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Whispers from the Willows
Our Beltane 2017 edition
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Warm Beltane Greetings, Herbal Friends!
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April 30th is May Eve, which is the night before the earth holiday often known as Beltane. Traditionally, this holiday is celebrated on May 1st, or May Day, and is accompanied by wearing flowers, dancing around the may-pole, and with much fun and laughter enjoyed across generations. It is a cross-quarter holiday that falls exactly mid-way between the Vernal Equinox and the Summer Solstice. It is a time that displays the continuing greening of the earth with leaves and bees emerging, flower buds blooming and new births for farm animals - all displaying the expansive fertility of the earth.
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The 'official' frost-free date is only two weeks away in this part of New Jersey, so gardners and horticultural enthusiasts are turning their previous winter indoor activities of seed ordering and seedling sprouting toward actively planting outdoors all that they have tended since Imbolc.
Even though still a little chilly, the days are filled with abundant sunshine! Be sure to take a few moments to be a part of all that is greening outside!
However you choose to celebrate the seasons, please remember to be gentle with the earth and mindful of her precious resources.
Green Blessings!
Donna at Willow Moon Herbals
In this issue:
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Looking forward to the energy of Beltane this May 1st as there are many Herbal traditions to welcome Beltane and celebrate the month of May in general. One that I have always liked was the practice of collecting dew in the early morning on May 1. Among the ancient Romans, the dew was sacred to the goddess Diana, who was also known as "The Dewy One." It was believed that the moon left the morning dew during the night. In Italian traditions, dew is collected from several sacred plants and is then used as a type of holy water. This holy dew-water of May is believed to bestow good fortune throughout the year. In some parts of Britain, young country girls go out just before sunrise on May Day and collect dew from the plants. The dew is then applied to their faces in the belief that it will keep their complexions beautiful and will remove blemishes.
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As herbalists have long known, Hawthorn berry (Crataegus monogyna) is a trophorestorative for the heart, and now 'science' finally agrees, too!! A trophorestorative is a medicinal botanical that nourishes, tonifies and supports a specific organ or body system. ...Maybe 'science' will catch up on some other trophorestoratives that Wise Women have known about for generations: milky oats for the central nervous system, stinging nettles seed for the kidneys, etc. Here is the link to that article: http://www.naturalnews.com/035685_hawthorn_berries_heart_health.html.
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Since ancient times, the May season has been a time of celebration and merriment, a time to acknowledge the return of growth. Certainly, the rites of May are rooted in ancient fertility festivals traced back to the Hellenistic era of Greco-Roman religion. May 1 was a time to honor the Roman goddesses Flora and Maia with offerings of flowers and garlands ~ the month of May is named for Maia. Decorated wreaths were mounted on a pole adorned with flowers, garland and colorful ribbons and carried in street processions in honor of the goddess Maia so that she would bestow her fertile bounty on fields and flocks. The flower garlands were a symbol of the interconnectedness of all things and a worthy gift in anticipation of the coming summer and harvest season.
The maypole was traditionally made from a hawthorn tree, which is the third magickal tree in the triad of fairy lore of oak, ash and thorn. In ancient times, sprigs of hawthorn and hawthorn flowers were taken home to banish evil. In ancient Greece, wedding couples wore crowns made of hawthorn blossoms while the wedding party carried torches of hawthorn wood. May is decidedly a fertile time - for the plants, the pollinators, and the community at large.
Whatever your late spring holiday traditions, rituals, celebrations and/or spiritual practices may be ~ enjoy the warming days and the splendor of abundant new life and growth that this season celebrates in such vibrant colors! Be sure to take a moment to appreciate the gifts that each season brings. Blessed Be!
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Jubilant Great-Grandparents welcoming my new granddaughter!
Mom is thrilled to meet the 4th generation and doing her best in her own cancer journey.
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Consider this simple tea to help support the body systems while gently eliminating stored waste. Always try to use organic ingredients! These dried herbs can usually be found in your local health-food store. A part can be anything from a tablespoon to a cup - depending on how much you want to make.
1 part dandelion leaf (supports the kidneys and bladder)
1 part nettle leaf (builds the blood)
2 parts red clover (supports the lymph system)
1 part milky oats (supports the central nervous system)
2 parts hawthorn berry (nourishes the heart muscle and supports the circulatory system)
1/4 part ginger (is warming and gets the blood circulating)
Combine herbs and mix well. To make tea, use 2 teaspoons herb blend per cup of water. Steep for 5 to 7 minutes and strain. Drink up to 4 cups per day as a spring tonic. Store any unused portion in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
(Portions of this article originally appeared in the Beltane 2012 edition of Whispers from the Willow)
Note: Any remedies or information listed in this newsletter are from historical references and used for teaching /educational purposes only. The contents are not meant to diagnose, treat, prescribe, cure or substitute consultation with a licensed health-care professional.
This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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Tree Orientation will resume in May!
Tree orientation is an initiative that Damanhur h as proposed since 2011. The community participates in this project along with many friends worldwide, most of whom are part of the Popolo Spirituale, as part of the Global Tree Network.
We usually visit different public parks in order to orient as many trees as possible. We record how many trees were oriented and send that information back to Damanhur.
Please RSVP if you plan on joining us (in case there is a change): email donna@willowmoonherbals.com or text 201-650-7500
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Date: Saturday, May 20
Location: Natirar, Peapack-Gladstone, NJ
Fee: Free
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"The Red Tent Movie: Things We Don't Talk About"
There's a deep recognition among women about how the Red Tent Movement can meet the hunger we have to connect with our sisters in sacred space. The Red Tent Movie DVDs can be ordered online, so you can curl up at home and learn all about the Red Tent Movement. (We are proud to be endorsers of this movement and movie ~ look for our logo in the credits!) Click here to order through our referral link.
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(The silver lining of long stretches in doctor waiting rooms and hospital visits is the opportunity to read up on the latest alternative cancer therapies, as well as stretch the edges of my spiritual boundaries to new embracings). Blessed Be!
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Knockout is an excellent book if you are just learning about alternative healing modalities. Suzanne Somers interviews several doctors who are 'thinking outside the box' and treating cancer successfully outside of, and/or in tandem with, contemporary pharmaceutically-dictated methods.
The success stories are staggering, and one of her interviews was with the late Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez from New York City, who has unfortunately made the 60+ "Holistic-Doctors-Dying-Under-Suspicious-Circumstances" list in the last eighteen months.
(See Erin Elizabeth's reporting about this on her website: healthnutnews.com)
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Dr. Aviva Romm is a superb Mom, Physician, Mid-wife, Herbalist and all-round integrative women's health advocate. Using proven health protocols from helping thousands of women in her clinical practice, Aviva incorporates groundbreaking science and maps out 'how to make simple, powerful, and sustainable food and lifestyle changes that ease toxic multisystem overload, bringing one into a symptom-free life with renewed energy.'
Aviva is one of my modern-day heroes. I have several of her other books, and find her to be sincere in her passion to improve women's health. The dedication in her book sums up her genuine zeal: "To all women who have felt unseen and unheard, you are not invisible and you are not alone. To all who have been told "It's all in your head," it is not. And to all who have felt like you've been sleeping for too long, rise and shine. Let's move mountains together."
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Salvestrols are a new class of natural compounds that have a pharmacological definition rather than a chemical definition. They are defined by the action of the metabolites produced when they are metabolised by the CYP1B1 enzyme in cancer cells. Simply put, salvestrols are food-based compounds that are metabolised by CYP1B1 to produce metabolites that are anticancer agents. These anticancer agents suppress tumour growth by killing the cancer cells. Salvestrols provide an explanation of the link between diet and cancer and between fruit and vegetable consumption and lower cancer incidence. (excerpt from Amazon)
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Spiritual Unfoldment 1 is the first of a 4-book series. 'A time will come when your innermost voice will speak to you, saying 'This is my path, here I shall find peace, I will pursue this path, come what may'. If you will persist and are patient, and above all never lose faith, your path will lead you unerringly to your goal' White Eagle's earliest programmes for his students at the White Eagle Lodge included classes on spiritual unfoldment. The subject included training in clairvoyance (real clear seeing, for instance on the true nature of the person, not shallow prediction), meditation, right living, learning about the great laws of life such as reincarnation and karma and about healing. Spiritual Unfoldment 1 is compiled largely from teachings at those classes given over many years. It will lead the seeker down the first roads upon a path of absolute simplicity-but the truest path is also the simplest. (excerpt mostly from Amazon)
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