I awoke early this first day of Autumn, 4 am to be more precise. I found myself welcoming this fog-filled morning on my front porch with a cuppa coffee in hand. It was cold … the first real cold morning I have felt since Spring. I greeted the morning stars, in particular, Orion. Soon that constellation will be dominating our night skies as we circle through the winter months. Orion is an old friend, one who has heard many of my heartfelt discourses in the early morn or late night hours….

The morning found me organizing the herbs I have been gathering over the summer months. Actually, my Hawthorn Tincture is created over a period of 4 months. I collect the flowers and the first emerging leaves in early June. I place them in a jar to tincture in alcohol until September when the berries ripen on the tree.  I then add the crushed berries to the mixture and let it age another 4 weeks. Hawthorn is a heart ally, oxygenating and balancing the Heart as it ages.

Each year I tend to my own personal first-aid herbal cabinet in preparation for potential illnesses we might experience with the changing of seasons. I grow some of the herbs in my gardens, others I gather in the wild landscape. Most of my herbal preparations are safe to use for coughs, fevers, viral infections, anxiety, insomnia, salves for burns and rashes. I really didn’t think I had foraged very much this year, but when stripping leaves from dried twigs and filling jars with their aromatic gifts, I realized that I had prepared exactly what I needed. The scent and oil from stripping catnip leaves left me feeling quite euphoric….

I prepare a basic apothecary to dip into for medicinal teas and compresses. Many herbs are common weedy species and easy to grow in the garden or forage in the wild. My herb cabinet consists of 24 key herbs: Alfalfa (nourishing); Dandelion Root (diuretic); Catnip, Lemon balm, California poppy, and Hops (sedatives and nervines); Red Clover (tonic for blood and liver); Plantain (coughs, bronchitis, diarrhea, dysentery); Mullein (coughs, bronchitis); California mugwort (promotes vomiting); Mormon Tea or Ephedra (bronchitis, sinusitis); Yarrow flowers (common cold, hay fever, stomach discomfort, induces sweating); Feverfew (fever, arthritis, tinnitus, vomiting); Peppermint and Spearmint (used to treat so many ailments); German Chamomile (antispasmodic, sedative) and of course, dried Rose petals (cardiac tonic, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-parasitic). They also have a delicate flavor when infused for tea…

My basic preparations: Goldenseal Tincture (antibacterial, antiviral); Hawthorn tincture (heart health); Black cottonwood salve (inflammation, arthritis pain); Chickweed and Plantain salve (bug bites, rashes, skin irritations); Lemon balm and Feverfew salve (for joint and muscle pain); and Elderberry with Chokecherry syrup (coughs, bronchitis).

For those of you who are relatively new to preparing and storing wild herbs, make sure to store them in airtight containers in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Label them clearly, making sure to post the year of collection. Herbs lose their potency over time … I try to replace their contents every year. All in all, a handy home apothecary to use for mild ailments.

Thank you Sara Steffey McQueen for you gift of the goldenseal root from your woods. It made an EXCELLENT tincture!

All Blessings to my friends in both the northern and southern latitudes….Namaste.