By Shalina N. Rankin
Have you ever had a day where nothing was really going as planned? Or one you knew was going to be busy and full of stressors? We’ve probably all had a day where we felt ill, and energetically on empty with no desire to power through. Did you make yourself a nice cup of tea and instead of drinking it from a travel mug on the go, you sat and enjoyed your tea for a few moments? Did it make you feel better and more equipped to deal with the moment? My best guess is yes! If so, then you’ve experienced firsthand the ability a simple cup of tea has to transport, nourish, and fortify. You indulged in a simple time-tested act of healing and self-care. An activity that could easily be ritualized. Using tea to commune with the sacred has a long history starting in ancient China. It’s the intention that makes it a ritual.
As a student of herbal remedies, I’ve had the pleasure of spending time learning the medicinal properties of various plants. When studying the medicinal properties of plants, you also learn the history of usage and folklore associated with herbs along with the metaphysical or magical properties that various cultures assigned to the plants. In many cases plants are associated with Deities as well. It is fascinating to explore these underutilized properties and connections.
Let’s say you’re working on being a more loving person to yourself and others, or perhaps you’d like to magnetize a romantic partner. If you’re a fan of tea, wouldn’t it be fun to learn all the various plants that are associated with or sacred to, Venus, the goddess of love and beauty? Imagine creating a blend of your favorite Venus herbs that you keep in a beautiful container, and you savor your special blend before an anticipated first date, or better yet, you drink it every morning to remind yourself to be open to love and serendipitous encounters.
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That is just one of many ways you can use plant associations with a deity to set an intention and improve your life in some way. Love, of course, is a universal theme, we’d all like to have more love and be more loving. Qualities like love, grace, mercy, collaboration, nurturing, and receptivity are commonly thought of when referencing the divine feminine, but it is important to note that this is a very narrow definition. Power, destruction, rage, transformation, strength, justice, truth, wildness, and wisdom are prominent aspects of the divine feminine as well. When most of the world moved to a monotheistic belief system, we stopped sharing much of the cultural knowledge around different ways of being feminine. It’s time to recover the myths, legends, and stories of impactful Goddesses as part of our human heritage. I believe connecting intentionally with plants is a portal back to this ‘lost’ knowledge, and yet another way the divine feminine is bubbling up.
When I observe the world it’s clear to me that many people are looking for alternative ways to live, work, play, learn, and heal. Old systems of doing and being just aren’t working for many of us any longer.
In the United States we have created a hyper-masculine society. Our values of independence, freedom, and competitiveness are wonderful traits when they are balanced by interdependence and collaboration (qualities associated with the divine feminine), without such balance they have hardened into a hierarchical, overly patriarchal, aggressively independent-minded mentality of ‘survival of the fittest.’ An unbalanced society where values traditionally associated with the Divine Feminine are not honored and cultivated is a weakened society, and one where both women and men have difficulty connecting to and developing their Divine Feminine qualities. It harms both genders. Exploring qualities of various Deities and their cultures is a fun and engaging way to be a small part of the worldwide rise of the Divine Feminine. I’d posit it’s a beneficial transformative experience wherever your faith lies.
Hot water, dried plant matter, a favorite teacup, steam, inhale, exhale. Simple. Inexpensive. Effective.
Shalina Nicohl Rankin is an Herbalist and founder of Fiery Maple Wholistic Living, Inc. Rankin holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan, holds a certificate of completion in Herbal Studies from the Habitat Reskill Center of Ann Arbor, completed an Herbal Medicine Apprenticeship at the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine on the Isle of Arran, Scotland, and is currently studying to become a Naturopathic Doctor at The Naturopathic Institute of Therapies and Education. You can reach her at (734) 315-0105 or visit her online at fierymaple.com.
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Last year for Christmas I got a surprise—orange tea. It was a gift from one of my relatives who always tries to find a unique tea for me to try. While I have added citrus to traditional tea, I never had one that was all citrus. It had a pleasant refreshing taste—one that I could pair with a cinnamon stick to give a little bit of warmth and holiday feel in the cold of winter. The whole house smells amazing when you brew orange peel with cinnamon on top of the stove. It made me realize that I can make a type of tisane (an herbal infusion) out of just about anything that will infuse into water.