more modern pagan mythology in the neopagan stories of the Oak and Holly king. Horseshoes are nailed prongs up on the threshold or over the door. Holy bells are hung on the cows to scare away the witches, and they are guided to pasture by a goad which has been blessed. Shots are fired over the cornfields to frighten away ill spirits. If one wishes, they can hide in the corn and hear what will happen for a year. It is also a night to look for signs and omens, for on Walpurgis Night, omens have more weight than at other times of the year save for on St. John's Day, or Midsummer. There are many lover’s omens on this eve, just like in Scotland on All Hallows. They say if you sleep with one stocking on, you will find on May morning in the toe a hair the color of your sweetheart's. Girls try to find out the temperament of their husbands-to-be by keeping a linen thread for three days near an image of the Madonna, and at midnight on May Eve pulling it apart, saying: "Thread, I pull thee; Walpurga, I pray thee, That thou show to me What my husband's like to be." They judge his disposition by the thread's being strong or easily broken, soft or tightly woven. It was also believed that the dew on the plants found on the first morning of May first makes girls who wash in it beautiful. "The fair maid who on the first of May Goes to the fields at break of day And washes in dew from the hawthorn tree Will ever after handsome be." A heavy dew on this morning presages a good "butter-year." You will find fateful initials printed in dew on a handkerchief that has been left out all the night of April thirtieth. On May Day girls invoke the cuckoo: "Cuckoo! cuckoo! on the bough, Tell me truly, tell me how Many years there will be Till a husband comes to me." Then they count the calls of the cuckoo until he pauses again. If a person wears clothes made of yarn spun on Walpurgis Night to the May-shooting, they will always hit the bull's-eye, for the Devil gives away to those he favors, "freikugeln," bullets which always hit the mark. On Walpurgis Night as on Hallowe'en strange things may happen to one. Zschokke tells a story of a Walpurgis Night dream that is more a vision than a dream. Led to be unfaithful to his wife, a man murders the husband of a former sweetheart; to escape capture he fires a haystack, from which a whole village is kindled. In his flight he enters an empty carriage, and drives away madly, crushing the owner under the wheels. He finds that the dead man is his own brother. Faced by the person whom he believes to be the Devil, responsible for his misfortunes, the wretched man is ready to worship him if he will protect him. He finds that the seeming Devil is in reality his guardian-angel who sent him this dream that he might learn the depths of wickedness lying unfathomed in his heart, waiting an opportunity to burst out. Both May Eve and St. John's Eve are times of freedom and unrestraint. People are filled with a sort of madness which makes them unaccountable for their deeds.  Cuckoo Bird by Basil Ede 1960 +The Herbs of Walpurgisnacht+ Elder: At this time, protection bundles of Elder leaves hungover animal’s stalls with wild roses in Bohemia and in Northern Europe, crosses of hawthorne, rowan, and birch were nailed to lintels of both house and barn. Essentially, this Germanic Walpurgisnacht celebration resembles Celtic Beltane. In other European countries, sprigs of ash, hawthorn, juniper, and elder, once sacred to the Old gods, are now used as a protection against evil witchery. Hawthorn: The root words for hedge, hag and haw all have the same origin. Some say that on April 30th the hags shall turn themselves into Hawthorns. This stands as a warning to any wandering folks out on this eve to not tarry around the hedges and beneath these thorny trees lest they run into the hag herself! Oak: A German witch may conjure good weather on May Eve by filling a man’s shirt with Oak leaves and hanging it from a branch of a tree to sway in the wind. This charm will bring good winds to chase away the rain. Birch: Birch is often associated with the shining, virginal energy of the May Queen or young vernal goddesses, however the infamous witches broom itself can claim the largest stake in the birch this night. Birch twigs and an Ash wood handle are often said to be the traditional woods for the witches broom throughout Western Europe. It is also the species of the legendary Ygdrasill world tree of nordic folklore (although there is some debate about this as Yew is also suspected by some historians.) Dill: The name comes from the Norse “dilla” meaning to lull or soothe. Hung in the household bunches of dill keep witches away. Wearing a pouch of dried dill over the heart will protect the wearer from hexes. “Vervain and dill hinder witches from their will.”- Michael Drayton. “Nymphidia”- 1627  Dill Chervil: It is one of the Nine Herbs in the Nine Herbs Charm, and is considered sacred to Odin, or Wotan/ Wodan. It originates in the Middle East but was used as a blood cleanser in the European Middle Ages and was a part of Lenten periods. Juniper: Burned to sanctify and cleanse the home after a long winter, it was also hung about in sprigs above the door. It was also believed a spirit dwelt in the tree much like the Hydelmor or Elder mother. The Juniper spirit is called Frau Wacholder (Mrs. Juniper). Mullein: Said to light the rituals and ceremonies of Roman witches. Rosemary: The Latin name means “dew of the sea”, for the blue-indigo flowers that dot it’s fragrant branches. It was used as a fumigant herb in the Middle Ages and was always in demand for its used as a strewing herb as well. It was often used at both weddings and funerals. In the Harz, on Walpurgisnacht, farmers burnt rosemary, juniper, and hemlock on their torches to keep witches away. It is also a key ingredient in the infamous historical perfume known as Hungary water. Fennel: In Greece, fennel seedlings were carried in pots through the streets to welcome Spring. Throughout Europe it was used to strew, and as a cure all. Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum): The beautiful scent is sweetest after drying. In German it is Waldmeister, or master of the forest. Rue: Witches dislike the smell of Rue, and is one of the herbs gathered alongside rosemary, juniper, blackthorn, wil caper, and hemlock on a Thursday and then burned on Walpurgisnacht to keep away evil. Also used to keep away pixies, Fae and elves.  Rue I am planning this year to observe Walpurgisnacht with a feast and revel with friends, rolling into our celebration of Beltane the following day. My last name Beyer means, "from Bavaria" and for me, as a person of German heritage living on Turtle Island, it feels grounding to celebrate the holidays that feel appropriate from my ancestors. While the Brocken mountains are far away and unknown to me, I live on a mountain and will hold the Witches meeting and dance the night away. However and if ever you choose to learn more about this interesting day, bless the coming of the May! Works CitedCora Linn Daniels (Editor), C. M. Stevans (Editor). “Encyclopædia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World”. (Volume II) Hardcover. November 4, 2003.
Porteous, Alexander. “The Forest in Folklore and Mythology”. United States: Dover Publications, 2012. p. 93-34. Raedisch, Linda. “Night of the Witches: Folklore, Traditions & Recipes for Celebrating Walpurgis Night”. United States: Llewellyn Worldwide, Limited, 2011.
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The Winter Solstice is upon us. It’s a busy time, and I’m looking forward to some rest which unfortunately has come in the form of COVID. It’s a good time to reflect on what must be done. It’s time to sharpen the tools that we used all year and fix the scythe that’s broken. Metal tools are such a blessing. It’s wild to think about how our ancestors and the ancestors of this land in Appalachia made due before the advent of metal tools. It must have felt miraculous, that first spark of iron on stone. A power so mighty it would take your breath away. Iron has been revered and even slightly feared around the world in magic and folklore, and it’s not hard to imagine why. Iron is the most common element on Earth by mass. Isn’t that wild? When you begin to delve into folklore, whether as a formal study or a cozy pastime, you find that all around the world Iron has deeply magical properties. Every culture that has used iron significantly has stories of it protecting against fairies, keeping away demons or fighting evil in some way. Folk memory has shaped how tools were made and interpreted, from magical swords to cursed objects.  Pliny the Elder, ancient Roman natural philosopher, mentions iron as a medicinal and magical substance around 79 CE: "Iron is employed in medicine for other purposes besides that of making incisions. For if a circle is traced with iron, or a pointed weapon is carried three times round them, it will preserve both infant and adult from all noxious influences: if nails, too, that have been extracted from a tomb, are driven into the threshold of a door, they will prevent night-mare." Pins and nails were used in Ancient Greece and Rome for magical purposes, and eventually this practice spread or sprung up throughout Western Europe and even into the Americas (1). We see the survival of this powerful belief in the magical uses of iron all the way into the American south with the use of coffin nails in Hoodoo and in Appalachian and Ozark folk magic. The inherent magic of iron has mysterious roots and one theory is that its magnetism was somewhat responsible. There were certain taboos about using new metals as the Bronze age gave way to the Iron. Animistic religious beliefs held conservatively to their old metals and had a general reluctance to move to a working with a new metal. This was due to a world that was more widely seen to be inhabited by spirits that could punish humans if displeased. A metal that can move other metals, imagine how it would be to see that as a Bronze Age human? It’s incredible to ponder. There was mention that Roman priests could only shave with bronze and not iron due to these taboos, as well as certain members of the royal class being unable to touch iron. It’s interesting to see how this parallels the Irish belief that the Sidhe or Fae cannot touch iron. This metal has both a protective influence as well as a feared “newness” that has persisted in folk memory throughout many nations, expressed through the lore of foregoing iron for certain purposes. Many plant harvesting traditions forbid a blade of iron to cut them. In Scotland, when scapulamancy is performed (the art of diving from a shoulder blade), an iron blade cannot be used (2).  Iron revered for its magic into the Middle Ages as a preventative against witchcraft. In medieval Ireland, it was said the magic of iron came from the power of St. Patrick and his blessings, and in Ireland, found horseshoes are the best to hang about the home to protect it from evil. “On threshold that the house might be, From Witches, thieves and divels free, For Patrick O’er the iron did pray, And made it holy, as they say.” -History of Ireland in Verse (1750) Elsewhere in the North Atlantic Islands, plunging a hot iron into bewitched milk would surely undue an enchantment cast on an unlucky cow. In England, people used “cauld iron” or cold iron from cast off horse shoes, old scythe blades and other tools to hang about barnyards to keep their horses safe from the riding of night hags(3). In witch bottles, or obscured and hidden glass bottles full of protective objects or substances, iron pins were by far the most common element found in over 200 bottles examined (4). The blacksmith was also believed to be inherently magical, even infernal, in their ability to bend the hardest substances humans knew of at the time with the mystery and danger of fire. From Stephanie Rose Bird, Ogun is a warrior Orisha in Yoruba, Ifa, Lucumi and Santeria traditions and spiritual paths. He is a fire being and a metalurgic master. He shares much magical iconography as a Smith and metal worker. He is also a God of Iron. Anvil dust, rusted nails, railroad spikes and coffin nails are used extensively in Hoodoo and other African based traditions showing the world wide influence iron has had on the folk magic of nearly every nation (5).  Railroad spikes of iron also have come to be an important part of Hoodoo. The ritual of ‘nailing it down’ comes from more modern Rootwork traditions, but its essence is much older and is an amalgamation of diverse cultural influences. Generally, it is used to ensure no one shall cause you to move from your land, yet it can be used for many purposes. Placing an iron railroad spike at the quarters of a home, property or garden can act as a magical boundary line, keeping that which we want in and that which we do not out. Small iron nails were also driven into the corners of the ceilings of rented homes for the same purpose by tenant folks in the South historically to prevent landlords from outsing them. In Appalachia, iron was used extensively in folk magic and medicine. It retained many European Old World magical beliefs and of course was augmented by the unique geography that this place provided as well as the Indigenous inhabitants of the mountains and enslaved African peoples brought here by force each had of their own. In Appalachia, iron nails were used both as internal medicine for iron in the blood as well as for charms. To be exact, iron nails soaked in vinegar were used to make a tonic for the blood (don’t do this now!) In Kentucky, witch bottles much like the ones found in England, were discovered to contain iron nails and pins, often bent, to protect stable and home from malefic forces (6). Nails are also used in Appalachian folk magic to cause someone to wither away by dropping them into their unworn shoes, and the remedy to this was to gather up all the loose nails around a property of the afflicted and bury them under a hickory tree off their property. Iron horse shoes were also hung over doors to prevent witchery and evil spirits from entering home or stable. There is one theory that the ancient surgeon, with their metal tools, would cut the boil or afflicted part and the pus or infection would leave, in a manner it drove out the infection visually, appearing to wed the as above, so below of magically charming, or driving out an illness with “cauld iron”. (7) As a person who cooks in cast iron most days, I am constantly reminded of the magic of iron as we bake our acorn cake and fry our home grown potatoes. The ability to transform metal into a tool is truly fantastical and it makes sense to me why metalworking has been held in such a high magical degree for so long. With so many smiths as friends I feel comforted by their magical ways as I mince my garlic with a cleaver forged by one friend and chop my magical herbs with a boline made by another. On these cold days leading up to Twelfth Night I shiver at the touch of iron and wonder at its long history of magic and medicine. I look at the horseshoes and wool shears above the door and take solace in their longstanding power to cut as the spirits of illness and mayhem roam the land in the icy air. Blessings on you and yours this Midwinter time and take care.  Smith friend Asa Hewlette of @theshinginggrain working iron at a Goblin Market years ago! He has made many of my knives. Works Cited:
(1). Pennick, Nigel. Pagan Magic of the Northern Tradition: Customs, Rites, and Ceremonies. United States, Inner Traditions/Bear, 2015. (2).Frazer, James George. The Golden Bough: Taboo and the perils of the soul. United Kingdom, Macmillan, 1914. (3). Houlbrook, Ceri, and Davies, Owen. Building Magic: Ritual and Re-enchantment in Post-Medieval Structures. Switzerland, Springer International Publishing, 2021. (4). Hidden Charms Transactions of the Hidden Charms Conference 2016. Edited by John Billingsley, Jeremy Harte and Brian Hoggard. (5).Bird, Stephanie Rose. Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo & Conjuring with Herbs. United States, Llewellyn Publications, 2004. (6). Manning, M. Chris. “The Material Culture of Ritual Concealments in the United States.” Historical Archaeology, vol. 48, no. 3, Society for Historical Archaeology, 2014, pp. 52–83. (7) Robert Means Lawrence. The Magic of the Horse-Shoe. 1898. Chapter 6, Iron as a Protective Charm.  Spring has decidedly come early to Western North Carolina this year. The bird song is growing ever more complex and flowers of cherry, daffodil and another harbinger of Spring have burst and bloomed. Forsythia, Easterbush, Yallar (Yellow) Bells or Golden Bells are blazing in front of many house doors throughout Appalachia. This Asian native announces the arrival of warmer, sunny days and chill nights. Forsythia is a member of the Olive family, and the 7-11 species commonly found in the US hail from China, Japan and Korea, but are now found all over the world. (There is also a native species of Forsythia native to Eastern Europe). The latin name stems from Scottish botanist William Forsyth, who brought the beloved ornamental plant to Appalachia. In my opinion, a Chinese name would be far more suitable. Forsythia suspensa and Forsythia viridissima and their cross, Forsythia x intermedia which are all common across America today. Forsythia is also one of the 50 fundamental herbs in Traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The fruits of Forsythia suspensa, the species used in Chinese medicine most often, are called lian qiao. It is considered a bitter, cold herb, and TCM calls for it with the heart, lung, and gall bladder meridians.  This flowering woody shrub has been used for at least 3000 years In Chinese medicine. Lian qiao is used internally for chills, fevers, headaches and externally for burns, infections, and rashes. It is also listed in Korean and Japanese medical texts. While the fruits, which are not really born in temperate climates, are traditionally used for medicine, the young leaves and flowers also contain important anti-inflammatory compounds and are edible. It’s best to not consume the older leaves however, as they contain a glycoside known as phillyrin. I eat the blossoms in salads and baked goods, and gather them to dry for tea. Forsythia is not especially nutritious or tasty, as it has a slight bitter taste, but it does contain rutin which protects and prolongs the activity of vitamin C which acts as an important antioxidant in the body. It is often paired with two other incredible Asian herbs, Skullcap (scutellaria baicalensis) and honeysuckle (lonicera japonica) flowers to treat upper respiratory infections, namely those of a viral nature. These would be powdered and taken as a decoction. I combine the flowers with honeysuckle in tea for stubborn upper respiratory infections and as a beautiful floral tisane to be enjoyed in a clear glass to allow the eyes to feast on the lovely yellow blossoms.  In Appalachia, these plants have been around ornamentally since about 1880 and have birthed lore in this region that can’t remember a time without them. They say after the Forsythia blooms there will be three more snows. The other folk name, Easterbush, also refers to the tendency to bloom around Easter. You can make a syrup or jelly with the blossoms just as you would dandelions. It’s lovely and yellow and is a perfect sweetener for Springtime mocktails garnished with violets. It can also be used as an addition to herbal skin lotions and oils. Check out these recipes here. Bless the approaching Equinox and the goodness the promise of Spring brings.  Works Cited:
https://www.ijbs.com/v16p1708.htm Michalak B, Filipek A, Chomicki P, Pyza M, Woźniak M, Żyżyńska-Granica B, Piwowarski JP, Kicel A, Olszewska MA, Kiss AK. Lignans From Forsythia x Intermedia Leaves and Flowers Attenuate the Pro-inflammatory Function of Leukocytes and Their Interaction With Endothelial Cells. Front Pharmacol. 2018 Apr 24;9:401. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00401. PMID: 29740324; PMCID: PMC5928392. https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/2730-forsythia-heralds-the-spring-season Farmer's Almanac Winter is here in Appalachia. Solstice has come and gone, and the New Year looms just ahead. There is much beautiful solstice lore and tradition from around the world, but what about the time that comes next? Sone of the things I love most about my home in Appalachia are the esoteric traditions that have persisted despite the march of time and the homogenization of culture. The Twelve Days of Christmas have always fascinated me as a child, for in my family we did not recognize these, and the time between Christmas and Epiphany on January 6th felt like a sort of lost time. A time between. In Appalachia there is a tradition of weather prediction done during the 12 days of Christmas starting on December 25th and ending on January 6th. They are known as the Ruling days and I am so interested to learn more about this strange and beautiful divination. Esoterically the midwinter and solstice period of Yule and the Twelve Days is known as 'the in-between time' or 'the time between time'. The Sun appears to stand still in the sky while the old year is dying and the new year is awaiting its birth. It is a strange and magickal time, still seen in secular society's tales of 'Christmas Magic' and 'miracles'. I believe these are persisting folk memories of the ancient past when midwinter was a magickal and unearthly time where divinations were performed and people drew together and inward.  While many divinations at this time of year were focused on matters of love and relations, weather predictions were also done extensively. One of the most interesting things done in Winter is called observing the “Ruling Days”. These are the twelve days of Christmas, or December 25th till January 6th. The weather observed on these twelve days can be used to determine the weather of the approaching year’s twelve months. December 25th predicts the weather of January, December 26th predicts February and so on until you get to January 6th. Write down the weather each day during the Ruling days and see what is to come for each of the corresponding months. Was it correct? You may be surprised. Rains during the Ruling Days foretells a wet year, and a windy Christmas Day means the trees will bear much fruit. Any thunder during these days brings much snow the rest of Winter. If it snows on Christmas night, the crops will do well. A clear, bright sun on Christmas day foretells a peaceful year and plenty. On Christmas Day, if ice hangs on the willow tree, the clover will be ready for harvest at Easter time. Christmas day weather can also predict the weather of holidays to come. For example, snow on Christmas, Easter green; green on Christmas, Easter white. From one of my favorite blogs, Blind Pig and Acorn, “And some of these predictions are in rhyme, the better to remember them: “If Christmas on a Sunday be, a windy winter we will see.” “As the hours of sun on Christmas Day, as many frosts will be in the month of May.”  The months preceding the Winter can also be observed to divine the winter’s prognosis. There will be as many snows the following Winter as there are rains in August. The sky and the moon can tell you as well, ”Clear moon, frost soon.” The origin of this practice is not entirely known, but it is most likely based on Indigenous weather prediction practices that settlers adopted and augmented with their own cultural beliefs upon arriving in Appalachia.
Have you ever heard older folks talk about the Ruling days? ***The seeds of these plants are considered poisonous to humans and livestock. The colors of Appalachian Harvest time for me are purple, deep green, red and most importantly, gold. Goldenrod, one of our beloved friends is waving merrily but mysteriously from roadsides all over the Southeast. Another golden yellow flowering friend, Black eyed Susans, cluster together in yards and old fields and sitting bunched up in vases on the clean linen table cloths. Rudbeckia hirta or the black eyed Susan is a native plant to the U.S. and parts of Canada and it is widely distributed. There are multiple species and folk names for these aster family beauties. R. hirta is an annual to short-lived perennial and looks very similar to R. fulgida, but its flowers have a dark brown or brown-maroon center and fuzzy stems. Despite this plant being native, its name bears the fingerprints of colonization. There is a English settler legend says that the name black-eyed Susan originated from an Old English Poem written by John Gay entitled ‘Sweet William’s Farewell To Black-Eyed Susan’. The poem was about how these wildflowers and the Sweet William plant (Dianthus barbatus) bloom together.  Cherokee or ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ folks call this plant “deer eye” or “little sun” depending on the species in Tsalagi or Cherokee language. I think these names are beautiful and suit them very nicely. As relatives to the Echinacea plants I have been fascinated to learn more about the rudbeckia’s medicinal properties and ethnobotanical history. The roots have been used as a decoction to treat colds, flus, and worms, both spiritual and physical in children amongst Ojibwa and many other nations. They were also used as a wash for snakebites. The Menominee and Potawatomi nations used this plant to increase the flow of urine and the root tea was also used as general wash for cuts, scrapes and wounds. In Appalachian and Southern folk medicine the leaf tea is a general tonic. Tommie Bass, infamous Southern folk herbalist, knew of it as a Potawotomi cold remedy and a bitter tonic. One interesting thing I have read is that Deer eye has a connection to Buffalo as well, for as the buffalo were killed in the Western lands of this continent, it was said this flower migrated East. Rudbeckia speciosa has been studied for its immunostimulating properties and seems to have outdone echinacea species when observed in inbred mice. While each species is slightly different in its chemical composition and further research is needed, this is promising that many of the rudbeckia species may be able to stand alongside or even contain more antimicrobial activity than previously expected. I love to gather these beautiful Autumnal flowers for bouquets and their beauty this time of year. The blossoms also make a wonderful yellow dye. Easy to grow, beautiful to behold and full of a long history of human relationship, this merry flower never fails to brighten the rooms they adorn. Works Cited:
Bukovský M, Vaverková S, Kost'álová D. Immunomodulating activity of Echinacea gloriosa L., Echinacea angustifolia DC. and Rudbeckia speciosa Wenderoth ethanol-water extracts. Pol J Pharmacol. 1995 Mar-Apr;47(2):175-7. PMID: 8688891. Capek, P., and A. Kardoaova. Structural Characterization of an Acidic Heteropolysaccharide from Rudbeckia Fulgida, Var. Sullivantii (Boynton Et Beadle). Chem. Pap. 55.5 (2001): 311-18. Medicinal Plants Of the Mountain West by Michael Moore, 1st Edition, pages 60-62 , publisher: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1979. Grief comes in waves. Our bodies are not resigned to be able to hold one feeling all the time, and they must come and go, regardless of how we feel about them. Sometimes with each new global catastrophe or ever far right reaching Supreme Court decision at home, our bodies are subject to the anxiety and depression that late stage capitalism brings. Humans have always faced trauma and challenge, and always sought ways to mitigate it with plants. There are many wonderful articles about right now about how we can support out systems in trying times, and I wanted to share how the people on this land did so too. Here are a few helpful things: Solidarity Apothecary Janet Kent: Herbs for Grief Ritual Botanicas Herbal blend for Grief +Nervines in Appalachian Folk Medicine+ “I have that run down feeling”. “My spirits of low”. “I have trouble with the nerves”. All of these terms were used to describe mild depression or anxiety in Appalachia. Influential Edinburgh physician Willian Cullen, said that neuroses or nervous diseases as, “all those preternatural affections of sense and motion which are without pyrexia.” The disorders that fell under this heading were wide, many diseases were seen as under the dominion of nerves, such as apoplexy, paralysis, fainting, indigestion, epilepsy, hypochondriasis, vapors, low spirits, tetanus, palpitation of the heart, hysteria, mania, and melancholia. Fundamentally, treating nerves in Appalachian folk medicine focused on tonics and strengthening the weak system. The Western European tradition of medicine provided the groundwork with which African and Indigenous medicine traditions would augment it in the mountains. Historically, treating nerves focused on other drugs carefully delivered to the specific constitution of the patient. Narcotics: opium, belladonna, hyoscyamine, nicotine, laurocerasus, and sweet almond. Sedatives were also incorporated with purging and blood letting, many of them had strong orders, such as asofeotida. Appalachian folk medicine was informed by popular medicine of the day in the 19th century, and the combination of tonics, blood purifier, exercise, specific herbal sedatives and nervines all tailored to the specific constitution of the patient. Bitters were commonly thought to be a first step towards treating nerves as a whole system approach was utilized. Bitters like Yellowroot (Xanthorhiza simplicissima), Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), Gentian (Gentiana spp.), and Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis). Tommie Bass used two ounces of the following: Angelico (Boarhog root) (Ligusticum canadense), Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), Wild cherry bark (Prunus serotina), and yellow root. He combined these and boiled them in a gallon of water for one hour. He would then add one tablespoon of cayenne pepper, and on occasion Dandelion or Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) were added. He recommended one tablespoon three times a day. Medicines like Catnip, Sage and Peppermint (Mentha spp.) were considered nervines due to 19th century ideas about the stomach connections with nerve disorders. Tommie Bass had a tonic to calm the nerves which contained Maypop (Passiflora incarnata), Sage (Salvia officinalis), Peppermint, Skullcap (Scutellaria spp.), and Peach leaves (Prunus persica). Many tonics involved water or vinegar as a menstruum, but whiskey was an oft used ingredient. Noted folklorist Doug Elliott writes that some mountaineers used alcohol tonics as a means of getting around temperance.  Peach leaves. +Please consult an herbalist before taking any of these remedies. For historical research only+ Tommie Basses Nerve Tonic: 2 cups peach tree leaves, 2 cups passionflower, one cup bugleweed, a cup catnip, a cup mullein. Boil 20 min. 4 quarts of water. Take 2 tbsp 3-5 times a day Or as often as needed. One of Tommie’s popular mixtures was catnip, maypop leaves, skullcap, sage and peach tree leaves and sometimes bay laurel leaves which he used specifically for nervous headaches, rattled nerves, and sleep potion for stubborn insomnia. +Bay Laurel (Magnolia virginiana): Magnolia used in southern herbalism as a tonic, digestive, bitter, anti-anxiety, for chest complaints. Tommie Bass used 3 dried leaves to 1 cup boiling water, steep 10 minutes and strain. Used for sleep time tea that is good for the nerves and stomach. +Black cohosh (Cimifuga racemosa): It was used to treat nerves, among many things, and taught to settlers by indigenous people. Also known as Black Snakeroot. Though best known as a women’s medicine historically, it was also used to help restless babies sleep. Use 20- 40 drops tincture (1:2 fresh, 1:5 dried root 60 % alcohol) three times a day for acute symptoms, three times daily for tonic. Avoid large doses as these can cause headaches and vomiting. +Catnip (Nepeta cataria): This classic remedy has calmed fussy babies for centuries. It is considered an old standby for anxious children. It helps the stomach aspects of anxiety. If one gets upset stomach from anxiety, Catnip is for you. +Heal All (Prunella vulgaris): Best combined with peach leaf, skull cap, bay laurel, for frazzled nerves, not as sedating as other mints. Cold its used for tonic and hot for nerves and diaphoretic. Avoid use in pregnancy and overly using it with children. +Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata): This Native plant was used by the Cherokee for a wide variety of ailments from crushed roots for boils to eating the cooked leaves and fruits with cornmeal. In modern herbal practice the leaf and flower are used as nervines for acute cases of anxiety. Passionflower helps with tension headaches and tight muscles caused by nervousness, as well as insomnia and restlessness. Tommie Bass used it for high blood pressure due to stress as well. When tension causes chest tightness, heart palpitations or vascular constrictions, it is also helpful. Small, frequent doses are best, 20-50 drops of tincture (1:2 fresh, 1:5 dried in 40% alcohol), or infusion 1 tsp dried or 2 tsp fresh flowers and leaves. +Peach Leaf (Prunus persica): Peach is a native of central Asia, but is widely cultivated in temperate climates throughout the world. It was used as an old European folk remedy, yet upon with the colonization of North America, it was eagerly adopted by the indigenous people as a food and medicine, and is still considered a part of traditional Cherokee medicine. Peach kernal, leaf, and twigs all contain acids and cyanogens which are considered constitutionally cooling. Combined peach leaf with red clover tops and passionflower it is a great sleepy time remedy. Avoid using the kernel and wilted leaves for cyanide levels are high and toxicity becomes a danger. +Sage (Salvia officinalis): Promotes sleep and rest as warm tea. +Skull cap (Scutellaria lateriflora and other sp.): Old nervine, not as strong as lobelia, but safer. Used in conjunction with passionflower, peach leaves, sage and bay leaves which all calm the nerves and aid one in falling asleep. +Rabbit Tobacco (Gnaphalium obtusifolium): Also known as life everlasting, smoked to relieve nervousness. Tommie Bass combined it for a quick acting nervine with mountain mint, sage, and peach leaves. +Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua): The bark tea was used to relieve anxiety.  Works Cited:
Crellin, John K. Trying to Give Ease: Tommie Bass and the Story of Herbal Medicine. Duke University Press, 1997. Howell, Patricia Kyritsi. Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians. Botanologos Books, 2006. Patton, Darryl. Mountain Medicine: the Herbal Remedies of Tommie Bass. Natural Reader Press, 2004.  December 25th is known as Christmas day to Christians worldwide. Yet in the Appalachian mountains an older tradition persisted until very recently: the celebration of Old Christmas. The Julian Calendar is to blame, which was developed some 2,000 years ago. Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar to match the solar cycle more closely in 1582, and so the year went from 376 to 365 days. Thus the Gregorian calendar was born. Such a large change took a long time to reach all areas of Europe, and longer still to be embraced. Even 200 years later as Scottish and English people migrated to the Americas, they brought with them those extra 11 days, and the old calendar. January 6th is still celebrated today in the Catholic church as Epiphany, or the day in which the wise men brought their sacred gifts to the baby Jesus, but in the Mountains it is known as Old Christmas. There are many supernatural and magical beliefs that circulate on this holy night. One tradition holds that one ought to not lend anything out on that day, as the lender will never have it returned. This plays on many other Appalachian folk beliefs, especially about Witches and their penchant to borrow things from you in order to conjure you. Many fired guns and lit firecrackers at midnight on Old Christmas Eve. A practice related to the longstanding mumming traditions of England and the masking and costumery of much of the rest of Old Europe survived in the mountains as families would dress up in costumes and drive away the spirits of the Winter by banging pots, noisemaking and shouting. Some believe this noisemarking to particularly come from French and Spanish influences, though we see noise processions throughout Europe in winter such as in the case of the Perchenlauf in Austria. It was also said that animals would speak, kneel or lie down at Midnight on Old Christmas Eve and that fruit trees would bloom for a moment. But curse the man who hides in the barn and tries to listen in on the animal’s divinatory speech, for he may hear of his inevitable death which creeps around the cold corner of a Winter’s night. Elder bushes would also grow from frozen early! It was also believed that to have good luck you should not carry your ashes out of the house from New Christmas, December 25th to Old Christmas January 6th. Huge bonfires on hill tops and the merriment and noisemaking, alongside unnerving costumery and guising, or going from farm to farm dressed up, much like at All Hallows, gives Old Christmas a delightfully spooky countenance during this liminal time. See this piece I wrote a few year ago to see more about guising in Appalachia. It was not until the 1930’s that Christmas trees were popular in the mountains, instead a stocking of treats or small sweets adorned the Christmas mantle. Dancing, music and feasting of course featured in the 12 days leading up to Old Christmas, while prayer and time with family and church were also prioritized. Interestingly, the South served to preserve some of the old Christmas lore of Europe due to the time of colonization. In Virginia, the old carols and songs the English Puritans tried to stamp out as heathen in 1652 lived on amongst the colonies. There are even records of a Maypole being set up in Jamestown (1). Wassailing and wassail songs were noted by song collector Cecil Sharp that had jumped the pond from England, “Wassail, wassail all other the town...” These revealing songs had been sung in England since Anglo Saxon times and lived on in the green hills of Appalachia. The “Cherry Tree Carol” was also very popular in Appalachia and preserved a mystical aspect of the mythic accomplishments of the unborn Christ Child (2). With all this talk of magical trees blooming on Old Christmas Eve, Old Christmas also had specific plants that were gathered on this day. As mentioned before, the Elderberry was one. Pokeweed, Hops and Cherry tree foliage were also gathered to decorate the home or display. Some believed the pokeweed and the hop would sprout on Old Christmas just to return beneath the soil the next day. This was further proof that this was indeed the true Christmas day and not the “man made” Christmas on the 25th amongst believers. Weather predictions could also be made during the 12 days between New and Old Christmas. One day for each month. Thus the 25th would predict January weather, the 26th February and so on, or the predictions would begin on the 6th and continue until the 12th in the same way. This practice was recorded in the 16th century in Germany. More predictions could be made as well by smoke. If the smoke from the chimney blew northward it meant the fruit crops would be poor, if south then fruit would be abundant! Some Blessed Solstice and may some Midwinter merriments find you however you mark this return of the Light. Works Cited:
(1). Troubetzkoy, Ulrich. “How Virginia Saved the Outlawed English Carols.” Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, vol. 30, no. 3, Historical Society of the Episcopal Church, 1961, pp. 198–202, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42972930. (2). Young, Chester Raymond, and Louie Brown. “The Observance of Old Christmas in Southern Appalachia.” An Appalachian Symposium: Essays Written in Honor of Cratis D. Williams, edited by J. W. Williamson, Appalachian State University, 1977, pp. 147–58 http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2014/12/theres-more-than-one-definition-of.html https://www.theguidewnc.com/festivals_and_events/the-history-of-old-christmas/article_68c1f3ea-e4f6-11e7-83ce-9353a5558624.html Rabbit Tobacco (Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium) This beautiful native plant is popping up on roadsides and in grassy meadows all around where I live. I am not sure what it is about this plant, but it has always fascinated me. Perhaps it is the pearly white flower heads, the campfire, vanilla- like scent of the burned plant or its abundance this beautiful time of year, but it stands out every Fall. The Full moon in September for me is often the Rabbit Tobacco moon. Moonlight shining off their pearly flowers. This aster family plant has many folk names. White balsam, sweet everlasting, life everlasting or pearly everlasting. This plant holds an important place in Indigenous and Black medicine traditions in the South, like in the practice of Hoodoo, among the Yuchi and Cherokee nations and in Appalachian folk magic. Though there are similar species in Europe, the use of this plant in America is grounded in First Nations traditions from so-called Canada to Florida, and is a pivotal plant in Southern Black Folk Medicine and Hoodoo. This sweet biennial is analgesic, expectorant, antispasmodic and astringent. Some First Nations people practice medicine with this plant’s aerial parts for pain relief and as a muscle relaxant by applying the decocted tea and aerial parts externally. I think Rabbit Tobacco is best known for their affiliation with the lungs however. Coughs, sore throat and lung pain were all treated traditionally with the tea of this plant. In magical medicine, people bothered by ghosts were treated with the smoke of this plant among many nations but notably the Lumbee and the Yuchi(1).  Rabbit tobacco is used in Appalachian folk medicine cures for coughs when mixed with wild cherry bark, sweet gum resin, maidenhair fern and mullein. Alabama folk herbalist Tommie Bass used it as a vapor inhalation for coughs as well which reflects his learning from Black and Indigenous women. Pillows stuffed with Rabbit Tobacco are said to aid those who suffer from asthma attacks. This was even recommended for those with consumption or tuberculosis.(2) It was also used as a tea for whooping cough in children. I’ve been told the medicine of Rabbit Tobacco works best when the leaves are brown and have been touched by the first frost. This practice was common amongst Lumbee people and eventually spread to many others living in the South. Cherokee folks combine this with Carolina vetch for rheumatism and muscle spasms and twitching.(3) When you see the Rabbit Tobacco out this time of year around Western North Carolina, the dried brown leaves at the base of the stems are actually the preferred part for medicine. It is believed that the phytochemicals, such as terpenes, that make Rabbit Tobacco useful medicinally, don’t fully develop until this point. It is interesting to note that this plant is often touted as having “little use” medicinally in old books from white authors at the turn of the century. Curious to wonder where that originated as they are such a special and long loved plant. Phytochemical analysis reveals that they do indeed contain many powerful terpenes and triterpenes, which are the major constituents of the essential oils in plants. Terpenes carry out a wide variety of effects on the body and organic organisms but they can be anti-cancer, antispasmodic and anti-viral amongst many other functions. In Ozark folk magic the sweet smoke of this beautiful plant is said to ease restless spirits and calm angry ghosts. Backwoods doctors would burn this herb and look for symbols in the smoke to lead them to a cure. Love divinations could also be done with this sweet plant by chewing some up and placing it under one’s pillow in order to dream of their true love (4). In Hoodoo medicine one would smoke the dried leaves to relieve toothache. As the name implies, to live a long life and for a charm against illness, drink the tea. The tea was also commonly used for cramps and bringing on menstruation more easily amongst Afro- communities in the South(4). I like to use Rabbit tobacco tea of the lower dried leaves as a warming remedy for flu-like symptoms and respiratory viruses. I haven’t used the tincture a lot personally, but many people do, except externally for poison ivy watered down as wash. I love this plant for it’s fumitory properties, as a locally abundant burning herb. The smell is so unique and beautiful. Pearly Everlasting is a beautiful and very special herb in our region to so many. I am adding it to my regional Samhain incense blend for burning on a coal to honor the restless spirits of this land I live on and provide some sweetness on their journey. Thank you Life Everlasting. Works Cited:
(1). Moerman, 250. (2) Cavender, Anthony. Folk Medicine in Southern Appalachia. P. 93 (3). Boughman, Arvis Locklear, and Oxendine, Loretta O. Herbal remedies of the Lumbee Indians. United Kingdom, McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2004. P. 74 (4) Weston, Brandon. Ozark Folk Magic. (5) Mitchell, Faith. Hoodoo medicine : Gullah herbal remedies. Colombia, Summerhouse Press, 1998. p. 70.  Spring is here. The Equinox has passed and we find ourselves back where it feels like we began in 2020. This last year has been an unprecedented challenge. It has also held beautiful joys and all the other complex stuff of life. Illness and disease have been on the forefront of everyone's (well almost everyone's) minds and now that we are standing here looking onwards to Beltane I stop an as myself, what else must be cleansed. I am not a fan of the idea that our bodies are dirty things that must be detoxed constantly and fad cleanses have never seemed safe or effective to me. But I do love choosing supportive, gentle care for my body systems that I can easily make myself. If you'd like to meet many of these plants in the wild, please join Corby and I for our 5 foraging classes this year! My teachers have taught me that our body has many detoxifying processes, and gently supporting them is the best we can do to maintain balance. That doesn't mean though, that after a long Winter of feasting I am not ready to boost my digestion and give the old engine a tune up. That being said, people of the Appalachians have a long history of using tonics in Spring time to do just this. Taking a part of this Mountain tradition brings me bioregional joy! I'd love to tell you a bit about what tonics are and the history of their use in Appalachia after we figure out what the heck a tonic is. *Take note: Some of the plants mentioned in this article are endangered or threatened and should not be harvested such as Ginseng, some are poisonous or have poisonous parts like Poke, and some plants and folk medicine methods are harmful and mentioned only as curiosities. Please practice mindfulness when exploring herbal medicine. Historically, tonics were used to treat everything from digestive disorders to gout, sore eyes, skin problems, to liver ailments. A simple way to define “tonic” is a preventative medicinal substance taken to give a feeling of vigor or well-being. Most tonics were imbibed as beverages. They were usually made by making a strong tea or decoction (boiling the herbs, roots or barks rather than just steeping them) and sweetening to taste with sugar or honey. Spring greens could also have a tonic/purifying effect, such as Wild Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), Dandelions (Taraxacum officinalis), Dock (Rumex spp.), Poke (Phytolaca americana), Wild onion (Allium spp.), Ramps (Allium tricoccum), and Nettles (Urtica dioica). Even the juice of certain plants, like Cleavers (Gallium spp.), or Goosegrass as it is more commonly known in the South, was seen as a blood purifier. Water with slices of Burdock (Arctium lappa) root soaked in it was also used as a tonic. Certain chemicals like turpentine and sulfur had many uses in Appalachian folk medicine, and were touted as fine tonics. Molasses and sulfur were arguably one of the most popular in the 18th century. Tonics were thought to move the slow Winter blood in Spring, and there were many traditional plant medicines taken and prepared, though in some cases might be used throughout the year. Spring was the most popular time to ingest and brew tonics, for in Appalachian folk medicine, it is believed the blood becomes thick and slow after a winter of salted and preserved foods. Aside from drinking brews, one could also eat their tonics. There are a variety of Spring tonic food practices such as eating a mess of Poke, Branch lettuce (Saxifraga micranthidifolia) and Watercress (Nasturtium officinale). Eating nourishing meals of plentiful early Spring greens is a great way to engage with the practice of tonics today. Things like Chickweed (Stellaria media), Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta), and Dandelion greens make wonderful bases to tonic meals, or when macerated in vinegar, tonic salad dressings. Drinking water in which iron nails had been soaked and simply cooking in cast iron were two more culinary tonics. While cooking in cast iron is a lovely thing to do today, I would suggest against drinking nail water as some practices are best left as curiosities. Bitter herbs also make up of the other class of Spring tonics, for the very fact they were strongly flavored was seen as evidence of their power. An example of a tonic from Kentucky was from White Pine bark (Pinus strobus), Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus), Sasparilla, Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), Mayapple root (Podophyllum peltatum), Apple bark (Malus spp.), Poplar bark (Liriodendron tulipifera), Bear paw root (Dryopteris filix-mas), Peppermint (Mentha × piperita), and Mullein (Verbascum thapsus). A true mix of native and introduced plants with many highly bitter ingredients. Plants didn’t have to just have a strong bitter flavor, for some of the tastiest tonics brewed as teas or decoctions were Sassafras (Sassafras albidium), Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Cherry bark (Prunus serotina), and Black or Sweet Birch (Betula lenta). Tommie Bass, a legendary Alabama herbalist and salve maker, recommended Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) tea or White Clover (Trifolium repens) if you couldn’t find red as a tonic to build the blood. The most used tonic herbs he recommended were Yellow root (Xanthorhiza simplicissima), Dandelion, Gentian (Gentiana spp.), and Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), all strong bitters. Tommie Bass’s tonic has Angelico or Boar Hog root (Linguisticum canadensis), Yellow root, Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), Wild Cherry bark, Cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum) and sometimes Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and Dandelion. Not all tonics were geared towards digestive health, however. Tommie Bass had a tonic to calm the nerves which contained Maypop (Passiflora incarnata), Sage (Salvia officinalis), Peppermint, Skullcap (Scutellaria spp.), and Peach leaves (Prunus persica). Many tonics involved water or vinegar as a menstruum, but whiskey was a oft used ingredient. Noted folklorist Doug Elliott writes that some mountaineers used alcohol tonics as a means of getting around temperance. Like bitter roots, astringent barks were also commonly employed as tonics. Wild Cherry bark, Dogwood bark, and Sassafras roots were combined and boiled to be used to make a good tonic for the blood. Sassafras, long held to have a plethora of healing qualities from weight loss to syphilis, could also help better the flavor of a brew. Wild cherry was a highly esteemed tonic bark as a decoction or soaked in vinegar or whiskey. It was also mixed with the respectively astringent Oak (Quercus rubra), and Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) bark (or root bark) tea with enough whiskey in it to keep it from souring makes a good tonic. These varying mixtures of bitter, astringent and aromatic plant parts formed the backbone of the tonic tradition.  Red Clover Homemade tonics were eventually displaced in most homes by commercial products like Scout's Indian Tonic, Hadacol, and Geritol, which some folk remember taking today. By the 1960’s-70’s however, the tradition of taking tonics seasonally had fallen out of general practice. Today, it seems an antiquarian fancy. However, there is still much value in tonics and the tradition of tonics have in our modern practice of folk medicine. Enjoying tonic Spring foods, or crafting herbal bitters for Winter meals are two lovely ways to experience this medicinal legacy for yourself through stimulating digestion. I use Wild Cherry bark bitters as an homage to the Cherry bark in whiskey tonic of history, and make Sassafras and Spicebush tea to 'build my blood' in Spring. Many of the herbs mentioned here are good medicines and do their part in supporting overall well being through their actions as bitters, astringents, carminatives, digestives and more. The Appalachian tonic tradition is rooted in the complex history and unique ecology of this special place. With bitter or fragrant barks, leaves and roots in golden whiskey or tart vinegar, the diverse people of Appalachia took charge of their health and founds ways to bring themselves into balance. I invite you to step into the verdant Appalachian landscape and meet some of these abundant and healing plants of the tonic tradition.  Lacto-Fermented wild greens and wild onions in salt water. Spicebush Tonic tea: Take some trimmings of Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) twigs. Boil 15 minutes on a low simmer. Add a splash of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Sip 1 to 3 cups throughout the day. Works Cited:
The Foxfire books series Harry Middleton Hyatt Frank C Brown North Carolina Folklore Collection Tommie Bass "Ozark Magic and Folklore." Vance Randolph. Blessed Winter Solstice! It's that time of year again here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where in the warmth of the firelight we burn the fragrant resins of pine and fir, and simmer branches in a pot on the stovetop to fill the house with the clean scent and magic of evergreen. It's also the time of year where many are buying gifts, and in Pagan and New Age communities I see an upswing in talk about buying White Sage bundles and the defensive and difficult converstations coming up around how to talk to folks about this issue. A few years ago I noticed a lack of readily available information on the cultural histories on different plants and woods used around the world for smoke medicine, cleansing and other sacred and healing purposes. The threatened status of White Sage (Salvia apiana) and the requests of Western indigenous peoples to stop using this plant in an inappropriate and culturally appropriative way has been loud and clear, yet for many reasons their asks and the nature of this plant's life go unheeded. I like to believe it's because people don't know, yet I also see we need new ways to engage in these conversations when they come up to promote and inspire learning and healing. I wrote a booklet called "Sacred Smoke". It weirdly and sadly brought the most hate mail into my inbox, even more then I get when I post about hunting on instagram (including threats of violence against myself). All this, for suggesting kindly and without shaming that perhaps us white and non-indigenous folx could look into the hundreds of other, non-threatened, abundant and culturally appropriate plants and trees available for the practices of smoke cleansing and other incense adjacent practices. White people were outraged I tried to tell them what to do and also called me racist (against myself??) for talking about these things. I am not taking this personally, I know that I experience a lot of shame and hard feelings when I am asked to examine a behavior I have or have had that causes harm. I am not asking for people to sink into shame, but to rise into knowing and growing. I am asking people to look at the reality of the situation. And that is painful. Let us reclaim the knowledge erased from all of our minds as our ancestral folk ways were erased by the forces of Monotheistic religion, capitalism and industry. I want for us each to have access to the means to heal our ancestral trauma and that looks different for every person and every ancestry line and requires different tactics, sensitivities and time. Some of the following is an excerpt from my booklet and I encourage you to read with an open heart, knowing that I love you, and I want happiness, health and joy for you at the end of all this work.  All of us grew up in harmful, traumatic ways under the destructive culture of capitalism, patriarchy, oppressive Abrahamic religions, or other challenging and frightening forces. The desire to get far away from and embrace things that seem entirely different from those damaging entities can be the impetus to explore a new spiritual path or practice. This very real pain makes conversations about cultural appropriation in Paganism and New Age spiritual communities very hard, because it can be very triggering. Everyone deserves a spiritual path that is nourishing and feels good. You can engage in a path of Witchcraft or Paganism without harmful appropriation and more intimately reconnect with your own ancestors and ancestral lifeways, which, if we all go far back enough, we all have a pagan past somewhere. If you are a European ancestored person in America, it can seem like you have no cultural legacy. You do, it was just as efficiently buried as many other cultures are currently being by the forces of imperialism, monotheistic religions and capitalism. This does not mean that everyone must stick to only the practices of their direct ancestors. People who are adopted or do not know their family histories due to complex familial relationships must face this challenge especially. What I am asking is for you to look for the invitation and the manner necessary to practice what you want while understanding the context of the practice, the people it comes from and looking for ways you can support them today rather than consuming a spiritual practice like a one-size-fits all costume. The appropriation of Native American practices in America is especially important to think about as a modern Pagan or Witch. Right now, the topic of smudging with White Sage is causing a hot debate about who can and cannot wild harvest it and use it for smudging, or cleansing a space spiritually as it has come to be very popular in New Age circles. This conversation causes such heightened feelings in white practitioners, it is troubling to say they least. No one wants to feel like they have made a mistake or hurt someone when they had no intention to, yet buying this plant from non-Natives and wild harvesting it irresponsibly are both harmful. We forget that it was illegal for indigenous people to practice their own religions and ways not that long ago by severe punishment: “Rules for Indian Courts” in 1892: “Any Indian who shall engage in the practices of so-called medicine men, or who shall resort to any artifice or device to keep the Indians of the reservation from adopting and following civilized habits and pursuits, or shall use any arts of conjurer to prevent Indians from abandoning their barbarous rites and customs, shall be deemed guilty of an offense, and upon conviction thereof, for the first offense shall be imprisoned for not less than ten days and not more than thirty days: Provided That, for subsequent conviction for such offense the maximum term or imprisonment shall not exceed six months.”- By the Commissioners of Indian Affairs It is not wrong to want to use a plant for ceremony. It is not wrong to desire to break the chains of oppressive religion. But when we take spiritual practices out of context, especially the immensely violent and atrocious history of how indigenous people have been treated here, and world wide, by colonizing forces, we are causing harm and enacting dominator culture privilege. We are centering a conversation about oppression of a marginalized people on ourselves and our hurt feelings rather than listening and thinking about the complicated history of what has happened and how we got here to this moment. I invite you to examine the ways in which you feel entitled to certain practices, ways and even people’s energy, instruction and forgiveness. I know I am always surprised when I identify an entitlement in myself and can feel a lot of shame around it. Rather than stewing in self pity, I try and trace the root of that feeling, allow myself forgiveness for making this mistake and find the way to move forward to a place of understanding that I am not entitled to anything in this life. But I am invited to share in some things with the myriad of other beings of this beautiful, complex world.  So what is Cultural Appropriation and where does it intersect with Cultural Appreciation or Exchange? Unfortunately there is almost never a definition of a term that will feel meaningful to all people, but let me endeavor to define these terms in the ways in which may be most helpful to understand and talk about this issue. Cultural Appropriation: Oxford Dictionaries, which only put the phrase into its official lexicon last year, defines cultural appropriation as “the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.” Oxford takes a gentler route in defining this complex term by saying that the members of a society that appropriate are “typically” from a dominant people or society. This is a key part of understanding and addressing cultural appropriation. So often people, namely white people, become defensive and upset when issues of cultural appropriation are brought to their attention, for it can feel like a form of policing personal expression, and while their intentions may be good, the impact of appropriative actions plays into a long history of oppression and forced assimilation that Western white culture has imposed upon much of the rest of the world, all the while cherry picking those aspects of the different cultures they encounter to excoticize or use. This is why the argument, “well African American people appropriated my (some common aspect of American culture)!” Assimilation to blend in and be able to make a living vs. appropriating for one’s own pleasure are two very different things. The imbalance of power in how the dominant culture uses the aspect of the marginalized culture is one of the core issues of this action. The marginalized culture expresses their discomfort or offense, and is not heeded by the society or people of privilege who can utilize that thing as a fashion statement, for fun, or for out-of-context spiritual practices. This imbalance of power and ignorance of the ways in which the desired cultural aspect functions within its culture of origin is what makes appropriation different from appreciation. The ways in which food, music and fashion are consumed in the global marketplace seems to present different questions and challenges then the object of this zine: spiritual practices and uses of sacred plants. The ways in which a spiritual practice is made open, (available to all people), or closed, (available to certain initiated or lineaged people), by a culture is very important when asking oneself what the best way would be to express interest or engage in a certain practice. As far as plants go, is the plant abundant? Local to you? Threatened? Rare? Or on its way? As I said, these are complex issues and asking these questions is incredibly important when exploring whether a cultural practice is appropriate for you to engage in or not. Of course, the most important thing is this: what are the people who are from the culture itself saying? If they are asking for a spiritual practice or sacred plant to not be interacted with in a certain way. Listen. Please listen. Cultural Appreciation or Exchange: We live in a globalized world, and I am not here to tell you not to eat Mexican food or love movies from Japan or learn to speak Arabic. These are all forms, though there are ways to go about each in respectful manners, of cultural exchange. Non-spiritual foodways, fashions, art forms, dance and music are often readily exchanged through interacting cultural groups (while the ways in which we have come to interact with each culture is also important to note in terms of dominant vs. marginalized cultures). Sharing and exchange is good. It is a way to more fully understand others who are different from us and become loving, compassionate global citizens. However, much of what makes exchange different from appropriation is the invitation: A mutual exchange rather than a hierarchical assimilation and then appropriating desirable aspects without understanding. This could look like being invited to wear a traditional garment at a wedding or celebration of a friend or relative of a different culture. This could look like being invited to Sundance by an indigenous person in your life. This could look like paying to learn a craft from a person of a culture you’re interested in. There are many ways to engage in cultural exchange without causing harm or oppression to others. But it takes asking questions and listening, making mistakes and learning. We can do better. I know I can. People have burned plants for ritual purposes in every culture. Smoke is a unique conduit for spiritual and ritual purposes. It provides a multi-sensory experience of a plant in a way that uniquely ties it to the spirit world. For where does smoke go, but up to the unknowable heavens? Smoke carries with it tantalizing, acrid or surprising scents, and sometimes, smoke can even augment one’s perceptions. It is scent made visible. The power of a plant made tangible in a new way, inspired by fire. What better tool to send messages to the Otherworld than a substance lighter than air? One that appears and fades away, like a summoned spirit. It is believed that incense use began approximately 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. By definition, an incense is any material that is burned or volatilized to emit fragrant fumes. Many ancient cultures, such as the Sumerians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Assyrians, Romans, Greeks, Hebrews, Persians, and Parthians, used incense for various rituals and even as medicines. Globally, people have used and still do use many traditional plant smokes for spiritual and medical healing or actions. The PlantsLet's look at a few examples from my booklet about the plants, trees and shrubs also used as sacred smoke. Remember, this list is not a free for all. Each plant we use and harvest requires the same questions we ask about White Sage. Not only do we ask questions about its ecological sustainability, we also ask about how it effects the peoples its specific sacred use was born from. If you want to see them all, you can buy my booklet here. If you are a BIPOC person, just send me a message in the form at the bottom of the page and I will give you this for free. Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) Unspecified parts of this species were burned as incense in Iceland. The gum from the tree was used in churches in Paris as frankincense. Juniper and Cedar (Juniperus spp.) On the Isle of Colonsay in north-western Scotland, Junipers were once burned to fumigate houses and stables to cleanse them of pests, diseases, and evil spirits. In Britain, from Devon to Colonsay, the Inner Hebrides burned green branches and berries to produce smoke that was used to purify and air-out sick rooms. In the Ubage Valley of France, the people inhaled the smoke of burning juniper berries to treat rheumatism and used the smoke produced by burning boughs as a disinfectant. The smoke from burning branches, which were lit on Christmas Eve in Tuscany and elsewhere in Italy, was used to ward off the evil eye. In Russia the practice of burning Juniper for health and spiritual purposes survived well into the 18th century. It must have been commonly thought that juniper should be burned to healthful effect, for even Peter I, during a period of plague in 1710, ordered his generals to obtain and burn as much juniper as possible against the spread of disease among the regiments. The smoke of the juniper was equally believed to be repellent to serpents. In Tibet, they burn Juniper-wood as incense in a gigantic altar, with an aperture at the top, which is called Song-boom, and bears some resemblance to a limekiln. Many ancients held that the burning of Juniper-wood expelled evil spirits from houses. Bishop Hall wrote: “And with glasse stills, and sticks of Juniper, Raise the black spright that burns not with the fire.” In Germany and Italy, the Juniper is the object of a superstitious reverence on account of its supposed property of dispersing evil spirits. According to Herr Weber, in some parts of Italy, holes or fissures in houses are brushed over with Juniper-boughs to prevent evil spirits introducing sickness; in other parts, boughs of Juniper are suspended before doorways. Blackberry (Rubus spp.) Original text by Cecil Williamson of the Museum of Witchcraft in England describing a witch’s whisk, or a bundle of bound, dried, blackberry twigs used for ritual burning in English witchcraft: 'Witch's whisk made of dried out blackberry stems and with the end bound to form a handle. Here in the south west (of England) when a witch decides to make magic she first selects a spot or place where she will work, be the chosen place inside or out. The next thing to be done is that of cleansing the chosen spot of all evil forces. This is where the bundle of blackberry twigs comes in. She sets a light to the twigs and with them smouldering, burning and making smoke, she dances and weaves her way in and around and around over and over again. So this is one might call it: "a witch's devil scarer".'  A witches whisk made of blackberry stems. Lemon scented thyme (Micromeria biflora) In Nepal, the whole plant was considered useful for burning as incense. Peony (Paeonia officinalis) Issac, the second patriarch of the Jewish people has said the smoke of the seeds is good for people possessed by the devil, the ones who are called demonaci in Latin. Rue (Ruta spp.) .In Morocco, rue was often mixed with unspecified incense materials or rosemary and was burned to produce smoke that countered the effects of the evil eye. It reportedly could also cure the bewitched. Sweet flag (Acorus calamus) This sweet plant was considered sacred in many parts of India and the roots were burned. I chose a small handful to demonstrate just some of the many magical and special plants and trees used for their smoke around the world. I hope this has helped provide further explanation and understanding around why we discuss this issue and has invited you to look into wide world of using plant smoke for medicine while supporting and listening to indigenous and all BIPOC voices surrounding the cultural use of plants and medicines. This booklet is also fully sourced so you can continue your own research! If you have edits, suggestions or questions please message me below at the very bottom of the page. I'd love to hear from you, as I am just a student in this learning. Blesssed Winter Solstice. |
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