I felt drawn to my herbal card deck today. I could feel the plants calling out to me through the cards, and as I felt the weight of them shuffling through my hands, my excitement began to grow. I became more eager to see which herbs the collective needed and what healing wisdom they would share with us on this day.
Goldthread came up first soon followed by Goldenrod. Hmm interesting.
Gold makes me think of the sun and of the solar plexus. The sun is the great illuminator, shining its light into the darkest parts of our internal world, while simultaneously lighting up and warming our external reality. And for me, contemplating the solar plexus within this frame of the sun leads me to thoughts of how we think and feel about ourselves in relation to that which is outside of ourselves. And that’s when things begin to become more clear.
The part of goldthread's description that resonated with me the most was the last sentence, especially the last part of the last sentence. "Long roots connect each individual plant below ground: each one lives strongly connected to the community."
Humans are goldthread. We are connected by unseen but assuredly not unfelt energetic bonds, and each one of us in our own way lives strongly connected to the community. In this moment there are millions of people struggling because of the lack of physical togetherness we're all experiencing. Virtual groups and various social media platforms have been crucial in keeping us connected in some way, but humans are social creatures. We need physical interaction. We need physical togetherness.
At the same time, the energy of this moment is asking us to take a pause from physical togetherness to evaluate how we were spending our times together versus how we want and need to spend our times together going forward. When we come together is it out of duty, obligation, fear, worry, and stress or is it out joy, excitement, fulfillment, and passion? And as we come to understand this more, what do we do with this information? What do we do with the feelings that are coming up surrounding this? We have feelings of sadness and fear around not being able to be together, but at the same time we’re taking a collective sigh of relief to not have to be forced to share the same physical space anymore.
Powerlessness is one of the strongest emotions being felt currently. We feel powerless to change the current circumstances. We feel powerless not knowing what the future holds. We feel powerless to heal the wealth of trauma present in the structures of our pre-pandemic society. And we feel powerless to marry the myriad of feelings, desires, and beliefs inside of ourselves. How do we go forward knowing that what was is not healthy or sustainable at the same time knowing that we so desperately want to go back to the seemingly safe space of normal?
This is where Goldenrod’s message comes through loud and clear. Again it's the last sentence on the cards description that resonated with me. "Goldenrod is of great assistance to those who are trudging through the daily grind without any hope of light at the end of the tunnel." Right now we don't know when all of this is going to end. So much is uncertain. And for many it feels never ending. For many they're doubtful of light being found anywhere. The powerlessness of the moment and the powerlessness of the future seems so overwhelming that we feel engulfed in the darkness. Goldenrod is saying, “I will be the light you seek. I will be the one that holds your hand. I will help you through this.”
How you work with goldenrod is completely up to you. It is an abundant herb that can be consumed as tea, tincture, vinegar, oxymel, elixir, or cordial. The flowers can be essenced or put into oil. You can sit with it, meditate on it, journey with it, or simply call its energy into your daily life. If you’re not sure how to acquire goldenrod, reach out to your community. Undoubtedly there’s an herbalist or herbal enthusiast who can help or point you in the right direction.
As a community, in the broad sense of the world community, and on a smaller scale of our more local communities, we need to understand that while we're all at different stages of our processing of this pandemic and what it's pulling up to the surface, we are all processing something. We are all experiencing many intense emotions. So what we can offer each other is compassion, understanding, kindness, and care. We can rally around and support each other rather than being annoyed with and vilifying each other.
Some of us aren't going to go about this prettily. In fact, for some of us it's going to be down right hideous. But fear rarely leaves space for beauty and hopelessness rarely leaves space for light.
You don't have to like what others are doing or agree with how they’re choosing to handle all of this. Hell, you don't even have to like them. But what would be for the best of everyone is if we could extend understanding and compassion to everyone, regardless of any other factors, especially those who we see hurting the most.
Goldthread wants to help us more deeply understand community and how to accept and work cohesively with others going forward. It wants to help us know that even though we are individuals having our own experiences, we are also all connected to each other and having a collective experience. With goldthread, though, we need to keep in mind that it is an herb that has been over-harvested and is endangered, which means it is not recommended that we harvest it. You can, however, essence its flower using the no-pick method of flower essence making, and luckily, it flowers around this time of year! The option to work with an herbalist in your community who works with flower essences is always there, and they may very well have goldthread essence for sale. Like with goldenrod, you can also sit with goldthread, when you do come across it in the forest, meditate with it, journey with it, or simply call its energy into your life.
No matter how you choose to work with these plants, just remember that these are unprecedented times. Times none of us ever imagined going through. Some of us are handling it well, for the most part, and others of us are fighting for their lives. We need to stop condemning others for not being like us or even like what we were taught was good and right. It's time for us to open our minds and our hearts to our fellow community members. It's time to start giving a damn about every person and not just the ones we find to be acceptable because as goldthread teaches us, we are all connected and a part of the same community, the human community. Working together for the good of all is how we all thrive. End of story.
Sending you all love, compassion, and the energy of the plants!
Kylee