37 Chickweed, the New Moon & the Body's Quiet Wisdom

There is a small green plant growing right now along the edges of your garden bed, tucked into the damp shadow beneath the stone wall, pressing itself quietly against the base of your fence. Most people walk past her without a second glance. She is not showy. She does not announce herself. She simply arrives — every year, before anything else dares to — and gets quietly to work.

Her name is chickweed. And she has been tending human beings for a very long time.

This week on The New England Herbary Podcast, we are deep in the threshold energy of Ostara — the Spring Equinox — and the powerful astrological crossroads that came with it: the final New Moon of the astrological year rising in Pisces on March 18th, Mercury stationing direct on the 20th after weeks of retrograde fog, and the Sun crossing into Aries to begin the astrological New Year. It has been a week of two worlds — the deep, dreaming dissolution of Pisces on one side, and the first spark of fire and new beginning on the other. We have just crossed the threshold, and chickweed has been waiting for us on the other side.

In this episode, we continue our spring chickweed series with a deeper look at her traditional uses across the British Isles — from the Irish border counties where she was layered as a hot poultice over swellings and inflammation, to the Scottish Highlands where a decoction was drunk for insomnia, to the extraordinary record from the Isle of Skye where chickweed washes were used to bring on sleep after a fever. We then move into the herbal kitchen with three recipes built from a simple dried chickweed decoction: a lymph-moving spring tonic tea for the New Moon window, a chickweed and calendula threshold bath for Ostara, and a deeply nourishing chickweed and nettle mineral broth for the tender days of new beginning.

This episode is for you if you have been feeling the fog of Mercury retrograde lifting. If your body is asking for something gentle and mineral-rich before spring fully arrives. If you have dried herbs in your pantry and you are wondering what to do with them. And if you, like me, find that the oldest, humblest plants in the hedgerow often have the most to teach.

Chickweed is not dramatic. She is not rare. She is not expensive or exotic or difficult to find. She is simply ready — always before you expect her, always doing more than you realize — and that, I think, is exactly the kind of energy this season is asking us to embody.

🌿 Herbs & Favorite Tools

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Herbs featured in this Show:

1. Chickweed Dried Herb

https://amzn.to/4uGz0bt

2. Chickweed Organic Tincture

https://amzn.to/413MJvv

3. Chickweed Herbal Powder

https://amzn.to/4bDWtBe

My favorite tea-making tools:

BAYKA French Press Coffee Maker

https://amzn.to/4r4LYNH

Cold Brew Coffee Filter for Wide Mouth Mason Jar

https://amzn.to/4qWQr4L

Heat proof wide mouth mason jars

https://amzn.to/4pNflmq

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🎶 Music Credits

A heartfelt thank you to Alexander Nakarada for the music featured in this story.
I am a Patreon supporter of Alexander's work.

🎼 Song: Planning - 320bit - September 5, 2021

🔗 https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/

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