When we study herbs, we’ll often choose one herb to work very closely with and study for the given year. We call it our plant ally.
We consciously commit to spending time with our plant ally. We sit with it, taste it, make various forms of medicine with it, grow it if possible, observe it in its habitat, meditate on it…, and keep detailed notes. I even put mine under my pillow when I go to sleep. Hoping for some extra info coming through while I sleep:)
This year long process allows us to develop a deep relationship with our chosen plant and if we are truly present with our plant ally, the knowledge we gather will go far beyond our intellect.
This year, I have chosen Calendula officinalis 🌼 as my plant ally.
I love this happy sunshine filled flower so so much! It is the very first plant I explored in skin care creation. And over the years, it has proven its healing magic over and over again; nourishing, soothing, calming, repairing and protecting our clients skin.
Calendula is a very powerful skin healing plant yet it is gentle enough for a baby skin too.
Besides using Woman Divine formulas which contain calendula, I personally love using calendula infusion in warm facial compressing and in my bath. It is amazing at moving stagnant lymph and who doesn’t want help with that!
I drink copious amounts of calendula decoction daily and I’m now growing it in my garden. I’m looking forward to the summer salads graced with my edible plant ally and to visits from bees and butterflies who love it very much.
There are many more months ahead that I will be spending with my plant ally. But I already feel like this golden flower is revealing itself to me in ways I never knew before…
At the end of the day, life is all about relationships! How much of ourselves, our attention, time and energy are we willing to invest in listening, sitting with and getting to know another being will determine how harmoniously we will flow through life with them. Plants, people, animals, it’s all the same! There are profound gifts to be found within all life and that maybe the most important lesson that I’m learning from my plant ally.
Magdalena xo