SPRING FORTH into ☯ BALANCE!

“Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos – the trees, the clouds, everything.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Spring Equinox (March 20th this year) is a perfect time to bring balance is one’s life. Equinox translates into “equal day, equal night”. A perfect balance on earth between day and night, light and dark, yang and yin. Perfect balance occurs for just one day and simply twice a year, on, or now around, the Spring and Fall Equinoxes. Therefore, perfect balance is rare on earth and must not be taken for granted.

Balance itself implies dynamic movement and change. It is neither a static or permanent state, but a teeter-tottering movement between give and take, a dynamic rhythm between ebb and flow. Finding healthy balance within human body is known as “homeostasis” – defined in the Free Dictionary as “the ability or tendency of an organism or cell to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting its physiological processes”. Homeostasis implies that we often need to make, or allow simple adjustments to activate the body’s own healing mechanism, since the body naturally strives for balance.

According to many eastern philosophies “The Path of Balance” is key to longevity in all living things. Wild Sage promotes “The Path of Balance” as a key to good health and a long life. Wild Sage encourages balance through 1) Boosting Nutrition as a pathway to good health and healing 2) Drinking our 100% Organic Nutritive Tonic Herbals for nutritive hydration, wellness and healing and 3) Cleansing and renewing the body on a rhythmic, seasonal basis to promote “homeostasis”.

“Health is not just the absence of disease”

In many cultures and traditions around the world, the best time to cleanse and renew your body, especially the liver, is springtime. Here’s many good reasons why:

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), spring is the season of “wood and wind” and it’s key organ is the liver. The Liver is the largest organ in the body and a major organ of digestion and assimilation, for it processes, stores and distributes all nutrients! The liver is also the main storehouse of blood and the “blood filterer”, playing a central role in cleansing and purifying the blood. As the key eliminator of toxic wastes, the liver is the main detoxifier of the body and works diligently, round-the-clock, to detoxify and neutralize poisons, chemicals, drugs, alcohol, preservatives, additives, allergens…. The liver even breaks down and eliminates excess hormones, including stress hormones. Obviously, the liver has a vital role in maintaining health and overcoming disease, and essentially, helps us “to live”!

The natural healing force within each of us is the greatest force in getting well. Hippocrates, the father of western medicine, 4th century B.C.

Referred to as the “General of the Army” in TCM, the liver is held responsible for the smooth and even flow of “chi” or “energy flow” throughout the body. Because it is the keeper and purifier of the blood, a healthy liver supports the “flowing and spreading” of energy throughout the body, which prevents stagnation and accumulation of “chi” in any one place. Stuck “chi” is often experienced as tension, frustration, depression or pain somewhere in the body. Because the liver is responsible for the smooth and even flow of energy throughout the body, it also assists in harmonizing the emotions, which result in happiness, and an even disposition. A well-functioning liver therefore manifests in the will to live! as well as greater creativity, ambition, motivation and the “will to become”.

Considered also to be the home of the “Hun”, or the Soul, the liver “opens up to the eyes”, which are often called “the windows to the soul”. A healthy and balanced liver allows free and easy energy to flow smoothly, so that a person will naturally be able to express ideas creatively, be visionary and have good foresight. Many disorders of the eyes and the vision are taken to be liver related, as are disorders of the skin, tendons and ligaments, and even depression. The liver also controls the peripheral nervous system, creates immune substances and maintains electrolytes and water balance (along with the kidneys). If one experiences any health troubles related to: allergies, skin, eyes, blood sugar, hormones, indigestion, moods, frustration, tension, constipation, toxicity, sluggishness or fatigue – contemplate your liver as the giver of life! and find whatever you can to love it – so that it will love you back, too.

Finding 50 Ways to Love your Liver!

Nutritive tonic herbs are simply one great way to love your liver. Highlighted below are 1) two of the most important liver cleansing and nourishing herbs on the planet – Nettles and Dandelion 2) three highly recommended Wild Sage Organic Tonic Herbals which contain these herbs, perfect for spring balance and renewal and 3) many more spring tips for encouraging cleansing, balancing and renewal. All are ideal for invoking balance for body, mind, heart and spirit throughout the season.

Nettles – Urtica Dioca Family – Urticaceae The “Flower of Empowerment”
Region: Widespread in temperate regions
Parts Used: Leaves, Flowering Tops, Root
Constituents: High amounts of vitamins A, beta-carotene, C and minerals calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, silica…. plus chlorophyll, histamine, acetylcholine, flavonoids, amino acids and 10% protein!
Main actions: Astringent, Anti-Allergenic, Diuretic, Hemostatic, Galactagogue
Energetics: Cool and slightly bitter

Native to the Pacific Northwest, nettle leaves are well-known as“Indian Spinach”, since it is a valuable food and highly nutritive blood tonic. When picked fresh in the springtime, it is also well known for it’s “sting”! Completely beneficial for the whole body, nettles are 10% protein, more than any other vegetable and have been used medicinally for 2,000 years, particularly since the 1st century a.d. by Greek physicians as a cleansing, detoxifying and tonic herb for weakness and anemia.

Blood-invigorating, yet astringent, nettles assist in cleansing by stimulating the liver and kidneys to increase the elimination of toxins and waste products. An excellent remedy for anemia, adrenal fatigue, arthritis, asthma, allergies, gout, kidney stones, urinary tract infections, itchy skin….nettle leaves are also beneficial for the lungs, containing natural histamines, effective for the prevention and treatment of asthma and allergies. Highly recommended for any convalescence and debility, nettle leaves are beneficial for any external, or internal bleeding and nursing mothers drink it because it increases the flow of breast milk. Nettles root is less commonly used than the leaves, but is especially beneficial for prostrate health. Precautions: None Nettles are very tonic, safe and nutritive. They can be taken in large amounts, or drank is any quantity for many months – with multiple benefits

Dandelion – Taraxacum officinalis Family: Asteraceae The“Flower of Survival”
Region: Widespread, indigenous to Tibet.
Parts Used: Leaves and Root
Constituents: High content of nutritive vitamins and minerals, bitters, tannins, simple and complex sugars (polysaccharides) fatty acids, pectin, mucilage, carotene, flavonoids…
Main Actions: Alterative, Aperient, Cholagogue, Diuretic…
Energetics: Leaves: Cool and slightly bitter. Roots: Winter and spring roots are more tonic (sweet, neutral, protective), summer and fall roots are more specific (cold and bitter)

Dandelion is “Nature’s Great Medicine” and detoxifying herb, respected for thousands of years as a medicine. Popularly used since the 10th-11th century by Arab physicians through today’s European apothecary shops, dandelion leaf and root are a highly respected medicinal and tonic herb also in India and in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

A valuable nutritive food that can be eaten fresh or cooked, both dandelion leaves and root, are popularly taken as an excellent liver and kidney cleansers and strengtheners. Dandelion is an excellent digestive remedy and the best gentle detoxifying bitter tonic on the planet. As a valuable digestive aid, it stimulates flow of bile through liver and kidneys and balances enzymes that simultaneously benefit digestion, assimilation and elimination. Dandelion is also a deep-acting blood and tissue cleanser with capacity to clear obstructions of the liver, gallbladder and spleen and stimulate the elimination of toxins from the blood.

Leaves are especially beneficial to liver and kidneys – an “aquaretic” which is superior to “diuretic” since it relieves excess water while replenishing essential nutrients like potassium, simultaneously. Roots are especially beneficial to the liver, spleen, pancreas, gallbladder, bladder and kidneys, helps to dissolve kidney stones and gallstones.
Excellent Remedy for Anemia, Edema, Kidney and Liver problems
Infections or Disease – especially beneficial for Hepatitis, Cirrhosis
Appendicitis, All Skin Problems, Toxicity, Hormonal Problems, Depression
Heart Problems, Arthritis and Rheumatism
Precautions: None Very safe and nutritive. Can be taken in large amounts for many months.

What is more important than what you infuse into your body?

Here are 3 delicious, healing Wild Sage Organic Tonic Herbals highly recommended for springtime:

Daily Puritea is the spring cleansing and purification herbal created for gentle, daily cleansing over an extended period of time. Good tasting and highly nutritious, this effective “alterative” gently and favorably cleanses the blood and support the liver and kidneys by rooting out excess toxins and encourages their release and elimination. Essential for promoting “homeostasis” in the body, Daily Puritea cleanses and restores overall health and nourishes the entire body system. Most effective when drank several times daily – hot or cold – a daily purification essential tonic. Daily Puritea contains 100% Organic red clover, dandelion leaf , dandelion root, nettles, burdock root, peppermint, orange peel, alfalfa, raspberry leaf, oatstraw, cinnamon chips, ginger root

Tai Chi is a tasty rejuvenative tonic and supergreen herbal with nourishing nettles supported by invigorating peppermint-spearmint and powerfully liver-cleansing and harmoniously supportive licorice root…. A delicious restorative tonic for anytime, day or night, hot or cold, Tai Chi is beneficial for breathing and the lungs and for enhancing vitality and flowing energy throughout the body. Tai Chi contains 100% Organic peppermint, nettles, licorice, red clover, spearmint, oatstraw

Essential Tonic is an essential nourishing cleansing, supportive tonic herbal. This sweet, green, earthy tea is very rich in highly assimilable vitamins, trace minerals and phytonutrients, and helps to restore liver health, as well as overall energy and vitality due to the wealth of it’s nutrients. Soothing, balancing and delicious, Essential Tonic contains 100% Organic nettles, raspberry leaf, alfalfa, oatstraw and red clover

More Ways for Staying Healthy Through the Spring

Drink Lots of Clean Purified Water – the finest, natural “cleanser”.
Drink Wild Sage’s Organic Tonic Herbals to boost phytonutrients and nutritive hydration.
Drink Green or White Tea and yerba mate’, cleansing, rich in antioxidants and tonifying – if you replace your daily coffee with these healthier, moderate caffeine alternatives – your health will surely improve.
Use lemons, in your water or your food, for a beneficial sour taste which cleanses the liver
Eat dark leafy greens like kale, chard, spinach, watercress, beet greens, nettles and “supergreen” foods, like seaweeds, barley grass, wheat grass, spirulina…
Consistently and gradually add more fresh and raw foods to your diet – but, eat for the season! It’s not summer, yet – so keep warm and nourishing foods in your diet, as well.
Discover Bitter Tonics, such as gentian, dandelion root and angelica root. Urban Moonshine makes a great product to easily to use at home, or on the road. Bitters stimulate the digestive process, assist with assimilation and elimination and get things moving!
Breathe, Move, Stretch, Walk, Hike, Dance – simply move stagnant energy accumulated in winter to release any stuck “chi” and free new energy.
Sauna or sweat assists the liver in releasing and eliminating toxins from the body.
Use Dry Brush Skin Massage to stimulate the skin, circulation and elimination.
Add a tablespoon of Pure Apple Cider Vinegar to your water daily to improve everything!
Use Pure Therapeutic-grade Essential Oils to “remove the soil upon which illness flourishes“. My favorite in springtime are Lemon – uplifting, Bergamot – moves “chi”, any Tree, especially Fir (Balsam), Eucalyptus (Radiata is the best), Cedar (Atlas), Pine.
Release anger and tension appropriately and go to sleep before 11 pm to rejuvenate the Liver
Take time out in Nature – especially take a break from internet, cell phones, media and all the electromagnetic frequencies (EMF’s) which constantly bombard all our senses, especially our astral and etheric bodies and our “immunity” boundaries.
Discover New Ways to Communicate our Feelings and Promote Understandings
Get Inspired, Make Art, find new Creative Outlets
…. can you find and discover more ways to “Love your Liver“?

If you want to become whole,  let yourself be partial.  If you want yourself to become straight,  let yourself become crooked.  If you want yourself to become full,  let yourself become empty.  If you want to be reborn,  let yourself die.  If you want to be given everything,  give everything up Tao Te Ching

RED RASPBERRY LEAF

Truly Nourishing, Truly Delicious

Red Raspberry Leaf and Berry

One of my most favorite tonic herbal teas is red raspberry leaf. An unsung hero of herbal medicine, raspberry leaf is the humble green portion of the more famous luscious berry – known for it’s gentle healing for many centuries due to it’s safe, nutritious and tonic properties.

Native to Europe and Asia, Rubus idaeus, is named after Mount Ida in Asia Minor – according to the Ancient Greeks, the home of the Raspberry. In Europe, domestication of the raspberry was first mentioned by Roman writers in the 4th century with the fruits eaten or used for flavouring drinks, and the leaves used for making tea. Cultivated in temperate regions worldwide, raspberry bush is in the family Rosacaea, a relative of the rose, with other wild species, too (i.e., Rubus strigosa).

Historically substituted for black tea, when real tea was either too precious, or too rare to procure, raspberry leaf does taste a bit like a mild black tea, with tonic, astringent actions, and a gentle sweet, earthy flavor that resonates well on the palate. Delicious on it’s own, or easily harmonized with other herbs, raspberry leaf provides a great base from which to build your own custom herbal.

The healthful properties in the leaves are so valuable, raspberry leaf is known as the “Woman’s Herb” – although it is very beneficial for the elderly, anyone in recovery, teenagers, men and children, too. Abundant in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, raspberry leaf is rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, vitamins A, B, C and E, plus important trace minerals such as manganese, zinc and chromium. Raspberry leaf also contains volatile oils, flavonoids and tannins (i.e., like tea) and fragrine – an alkaloid that tones the tissues – which provides both a relaxant and tonifying action on blood vessels, and muscles. These nutrients make raspberry leaf an excellent prevention and treatment for anemia and leg cramps, and beneficial for hypertension, too. It’s astringent and tonic action also provides tone to the mucous membranes throughout the body, soothes the kidneys and urinary tract, and makes raspberry leaf an excellent treatment for diarrhea or hemorrhage.

Medical Botany, 1832

Throughout history, raspberry leaves have been used principally to encourage a safe, easy and speedy childbirth. Because raspberry leaf has both relaxing and tonifying actions, with a particular affinity for the uterine muscles, regular drinking throughout pregnancy strengthens and tones tissues, helping contractions, eases labor and delivery and checks hemorrhage during labour. The most famous of all herbs used during pregnancy, raspberry leaf also allays morning sickness and prevents post-partum depression. (Please note: raspberry leaf does not start labor or promote contractions and is NOT an emmenagogue or oxytocic herb. Although often reported as safe throughout pregnancy, always check with your healthcare provider and/or midwife regarding specific doses when pregnant).

The most famous herbal for women, raspberry leaf is well-known for easing symptoms of painful cramps or lengthy periods, and also greatly assists women at menopause, since the adrenals are geared to take over as the ovaries gradually cease functioning; and many menopausal symptoms are caused by exhausted adrenals, which raspberry leaf supports. Men in mid-life crisis with exhausted adrenals are well-advised to drink the tea, as well, for raspberry leaf is tremendously beneficial for men, too! Raspberry leaf’s nutritive, tonifying and antioxidant qualities promotes fertility in men and women, too, especially when combined with red clover (see Essential Tonic).

Whether you need a boost of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, want to relax and tone your body parts, or enhance fertility! raspberry leaf is a powerhouse of nutrients that makes a safe, soothing, great tasting tea to drink hot or cold; morning, noon or night.

Wild Sage Organic Tonic Herbals honors red raspberry leaf by using the freshest, highest quality, certified organic raspberry leaf, regionally-sourced, in our herbal blends. The following herbals were created with raspberry leaf as a key herb (see Tonic Herbals or Shop for full tea descriptions):

Essential Tonic – a vitamin-mineral rich tonic, especially beneficial for fertility, second half of pregnancy, hormone balance and symptom relief for women from PMS to menopause.

Kavalander – very beneficial for stress, tension, anxiety, muscle cramps, and urinary tract issues.

Daily Puritea – very beneficial for cleansing, purification, tonification, liver health and hormone balance.

HARVEST TIPS
Harvest wild or tame raspberry leaves in spring or mid-summer for maximum potency. Use them freshly picked, or they can be easily dried for storage away from the light.

SC Walker, Herbalist/Geologist/Alchemist promotes nature’s wisdom with healing herbs, “the people’s medicine”.

Autumn Blessings!

12 GOOD REASONS TO DRINK WILD SAGE TEAS

Taste Good, Feel Good!
Get “Nutritive Hydration” and Boost Phytonutrients
Reduce Stress, Tension and Anxiety (Relaxing herbals)
Restore Energy and Rebuild Vitality (Rejuvenating Herbals)
Bring Life into Balance and Balance to Life! (Balancing Herbals)
Prevent or Treat Common Cold-Flu-Allergies (Wellness Herbals)
Free Your Tea, Free Your Mind…
Find One More Way to “Love your Liver”…
Rediscover the “People’s Medicine”…
Engage “an Ounce of Prevention“…
Reconnect with the Healing Wisdom of Plants
Honor Nature and Healing Traditions

Soothing Herbs for Summer

Integration of Mind, Body, Heart & Spirit

“Imagine being on a river raft excursion and after an exhausting series of heart thumping, white water rapids passing through narrow openings, the river suddenly empties into a calm expansive lake. Ahhh! You feel like you can catch a breath, take stock of where and how you are, and enjoy the calm interlude…” – from David Ponds Astro Forecast, Summer 2013

It’s Summer Solstice in the north, a pivotal peak time on earth, when the earth’s axis is most tilted towards the sun bringing expanded days and contracted nights. Summer 2013 also arrives with a rare “grand trine” of planets in water signs, too (Jupiter in Cancer, Saturn in Scorpio, Neptune in Pisces). Grand trines are triangles of planetary energy in the sky which assist the creation of ease, harmony and flow in the cosmos. Water, the most receptive element, also represents flow, emotions, and adaptability. What an ideal time to connect with the essence of your being! Experience the the expansive energies of nature and “go with the flow”…. As Above, So Below… If one can remain grounded (“earthed”) and consciously aware during this transition, this summer time offers a rare opportunity for emotional well-being this season.

by Mary Hilt

One way to nourish our well-being is to nourish our connection to the earth, and reconnect with healing plants, such as herbs. Herbalism is a science and art that is essentially feminine – it embodies the qualities of intuition, trust and gentleness – and it depends on plants that have evolved over millenium, rooted in the heart of the earth, and nourished by the light of the moon. Herbs contain the inherent organizing principles and intelligence of nature. All the elements necessary for their growth – earth, water, fire (sun) and air – are the same elements which ensure our growth. Herbs can provide the human body with many highly assimilable vitamins, minerals and vital nutrients – especially as teas which unite earth and water – but most importantly they can heal our spirits, because they carry the “life force” energy, and the “spirit” of the planet.

by Tamara Adams

In Herbalism, any dis-ease which manifests in the body, is viewed in an emotional (heart), mental (mind), spiritual (spirit), as well as physical (body) context. When we’re stressed, anxious or nervous – multiple organs, or systems, can lose function – stomach indigestion, muscle spasms, chest tightness, tension headaches – are some examples. Herbs can treat the root causes of dis-ease by addressing the healing integration of mind, body, heart and spirit rather than just treating physical, or “superficial”, symptoms. When drugs are taken to suppress physical symptoms of discomfort, they also tend to suppress our awareness of the mental, emotional and spiritual connections to the cause. As a result, the most important things needed to heal the root cause of any dis-ease – recognition of it’s early signs, and paying attention to it’s multiple levels of expression – are suppressed, as well. While there may be a place in our modern world for chemically-synthesized medications, a world in which the holistic approach of herbal healing is also suppressed, or wholly ignored, is an imbalanced world, indeed. Nourishing and healing our mind, body, heart and spirit requires not only an awareness of the whole, and our connection to it, but an integration of those pieces within ourselves, too.

The Nervous System and The Brain In no other system of the human body is the connection between the psychological (mind) and the physical (body) more apparent, than the nervous system and the brain. The nervous system is where all psychological processes take place, and the mental affects the physical in an intimately interconnected way, like a inextricably linked network throughout the entire body. An herbal approach to healing the nervous systems and the brain will always treat both the psychological causes, as well as the physical symptoms. When we feed and strengthen the nervous system, as part of the whole body, we feed and strengthen the psyche, too.

by Narcissa Grey

Many “neuroses” that are epidemic today – Stress, Anxiety, Irritability, Depression – may actually be normal responses to an absurdly abnormal environment. In some cases, these are quite sane reactions of the psyche and emotions to the “ insanities” of an imbalanced, dis-eased society. “To be whole, each must be whole”. While the “flow of energy in the cosmos” may assist in emotional well-being this summer, it is fully supported when our mind, body, heart and spirit are fully integrated, as well.
Soothing Herbs for Well-Being Below are many safe, gentle and effective relaxing and nervine herbs which can soothe and heal the nervous system to promote emotional well-being. Nervines are the category of herbs which treat the nervous system, and may have either a tonic, stimulant or relaxant effect. Wild Sage Teas which employ the herb are highlighted, as well. An herb tea blend, like Wild Sage’s Organic Moondance, which combines many relaxing, sedative and nervine herbs, can often be more effective than taking a single herb alone. However, every person is unique, and has their own preferences – whether you like to use single herbs to discover them individually, or enjoy the synergistic effect of a harmonious blend in which “the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts”, Wild Sage wholeheartedly endorses both approaches and recommends to “follow your intuition”.

California Poppy – Eschscholzia californica flower in WILD SAGE’s Calm Unitea
A mild sedative with gentle effects, california poppy is also analgesic (pain-relieving) and antispasmodic in action. A somewhat distant relative to the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), it does contain some sedative alkaloids, but contains no real opium. Used for treating various physical and psychological conditions including anxiety, stress, nervous tension and insomnia – even gentle enough for children. It’s analgesic and antispasmodic properties are useful in the relief of acute nerve and muscular centered pain, and it has been used as a remedy in cases of high fever, rapid pulse and persistent spasmodic cough.

Chamomile – Matricaria chamomilla flower in WILD SAGE’s Minty Belly Balm, Moondance, Sweet Surrender
A mild bitter tonic and soothing, digestive aid, chamomile is a famous remedy for digestive upsets, but also relaxes muscle spasms, cramps and has a sedative action. Anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, anti-microbial, wound-healing, and anti-fungal (especially for thrush), chamomile is part of a smart herbal first aid kit and particularly useful for stress, anxiety, irritability and restless or hyperactive children.

Kava Kava – Piper methysticum root in WILD SAGE’s Kavalander, Sweet Surrender
Kava kava is extremely useful for any times of stress, anxiety, depression or panic. It is stress-relieving, anti-anxiety, pain-relieving and muscle-relaxing. Not to be consumed in excess, the “less is more” concept applies to kava, but it is very useful for quick relief for headaches, muscle tension, irritable coughing associated with bronchitis and asthma, painful urinary tract infections and “emotional well-being”.

Lavender – Lavender officinalis flower in WILD SAGE’s Celebritea, Moondance, Kavalander
Lavender has sedative properties, good for calming anxiety and tension, as well as relaxing spasms of the digestive tract. A gently soothing relaxant and nervine, lavender is especially good for soothing for the mind. Also traditionally used to treat chest infections, colds and headaches.

Lemon Balm – Melissa officinalis leaf in WILD SAGE’s Celebritea, Elderberry Wisdom, Gypsy Lemon Peace, Kavalander, Moondance, Minty Belly Balm
One of our favorite, gentle, yummy, soothing herbs! Lemon balm is a calming antidepressant and tonic for the nervous system. An important ingredient in Medieval cordials, lemon balm was distilled to “strengthen the heart and lift the spirits”. Very useful for melancholy, depression and seasonal affective disorder, it is also an excellent herb to soothe digestion and relax muscles. Lemon balm’s reported anti-viral properties also assists colds, flu and congestion, and is especially gentle and calming for children.

Linden – Tilia cordata flower and leaf in WILD SAGE’s Celebritea, Calm Unitea, Moondance, Soul Mother Sage, Sweet Surrender
Linden soothes and calms the heart, relieves tension and anxiety. Gently sedative and relaxant, it tastes like chamomile only sweeter, and is recommended for headaches, depression, anxiety, irritability and insomnia. It’s relaxant effects combined with it’s natural bioflavanoids make linden is an herb reported to dilate the blood vessels, relax coronary arteries, ease palpitations, reduce high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis. Beneficial for colds, flus, fevers, sore throats and colitis – the mucilage in the flowers coats mucous membranes to soothe inflammation and irritation.

Oatstraw – Avena sativa whole leaf inWILD SAGE’s Daily Puritea, Essential Tonic, Goddess Chi, Moondance, Minty Belly Balm, Soul Mother Sage, Tai Chi
Oatstraw calms the nerves and provides a wide range of vitamins and minerals that feed a debilitated nervous system. A rejuvenating nerve tonic and important nervine, oatstraw is invaluable for stress, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, convalescence and insomnia. Oatstraw can also strengthens immunity, stabilize blood sugar and assist thyroid function. A nutritive nervine tonic also used for arthritis, rheumatism and multiple sclerosis.

Passionflower – Passiflora incarnata leaf in WILD SAGE’s Moondance, Sweet Surrender
Passionflower is a safe, gentle sedative which relaxes the nervous system, and has non-addictive tranquilzing properties. It is pain relieving, antispasmodic and an important remedy for stress, anxiety, tension and insomnia. Passionflower is also reported to reduce high blood pressure.

Sage – Salvia officinalis leaf in WILD SAGE’s Calm Unitea
Sage’s species name “officinalis” indicates sage was part of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia through the turn of the 20th century formerly prescribed for depression, anxiety, nervousness, migraine, insomnia and exhaustion. A brain and nerve tonic, ancient Arabic and Chinese herbalists believed that drinking sage tea enhanced mental and spiritual clarity. In the Middle Ages, sage had a wide reputation as a rejuvenating tonic and was a major ingredient in prescriptions for longevity and elixirs of life. Sage is beneficial to the liver, blood and nerves and was given to strengthen the mind, the memory, enliven the senses, lift dull spirits, banish lethargy and restore failing virility. Sage is also a used to alleviate menopausal symptoms, especially hot flashes and night sweats, and is beneficial for colds, flus, sinusitis, sore throat and coughing.

Saint Johns Wort Hypericum perforatum flower and leaf in WILD SAGE’s Calm Unitea, Kavalander
An important nervine and sedative, St. John’s Wort is primarily used to treat pains and diseases of the nervous system; neuralgia, sciatica, arthritis, rheumatism and any nerve injuries. Antiinflammatory, astringent, calming and soothing to the “brain”, St. Johns Wort is a well-known antidepressant herb, very beneficial for anxiety and depression.

Skullcap – Scuttelaria lateriflora flower and leaf in WILD SAGE’s Moondance, Sweet Surrender
Skullcap is a well-known nervine, rich in minerals to strengthen and tone the nervous system. A nervous system tonic, it soothes frayed nerves and is recommended for all nervous stress-related disorders. Recommended for anxiety, depression, nervous headaches and insomnia.

Valerian – Valeriana officinalis root in WILD SAGE’s Sweet Surrender
Antispasmodic and sedative for the central nervous system, valerian root is beneficial for muscle spasms, cramps, nervous stomach and irritable bowel. Especially effective in combination with other relaxants and nervines, strong earthy tasting valerian is beneficial for anxiety, nervous tension, insomnia and headaches. Also excellent for strengthening the heart, reducing palpitations and easing blood pressure.

Solenne C. Walker is a geologist/herbalist/alchemist at Wild Sage Teas

Embrace Summer Bliss!

Seasonal Rhythms

From Seed to Renewal (Winter to Spring)

“Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”

Mae West

The best seeds of the new year are always planted in the dark. It is in the winter, the dark of the earth and the night, where we learn to trust the most. We need trust, and courage to surrender our seeds and dreams to uncertain futures, and allow the benevolent forces of the universe to prevail. In nature, light will always follows the dark, the sun will always rise, the moon is never the same, and change is the only constant. Darkness in winter serves us, not simply to balance the light, expansiveness of summer, but to reel our focus back inward, to our core, to contract us, refine us – so that we may carefully choose to plant the seeds of our most “worthy dreams”, and prepare to do the work necessary to manifest them in the coming year. Within the deep earth, the most beautiful crystals form best in magma which cools very slowly, and in the dark. If magma cools too fast, the minerals become “amorphous”, without structure or form; without true “character”. So, for best results, we too must crystallize slowly, and in the the dark.

The spiritual beginnings of spring season are marked by two midwinter festivals Imbolc (February 1) and Candlemas (February 2), which are times for spiritual purification from the dark forces of winter, and represent a rekindling of the inner fire, as the light of the sun and rebirth grows stronger. Both festivals are times to light candles, set intentions, create a sacred fire for purification, or delight yourself with new poetry or music. The “inner” fire of inspiration and purification can be sparked by a symbolic “outer” flame.

Early spring beckons in our hearts with a welcome theme of courtship and the celebration of love on February 14th. Valentine’s Day has origins in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a love festival to guarantee the fertility of flocks, fields and people which celebrated the coming of spring. In honor of St. Valentine, let love “notes” be spoken, sung, written and passed between those you love, and hold dear. What better way to stoke the flame of inspiration, and the heart, than by expressing your desire for love and friendship!

As darkness continues to yield to the light, the flame of the sun continues to burn brighter, and the earth finally shrugs off the sleep of winter at Spring Equinox (March 20th, this year). ☯ Equinox is when the forces of day and night, light and dark, are equal and in perfect balance. Occurring just twice a year, Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere heralds new life and fresh beginnings. Hope and faith sustained through the winter turns to certainty as our seeds begin to sprout with the promise of new rewards. Our hearts and minds warm from promise to reality, as the trees unfurl their leaves, flowers begin to bud, and songbirds return to sing. With nature’s renewal, the earth’s fertility is both prayed for and celebrated in the Pagan festival of Ostara, which honors the Saxon goddess of the dawn, Eostre. The eggs of Ostara represents the cosmic egg of creation and rebirth, and this festival eventually transformed into the ritual celebration we now know as Easter (March 31st, this year).

Springtime now calls for a deeper purification of our bodies, to match our awakening hearts and minds. The following herbs and WILD SAGE teas are recommended for spring purification and renewal – to release the built-up energy stored for winter, and strengthen our body, mind and spirit for fuller blooms yet to come. All are traditionally drank as tea “infusions”, although dandelion and nettles are also excellent as foods, served in salads and soups.

4 Key Herbs and WILD SAGE TEAS for Spring Renewal

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis) is a deep-acting blood and tissue cleanser and digestive aid. Nature’s great medicine, rich in vitamins and minerals, the leaves are a powerful diuretic, whose rich potassium content replaces that which the body loses. The root is a mildly, laxative bitter tonic, which stimulates the liver and gallbladder, increasing the flow of bile. Dandelion leaf and root are useful in the treatment of all skin and liver diseases. Collect the young spring leaves and add them to salads, or soups, for a boost of nutrition! Wild Sage Teas with Dandelion Leaf and Root – Daily Puritea

Nettles (Urtica dioca) are rich in easily assimilable vitamins and minerals, especially iron and vitamin C. A food as well as an energy-building, blood tonic, nettles are nourishing and cleansing, an excellent source of chlorophyll, and great for anemia. Blood-invigorating, yet astringent, nettles is beneficial for “convalescence” and “shrugging off the sleep of winter”. Nettles also contain natural histamines, making it effective for the prevention of allergies, and also increases the excretion of uric acid, making it useful for arthritis and gout. Wild Sage Teas with Nettles – Daily Puritea, Essential Tonic, Tai Chi

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) is a deep-acting, blood cleanser, or “alterative”. Like dandelion, red clover stimulates the liver and gallbladder to secrete bile, cleanses as a diuretic, and has a mild laxative effect. Often used in deep-seated chronic conditions of toxicity, red clover thins and purifies the blood and is good for skin problems, especially eczema and psoriasis. Mildly relaxant for the nervous system, relieving stress, tension and anxiety, red clover also balances the female reproductive system, with a phytoestrogenic action, and relieves many symptoms of hormone imbalance. Wild Sage Teas with Red Clover – Daily Puritea, Elderberry Wisdom, Essential Tonic, Goddess Chi, Tai Chi

Sage (Salvia officinalis) has been highly celebrated since “olden times” as a medicinal herb with a wide reputation as a rejuvenating tonic. A major ingredient in prescriptions for longevity and elixirs of life, the Ancients Greeks believed that sage could render man immortal and it became known as the herb of immortality because it could not only cure so many ills, but because it had the power to enhance inner wisdom. Ancient Arabic and Chinese herbalists believed drinking sage tea enhanced mental and spiritual clarity. Sage is beneficial to the liver, blood and nerves, and was once commonly prescribed for depression, anxiety, nervousness, migraine, insomnia and exhaustion. Sage is also a remedy for colds, flus, sinusitis, sore throat and coughing. A blood purifying herb with phytoestrogenic properties, sage is also useful for menopause symptoms, especially hot flashes, and is calming and cleansing for the female reproductive system. Caution: Generally avoid in pregnancy and while nursing. Wild Sage Teas with Sage – Calm Unitea, Soul Mother Sage

Spring is here! Plant worthy seeds, Seek inspiration and Embrace Renewal!

Solenne Claire Walker is geologist/herbalist/alchemist of Wild Sage.