Holidays have a tendency to overwhelm you with sadness and longing for those who should be there but are suddenly gone. These feelings of sadness tend to overwhelm you in the midst of the bright, beautiful, joyful.
The first time it happened I was unprepared. But now I carry a thought in the back of my mind, a gentle reminder to be prepared for that wave of sadness that may come. For one of these holidays I came up with a recipe for a tincture for grief. It is made from fresh flowers of Tulsi also called Holy Basil or Holy Basil in English. Tulsi is one of the more important herbs in Ayurveda. I was inspired to grow Tulsi by my herbal sisters who could say from experience that it is very easy to grow this mint plant. And that was it! So beautiful to have Tulsi at home and think for a moment that it is a sacred plant that is always in a Hindu home. For this tincture I harvested the flowers in July precisely to prepare a tincture with sadness in mind.
The tincture also contains hawthorn berries. Hawthorn is a plant that is dear to the heart. For this tincture, I harvested wild berries two years ago. In Sweden, we have an abundance of hawthorn. You just have to identify it properly, then you will know where to find it.
The third herb is oat tops, a gift from @laketradgarden that I made a tincture of when I received them. Oat tops are called Milky Oats in English and are used much more in English-speaking countries.
These three herbs will gently caress my heart and give a spark of trust.
If I were to make the recipe again, I would do it like this:
1 part Hawthorn berries
1 part Tulsi flowers
1 part Oatmeal
I would put the herbs in a sterilized glass jar and fill it halfway. And then top it up with alcohol (e.g. Vodka 37%). I let the tincture sit for at least four weeks in a dark space. Here you can read more about the fine art of making a tincture .
It is possible to make the tincture from dried plant parts, but instead of using the proportions 1:2 (1 part plant, 2 parts alcohol), you should use significantly less dried plant. When using dried parts, you should instead use the proportion 1:5.
I often get asked how to use tinctures and what dose of tincture to take internally. It is an important and relevant question, which is highly individual. Read Örtfabriken's blog post about dosage here . Get in touch if you have any questions.
If you carry the same challenges with you during the holidays, take help from heart herbs like those mentioned above. Drink tea, use essential oils or take the herbs in the form of drops of tincture. And actually, it can also be enough to visualize the herbs. I have done that if I do not have access to them in physical form. I close my eyes and see the small hawthorn tree in front of me, I touch the leaves and berries and connect with the plant. And in this way I partake of the essence of the plant.
Do you have any allied plants or tools for grief?
