Going Local: Localised shamanic/animist healing

October is the harvest time, and we look over what we have harvested through out the year, and among our local harvest we see it is not only food we needed but also medicines. The recent post on healing reminded me of Angelica seeds I harvested this year at Beards Cove a very sacred place to me on the Washington coast. I have had them in my work bag for nearly 5 months now. Ends up I have been carrying these seeds with me where ever I go, and probably for a very good reason. Today and most every day for a while now I have been very fatigued, exhausted really and the seeds, when I smell them revitalize me.

Having studied vegetalismo, and latin american curanderismo practices I have been fascinated for years by the use of perfumes. This fascination for working with perfumes and plant essences shamanicly has become a real obsessive passion over the years. One that I am consitently and slowly persuing, soon I will be taking a class on distilling hydrosols and essential oils. Because of the up comming work shop I have been thinking more and more about my angelica seeds, they are so abundant here in the PNW. They are so powerful smelling, and so unique, but it never really struck me to start working with them for spiritual purposes, and they have been reaching out to me, a part of me has felt it but has ignored it so much, and I have to look at why? For one... I have an exstensive ethnobotany back ground. So many non-local plants from around the world are available to me with the click of a button, and well I can just buy some florida water to do my cleansing. I have some, hell I have lots of it why do I need to even look for somthing local when what I have works? Its effective florida water... and when I need somthing stronger, I have my agua de ruda or rue water. Ive even started growing rue outside my house for protection, though strangely when I think back to harvesting the seeds... I did so with the intention of planting them out side my home. The angelica has been reaching out to me, talking to me... and I have not been listening. I have not been listening because I have been distracted by what I have and can get else where that I have ignored the very persistent and loud voice of a local and prolific plant.

Today I finally listened to this plant spirit. Sitting doing counciling with a client at work... I caught a wiff of the seeds from my work bag. I felt so tired and stressed, and so did my client. It came to my attention that we both needed to breath in the scent of these seeds. that these seeds would help us with what we both needed help with. The plant reached out again and intuatively i knew to just look up the aroma therapy of this plant.

History:
Angelica came from Africa in the 16th century to Europe. Used by pagan Romania for mystical rituals. The Christians used it after the dark ages for the plague devastating Europe. Someone had a dream of an Archangel telling them to use Angelica to destroy the plague. The roots are used in Chinese remedies and used to be used in herbalism. It's translation in French is root of the holy ghost. It protects against evil spirits, enchantment, conjuring spells. Often used to flavor gin and perfumes and traditionally candied for cake decoration and confectionery.



Properties and Indications:


Acts quickly on the nervous system


Anorexia or sudden loss of weight


Increases gastric secretions


Anemic people


Cardiac - purifies the blood


Anti-poison qualities - works on gout, arthritis, rheumatism


Deep drainage - stimulates all organs to evacuate toxins


Stimulates glandular and lymphatic systems - through this it helps to improve the immune system


Chronic respiratory complaints with mucous


Personality:

Weepy, sweet, frilly, clingy, despondent - over emphasized on the feminine side (both for men and women but not children)


Nervous and frail types


Weak people, tired and worn out (physically and emotionally)


Melancholy, long term depression


Deep stress - useful for someone who has had a deep setback or hard struggles (divorce, dealing with ill people, aching with no specific problem)

Exactly what I NEEDED! As well as being exactly what my client needed too! Then it hit me... I saw how to work with this plant, it showed me what to do with it. I will make a perfume with it ask for its help give it my breath by breathing upon it, as plants love our breath, as it is our continuous offer to them. I will, as I have learned to do, spray this perfume from my mouth, upon people in ceremony, for healing, it will replace my need for working with Rue water and Florida water in most cases.


One can go local with their use of medicines, one can go local with their use of foods, and one can go local with many of their needs. This to me was such a concrete example of localized spiritual practice that it sort of shocked me, for some one who has been writing about bioregional animism for years, it still have lots to learn about listening to the land, and working local. The seeds of angelica humbled me today, and I was reminded of a saying my good freind and teacher Mitra used to say, five feet away from every poison is its cure. Out sourcing as I have mentioned before keeps us from seeing what we have around us and how we can take care fo what is around us. It is amazing how sublte of a distraction it can be that it has kept me from listneing to such a powerful healing being as Angelica.