Herbs are not only here for your physical well being and vitality, but for the spirit of your soul as well. I love their medicine for physiological components, and what they do for your spirits is usually JUST as powerful in healing as for the physical body. Spiritual herbs and meditating with plants is a powerful practice which allows you to set the space with herbs for spiritual healing and meditation. Sitting in meditation with a plant friend, will give you something VERY specific to focus on in your healing journey, and getting to know the energetic signature of each plant will facilitate this deep understanding so that not only your physical body will heal but the facets of your soul will come into alignment as well.
This practice will open up your mind to receive messages from sources that live within the ethereal realms, the subtle energetics of your body and the earth. I know that the term ‘whispering woods’ is this connection of the subtle bodies… the whispers of the plants have guided me in SO many life changing healing journeys… I know that people who meditate regularly, no matter what that practice looks like will gain HUGE insight from these powerful healing plants.
Some ways of this communication are very much like your intuition, or guidance from Creator that you normally would translate. Understand that messages from spiritual herbs and meditation generally come in a few different forms, they are playful and yet hit you pretty hard when needed! Just like our guidance, when coming from a genuine connection, isn’t usually the ‘easy’ route to take, the plants are the same, but they are a bit more light hearted about it all. Watch for specific visual pictures, feel the spaces in your body that might tingle or ache differently than your usual meditative or prayerful practice. FEEL the painting they are providing come to life in your minds eye and your physical body. The ethereal realm is very dreamland-esque, simple and straight to the point, but totally abstract.
The messages that the plants start to send you will become more clear, just like with all ethereal communication, with time. I am one who believes that each and every one of us human beings has the capacity to tap into the subtle energies that are within and all around us, simply because we are a part of it all. You will come to read the whispers of the plants, and the woods more precisely, with time and devotion.Working with prepared remedies like tinctures, smoke bundles, the live plant in a field or garden,the NO and the YES will get more clear as you work in this way with plants.
For me this comes through as wild harvesting advice from the land, “No don’t harvest me today… But there is a patch just over that hill I think is in need of some pruning.” Ill wander over that hill and see the same plant in abundance, and tune in again. Flashes of new harvesting spots have happened too, which is always exciting, and when followed, always provide truth. Each medicine you take in will be more potent, and best of all, the connection to nature is strengthened beyond imagination.
DISCLAIMER – because it is me you are working with, and it takes a LOT for me to turn away from any plant, besides water hemlock! Not all of these plants are for ingesting, or even smoke medicine burning, inside specifically. As usual, I like to walk a bit differently than the beaten in road especially when it comes to my work with plants, and over 20 years on this less traveled road, my favorite plants to meditate with are not of the usual. I do not suggest Lavender, Rosemary, and or even white sage (though I freaking love these plants…) I want to get REALLY comfortable with ALL plants, even if they are considered toxins, or poisons, once upon a time, in our not so distant ancestry, these plants were regularly worked with.
Don’t let people tell you NOT to work with ANY of them… though, don’t throw away being mindful and having a healthy ego around ones that can harm, because this is a warning I heed whenever I choose to work with the more heavy plants. Some of the listed plants are straight up not safe to take internally. BUT they make GREAT meditation companions in your prayer space, or some outdoor smoke medicine, or just to sit with them where they are rooted out in nature. I know some herbalists who make flower essences of these sketchy plants, and some who DO ingest them, I am NOT ENCOURAGING YOU TO DO THIS, and more of these experienced herbalists, PLEASE! Let’s dive in…
The TOP 5 Spiritual Herbs
Henbane – Hyoscyamus niger – Member of Hecate’s Garden
Henbane’s alluring flower is an excellent herb for meditation and exploring spiritual insights from the subtle realms, though for me, she is not subtle in anyway. In Greek mythology Hekate was a prominent figure, the representative of the night, the moon, death, life, and rebirth. In the sense she is considered a triple goddess because she is all encompassing to the most powerful energies of the universe, death, life and love. In the Myths, Hekate directed Demeter toward her daughter Persephone who is trapped in the Underworld. Persephone found herself captive of the Underworld for 6 months of the year. Hekate became her companion in this dark world. She guided Persephone through the darkness with her torches, and her hounds.
This Myth is responsible for Winter.
Henbane is associated with Hecate’s energy. In most pictures painted of Hecate, Henbane is the Crown that she wears. The spirits crossing the river Styx in the Underworld have been depicted wearing necklaces of Henbane as well. This captivating flower is useful for many cycles of prayer, contemplation, working with spiritual healing herbs and meditation. Times of unrest are specifically powerful for you to invite Henbane into your meditation life, think of her as Hekate’s torch, guiding you through a dark night of the soul, time of grief, or simply the times we are all living in currently. I have sat with henbane when moving through times of transition in my life, heavy and light times, and I always see a white ethereal woman, the guiding light through the darkest of times.
If yo uare experiencing uneasy feelings, or restless energies surrounding you, or your home, work with Henbane. Spirit energy that may be stuck, henbane will help to clear it, if you really dive into the stories of Hecate, the message of henbane will be illuminated for you.Though she is the darkness, she lights our path through our own darkness.. All this plays into our feeling safe within it, to be where we are, exploring and navigating times that for the modern human ego, are all too uncomfortable.
Now, if you are bringing this plant into your home, simply do that, this herb is one that comes with a warning, do not burn her smoke in your home, or other enclosed space, simply place a flower, or a stalk on your meditation altar, or burn it (without taking big whiffs of smoke please) outside of your home, or in your garden while you sit a few feet away. . DO NOT INGEST THIS PLANT, hard stop.
Henbane Meditations…
I have meditated with Henbane many times, and have had many intense encounters in the realm of spiritual herbs and the messages they offer. Now, I do like to leave a lot for you because, though the energetics of the physical herbal properties are rather regimented and known to be consistent, in the subtle energetic realm of spiritual herbalism, nuance is to be expected. YOUR energetic imprint is going to bring forward a different message than mine, and we can probably sit together, discuss the differences and see similar patterns. Her energies and what this herb calls from you is generally that of the shadow realms of the human ego, AND each of us are different. So don’t let anyone tell you you are wrong when it comes to your intuition and personal experience within the spiritual herbalism space, because that, my plant friend, is wrong.
Henbane shows herself to me as a beautiful woman, dressed in a white robe. However, this beautiful woman has NEVER had a face, and I have seen this woman many times over. All I see when I look into her face is darkness, blank, maybe even a gray, swirling shadow, but she isn’t scary, to me any way! Peace and calm will come over me whne I connect with this spirit of henbane, and that in and of itself allows me to dive deeper into the shadow experience I have worked through time and time again. This womanand the plant that offers her, carries the essence of beautiful release, of shadow, cloaked in white, the light that I feel is offered to the darkness when you are choosing to STARE into yours.
These whispers that have come to me through the smoke medicine of Henbane, and what I offer to you now, are encouragement in taking the time to understand that you are whole and beautiful because you come that way, and that you are nature. And because of this, the shadow you are experiencing, and you are perfect, already, with it all. Henbane energies are the protectors of understanding this within yourself, because when you can understand this (as I have come to understand in my cellular body), the shadow work, the self evaluation and taking the responsibility for your actions in all facets of life, becomes simple alongside the perfection.
Henbane encourages you to protect this sacred knowing of your power because in SELF responsibility, you will own your power. It will automatically be protected from dark energies in the material and ethereal worlds. Henbane is first on the list, because if YOU have the strength and the support to look att the darkness and BRING your own perfect light to it, NOTHING can sway you from your path. Henbane is a powerful spiritual healing herb for all of us.
Pulsatilla – Anemone patens – Lessons in Letting Go
Winter snows bring Spring flowers to the high country… Pulsatilla patens of the Rock Mountains – Anxiety relief & the art of letting go, I have this tincture in my car, which is really my traveling purse because I live in Wyoming :), because the power of this spiritual herb is incomparable to any other herb for anxiety and spiritual healing.
Though this flower does not have the depths of Greek mythology behind it, Pulsatilla is deep in her roots of the high country, and the letting go that her physical existence expresses. DISCLAIMER- again as this is another herb that comes with advisory. I do make a tincture of this plant in a more ‘homeopathic dilution formula’ because we are working here with a buttercup family, known as the Ranunculeae. You won’t find much encouraging information on Google, but dabble in the herbal retreats and classrooms, you will hear of the safety when working with this plant internally. I have been doing so for YEARS and have MANY clients who heed my warnings and love the strength this delicate flower offers to anxiety, releasing power, and relaxation of the mind.
More information on dosage can be found at the product page here on the online apothecary store. I also sent an index card of information with this purchase now, so you can have a reference.
Being such a delicate wildflower, living in the high country as Pulsatilla does, is rather shocking to say the least, and a bow to the medicine that is offered here. The snow has pretty much melted off, but I can still find drifts, many feet deep when I go to harvest this sweetie in the month of May out here in Wyoming. Decorating elevations of up to 10,000 feet, the hills, in places, almost appear to have that purple majesty that one can see from a distance when looking at the mountains. Crocus is a good comparison to the color that pulsatilla holds, a color that represents the Divine energies of the greater universe and creator.
I see a lot of spiritual medicine in just this but also in Pulsatillas flower ead nodding to the wind, and then when gone to seed, this flower lets go of a tassel with a single seed attached to the end. So sweet and so releasing, this mirrors the gratitude that we can learn to hold for nervous anxiety, even PTSD like panic attacks (speaking from experience here, read the whole blog dedicated to pulsatilla to go on a deep dive into my story with this plant and how she has helped me and so many others PULSATILLA BLOG).Pulsatilla offers an invitation to let go and release our worries to the high mountain winds.
When it comes to deeply held traumas and anxieties, pulsatilla shows you where your brain is blocking your mind from seeing the truth. Because, when you are in any given moment, generally you are safe (if you are not, this is a completely different discussion and please reach out to the support networks that are in your local area, we all deserve to be SAFE in our day to day lives, especially when in relationship with ones we love). Pulsatilla will show you how your anxieties and HOW those feelings are hindering your growth as a human being, blocking you from your soul’s divine expression.
IF you are ready to learn to let go of this blueprint of your human experience, allow this spiritual herb to show you the path to releasing fears so that you too, may walk along the path you were destined for. This is the most important aspect of being human on this Earth; following our path.
Ancestral Pact
The universe has a plan and you were created with this plan as a pact with your ancestors and coming here to do the big work that you know needs to be materialized for this planet, and all of humanity to fully heal. You and your ancestors devised a plan before you entered this realm, and it is hidden in the material traumas of BEING human on this earth, especially in the ‘modern’ times we are in. The distractions are INTENSELY ingrained that most of us alive now, don’t even realize that there is a reason, or a way to follow along, pulsatilla will clear away, rather, teach you HOW to clear away the mud from your brain so that your mind and heart can lead the way to uncovering the pact you made.
Arnica cordifolia… Offering Movement to Deep Pain
By now, I think you all understand how much I encourage and embrace myself the practicing of exploring the shadow side of the human experience, some call it the ego, or triggers throughout the day, and what it means to be fully aware of self, especially the facets that aren’t too pretty to show off or look at. This being because it is in the shadows that you are able to offer more movement toward the light that you innately are, and what you, as a soul, are here to offer the world. When you address the darkness by facing it head on, you not only clear out garbage from your physical body (yes it is stored there too), bu you Ignite your light to its full potential, making walking with your soul purpose effortless.
This is what I have come to know with Arnica cordifolia as a tincture. This flower that is ALL over the farmacy here at Enchantment Creek, helps you to feel comfortable in these dark nooks and crannies of your subconscious mind, and human ego experiences, this tincture and other means of working with arnica act as a shining light to this and traumas that are locked away. IF you are struggling with deep held traumas, I ONLY want you to do this exploration work with a professional, a shaman, energy worker, or high quality therapist as suits your systems. Arnica will, and always does bring up junk hiding in the subconscious mind, while even showing you transparency in your self awareness of the day to day life.
Arnica tincture enlightens the darkness of our traumatic histories so they may be released. This sweet little Woodland flower is so resinous, yet contains no essential oils, to me portrays the dichotomy of light and dark that arnica holds within her spirit. Bright and cheery but can, in high, irresponsible doses, completely kill your liver. If you know there are components of your waking ego, the triggers that you can’t let go of throughout each day, all the way through to deeply held, maybe even forgotten traumas, arnica is here to bring them up into your conscious mind, because it is in owning all that which you are, to move past and be fully present.
DISCLAIMER – Arnica, like pulsatilla above is to only be worked with in DROP doses and I highly recommend you know your herbalist when working with this flower medicine internally. If you are not yet ready for the strength of realization that comes with taking arnica internally, I have had flashbacks from times in my life that I shouldn’t remember because of age, PLEASE seek out a profession as mentioned above.
Arnica extract is a deep pain reliever physically and another perfect spiritual herb for deep healing. Arnica brings her own brilliant, high summer sunlight into your dark and shadowy realms. Most of the anxiety, panic attacks and restless nervousness, comes from the spaces you refuse to acknowledge, or maybe, don’t even know happened, arnica WILL bring these experiences and feelings to the surface for you to work through, so that the mud over the connection with your soul, is cleared, and many times, people with chronic, undiagnosed or unexplainable illnesses will clear, magically when working on these shadow experiences. That is because, the energetic imprint of darkness, is held in our physical body (check out my vibrational healing blog posts for more information on that reality)
Red Cedar – Thuja plicata – Grandmother Wisdom of the Forest for your spiritual healing practices.
Thuja… (pronounced Th-ooo-ya) grandmother wisdom of the pacific north west forests. Standing strong and sturdy, the roots of these magnificent trees are grounded deep into the Earth. Thuja has an understanding that is wise beyond any of our years, here to show this wisdom to you through ingesting but also by simply standing near one of these trees. You can feel into this energy with the buoyancy in her bark- how it is strong and sturdy yet light and lifted. Decades of growth created this effortless, yet powerful force that red cedar holds in the forests. Her bows dust gracefully through the wind. Allowing movement and fluidity, while remaining grounded in the strength held within this inspiring tree.
Red Cedar, our Thuja, is the elder that we go to deeply listen. We want to hear her stories of years past. How those who came before us triumphed or perished. This is how we learn of ways in moving forward. Absorbing and utilizing the wisdom of our ancestors. Thuja offers these gifts to us. She is the grandmother of our forests. We go to her for comfort and wisdom. Respecting her teachings. Realizing her knowings are beyond what we have experienced. As we realize this, and move with it. Our lessons are mighty.
Working with Grandmother Cedar is humbling to say the least to your human ego, you know, sometimes the wisdom from our grandmothers is sweet and wonderful, but there is always a bite to the young person who listens, to listen carefully, for this challenge i am offering to you comes from DECADES more experience than you… this can feel VERY triggering to many of us. Listen and respect your elders might have come from red cedar, maybe?!
The deep teachings of respect and mindful actions as you go through your life will come from elder medicine, showing you where you are falling short, the sting, while encouraging you to keep on going, the wisdom. Red cedar holds the ancient wisdom of the forest for us to realize again, where your ego is getting in the way of your soul’s chosen expression, and this kind of change, or shift in life, is the hardest of them all. Self awareness alongside self responsibility. AND another herb that I encourage the meditation to be in the form of smoke bundles, OR my fermented blend Tree of Wisdom, which has had a few releases, and none as of late because my only ‘close’ harvest spot is a day’s drive from home!
Yarrow – Achillea millifolium – Strengthening our Energetic Body
Sweet bright Yarrow, one of the most prolific growers of my favorite medicinal plants in general. A classic wildflower that decorates most all terrains and elevations. This flower is incredibly easy to identify when understanding flower structure and leaves. Making her one I highly recommend you getting to know and working with. And getting into the spirit essence of this plant, the first look, her flower head, is a major clue as to how and what yarrow will help you weave into your energetic body. i
Commonly mistaken to be an ‘umbel’ family plant, because the flowers are standing in a similar shape, but upon closer examination and comparison, this is only a deceiving look of yarrow as each of the flowers are individually stemmed and knitted so tightly together, the appearance of an umbel does make sense. And this tightly woven cluster is the physical AND spiritual blessing of yarrow. When it comes to physical medicine yarrow helps to clot blood and stop Bleeding, when it comes to the spiritual body, yarrow also helps to cauterize those of you who have your energy ‘spilling out’. Let me explain…
Many healers, people with deep traumas, these days known as ’empaths’, because when one is subjected to traumatic experiences (talking big T traumas here), the only survival mechanism is to feel into every single situation that you walk into. You learn to read other people you interact with, at all times, and lots of those times, because your backbone might be a bit limp, you don’t heed the correct warnings, to then repeat lessons over and over again. It is a painful experience, but on the other side of nourishing this sort of human struggle, I can tell you, there is magic in this strength you have. Yarrow helps to physically, even before you are ready to do so, to tighten up your energetic boundaries so that YOU can have more of the healing you need now.
When working with yarrow in meditation and as a spiritual herb, this plant will teach you how to protect your heart while keeping them open for the (most likely scenario) healing you are meant to offer to the world. Yarrow provides a tightly knitted energetic boundary. which is protective to your well being, while also maintaining connection to the outside world, and the magic that you have cultivated through this ‘reading’. Teaching you, that it is healthy to have boundaries while also having an open, light and happy heart.
If you are one who struggles with being an empathetic person. Letting too many people into your inner circle. As most empaths do … Yarrow will be your most prolific teacher. This one is special to me as she has taught me many lessons in weaving my energetic boundaries tighter. Only allowing certain humans into the inner circle. While remaining bright & kind to all who crosses my path. I recommend keeping her with you. Walk with her as you go through your days. This will create a mantra of your medicine pouch. Stuff some of her flowers into it. Feel her presence & teachings. Working with yarrow in this way allows for a constant connection that helps to establish healthy boundaries in your day-to-day life.
I know there is a LOT of work in these few herbs, so please don’t overwhelm yourself! Bring one or two into your practice at a time, explore the messages that come from each of them, and PLEASE work with a professional when you are in need of one. I will be opening my appointment books back up again at the end of January, 2025 for physical health consultation, and energetic/shamanic journeying. Get on my email list so that you are in the loop when that time comes.
I love you all big!
