Spring
Thyme:
The Theraputic Attributes of Herbs for Spring
by Barbara Tanner Douglass
The Body in Spring
The body is moving right along with its yearly cycle of rebuilding and
cleansing various organs and systems, whether we acknowledge it or not.
Throughout spring, our bodies mimic the plant people, for as the sap
rises in the trees, it is time for us all to move upward, also. Thus,
in the Chinese elemental system, the first part of spring is called
the season of the Wood element. If we are not cleansing the past toxins
from our bodies and minds and rebuilding consciously now, the possibility
exists that we could become as the trunk of the tree, somewhat rigid.
Instead of rigidity, lightness and joy are our passwords entering spring.
The organs rebuilding and cleansing in spring are ones located high
up in the body. Winter focused on the lower organs – reproductive,
bladder and kidneys, the water organs of the Water element season. During
the season of the Wood element, the body focuses energy upwards to the
liver and gall bladder. The Fire element season begins during the last
month of spring and the energy moves on to the heart and small intestines,
including the circulatory and endocrine systems.
Wood
Element Season: Liver and Gall bladder
March 11 through May 22 is the Wood Element Season. The Wood season
marks what the body does on its own at this time, it grows upward as
do the trees. Trees are also flexible and bend in the breeze and we
could emphasize our flexibility this season. Another aspect of Wood
energy is rigidity and many Americans seem to have excess rigidity in
their bodies. Tight muscles, joint stiffness and resulting joint pain
are two rigid conditions typical of Americans. The plant kingdom offers
bitter herbs to help cleanse the joints, liver and gall bladder and
thus ease the rigid condition.
Cleansing
the liver in spring allows stiffness to leave the liver as it becomes
more flexible. Before refrigeration, no leafy greens were available
in winter. Only easily stored, root, pickled or preserved vegetables
were served as winter table fare. By spring, the body, especially the
liver, responded by becoming clogged and torpid. I recall how my grandmother
spoke of her mother shaving last year's raw beets into coleslaw or spring
salads as a way of cleansing the liver. They knew the importance of
liver cleansing in the spring.
Raw
beet root grated on salads may also be helpful today. I begin with one
tablespoonful on a salad and work up to larger amounts as my liver begins
to cleanse. I also put beet greens or tops in the salad as they are
rich in nutrients. Others choose dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), picked
before the flowers form if harvesting from the crop in a pesticide free
yard, or wild Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium), also bitter herbs.
They may be found in a liver herb combination or used alone, in capsule
or extract form. Many first green plants of Spring are bitter herbs.
After
some cleansing, milk thistle (Silybum marianum) seeds assist the liver
as it regenerates cells and throws off body toxins that it filters out.
A great liver-cleansing salad is early bitter greens, especially dandelion
leaves before the flowers form, with milk thistle leaves, shredded raw
beets, lettuces and carrots. Later, lecithin-rich dandelion flowers
may be added. There are other, more complicated gall bladder cleanses,
but they are beyond the scope of an article such as this.
Bitter greens, such as dandelion, are astringent foods and assist the
liver and gall bladder cleanse, shrink and revitalize for the coming
year. I found it fascinating to read the label of an Angostura bitters
bottle, which I had long connected with alcoholic beverages. Finding
a bottle at grandmother's, who never drank alcohol, I discovered she
kept the bitters to mix with juice or water as a health drink. Natural
food stores today carry Swedish Bitters, a recipe first developed by
Paracelsus, which is mixed with water and taken internally or used externally
as a fomentation. Books by Maria Treben have more information on the
use of Swedish Bitters. While cleansing the liver and gall bladder,
it is wise to refrain from using Omega 6 oils, such as those found in
butter or cooking oils. Increasing Omega 3 oils, such as flax seed,
evening primrose or black currant assist the renewal of the liver.
Various
spiritual traditions align with the cycles of body cleansing and use
bitter herbs each spring. Jews include them in the Seder supper to remind
people of Judaic history. If taken over a period of time, the bitter
herbs would cleanse the liver. In various Native American springtime
traditions, shamans encouraged people to eat bitter first greens as
they ceremonially released pent up emotions accumulated over a winter
of being cooped up inside with their relatives.
The
Chinese consider the liver a vital organ and call it the seat of the
emotions, an organ that stores old resentments and anger. They believe
an angry person is one with a dirty liver. As the liver cleanses, resentments
and anger leave, allowing room to create light and joy within those
who take the time to cleanse and rebuild early in the spring season.
Fire
Element Season: Circulatory, Small intestine, Endocrine
The Fire Element Season affects the Gemini cycle of the spring season,
as it burns up the Wood from the spring and turns it into ashes or Earth
element by August 1. By May 22, the liver and gall bladder slow down
their organ renewal and cleansing of resentments and toxins. Then the
body moves on to cleansing and regenerating the heart and circulatory
system. People begin to nourish the heart by the end of May with hawthorn
berries (Crataegus sp.). Capsules are usually used for this process
and include a combination of hawthorn berries, cayenne pepper (Capsicum
annua) and garlic (Allium sativum). The three work on the entire circulatory
system together – garlic assists with parasites, blood pressure
and cholesterol, cayenne strengthens arteries, capillaries and the heart
and the hawthorn berries strengthen the heart directly. Adding butcher's
broom capsules to the mix may increase the energy and strength of the
veins.
As
purslane (Portulaca oleracea) invades the gardens later in the season,
we pick the leaves of this valuable magnesium-rich herb that some call
a weed and add the succulent leaves to salads. Magnesium provides nutrition
to assist the heart beat evenly and regularly. Rhythm is an important
aspect of the Fire element season and keeps the rhythm of the heart
balanced. The rhythm of the heart connects us to the earth and to our
inner self. Our intuition becomes more pronounced when we are in rhythm
with the world and our body.
The
Fire element season also includes the small intestine and the endocrine
system. More data on that organ and system are shared in my article
on Summer.
The
Spring Season
During this season, we notice what Hildegard of Bingen called Veriditas,
the greening, or nourishing activities of spring flora and fauna and
of ourselves. We are outside more, working in gardens, cleaning screens
and windows, washing cars.. It might be appropriate now, especially
for northerners who are enjoying the snow carpeting the ground, to explore
books on healthy living. We might find our beliefs expanding about health
care and choose to protect our vital resources, especially our earthly
vehicle, the body.
This
phenomenal season begins with Aries, a masculine fire sign (March 20-April
20), good for beginnings and visual activities. It is a great time to
create photo montages of our yearly aspirations. Adding sprigs of rosemary,
lavender or rose, or the essential oils of those herbs, to the montages
can enhance the focus and effect for Taurean days ahead.
When
Taurus, a feminine earth sign (April 20-May 21) arrives, it is the perfect
time to stroll through or meditate in our own herb gardens or those
of a local botanical garden or park. I note the abundance found in the
gardens. How many shades of gray or green are there in the garden, how
many plant shapes dot the garden? I invite you to buy and plant your
own herbs, in a pot if necessary. Most like sun and good drainage. Herbs
grown by you nourish your body better than any bought in a store as
they are in harmony and rhythmic pulse with you and your environment.
By
early Gemini, a masculine air sign, (May 21-June 21), garden herbs should
be reaching into the air, sharing their best beneficence with the world.
A return jaunt to the herb garden might be interesting to sense the
dynamic change from April. You might strike up a conversation with an
herb of your choice, as herbs like to share their wisdom, especially
in communicative Gemini. Entering the garden with a light, joyous, clear
mind, you might hear or sense a response. Midsummer Night's Eve is always
a great time for this activity.
On
forays to local herb gardens, we could make friends with the herbs and
thank them for all they have done for us throughout the autumn and winter.
Wishing them well through the coming season, encouraging the devas or
light beings to assist herb growth and abundance, allows us to be a
part of the rhythmic growth process. We could smell, touch, taste, as
well as look at the herbs, as pinching leaves and inhaling the herbal
aromas are a large part of the enchantment of herbs. Some of us ask
permission from the plant before we take from it.
Spring
Activities
Applying garden principles to our own lives is beneficial. We know what
plant will come from a particular seed because the plan for the plant
is contained within the seed. Pruning, planning and seeding our very
lives now may create a more joyful spring experience. By planning ahead
for spring cleansing and nourishing of the body, we can work around
peak celebration times and myriad home and garden activities.
In
response to microscopic critters lodging in our bodies and creating
spring colds and flu, we could easily slow right down and stay in bed.
A good preventative is to place wild oregano essential oil into a nebulizing
diffuser and run it 30 minutes in the morning and again in the evening
to fill our lungs with anti-critter and anti-yeast protection to eradicate
any invasive little bugs before they lay claim to our systems.
With
weddings, graduations, Mother's and Father's Day, come the family and
perhaps emotional tension which can certainly take a physical toll on
us. Valerian root (Valeriana officinalis) in capsule or extract form,
while smelly, can be a help in weathering the celebration storms. A
drop of essential oil of lemon is delightful to inhale from a handkerchief
or mixed with oil and placed on the skin or in a bath to ease anxiety.
Lemon oil is reputed to ease blood pressure and promote a sense of well
being. Other herbs you might want to research are passionflower (Passiflora
incarnata) and hops (Humulus lupulus). Stress
relievers can be a great gift to give those attending potentially
tension-filled events or weekends. Taking walks and lots of deep breathing
relieve tension and assist the herbs at work in the body as they help
release old resentments and winter tension from the liver.
Adding
ginger root (Zingiber officinale) or cayenne pepper to food may give
us more energy. Ginger assists all aspects of the digestive process,
a process that takes huge amounts of energy each day. Capsicum (cayenne)
adds to a healthy circulatory system and may give us more energy. A
few safflower capsules taken before and after yard cleaning or other
intense physical activity can help avoid pain. All of our outdoor activities
produce sore muscles, so bathing with a therapeutic bath
sachet after activities may alleviate the day-after pain of spring
clean up.
One
of the great pleasures of spring is fresh fruit. For general body cleansing,
a day or two eating only the first crop of any fruit, preferably organic,
is especially helpful. I make a point to purchase local fruit or berries,
sometimes picking them myself, so I know I am getting the earliest fruit
crop rather than the late season fruit from South America that is typically
found in supermarkets. Sometimes people eat only one fruit all day on
one day, such as first strawberries, for cleansing purposes. This may
bring about the lightness we desire as we release old issues and toxins.
It is wise not to plan a day long car trip the day after a fruit-only
day as the toxins need to come out of the body.
A
delightful task in spring is tucking winter woolen clothes into storage.
To help them smell sweet throughout the warm months and keep the critters
at bay, historic herbal sweet bags are wonderful.
Great aromatic herbs to repel critters are southernwood, rosemary, lavender,
laurel (bay) leaves, rue, lemon peel, cloves, cedar and thyme.
©
2002 Barbara
ET Douglass
All Rights Reserved
[Note:
The information given here does not directly or indirectly constitute
medical advice. Any disease problems should be directed to a qualified
health care practitioner. Neither the author nor the publishers assume
any liability for your personal choices or actions.]
