Elder
Virgo: August 22 - September 22
"Planting, for me, is a form of resistance" - Medo Halimy (2005-2024)
Lately, I have been questioning if we are even capable of a world where peace is possible. The concept feels more like an ideal than a realistic option, a weighing scale that refuses to find stillness no matter how you try to fenagle it.
On August 29th, Medo Halimy was killed by an Israeli missile in Khan Younis. I only learned of the 19 year old TikTok star's existence after his passing. He was playing on the beach with his friends when shrapnel from a nearby bomb hit him in the head, sending him into a coma.
Before this, Medo was making viral videos about everyday life at his camp in Gaza, including a series for a daily planting challenge. In the sandy earth outside his tent, Medo cultivated mint, lentils, mulukhiyah, and watermelon. Each video begins with the announcement: "Day X Of Planting Every Day Until This Genocide Is Over." It did something to me when Medo introduced us to "Mentita", a tiny sprout of Mint he was nurturing in an old chickpea can.
Sajah Popham, author of Evolutionary Herbalism, says that the only medicine that can heal the spiritual sickness pervading humanity is one that comes from something greater than our own inventions (namely, medicinal plants). He goes on to write that the power of medicinal plants is "not simply a removal of bodily symptoms, not just a replacement for a pill; it is a deeper level of doctoring within the territory of the human spirit and soul." To Popham, plants offer something beyond healing: they can facilitate the evolution of consciousness.
Physical and spiritual health must be two sides of the same leaf, I think. Normally the type of person who rarely gets sick, my defenses this month have been down. It reminded me of turning to an elder in a moment of crisis, when this Virgo season I chose to ask the herb Elder, Sambuca Nigra, for help.
Another foundational herb in Western Herbalism, before literacy was the norm herbalists grew Elder trees outside their doors so that people could identify them. Of all the herbs traditionally used to support immune health, Elder is perhaps most famous for helping to manage cold and flu, as well as to regulate fluids in the body. All studies about Elder have pretty much the same conclusion: taking it both reduces symptoms and shortens the duration of illness.
Elderberry: Elderberry has been used for centuries in the art of fever management. It directly attacks viruses through its neuraminidase inhibiting compounds (neuraminidase being the enzyme that helps viruses to replicate). Elderberry also boosts immune surveillance by stimulating the lymphatic system to call B and T cells into action. In cool tea form, it acts as a diuretic, while in hot tea form, can be taken as a diaphoretic, allowing heat to release during a fever. This month I made Elderberry syrup, a delicious, molasses-like concoction that I have been adding to my tea.
Elderflower: Elderflower is a profound emotional diaphoretic. Categorized as an "exhilarant" along with herbs like Tulsi, Linden, and Dandelion, when taken as a liqueur, Elderflower can help lift one out of downtrodden mental and emotional states, specifically through the release of anxiety and anger. I can report from personal experience that there is a distinct sense of well-being that comes with taking just 1/4 shot of St. Germaine's. Though it may feel strange to source an herbal remedy from your neighborhood liquor store, one must remember that alcohol was first intended as a medicine.
There seem to be very few Elder trees in NYC, but last week I was lucky to behold one in Greenpoint. Modest in stature, and with a somewhat untidy appearance, it's easy to walk past Elder when it's not in bloom with white corymb flowers or sagging under the weight of dark purple berries. I made a record of the Greenpoint Elder tree on the NYC Tree Map, the most comprehensive and up-to-date living tree map in the world.
Although a devoted member of the Stop Shopping Choir, I was unable to resist when I saw a baby Elder tree for sale online. Inspired by the Ocean Vuong poem "Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker," I made a small catalogue of my expenses of late:
- Elder sapling, fastgrowingtrees.com
- Two grow lights, Amazon gift card (no cash value)
- Elderberry & Juniper flavored kombucha, Synergy
- 1 Rue and 1 Mint plant, Bushwick Farmer's Market
- Elderberry tonic, Goldthread
- 12 quart bag potting soil, Happy Frog
- Elderberry gummies, Trader Joe's
- 1 pound dried Elderberry, Mountain Rose Herbs*
- Bottle of St. Germaine's, Benely Wine & Spirits
*Widely considered a reputable bulk herb seller, I learned only after making my purchase that Mountain Rose Herbs is in fact on the Boycott Divest & Sanction list. Starwest Botanicals, Frontier Co-op, and Gaia Herbs are other herbal companies currently under pressure to divest from Israeli agriculture. For archives of deeper research, check out Shabina Lafleur-Gangji's compiled resources on the topic here.
Just as Medo Halimy said "planting is a form of resistance", I think of gardening and herbalism as tangible forms of hope. Carrying water across the apartment every evening as an offering to the garden has become my way of praying.
These days, watering the garden is the only intervention I make. Now four months into this project, I see myself leaning towards methods like Masanobu Fukuoka's 'Do Nothing Farming', and Ruth Stout's 'no work' garden philosophy. Not out of laziness, but because to relinquish control and allow what grows and what withers to be a joint decision feels less extractive, less self righteous.
It is written that Elder's hollow stem, with the soft pith removed, was used to blow into the centre of a fire to generate heat. On the first day of autumn, I stare out toward the future. I wonder when fire season will arrive, sparing no one besides a few seeds buried deep underground. In the meantime, I look to all plants – but especially to Elder – for guidance on how to navigate this current and coming hostile world.