Hello hello!
Here is a little glimpse of the apple magic class that was hosted in the yurt two weekends ago. On that day we got a strange mix of weather – rain, snow, sleet, sun and the woodstove that we finally got around to installing on Samhain kept the space nice and cozy for our group of apple devotees! We ended the day in the pitch dark orchard, lit by tapered candles and offered bowls of milk to the apple trees.
Last weekend, my in-person Herbal Mystery School cohort also came to a close in this space. We hosted our final plant ritual, ate delicious foods together and hugged goodbye with promises to meet up again in early Spring to celebrate the Birch sap flow together (which is always the plant we begin with in HMS). In fact, all of my long-term programs have been winding down and coming to a close for the year. On my end, there's been a lot of bittersweet tears; hearing the hymns written to the plants by Herbal Mystery School students. Feeling and dosing with the devotional medicines of the Flowering Round cohort. Saying goodbye to lovely, lovely folks that I have been grateful to travel with over these past months. As these programs come to completion, I am left feeling very lucky.
I have extended the deadline for Herbal Mystery School applications through December 28th. The form seemed to be glitching for some, so I'm extending applciations by a week! I am going to host two informational council sessions for both Flowering Round and Herbal Mystery School next weekend on Sunday, December 21st. I will offer words and thoughts about the program and leave lots of time for Q&A. I'll probably also read some poems because that's something that usually happens. Come and hang out, bring a cup of tea. Please click the link below to register for the Council sessions – and if you can't make the live session, register anyways and I'll make sure you get access to the recording! Looking forward to seeing you.
Herbal Mystery School Council Session ~ Sunday, December 21st at noon ET -
Register Here Flowering Round Council Session ~ Sunday, December 21st at 2 pm ET -
Register Here
**
In other news, I wanted to share a little recipe that feels seasonally appropriate and fitting for these cold, cold snowy days ahead. I've been spending a lot of time amongst the white pines here; it was the last plant that we worked with in the yurt this past weekend. This great, gentle guardian was asking all of us to slow down. To exhale deeply. To expand our awareness and loosen our grip a bit. Pine relaxes us, provides ease, wisdom and guidance. Softens our edges. Allows for a great, great exhale. Since this is the time of year when many are bringing evergreens inside the home (which I've written about before,
here), you could consider making a batch of evergreen liqueur, if you'd like. ;)
My personal favorite is to use balsam fir and white pine for this recipe, but depending on your bioregion you can use the evergreens that you have available to you. I was lucky to make a batch of this with some pinyon pine one year and was absolutely delighted with the result. Any pine, spruce or fir will do. Just do not use yew! Yew is poisonous so make sure you know what you are working with.
Evergreen Liqueur ~
3 cups finely chopped evergreen needles (Spruce, fir, pine is what we are thinking here - the finer the chop, the stronger the medicine will be. Just use the needles, no bark [it makes the elixir rather bitter!])
3-4 cups vodka (As some of you know I am usually a brandy gal for my elixirs and liqueurs but I find that the clarity of vodka really allows the aromatic oils and the green color of the evergreens to shine through!)
¼-½ c sugar (You can sub honey or sweetener of your choosing, but sugar really is my favorite here)
Place the finely chopped needles in a quart mason jar. Cover the needles with vodka, filling the jar a little over ¾ of the way full. Then add the sugar. I think ¼ cup is plenty, but if you know you like your liqueurs to be on the sweeter side, you can use a ½ cup. Let all steep together for about a month, remembering to shake up the contents when you can. Strain when complete and store in a cool, dark cupboard. The liqueur will mature over time; it only gets better with age. Makes a delicious hot toddy to warm up with after a cold walk in the woods or a perfect after-dinner digestif. I have been known to also have a thimbleful in the bath, really helps you relax into it. Extra points if you have a pine bough in the bathwater with you. ;)
To close it out today, a poem by Ursula K. LeGuin. To kinship. To trees. To weaving the webs of life together.
Kinship
Very slowly burning, the big forest tree
stands in the slight hollow of the snow
melted around it by the mild, long
heat of its being and its will to be
root, trunk, branch, leaf, and know
earth dark, sun light, wind touch, bird song.
Rootless and restless and warmblooded, we
blaze in the flare that blinds us to that slow,
tall, fraternal fire of life as strong
now as in the seedling two centuries ago.
Sending you my best,
x Liz
