Wednesday, May 23, 2012

lemon balm moon




Each new moon, I draw an herbal tarot card for personal revelation. This is my favorite deck because it relates and connects a card's meaning with a corresponding herb. I always seem to draw the same 10-15 cards over and over, Moon XVIII Lemon Balm being one of them. The moon is also my ruling planet so drawing this card encourages me in so many ways.

I seem to have a life-long quest to relate to the plants in deep and meaningful ways. Ingesting a plant is one method of connecting with its essence so usually I taste its leaves or make a food or drink with it, if possible. Or touch it or smell it or burn it. Or wear it. And exploring the plants in new and unique ways seems key, so this time I ate some of the lemon balm stem alone.

Lemon balm-moon water is fairly regular around here during early summer and especially when I draw this card. In case you've never made it, let me tell you that it makes a most refreshing lemony water. This is how I do it. Go before a lemon balm plant, pause for a moment as a form of connection, and hum or sing quietly as a form of gratitude while filling a jar with 4" stem tips. Add water and admire. Leave the jar outside to infuse and absorb overnight -- it doesn't have to be a full moon -- all the while appearing to be gardening so as to not scare the neighbors. The next day the water can be strained if desired, the leaves really don't interfere with drinking it though. Then  place the spent leaves on the ground near the plant they came from. Or you can just infuse the water in the fridge or even on the counter at room temperature for a few hours.

The card's image on the black notebook brought to mind a white silk organza moon stitched onto black velvet from way back when. Clothwise, it's a fairly easy illustration to play with so that's exactly what I intend to do. The stone was collected from an English seaside by Lyn. A treasured stone.

Hanging herbs to dry has its drawbacks, the main one being dust. The nettles were hung on a rod over our fireplace and then I tied on a tablecloth to cover them. Dust-free. It's taken me 20 years to think of this!

14 comments:

  1. i will have to try your lemon balm water when the plant grows a bit more. i've planted it in the garden for the first time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. deanna, i planted some a few years back and it is literally in everything. it spreads really fast but it smells delightful.

      Delete
  2. What a great idea to cover the drying plants! Reasuring to know its taken you a while to suss it out...........Id have never, ever, thought of that one!
    Off to the coast for a beach wander tomorrow, taking a days leave off work, to get the sun and breeze through to my senses.
    I will be looking for hearts again .........so you never know...lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lyn -- oh you lucky, hope you're having or had a great time. I still think I should've been born there. Sigh.

      Delete
  3. beautiful post... in viewing/reading, it occurs to me that your photograph of sprig, circle, and stone could act as a card as well! have you ever considered making your own deck? I have been into the Tarot since 1972, or thereabouts, and more recently, SoulCollage, as developed by Seena Frost in CA. The water sounds lovely... I guess I need to plants some lemon balm. This year, I do have some wonderfully tangy lemon thyme growing in a repurposed coffee pot that I found on the curb one year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dee, what a cool idea to personalize a deck -- have you done so? This may be the first card. I'm a little familiar with SoulCollage and am now excited to explore this idea more, so thank you!

      Delete
  4. lemon balm grows wild here. everywhere.
    good ideas take time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lemon balm is soothing and calming -- the planet probably needs her more than ever now. Makes perfect sense!

      Delete
  5. I just had some lemon balm water last week. Delicious! A friend gave me some starts because she said the rabbits wouldn't eat them and everything else in my yard gets consumed by rabbits and deer. Well, that lasted a couple of weeks. Something small has been nibbling the plants. :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy, if you can keep a plant going for one season, you'll have so much it won't matter if you have to share. Maybe put a circlet of fencing around it? We have rabbits this year, too!

      Delete
  6. I love your connection to plants.
    I love your herbal tarot cards also... and the lovely holey stone from the english seaside.
    Much love to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Trish, I have a feeling you have the same connection to the plants! Love back.

      Delete
  7. I love this deck! I'm glad you love it too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. muir-aingeal, oh yes, I think it knows me pretty well by now. ;-)

    ReplyDelete