Traveling onwards in the cycle of the seasons, we move into spring Wood, with our plant representative of oranges.
Imagine walking through a grove of citrus trees, seeing flowers and fruits. You see juicy red, orange, and yellow fruits contrasting bright green leaves. You smell tangy citrus fruits and their delicate white blossoms, the scent of sunlight, dew, birdsong, and spring peepers, the bright, birthing inspiration of spring.
Citrus represents fruit trees and garden medicine, how we cocreate with our environment to grow food, medicine, and beauty for all. Enjoy citrus fruits. Add citrus peels to enliven digestive bitters, brighten teas and mulled ciders, or as colorful zest on salads. Spritz neroli hydrosol, from the young blossoms, to welcome spring in your body and mind.
Spring Wood governs your Liver and Gallbladder, the sides of your body, your joints and tendons, your ability to pivot between ideas and actions, and your sacred role as Human between Earth and Sky, as a planetary gardener.
What gardens are you planting, literally and figuratively?
What’s fruiting?
What gardens are nourishing you right now?
Plant native plants, pollinator-loving plants, delicious and medicinal plants, plants that you love, plants that love you, and plants to power the revolution, which begins one seed at a time, one tea and mouthful of food at a time. Whether you plant one plant on a windowsill or many in a big farm, as you tend to the small garden of your body and landscape, you tend to the larger garden of our entire ecosystem.
Open your palms on your lap. Gather the gifts of our Elemental journey into your hands:
- Fill your hands and heart with the medicine of Rest with winter Water and Douglas fir, the coniferous old- growth forests– a reminder to simply be with plants.
- Fill your hands with the green growing Garden Medicine of effervescent spring–-Wood and oranges, representing the fruit trees. May all the gardens you tend bear glorious fruit.
- Receive the People’s Medicine of summer-Fire and roses. May the wildflower of your heart blossom into a radiant, regenerative hearthfire of loving generosity.
- Fill your hands and belly with the nourishing Kitchen Medicine of late-summer Earth and sweetgrass, and grass family plants. Feel all that nourishes you, as you nourish the world, in turn.
- Feel your hands and lungs filling with the Beauty Medicine of autumn-Metal, Tulsi, and mint family aromatics. Make art with the wild beauty of your life.
This is the final article in the series, “Herbalism is Activism,” a six-part journey through the Five Elements of East Asian medicine. Each month, we have explored different facets of herbalism as activism with a seasonal plant guide. For each plant, hold them, sip them, or spritz their hydrosols. Breathe these words to life.
Interested in learning more from Jiling Lin?
Check Out Her Upcoming Events!
You may also be interested in:
- Free Easy Wanderer Incense Recipe
- Working with Herbs in the Rhythms of Nature
- Tea Blending & Ceremony
