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Hawthorn
“It's only with the heart one sees clearly, for what's essential is invisible to the eye.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Hawthorn berry is a heart-tonic for the physical heart including arteries and veins. It has a normalizing effect on cholesterols and the coronary circulation. Hawthorn improves the nutrition, energy reserve, and energy release of the heart muscle.
Hawthorn is cooling and anti-inflammatory.
Stress and mental tension often underlying heart problems. By reducing heat, hawthorn lessens restlessness, irritability, anxiety and nervousness that sometimes accompany heart conditions. Hawthorn brings focus by connecting with the heart.
Hawthorn is centering and connects us to our emotional heart. When the mind is taking over, overriding the wisdom of the heart, we suffer. The secret is to be present, relocating the consciousness from the mind to the heart, as it is actually the main organ of perception. We then intuitively know our life's purpose. Tune in to the centre of your inner universe – listen to the wisdom of your heart and use it as a compass when navigating through life.
Jujube date
“Three red dates a day keep you young forever.” – Chineese proverb.
The jujube fruit, the ziziphus jujuba also known as the Chinese date, has potent health benefits. Because jujubes contain a large amount of antioxidants, they can help improve the immune system and overall health. They have a strengthening effect and contain plenty of phytochemicals. Their impressive nutritional content also includes a notable amount of vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin B2. Jujubes also contain vital minerals, such as manganese, iron, phosphorus and calcium. These elements work synergistically to create general health and well being and bolster the immune system.
Red dates are especially prized by women for their beauty and health effects. As they are very nourishing to the blood they are often eaten by women during their menses and after giving birth. Jujubes are considered and “elixir of life.”
The potent chemical extracted from jujubes, jujuboside A, affects the hippocampus in the brain and is often used as a natural sleep aid. Jujubes can be used to treat both insomnia and anxiety.
Jujube purify the twelve Organ meridians, especially the Stomach, which is the body’s “center” and represents the Earth Element in the Five Phase System. Red jujubes are also said to “clarify the nine openings” including the eyes, ears, sinuses, nose, throat, bowels and urinary tract. They have a long history of being considered excellent at building strength and extending life. In China they are considered able to tonify the Heart, Lung and Stomach functions. They are also said to dry up mucous while simultaneously moistening the tissues.
It is often used in Chinese herbalism as a Yin counterpart to strong Yang herbs such as Ginseng.
Milky Oats
“Joy all creatures drink
At nature's bosoms…” ~ Friedrich von Schiller
The oat is harvested in its milky stage when it is green and contains a milky substance which is highly nourishing. It is especially soothing for a burnt-out nervous system. It is deeply healing for the frazzled nerves and also for a crashed stomach, perhaps if the gut is unbalanced after antibiotics.
Milky oats is also beneficial for persons with deficiencies or malnourishment. It is also a demulcent. Milky oats is a nervine tonic and trophorestorative.
A burned-out person needs to rest and does not benefit from adaptogenes, to come back to the same stressful life that caused the burn-out. A burned-out person benefits from nourishing the body, mind and soul to be able to handle life with an inner calm and knowing when it is time to slow down and how to make priorities.
Milky oats is ideal for people with overactive crown chakras, tending towards nervousness, anxiety, and high levels of sensitivity to the environment. Milky oats is also helpful when dealing with depression.
Milky oats is often helpful for people struggling with addiction. Addiction is often at the root about lack of nourishment on a soul level. One thinks that there is something lacking to be able to be satisfied without the addiction, because one is afraid there is not enough nourishment in other ways.
Milky oats is an energizer, but it does this cumulatively, building energy slowly and consistently by deeply nourishing the entire body. It alleviates both physical and nervous fatigue. It is metaphorically nursing directly from Mother Earth.
Passionflower
“I remember him with a dark passionflower in his hand, looking at it as no one has ever looked at such a flower, though they might look from the twilight of day until the twilight of night, for a whole life long.” – Jorge Luis Borges
Passion flower is helpful in case of anxiety, insomnia and repetitive, compulsive thoughts.
The Spagyrisist and Alchemist talk of the Signature of a plant, Signs of Nature. Nature communicates with us through signs, colors, shapes etcetera.
Purple and white coloration often has to do with the nervous system and the crownchakra.
Another signature is the spiraling little tendrils . Passionflower is excellent to help the mind from going in loops. Very good for people that lie awake thinking in loops, unable to mellow down enough to relax and fall asleep.
This spiraling signature can also be connected to the planet Uranus who travels in a spiraling orbit . The sign Aquarius is ruled by this Planet that emanates a truly electrical energy.
An overly busy mind can lead to tension and anxiety if it spirals out of control.
Passionflower is your friend if you have these tendencies, to enable you to move down into intuition, into the body if you are too much up in the mind for your own good.