On Wednesday, April 10, just before the dawning, at 5:35 AM, EST, the Sun and Moon will unite in this powerful initiatory constellation of Aries. As you remember, the Sun entered this constellation on the spring equinox on Wednesday, March 20th at 7:02 AM. The Moon at that time was in the constellation of Cancer. The Sun and the Moon were courting one another, knowing they would unite but resisting overtures until they could hide in the darkness of the Moon in her newness.

 This is a powerful Moon to begin the cycles of your soul's urgings. What is it that your heart dreams of? Well, this is the Moon to ceremonially plant the seed of your essential self; from your head to your heart.

The last new moon in Aries was in March, of 2012, close to the equinox, and full of seeds. What were you initiating then? Do you remember? And, was the cycle completed? If not, this may be a good time to affirm its completion. Will it take another year of cyclical time? Uncompleted tasks can become shadows and hide in the underworld. They can skirt the surface of dreaming, playing in the twilight of the psyche, waiting for full acceptance.

So here is your opportunity to either begin again, or affirm completion. If you can affirm completion, then, now it is the moment to expand the garden of the heart.

 Aries rules the head. Most specifically, the top of the head to the nose. I would like to introduce an old idea. When the Sun goes into Aries on the equinox, and when the Sun and Moon align during their newness, it is an excellent time to nurture your head; That is, your hair and your face; the eyes, ears, nose and mouth; the top and back, as well. The ancients considered the head to be connected to the soul as it aligned with the heart. Whatever way you think to nurture the top of your body with herbs, water and affirmations that support the well-being of your head is important now. This sounds funny, really, because we are not always accustomed to thinking in these terms. Nor are we accustomed to nurturing our head. Maybe our feet and our hands but not our head.

Conversely, this is not a good period to have surgery on any of the parts of the head previously mentioned Stay away, if possible from any burden or strain to the top of the head, the eyes, the ears and the nose. this is not to create fear but to act skillfully with these body parts at this time

This is a good time to take actions to relieve recurring headaches, eye strain and sinus issues.

Another practice to coordinate the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and the body as a whole is to practice the ancient Vedic art of Nadi Shodana. Our ancestors, and by ancestors I mean to say, all of our human progenitors not just our particular ethnic inheritance, believed the left nostril is under the influence of the moon and the right, by the Sun. The new moon in Aries is an excellent time to initiate this practice in order to attune to this cycle. It is helpful to perform this practice during the new moon but it is a practice of communion and alignment with the cosmic cycles that is known as svara yoga. This is a complete science of attunement to the greater and lesser cycles but we will begin with Nadi Shodana.

 Take the thumb of your right hand and close the right nostril. The thumb is not really a finger but the repository of divine will and logic. Breath in through the left nostril of the moon. Then, release the thumb from the right nostril and press the left nostril closed with the "ring" finger and the pinky. The last phalanx of the pinky is ruled by Aries (appropriate here) and the ring finger by Cancer. Exhale through the right nostril. Repeat the process. If this seems difficult to accomplish for various reasons, then you can try, Anuloma Viloma, which is visualizing, as you breathe the life-giving prana, flowing up the left nostril, to the third eye area and then down through the right nostril. And then, reverse. Whether one accomplishes this through visualization or through physical manipulation of the nostrils, the effect is the same. The nose is an instrument for altering cortical activity and aligning the microcosm and the macrocosm.

Thus, we breathe with the Sun and the Moon and create balance and harmony.

An excellent herb to drink at this time is Stinging Nettle (Urtica spp.). Nettles is ruled by Mars. Mars is the planetary ruler of Aries. This new Moon arrives at the time when Spring is approaching in the temperate climates of the North. After the inner journey of Winter, the Sun begins her journey Northward. The energy of Spring shape-shifts our body's into an emergence from the underground into the glorious hands of the Sun. Nettles is one of the plants that can assist us with this transition from Winters stormy darkness into the sap flowing wonders of this season. Nettles is beginning to show herself, as she peeks out from the damp, cold earth. Her tender green leaves miraculously lifting their fingers up toward the Sun. So, it may not be time to pick her, just yet. For this you may need to use last years' left overs. To drink last years dried nettle leaves is an excellent way to transition to her young fresh leaves when they are ready to be offered in the next few weeks. Nettles cleanses, purifies and moves the energy outward as an herb ruled by Mars can do. Because most living beings slow down in the winter months, at least for humans, nutrient absorption is lessened. There is more congestion and constriction. The muscles, glands and organs lapse into a mood of slowness and restfulness. But then, when SPRING springs, the atmosphere of the body lifts in delight to the awakening and warmth inherent in the season. Nettles, again is the herb of choice.

Nettles can be used, also, externally as a large tea for whole body or hand and foot baths and as a rinse for the head; Hair rinse, eye and mouth rinse.

To prepare nettle tea, take 1/4 cup of dried nettle leaves and place into a glass quart jar. Cover with almost boiled water, cover and then let the tea steep over night. Drink the well steeped tea in the morning; cold or warm. As a cold tea it has more of an affinity for cleansing the kidneys by diuresis. For a full bath, add the nettle tea to your bath water and bathe in her emerald luxury.

The Aries new moon brings an aliveness, a richness, a warmth of spirit. A period to uncover your nurturing plans for the year as the Moon moves through and embraces all of the constellations. One after another, touching every part, loving all places in your heart, and the heart of the cosmos.

Stay tuned for the next new moon in Taurus. That moon will be a solar eclipse on May 9th. May this moonth (month) carry you sweetly. May you begin to dream your hearts desires into the colorful buds of Spring.

Kwah Wa'Adabisha ThD

Astrologer, Herbalist, Therapist

Deb Soule

Herbalist, Biodynamic Farmer, Author

This week's video is a 26 minute teaching; Deb shares her expertise on the subject of Gardening to Attract and Support Pollinators. Follow Deb through the Avena Botanicals' gardens as she shows us plants and techniques to encourage a thriving pollinator habitat. From hummingbirds to bees, Deb takes us on a tour through the herbs which attract them to the garden and elaborates on the ways in which we can create a happy home for our hard working friends. Sit down with a cup of tea and come join her in the garden!

Garden Videos are posted every Friday, check back or subscribe to our youtube see us highlight a different part of the garden every week.

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We are growing this lovely orange-colored cosmos in one of Avena’s flower gardens this sumer. This is a new annual flower for us. It adds wonderful color to the garden along with feeding the bumblebees.

Spraying the biodynamic preparation BD 501 at dawn on the summer solstice throughout Avena’s gardens. I stirred the BD 501 (pulverized quartz crystals in 3 gallons of rain water) beginning at 4:45 am for 1 hour. We then poured the water into the Solo backpack sprayer and LIndsey walked through all the gardens, leaving a fine mist of the Silica to surround our herbs. The BD 501 preparation strengthens the light forces of summer which enhances the flowering and fruiting process of the plants.

Jill seeded 1100 plugs-21 trays-of calendula-on April 27-a flower day on the biodynamic planting calendar. Almost every seed germinated. On the evening of May 30 I transplanted 100 robust calendula seedlings into a newly prepared planting bed. On May 31 Lindsey and Ray successfully transplanted 900 calendula seedlings into the hillside garden and watered each seedling with a diluted water and seaweed mix. We use Neptune's Organic Harvest Seaweed Plant Food which provides over 60 naturally occurring major and minor nutrients and amino acids that help ease transplant shock and give seedlings a nourishing boost.

Rosemary is one of my favorite aromatic herbs. For over 25 years I have nurtured several rosemary plants. This means in Maine we pot them up late October to bring inside for the winter and bring the pots back outside late April. From early to late May we transplant 5 large rosemary plants into the garden by taking them out of their pots, ruffling their root systems-which are small-and planting them into sunny and well-drained spots in the garden. Usually by May the plants are tired of being in pots and their soil is a bit dry. When placing the plants in the ground we water them in well before covering their root balls with soil.

The large rosemary plants are between 20-30 years old. I learned how to prune their branches to encourage lots of green growth from an old Italian farmer. He was bold with pruning. After several years I have become bolder with pruning them. Bold pruning produces less leggy and woody stalks and more lush green growth. In the winter we water and mist the potted plants once a week. In summer I will give the plants water once a week if we go through a hot spell with no rain and 80 temperatures. The latin genus Rosmarinus means ‘dew of the sea’. Our plants seem to shine when the days are misty and the fog has rolled in from the sea.

ROSEMARY COOKIES

1 stick of organic butter

1 cup of maple syrup

3 cups of organic brown rice flour or spelt flour

4-5 heaping tablespoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the soft butter with the maple syrup. Mix the chopped rosemary with the flour and then add into the butter, maple syrup mixture. Spoon onto un-greased cookie sheets whatever size you want. Bake 15-25  minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom. Enjoy.

Salvia guaranitica, commonly known as Black and Blue Salvia, is a Salvia species native to a wide area of South America, including Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. It is a perennial sub-shrub growing 4 to 5 ft tall, spreading into a large patch through its spreading roots.  I grew a few of these plants in a large ceramic pot on Avena’s deck last summer and enjoyed watching the ruby throated hummingbirds frequently visiting the deep blue flowers. A friend suggested I cut the plants back and winter the pot in my greenhouse. To my delight the plants reemerged in spring and are now 2 feet tall. We are currently bringing this pot along with a collection of other potted plants-lemon verbenas, rose geraniums, nasturiums and edible marigolds onto Avena’s south-facing deck. 

This male ruby-throated hummingbird found his way to us through a very unfortunate window strike. An Avena staff member heard this this little beauty hit a window and ran out to see how he fared. He was stunned, wings splayed and chin to the cold, wet ground when he was scooped up. We were so glad, after 20 minutes of gently being held in a towel, he was able to recuperate and fly away. We quickly realized that we needed to do something about the plethora of new windows we now have with the new building and purchsed a wonderful product by WIndow Alert. We placed decals that contain a component which brilliantly reflects ultraviolet sunlight, invisible to humans, but glows like a stoplight for birds on our windows. WindowAlert decals help birds see windows and avoid striking the glass - we highly recommend them, especially if you have feeders or an abundance of birds around your home. www.windowalert.com

Lindsey Bagley arrived from Vermont last week and has joined Avena’s gardening crew. We are excited to welcome Lindsey to Maine and to have such an experienced and joyful gardener to work alongside. Our friend and permaculturist, Julia Yelton, guided us today in creating 180 foot long swales on our hillside garden. Half of this hillside will be planted with a cover crop of buckwheat in 2 weeks and the other half will be planted with 1000 calendula seedlings at the end of May.

The 1000 calendula plants were started by Jill on April 27, a flower day on the biodynamic planting calendar. Jill planted one seed per plug and almost all the seeds germinated! We purchased the seed from Horizon Herbs in Oregon.

Avena's hoop-house where we start 5000 medicinal herb seedlings each spring for our biodynamic garden. Just beyond is our new medicine making building that we will be moving into late May.

Tanya and I hand dug 25 pounds of valerian root from 2, 40-foot long beds today. I started the valerian from seed 2 springs ago and transplanted the 300 seedlings into our beds in late May. We let the valerian grow for 2 years before digging the roots. It took us most of the day to dig them and then several hours the following day to wash  and bring them inside to be tinctured.

The phoebes returned this week. The garlic has emerged and is steadily growing. The yarrow seeds planted by Jill in the greenhouse germinated within 4 days. I have been walking around the garden looking to see who is poking up. I was excited to see the light green leaves of many of the maralroot (Leuzea carthamoides) plants starting to grow. This herbaceous perennial, a member of the Asteraceae family, is native to Siberia. I purchased the seeds from Horizon Herbs last year and started them in our greenhouse a year ago. We had fabulous germination and transplanted around 40 plants into the garden in June of 2011. Richo says in his catalog that  Maralroot grows in all temperate zones and is named after the Maral deer that feed on this plant in the wild. He says the plant prefers full sun, well-drained soils, elevation or northern latitude.

This plant is considered to be an adaptogen, a plant that helps the body better adapt to various kinds of stresses. I am excited to watch this perennial as it grows in the garden over the next few years and then to harvest and prepare it into medicine.    

I am thinking about the miracle of seeds. How these tiny beings are packed full of a life force that enables a seed to sprout in an upward motion and to root in a downward motion. I have been planting seeds for over thirty-five years. The joy and amazement I feel when placing a seed in soil and watching it emerge a few days later or a few weeks later only grows bigger and brighter for me. I am in love with the spring rhythm of planting seeds, watching them emerge, carefully tending them and then placing them outside into the garden with a faith that they know exactly what to do, which is to grow. 

Another spring ritual I have engaged in for over thirty-five years is the collecting and eating of dandelion greens. I love sautéing dandelion greens in olive oil and garlic. There is something so satisfying about this simple green that grows in great abundance around our planet. I have begun collecting dandelion greens from a friend’s unheated plastic hoop house and eating them for lunch and dinner. I never tire of the young succulent dandelion greens. The recent gift of a wonderful  cook book written by Heidi Swanson titled super natural every day has a tasty recipe for adding cooked chick peas to dandelion greens that are sautéed in olive oil with garlic, red pepper and salt. Delicious. Heidi’s cookbook  is fun to read, full of fabulous recipes and contains beautiful photographs.   

The first day of spring has arrived and so have the song sparrows. I have been sleeping with the window open near my bed and feeling so happy to be awakened at 6am by the robins and song sparrows. The temperatures here on the coast of Maine are unseasonably hot. 70-80 F. Never have I experienced such a strange heat wave this time of year.

In the greenhouse we have planted some perennial medicinal roots: Echinacea, Astragalus, Codonopsis, Red Chinese Sage and Baical Skullcap. The sweet marjoram and thyme seedlings, planted last week, are beginning to germinate. We also have planted 2 kinds of biodynamic kale seed from Turtle Tree, Judy’s kale and the Lacinato kale. In a  few days, following the biodynamic planting calendar, we will plant Turtle Tree’s Red Russian kale and White Russian kale seeds. I am excited to have four kinds of kale to transplant into the vegetable garden.  I hope to transplant the kale into the garden by late April and cover them with row covers to protect them from deer and fluctuating temperatures. Sautéeing kale in organic ghee or olive oil is one of my favorite ways to prepare it.

The red-winged blackbirds and male wood cocks have arrived a week early. Hearing the red-winged blackbirds songs in the morning and the wood cocks territorial sounds at dusk are signs that spring has arrived in Maine.  These birds usually arrive around March 19-21 at the spring equinox.

In the greenhouse we have planted curly and flat-leaf parsley, sweet marjoram, and thyme. Both sweet marjoram and thyme seed are light dependant. We carefully press their seeds into moist organic potting soil and gently water them so as not to dislodge the seeds. With parsley seed I lightly cover it with soil. Parsley often takes 3 weeks to germinate. Many of our herb seeds are planted in trays that have 50 plugs. These trays help me keep track of how many plants I need. The parsley will be transplanted out into the garden directly from the plug trays in early May into garden beds that have compost added to them. The thyme and sweet marjoram will be transplanted into 4 inch pots once they have reached 1-2 inches in height. Both of these herbs will go into the garden in early June and into beds with less compost than the parsley. Parsley is a heavier feeder than most other herbs. Being from the Mediterranean region, I will choose garden areas for the thyme and sweet marjoram that have full sun and soil that is well-drained.

Curly parsley creates a lovely border in a garden. I usually plant 50 curly parsley plants along a specific pathway in Avena’s garden, alternating sides every other year. I rarely plant an annual in the same space it was in the year before. Parsley appreciates well-composted garden beds and to be planted 6-8 inches apart. I have found that the curly parsley goes through the summer and fall without bolting whereas the flat-leaf parsley bolts by late summer. I plant lots of parsley for adding into salads, green smoothies and pesto! Curly parsley is also a lovely addition to flower bouquets.

Parsley is highly nutritious and rich in vitamins A, B, C, and in minerals including iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, and sodium. It is a valuable herb to eat regularly to improve overall energy and digestion. Parsley contains a volatile oil that helps relax the body and ease gas, indigestion and colic. Consider using parsley to relieve anxiety and mild depression as it is supportive to the nervous system.

I am also thinking about the City of Joy in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo today. On their website it states:

 “A goal of the STOP RAPING OUR GREATEST RESOURCE: Power To The Women And Girls Of The DRC campaign is to provide necessary resources and support for women to rebuild and transform their lives. A centerpiece of the campaign is to support community reintegration for survivors of rape, specifically those who face extreme challenges in returning home due to community rejection and trauma. V-Day and UNICEF in partnership with Panzi Foundation are currently building a special facility for the survivors of sexual violence.

Conceived, created and developed by the women on the ground, the City of Joy in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo will support women survivors of sexual violence to heal and provide them with opportunities to develop their leadership through innovative programming. Through its groundbreaking model, the City of Joy will provide up to 180 women a year with an opportunity to benefit from: group therapy; storytelling; dance; theater; self-defense; comprehensive sexuality education (covering HIV/AIDS, family planning); ecology and horticulture; and economic empowerment.

The City of Joy will provide women a place to heal emotionally as they rebuild their lives, turn their pain to power, and return back into their communities to lead.” Construction began in August 2009, in Bukavu, DRC, on the City of Joy and it opened in 2010. Please consider making a donation to this incredible project on behalf of International Women’s Day. Type in City of Joy and you can read about their work online. Visit vday.org or click the link below to read more about the work of Eve Ensler, author of Vagina Monologues, who helped support the building of the City of Joy.

http://drc.vday.org/home.html

Today I am placing my seed orders. I will order extra German Winter Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) seed and extra Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) seed not knowing how these two tender perennials fared in the garden. We tincture several baskets each summer of fresh thyme, a favorite remedy for winter time colds and respiratory infections, especially when combined with elderberry elixir and Echinacea root tincture. Thyme is part of my most favorite sore throat remedy called Propolis Plus.

In March I will start 200 thyme plants and 400 lemon balm plants in Avena’s greenhouse. Since both herbs are leaf crops, I have scheduled to plant them on leaf days following the biodynamic planting calendar-March 22 and 23. We harvest over 50 pounds of fresh lemon balm during the summer months. Lots of it is dried for our teas, some is tinctured fresh in alcohol and some is processed fresh in glycerin for Avena’s yummy tasting Lemon balm Glycerite. I love harvesting both of these aromatic herbs because they are so enlivening to the senses and so medicinally beneficial to the immune, respiratory, digestive and nervous systems.

The seed companies I  order medicinal, flower and vegetable seeds from include:

Turtle Tree Biodynamic Seed Initiative (turtletreeseed.org)

Horizon Herbs (horizonherbs.com)

FEDCO (fedcoseeds.com)

Johnny’s Selected Seeds (Johnnyseeds.com)

Richters (Richters.com).

The following quote comes from a lovely book, Gardening By Heart, written by Joyce McGreevy. “Touch the soil, releasing its scent into the air. Plant and nurture a single seed. Attend it daily. What blossoms before you will be a miracle. What blossoms within you may astonish you.”

At 4:30 this morning I awoke and watched the almost full moon set in the west. Yellow and whole, her light left the winter world around me brightly illuminated. As she slowly slipped behind Philbrook Mountain I repeated the Buddhist chant

Om Mani Padme Hum, joining with others around the planet who also offer early morning prayers on behalf of all sentient beings. Thirty years ago I lived in Nepal near three Tibetan monasteries. In this small country, tucked into the great Himalayan Mountains, I first heard Tibetan nuns and monks chanting. Every morning, for 4 months, I was awakened by the sound of Tibetan gongs calling the nuns and monks to meditation. It is here that I learned to pray.

One of my favorite musicians Deva Premal, has created a very special CD, chanting eight Tibetan Buddhist mantras with the Gyoto Monks. It is called Tibetan Mantras for Turbulent Times, Deva Premal and The Gyoto Monks of Tibet.

February 2, 2012

Today is Brigid’s Day. The mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. The light has shifted and the days are noticeably longer. I have been contemplating the element of water this winter. Watching the ways the ice changes on the small pond at Avena, remembering winter pilgrimages to sacred wells in Ireland and England, and staring at large photographs of polar bears in a beautiful book titled The Vanishing Arctic.  The images of bears and melting ice fill my mind. I keep turning to the following quote for inspiration as the weather keeps changing.  It is written by my favorite writer Terry Tempest Williams.

“The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life that is destined to come. To protect what is wild is to protect what is gentle. Perhaps the wildness we fear is the pause between our own heartbeats, the silence that says we live only by grace. Wilderness lives by this same grace. Wild mercy is in our hands.”

Terry Tempest Williams,  Red