I've got some class announcements & apothecary updates coming down the pipeline in the next week or so… but until then, I wanted to send along a few herbs that I am turning to at this particular moment. I'm calling these herbs “twilight herbs” – herbs for meeting the dark, for this transition into deep autumn. Here in the northeast, the kitchen herbs are on their last legs – maybe this will inspire some easy kitchenwitchery to put up some last medicines before frosty nights truly settle in….
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) - I could really just write a whole newsletter on how incredible yarrow is. But for today, yarrow is a great ally for this energetic portal time, when there is such a big energetic shift from expansiveness to a deep, inner-focus that pulls us towards hibernation. If you are feeling energetically or physically vulnerable (maybe low-immune function), yarrow can help us feel strong in our sense of self, while also helping to ward off colds and flus. You can drink it as a tea, but I also like to burn dried stalks of yarrow as an incense, to set a container for the space and help shift the energy of a space. I find that it is very helpful as an incense when I am dealing with repetitive, negative thought patterns towards myself, or when I feel like energies from others (Humans or spirits! Hello All Hallows!) are draining my sense of self. Long used as an herb to guard travelers on the road, we can hang it or wear yarrow as a protective amulet as we travel into darker days. And of course there is just the good ol' brandy infused with yarrow, which makes a delicious hot toddy that is a preventative and tasty autumnal remedy – perfect after a cold, blustery walk in the woods. Yarrow is not recommended for pregnancy.
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) - Thyme supports the immune system, it's a very cleansing anti-microbial herb. I believe that what thyme does physically it also does spiritually: it cleanses. Since this is a potent time of year for evaluating what we have accumulated/harvested from this year, we have the opportunity to release what we don't need, what isn't going to serve us in winter. Drinking a lightly-infused thyme tea, or making a tasty thyme-infused honey or just cooking with as much thyme as possible are all things that feel good to me at this time of year and help me decide what needs to be released. Thyme is also a potent herb for facilitating communication with passed ancestors. I like to burn it as an incense when I am working in this way. It actually expands our own sense of linear time (ha!) and moves us into the more multi-dimensional realm of spirit. This realm is always present for us but sometimes we are too busy to really pay attention to more subtle messages. Thyme enhances the subtleties of spirit; softening us into the feeling of kinship with everything around us.
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) - The perfect plant for those who are afraid of the dark/suffer from seasonal depression. As an already indoor focused culture, we don't usually get enough natural light. In comes lemon balm, the sun bearer. Lemon balm soothes an anxious nervous system and acts as an anti-depressive (different from a pharmaceutical anti-depressant). Of course, getting outside as much as possible in autumn and winter will be the most helpful, but building a relationship with lemon balm helps too. I like putting lemon balm on my altar at this time of year. I can't remember who first told me to infuse it into white wine, but that's something I've been doing for over ten years now and it makes a lovely brew to sip on when I feel that creeping anxiety that emerges when the daylight shrinks more and more each day. All you have to do is pop open a bottle of white wine, push a big handful of fresh lemon balm into the bottle, re-cork it and place it in the fridge to sit. Sip on a thimbleful and to remember the sun.
May you be held by the plants!
If you are wanting any energetic seasonal support, I am currently booking
flower essence consultations for November and December. My books are currently closed to new clinical herbal clients – they will reopen again in 2026. But for folks who want to work magically and energetically, I've got you
here. ;)
From within the beautiful cloak of autumn,
x Liz
p.s. I am sending along a portion of $$ that I make from herbal & essence consults to Ola & Mohammad in Gaza, who just had a newborn in early October and are raising three young children in the bombed ruins of their home. Ola had a c-section and of course healing from this surgery without access to food or water is unbearable. If you have any extra to give this month,
please contribute.
