It used to be a common folk belief that in winter, as things slowed down, our blood got thicker. Then in the spring, it was a good idea to take a spring tonic to get the blood flowing freely again. While the belief about the blood is quite a comfortable one, it doesn't seem to have any basis in reality. However, the taking of a spring tonic is still not a bad idea. Early bitter herbs are a good choice, nettles and dandelions taste great, and of course, there's hawthorn. After all, in common with our ancestors, we tend to move less and eat more comfort foods in the winter, so when these things become available it's a good idea to get our digestion going properly, pep up our liver and improve our circulation.

Hawthorn as defined in my oracle

When hawthorn leaves are green and tender in the spring, people will sometimes munch on a few, or gather some to add to a salad. Animals are also attracted to them at this time. Equine herbalist Hilary Page Self recommends hawthorn for horses with both laminitis and navicular syndrome, because of its good effect on the circulation of blood to the feet. When I lived in Scotland it was common to see native ponies stuffing themselves on hawthorn leaves in spring. That was a good choice to follow, as it is in the spring that the lush grass is most likely to cause the metabolic upset that leads to laminitis - which is an extremely painful and potentially lethal condition.

As spring moves into May the hawthorn (also called May, or May tree) blooms. These blossoms were a traditional part of May Day celebrations, being used to deck the May queen and May king, Maypoles, and the entrances to houses. However, there is a well-known taboo against bringing hawthorn into the house, as it is believed that it brings death. In fact in some areas it is known by the name "dead man's froth". I always found this strange. Why would a flower associated with spring, fertility and health also be associated with death? Then I came across an essay by Paul Kendall on the wonderful Trees for Life website. The following passage offers a good explanation:

Hawthorn has a strong association with fairies, particularly in the sense that the areas around some hawthorns were places prone to offer openings into the fairy otherworld. They are also the most common species among clootie trees, which although they are now mostly Christianised sometimes have fairy lore connected to them.

Hawthorn in the form of agricultural hedges is, of course, used to enclose pastures and fields. A well laid and maintained hawthorn hedge is as stockproof as any barbed wire fence, but has many advantages beyond looking prettier. It provides a windbreak for the animals it contains, a source of medicine, and the haws (berries) are somewhat useful as a food, if not very tasty. The real benefit is to nature, though, in the form of food and shelter for many small animals, plants, birds and insects. It's no wonder that hawthorn is such a strong symbol of spring, fertility and the summer to come.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like Thoughts on Hawthorn for May Day.

The Meadowsweet card, with it's mention of courtship and marriage, sounds like a card of romantic relationships, and so it may be, or it may be a metaphor. The flower of this plant smells very sweet, indeed, while the leaves are different and more pungent. There is an old adage comparing this to courtship and marriage. This could also apply to beginnings and middles, generally. We often begin things with rosy enthusiasm until we get to the part where we are required to step up and grow. It is part of maturing as individuals to attempt to meet these challenges if we can, and if we consider them worth meeting.

The other aspect of this card is the free gift with no strings, no "payback". The drug we call aspirin is a synthetic version of a chemical found in several plants - willow bark, birch bark and Meadowsweet flowers. People used to take willow bark tea for aches and pains, but just like aspirin, it can make your stomach hurt or even give you ulcers. However, Meadowsweet flowers contain the same pain killer, plus another compound which protects the stomach lining. So while other comforts may have a sting, this one truly doesn't! I think that this aspect of the card can be relevant for those who are afraid to try to remedy their problems for fear of making things worse.

In times past, people used many different plants to strew the floors of their dwellings. Some were chosen for their sweet smell, others for their texture, still others helped to repel fleas and other insects. There was also lore attached to many strewing herbs regarding moods they could create or protection that they might bring, and so on. Meadowsweet was used for strewing. No doubt its aroma had a lot to do with this, but it was also believed to have the power to bring a peaceful atmosphere to bear in a home. Peace is such a healing thing, in the home, in relationships and within ourselves. It is a great vantage point from which to make plans, talk things over, and a great environment in which to work or rest. Challenges are always easier to meet when we feel calm, whether this is the challenge of getting a project or relationship back on track, or even ending one with grace and humanity, so much less damage is done in a peaceful atmosphere.

Further reading: Filipendula ulmaria - Meadowsweet from "Growing Hermione's Garden

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like I am dead yet I live, a post about the elder tree.

There are several varieties of nettle. This card refers to the common stinging nettle - Urtica dioica. People who aren't into herbal medicine are often surprised to hear that Nettles have so many good uses. After all, they are pretty unpleasant to come in contact with, and no wonder. They contain formic acid - the same stuff that is in ant bites!

One of the oddest uses I have ever heard for Nettles, though, is this: In some places, people used to take bunches of Nettles and beat them against painful rheumatic joints. It's said that they got relief from this. Perhaps just a case of "if it doesn't kill you it might cure you!" but this picture has always stuck with me (I read about it back in the 1970s) and I think that knowing about it, I am less fearful of the Nettles' sting, and perhaps even find it less painful than many people do. I can only suppose that at least one reason this flogging helped was an effect known as counter-irritatation - which is how stuff like Deep Heat Rub works, as well. These things provide more than just a distraction from the original pain. It seems that by creating inflammation on the surface tissue, the inflammation in deeper layers is relieved somewhat. So as well as a maybe pleasant hot/cold sensation, a good counter irritant increases blood flow, removal of toxins and lots of other good stuff. I know that things like Tiger Balm and certain essential oils work for me, although I haven't tried the Nettle remedy yet!

Perhaps the question in a reading is - For what is all this a metaphor? How could creating a little discomfort in the short term, bring relief in the long term? Is there some way in which all this irritation is actually helping you get through a difficult time? Somewhere to focus your anger? A distraction? Even helping you to "clean out" emotionally?

Nettles, of course, can also be used as a food. I'm sure that you've come across things like Nettle soup, steamed Nettles as an early spring side dish or even Nettles in pesto. Nettles have lots of good things in them, including chlorophyll and many of the available minerals we need for cell development. I remember once I was having bad nosebleeds. I figured I needed something like vitamin E, or that maybe I could shove some Aloe Vera up my nose. I finally went to a herbalist who told me that when people have problems with skin/tissue, the thing they're often lacking is minerals with which to build tissue. Hmmmm.... A few days on a tea made from Nettles and other high-mineral herbs totally cured me!

So again, what's going on here that relates to your life? Is there something you need to nourish you, but the source seems too ugly, unfriendly or improbable to consider? I believe this to be one of the more obvious meanings of this card.

I have talked quite a bit about herbal medicine here. While I definitely don't consider drawing a card to be a herbal prescription, I never completely discount the possibility, either. If something resonates strongly with you on a physical level, you can always follow it up by either talking to a trained herbalist, or reading up and deciding whether self treatment with Nettles is for you. With that in mind, I am going to attach a link to an article about the vibrational uses of Nettle. More and more I'm coming to believe that often we don't need to be ingesting big  hunks of a plant to get its benefits. I use Bach Remedies a lot and this is one thing that has really shown me the way with this. I'm not necessarily recommending the company whose website the article is on - I don't know anything about them - I just think that looking at things from the vibrational perspective might be useful, and this is a great article. 

Another thing I find about Nettles is a strong dualism - pain and healing, male and female, toxins and nourishment. Maybe that's also something for you to think about. I remember once reading something along the following lines. When you have the flu - you can be sure that it won't last forever. And when you don't have the flu, you can be pretty sure that one day, you will have it again. The same goes for feeling low or depressed. The pain that feels so all pervasive when we're in the midst of it is likely to abate eventually, but likewise, times will come again when life will feel uncomfortable. This is another important aspect of the card - simply reminding us that pain is natural, just as relief from pain is also natural. As humans, both will come to us, in their turn.

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I am the bour tree. I stand on the hillside awaiting spring. I am dead, yet I live. I wait. I am patient. Lashed by rain, shaken by wind, blanketed with snow and riven by frost I wait. As the season softens to mud and warmth I feel my leaf buds growing, soon they begin to unfurl and I can once more drink the sunlight and feel the moist air tickling and teasing them.

In the heat of early summer my flowers open, and I am beautiful. I am decked as a bride and loved and adored by all. The breezes jostle my heavy branches, laden with nectar and pollen, I am a friend to all who buzz and flutter and caress me. Birds have their nests within the world of my branches, and insects also call me home. My fragrance attracts many visitors who are intoxicated by my bounty. I have much to give! Plenty to spare! My blossoms heal the sick and strengthen the blood and wind of the healthy. Take all you need.

Slowly, the petals drop, giving way to little green nodules. In time they increase and grow red, then purple and almost black. The weight of my fruit bows me and cracks at my branches, but I stand firm. The ground beneath my boughs is littered with shed branches and shoots which fell in such battles past - but I live on! Children may make toys from such trifles. Now the birds are thick in my branches, eating their fill, and sharing with some who walk on four legs, and also on two. I am transformed into sweet drinks and food for winter by those ingenious ones.

Now my leaves begin to dry and change colour. They lose their sensitivity and begin to fall to the ground. At my feet, the earth is changing. The soil beings to breath more and more slowly. I long for rest, for clean coldness. The winds come and rip the death rags from me. The sap recedes. I am become bones. Blackened bones. I am dead, yet I live. I wait.

As the story of Achilles implies, and as the quote below reinforces from a different perspective, Yarrow's ability to heal and to protect are widely known. The leaves, in particular, are applied to wounds to stop bleeding, and also used in treating nosebleeds. Essential oil of Yarrow is one of nature's little surprises, for when the plant material is steam distilled to produce the oil the result is a rich cobalt blue oil due to quite a high concentration of chamazulene, which according to the American Chemical Society is a "natural anti-inflammitory". When I studied essential oils with pioneering zoopharmacognicist Caroline Ingraham, she also sang the praises of Yarrow essential oil for its ability to heal, and to penetrate deeply into wounds in order to do its work. Caroline cited many almost miraculous case studies from her field work with this oil. She also taught us that another use  is as a protection from allergic reactions to irritants in the environment, such as pollen. Producers of flower essences (which are highly diluted infusions similar to homeopathic remedies) follow this thinking as well, and Yarrow flower essences are often used to protect on a "vibrational" level from subtle environmental pollutants, toxins and radiation, as well as to help with natural allergens. This thinking is then followed a little further and suggests that Yarrow can also help to protect those who are sensitive to "psychic bleed" or to picking up on unwanted energies, and is used by many who work in the metaphysical realm, such as healers and mediums.

I find it interesting that something very similar is suggested in this old Gaelic charm.

Okay, so by now you've probably made a note to stock up on Yarrow products (did I mention it's good for colds and flu?) but we were supposed to be talking about reading an oracle card - so what's the deal? If this card comes up, what might it be saying? One likely interpretation is that you need to identify your wounds, and know that they can be healed. Whether we're talking about deep stuff that you've carried for many years, recent trauma, or the chaffing irritation of things in your daily life, I believe that this card is saying that help is at hand. The healing may already be taking place, or you are at least headed toward the healing process.