Beloved Elder – Ally for Healing from the Flu and Much More

My first plant ally was the elder tree or, as I like to call her, my beloved elder. It was one month before I formally became a herbal-medicine apprentice, so this was before I knew that a plant ally is a plant or tree that you choose (and are chosen by) for a lifelong relationship. As your …

Ginger Cinnamon Elderberry Syrup ~ Immune System Support

The elder tree is known to many herbalists as a sacred tree. While we’re sure it has its own stories to tell, there’s already an abundance of recorded folklore. In Scandinavian and Danish myths, this tree was thought to be guarded by a forest spirit named Hyldemoer, also known as Elder Mother. Before anything was …

Elder Mother, The Wild Hunt, And The Winter Solstice

If you follow the sun, you’ll find that, as fall edges into winter, it slips further and further south. The angle of the sun’s rays gets shallower, and the days become shorter with the sun in southern skies. But every year, it turns back and begins its northward course right around the time of the …