Rumi wrote:Heartbreak pulls up the roots of old happinessesSuch is the work of Elecampane -- a plant which was used widely in Persian medicine. Maude Grieve wrote in A Modern Herbal that Elecampane "grows well in moist, shady positions." Not surprisingly, Elecampane's roots are excellent medicine for deep, cold, moist, congestive lung conditions -- helping to break up the congestion and draw it up and out as well as soothing damaged lung tissue.
So a new ecstasy can stroll in from Beyond.
Heartbreak pulls up all withered, crooked roots
So no root can stay hidden.
Heartbreak may pull many things from the heart
But in return it will lavish kingdoms.
(translated by Andrew Harvey)
The Malecite's use of Elecampane to cure heartache (cited by Gail Faith Edwards in Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs) points us to the fact that Elecampane can work in the same way on old grief stored deeply in the chest.
Elecampane's roots reach deep to pull grief up and out.
But the plant herself reaches from the cold, wet soil up straight and very tall to blossom in wildhaired yellow glory -- reminding us that the cold, wet grief within us can also be transmuted into something radiantly beautiful.
Rumi writes too that
Until a mother feels the pain of childbirth,Deep enough grief breaks us open, allowing who we are at the core to begin to emerge. Every initiation begins in the breakdown of the old in order to allow the new to be born.
The child can find no way to be born.
And Elecampane's flower essence is a medicine of this last stage of initiation, helping us claim newfound strength and power and wisdom as our own and bring it out into the world.
And so she brings us out of heartbreak and into the lavish kingdoms we create when we remember our repsonsibility to claim our sovereignty and flower fully.
6 comments:
Hi Sean, I've just found your blog because someone has just linked to my blog and you are on her list (a roundabout explanation, but truth). Your posts speak to me, so I know I've made a positive decision to be here. I was especially grateful for your insight on elecampagne. I've harvested the leaves and flowers, but not the roots yet and I've yet to make the flower essence, but suspect it will be chosen during one of my workshops soon. I run workshops on coping with bereavement and loss and have put together a handout on herbal support for such times, thanks to Henriette, Jim and Kiva Rose. I'm presuming elecampagne could be an ally for these dark times as well?
Hi Sarah,
Your work sounds amazing -- I look forward to learning more about it.
I would be hesitant to give Elecampane to grieving people in an unsupervised setting. I have had experiences with clients where the tincture of the root has brought on sudden and profound releases of grief, and I think it is important for that grief to have a safe container to flow into.
So, working with someone whose grief is deep and strong, I would tend to use this medicine only in the context of a ritual or a healing or counseling session. For those who are already actively involved in work around their grief, she can be a powerful ally in uprooting the residual grief they have been unable to move through by other means.
hi there...i was wondering if you had any insight on the use of elecampane to eradicate mrsa..my six year old daughter has been battling skin infections due to this nasty thing. i was wondering if it is to be taken orally, or if it would be better to apply it directly to the sores..also, i see it is helpful for lung problems..she always seems to be coughing, so i think it would be especially helpful to her. thanks, amanda
Hi Amanda, my first choice for MRSA would actually be Usnea, which in laboratory experiments completely inhibits the growth of staphylococcus bacteria. I would administer the tincture orally, and also apply it directly to the sores. Honey may be of benefit applied directly the sores as well.
dear sean..thank you so much!! i just read your reply today, i did not think you would have responded so quickly! now i also have mrsa, with a big weird sac on my leg..i tried apple cider vinegar, which seemed to make it look a little less angry..my husband just picked up the elecampane, because i had not yet read your suggestion, which i will go and do asap..i appreciate the help.i wish i could rid my home of it entirely, my doctor basically said "take antibiotics, good luck..it will be with you for life" depressing! i will keep searching for a way to kill it..it is no fun at all.
To my mind every person ought to browse on it.
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