51 Motherwort | The Lion-Hearted Mother

Come and sit a while. I've just returned from eight days in Vermont and this week we meet motherwort — Leonurus cardiaca, the lion's heart — the fierce, unbeautiful, wholly self-possessed old plant that grows at the edges of fields and slips any garden that tries to hold her. She is the herb the old ones reached for when a heart was racing at three in the morning, and she steadies it without ever stealing your wits.

We'll sit with what she does in the body, hear how the seventeenth-century herbalist Nicholas Culpeper set her beneath the sign of Leo the lion, and look up together at the Full Moon of July 29, 2026 — a Leo-and-Aquarius moon that may have our hearts running full and high. And because motherwort is bitter as anything, I'll tell you how I gentle her into a cup you'll actually want to hold. No homework. Just the kettle on, the garden gate open, and a plant with a great deal to teach us about being both the fierce one and the tender one at once.

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🌿 Herbs & Favorite Tools

(affiliate links — thank you for supporting this work)

Herbs featured in this Show:

1. Dried Motherwort Herb

https://amzn.to/4wtue1A

2. Motherwort Tincture

https://amzn.to/4bNjEdh

3. Dried Lemon Balm Herb

https://amzn.to/4yH0q2S

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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Because every gardener starts with a single seed — and a little curiosity.

My Garden Journal is part how-to guide, part creative keepsake, designed to help children (and their grown-ups) learn the basics of growing food and flowers while documenting their journey.

Inside you'll find:

Simple planting guidance
Space for drawings, photos, and notes
Imaginative themed gardens (Harry Potter Herb Garden, Young Chef's Garden, Monarch Butterfly Garden)

Perfect for homeschooling families, budding herbalists, and anyone who wants to grow confidence by growing plants.

✨ You'll be amazed at how much you — and your garden — grow when you take time to journal the journey.

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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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Episoder(51)

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46 The Sun in a Bottle| St John's Wort at the Summer Solstice

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