The last few days have been spent finishing my Hawthorne Berry tincture. Because this one is double-extracted, the process can take a few days of patient stirring and simmering. Whispering “I love you” to my pot while I watch the berries swim around in the mixture.
Hawthorne is associated with fire and the planet Mars. It sinks its long thorns into places deep within me, where hurt and heat still lie in wait. It allows the heat to rise and be released, in a gentle and transformative motion. “You cannot hide from this. Here is the pain you have carefully forgotten. I will show you how these things still have power over you.”
The purging is honest and tender.
I cry, and crochet the way my grandmother taught me, thinking of all the mothers that came before me and cried over the same hurts.
The extraction of this plant is always a time of deep emotional processing. Hawthorne Berry often inspires waterworks, and coqui frogs tend to find their way onto my worktable during this time, bringing the medicine of emotional cleansing and potent water energy — a perfect companion for Hawthorne’s release. Frog reminds us not to fear the water (emotions), but to rest and seek refuge there. Our water is linked to our divinity and our humanity at the same time. An entire ocean in a drop.