Flower Remedies for Fall

Sep 24, 2024

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus

I woke up Sunday morning with the sudden desire to make hot herbal infusions, soak beans (which I haven’t been eating much all summer), soak almonds to make almond milk and finally make a bathroom curtain! I was doing all of these cozy fall things, then I realized, “It’s the fall equinox!”

So even though it’s still hitting 90 degrees in the desert, my body somehow could sense the seasonal change taking place.

Fall is a time of going inside, both literally and metaphorically. We are getting ready for Winter and making sure we have our pantries stocked. We are thinking ahead to the holidays perhaps, feathering our nests and getting guest rooms ready for Thanksgiving visitors. (I am…we just removed the hideous popcorn ceiling).

This got me thinking about change. I love that my inner knowing was leading me to “fall” into the seasonal shift. Our ability to adapt to change is so important to our physical and emotional health. That’s why adaptogens are so popular these days. Because we live in a world that is largely disconnected from nature, honoring seasonal changes and doing things a bit like our ancestors, I believe, can help us stay connected to our inner knowing and the rhythms which best support our organisms.

Scientists have discovered that our DNA retains the memory of trauma from many generations back, and it is stored in our DNA/cellular memory!!

If this is so, I like to think of all the positive implications of that. If we can store generations of trauma, surely we also have generations of inherited wisdom from our ancestors, who knew how to live in harmony with the seasons, knew the ways of natural remedies and herbalism, lunar cycles and practical magic.

Here are some ways we can stay connected to our ancestral wisdom:

1) Shop for all your vegetables and fruit at the Farmer’s Market. This way you will always be eating with the seasons. In her wisdom, nature provides the foods that are healthiest for us during the different seasons. Grounding root vegetables, vitamin A rich squash, leeks. These are the foods we need right now as we get our immune systems ready for cold and flu season. I do less raw and cold foods. Pears and apples are in season and are so nice to have for breakfast, gently stewed with some warming herbs like cinnamon and cardamom and a little maple syrup.

2) Soak your grains, beans and nuts overnight. Our ancestors knew that soaking grains made them more digestible and unlocked more of their nutrients. As we move to heavier foods we need a little extra digestive support. Soaking these hard to digest things makes them much easier to digest. As well, when you soak grains and nuts overnight you activate the enzyme potential and you heighten the life force in the food. Raw almonds from stores are usually pasteurized which kills enzymes. Get almonds from farmers markets or online farms which claim truly raw and unpasteurized. Digestive bitters before heavier meals is greatly helpful for digestion too. I really like Original Urban Moonshine Digestive Bitters.

3) We can get dehydrated in fall, as we drink less water now that it’s cooler. The dry weather can also dry out our skin. Make herbal teas in a ball jar to sip on during the day (even after the tea cools). This will keep you hydrated and boost your minerals, immune system, is great for skin and hair and calms the nervous system.

Here’s my current tea (suggested by Chloe Garcia my healer @nomadisonglines)

•Handful rose
•Handful oat straw
•Handful nettles

Put herbs in gallon jar and cover with hot water. Steep overnight then strain in morning. Drink all day.

Photo by Ana Kerin