evergreen. lamiaceae. dew of the sea. burial rituals. deep, ancestral remembrance. grief work. courage through clarity. purifying protector. aromatic. nerve and heart tonic. blood-mover. life-giver. seaweed on the land.

rosemary, rosmarinus officinalis, a thread.

sometimes we think if something is common or accessible, it isn't valuable. capitalist trash about supply and demand. but a common plant is often one that wants to be w/ humans or that we know, despite our dislocation from the land, we cannot do without them. enter rosemary.

record-keeping is tied into colonialism and empire, so when we can say there are records of the egyptians working with rosemary as part of burial rites, we can assume this plant had a home in the hearts of many other peoples as far back as 5000 bce.

rosemary comes to us from the mediterranean but is now cultivated around the glob. our wisdom about rosemary comes from the arab world and european traditions, as well as, perhaps, your own memories as rosemary is a staple in many kitchens.

many sources say rosemary is under the auspices of the sun. this makes good sense to me. rosemary is warming, drying, and moves blood in the body, connecting the parts to the whole and offering nourishment and vital energy.

while rosemary is a circulatory stimulant for the entire body, this plant has an affinity for the head. by bringing blood to our brains, rosemary offers clarity, memory, focus, and the release of stagnant debris and other extras. it is stimulating but not zippy like caffeine.

the heart does not pump yr blood all the way thru your body. the contraction & release of our muscles are needed to move crucial nutrition & heat to our edges. we have become less & less varied in our daily movement, so circulatory aids like rosemary are more helpful than ever.

however, circulatory stimulants are not stand-ins for daily, varied movement. some of us sit a lot, some of us stand a lot, some of us do repetitive action but few of us get to be the animal creatures we are, due to labor. still, rosemary is an ally if you tend to have cold limbs

rosemary has long been worked with as a purifier. like all aromatics, rosemary contains essential oils that release very easily and float into the atmosphere (this is why we cover our teas while they steep). these oils are highly antimicrobial.

by spraying infused rosemary or burning it, you can keep the air healthier (plus it smells wonderful). by working w/ rosemary as a steam, you can breathe those aromatics in & get them right into your lungs where you need them if you have a respiratory infection.

rosemary is also a slightly bitter plant and can help us digest fats. this is why rosemary is so often paired with meats in cuisine. it's actually herbalism. by bringing warmth where it goes, rosemary helps dispel what is stuck: gas, bloat, cramping, what should move but isn't.

remembrance is a key rosemary word. herbalist sajah popham talks about rosemary's ability to help us tap into long-long-term memory. like, ancestor memory. erased memory. which is getting me thinking about rosemary as a solar 4th house/IC plant, plugging into the roots.

our life-blood is not only ours but goes deep into a root system bigger than the visible tree. rosemary can remind us of that while moving that life-blood to all the parts of our whole. rosemary can give us courage by gifting clarity & focus on what/who matters most to us.

rosemary helps us metabolize food but also what has been stuck, trapped, unable to find enough vitality or energy to continue its journey. rosemary purifies not by perfecting or cleansing but by processing and moving what seems immovable.

rosemary is a land plant that reminds us of the depths of the sea and that that may be where our solar heart lives. an ocean of connection that calls us, that moves the fluids in our own bodies, bodies are not only ours, an ocean living in the underworld whirlpool of the chart.

solar yet grieving, shining while remembering, a mourning plant and a healing plant, rosemary is a friend to humans even if all we ever do is throw a sprig into soup. today and many days, i am thankful for this seemingly humble giant.

there's always more to say but i'll wrap there. if you'd like to work with me, i'm re-opening my books for astrology & herbal sessions in the next few weeks. i'll be giving a link to the folks on my waitlist first. you can sign up for the waitlist here: https://forms.gle/UJXnnWdp9A17Y4ow5

an important note: i don't write these threads from memory. i reference other work. i reference my coursework with the commonwealth center for holistic herbalism, as well as the vitalist herbalist program at evolutionary herbalism, plus books. none of us do anything alone.

the books i looked at for this thread: elisabeth brooke's a woman's book of herbs. brooke talks about planetary correspondences and magical uses of plants i like to reference (w/ a critical eye). i nearly always check maria noel groves' the body in balance.

i didn't this time but i love to see what rosalee de la foret has said about any herb i'm spending a lot of time with. rosalee has so many free, thorough resources on her website https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/ 

didn't reference it this time http://herbrally.com  has a nice monograph library as well: https://www.herbrally.com/monographs