Weends & Seeds came into being to reflect and encourage the energy of survival, scrappiness, and stick-to-it-iveness we're seeing these days all around the world. People everywhere, in all nations, cultures and walks of life, are striving to restore and maintain balance and harmony in their lives and create a future for themselves, their families, and their communities under the most trying of circumstances. Our remarkable human spirit, in concert with the life force in nature, gives us the drive to pull together, endure, move through, and expand into our true wholeness and self expression.

Life perseveres through the best and the worst of times. Plants push their way up through concrete and asphalt or sprout in the seemingly impossible crag of a rocky mountainside or a fire-ravaged landscape. The inexorable power of recent natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami, and earthquakes show us the amazing capacity of Life, in all its forms, to carry on in the most overwhelming of circumstances.

The Weeds & Seeds set captures these qualities of tenacity, spunk and determination. Weeds reflect our exteriority, the macrocosm, the outer influences, the "above" of us. Seeds reflect our interiority, the microcosm, the inner influences, the "below" of us.

As essences they create an alchemical shift that helps us integrate the seen and the unseen, the potentials and patterns intrinsic in their being and ours. Weeds and seeds unabashedly claim their space and do whatever is needed to become who they are without hesitation and without apology. And they make these qualities available to us as pure gift!

Weeds and seeds are self-reliant, sturdy, strong, and ready for anything: precisely the qualities we need these days! The regular set price is $55.55 and reflects a savings of 30% off the cost of the individual essences.

(Note: Individual essences from the set are available for $8.99 each. Click on the individual names, below, to order.)

"Man is by definition the first and primary weed under whose influence all other weeds have evolved." - Jack R. Harland

Weeds * The Exteriority

According to the dictionary, weeds are random and accidental. They are wild plants growing where they are not wanted. They are considered useless, uncultivated, even noxious, and they crowd out plants we humans consider to be more desirable.

Some, like me, find "weeds" quite beautiful and wondrous. I look forward each spring to the yellow, purple and green carpet of dandelions, violets and ground ivy that covers my yard, plus the plantain, the occasional chicory and clover, the wild strawberries, and other leafy residents that show up from Spring to Fall. There is a woods at the back of the cemetery down the street where, just beyond the carefully trimmed and cultivated grounds, one finds Mullein, Poison Ivy, Jewelweed, Goldenrod, Elder, Wild Blackberries an amazing variety of wildly intertwined plants offering a wealth of beauty, challenge, and potential healing.

Weeds are masters of determination and perseverance. No matter how much we hack at them, spray them with poisons, or curse their very existence, they come back in their full glory year after year. That tenacity gives them the ability to hold fast and tough under all circumstances.

When these amazing plants are made into essences, we can tap into their harmonious powers. Weeds are adaptable, tenacious, resilient. They stand their ground, awesome examples of autonomy and personal authority. They seek their own perfect expression within the surrounding environment against all odds, their seeds often lying dormant for years. And of course, many have a long history of use as home remedies and in formal herbal medicine.

The other side of weeds, their inharmonious powers, if you will, are the tendency to take over, to stifle the expression of others and drain resources, diminishing the whole, whether family, community or world. These are some of the patterns to look for when exploring the weed essences.

The Weed Essences

Dandelion Releases tension beginning in your subtle energy field and extending inward to your physical body. Aids in cleansing and detoxifying the Whole of You.

Stress, tension and dis-ease begin in the subtle bodies and move into the physical body over time. They can be cleared before ever expressing in the physical if you focus your essence work on the individual bodies (etheric, emotional, mental, spiritual) and ask which of these need support or clearing now. If you do seasonal cleansing or fasting, Dandelion in one of its herbal forms (tincture or dried, flowers, leaves, roots) is a wonderful support for these processes, adding vitamins and minerals to your body as well as supporting the liver and kidneys.

"You fight dandelions all weekend, and late Monday afternoon there they are, pert as all get out, in full and gorgeous bloom, pretty as can be, thriving as only dandelions can in the face of adversity." - Hal Borland

Johnson Grass For standing your ground, spreading out, and reaching for the sky. Look at who or what is disturbing you and see the reflection of yourself in the person or situation. Be sturdy and strong, yet flexible in your response. For discerning the difference between stubbornness (you hold your position solely because it is your position and, by golly, you're RIGHT and everybody else is WRONG) and tenacity (you stand for what you believe in on principle, you believe you are right, AND you'll listen to another opinion).

I've not found herbal uses for Johnson Grass, though it has been cultivated as food for livestock. It can also be poisonous in some cases, so care must be taken in its use as fodder. An internet search reveals it to be a real scourge to gardeners and farmers everywhere (I have it in my yard and can understand their frustration!). Like most weeds, especially ones that cause allergies, it grows where the land has been disturbed by humans the Earth's allergic reaction to us, perhaps?

"But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else. In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit. Weeds are people's idea, not nature's." - Anonymous

Poke Within the One. Creates a cocoon of sacred space from the soles of your feet to your crown chakra, then focuses your energy into a beam of light that moves out from your crown and links you, as an individual, to All that Is. Joins quiet, introspective sustaining energy to the visionary within. For knowing One Spirit moves through all things.

Do you remember "Poke Salad Annie," by Tony Joe White? Not one of the more uplifting songs from the past, to be sure! And, this is the plant named in the song. In its plant form, Poke can be eaten (IF PREPARED VERY CAREFULLY - study the history and use of this plant well before using any of its physical parts for anything!), and various parts of it have been used medicinally, particularly the roots. Birds love the dark purple berries (HUMANS SHOULD NOT EAT THEM). The plant has deep roots that really want to stay where they are, giving it an energy of grounding and solid foundation, with reddish stems, and tiny white flowers.

Violet For strengthening the inner resources of highly perceptive and sensitive individuals. You may be shy and reserved, concerned about relinquishing your self-identity to group efforts, yet longing to share who you are and what you know. Violet helps you step out and be seen, while maintaining a sense of personal safety and self-confidence.

One of my favorite Spring flowers, the bloom you see is actually a "pretend" flower, not the true reproductive part of the plant. The real flower that bears the seed hides down near the base of the plant, and this is the reason the essence is so supportive for people who "hide" from crowds even though they want to be part of the activity.

(Please note: All of the essences in this set were made using the Attunement Method rather than the Sun Method. This means that no plant parts ever touched the solution so there is no possibility of any harmful substance being in the essences. They are created by intention and invocation of energies into water, then they are potentized, and the resulting essence contains only the pure frequency of the original source free of physical substance or residue.)

"Everyone has enough weeding to do in their own garden." Flemish proverb

The Anomaly

Into the middle of this set is a different kind of "seed," the Chrysalis. Asking to be part of the set from the very beginning, this essence embodies the essential nature of the seed: it contains everything that is true of it in the past, everything that is true about it now, and everything that is true about it in the future, all inside the protective cocoon.

Chrysalis The keeper of Potential and Transformation. Chrysalis holds safe and protects imagination, possibility, creativity, and generativity. For patience in the face of an unknown yet indisputable imperative, and the capacity to fully embrace the experience without understanding the purpose or comprehending the final outcome.

Seeds * The Interiority

Let's go to our dictionary again and see what it says about seeds: A seed contains the embryo from which a new plant grows. It is a botanical ovule, something to be planted; the source or origin of anything. Plants (and humans!) "go to seed," which in humans might describe a form of deterioration, and in the plant kingdom, the promise of a new crop next year.

Each seed is complete, containing the fully conceived perfection of its form and purpose, carefully protected within a resilient shell. It waits with joyous expectancy and infinite patience, dormant in the darkness of its womb, until the precise moment when its inner timing and outer conditions are perfectly aligned. In that exact instant, known only to itself and its Source, yet silently witnessed by all of its surrounding environment, it bursts forth sending its energies downward into the Earth and upward towards the Sun. It Becomes what it was always destined to be.

Regardless of what the seeds Mom-form might look like --- an oak tree or a dandelion, a dog or a human, a spider or a snake --- it is already fully expressed in the unseen realms, awaiting its Earthly debut.

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant." - Robert Louis Stevenson

We plant many seeds in our lifetime: some literally in a garden, some figuratively in life every day. Thoughts, ideas, words, plans, dreams, beliefs, hopes. Kindnesses and good deeds, both conscious and unconscious conversations, poems, activities... all of these and more are the figurative seeds we plant. Sometimes these seeds take root and sprout right away; other times they remain hidden, even forgotten, only to surprise us with their brilliance, popping into view at the most unexpected yet propitious moment, reminding us that everything we do has consequence, no matter how quickly or how slowly it manifests.

This is not to say we are necessarily aware of this process, or even a willing accomplice in our own unveiling. In fact, we may move through our personal transformations kicking and screaming, denying our truth and our power, afraid to be seen and heard. And if we try very, VERY hard, we can, in the power and totality of our creative control, bring ourselves to a screeching halt.

The magic of the Seeds, and the essences gift to us, is its willingness to surrender totally and without question to its inner drive. In fact, to be a "successful" seed, it must die to who and what it knows itself to be, to let go and become what it cannot see, perhaps what it cannot even imagine. In harmony, the Seed essences signify this willingness in us to explore the unknown, look forward to the mystery around the next bend, and trust in our inner resources.

The inharmonious energy of the seed may experience the breaking or falling away of its outer protection as uncomfortable or fearful; as an unwelcome change in the status quo that causes feelings of anger or grief; as a failure or loss of control over life as it has always been. If you are experiencing any of these feelings, check out the seed essences for guidance and support.

The Seed Essences

Acorn For trusting your inner knowing, free of doubt and self-sabotage. You Will Become Who You Are, a being of strength and perseverance, and you know the fullness of your possibilities even if you cannot always articulate them. Nourish yourself and listen carefully within during the early stages of any new project. Pay attention and trust what you know.

The acorn is the quintessential seed. One of the largest seeds, it has a hard outer shell, a nifty "cap" on top, an inner nourishment that is bitter until properly prepared, then delicious and nourishing.

If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not the heart of man become in its long journey toward the stars? - G.K. Chesterton

Locust Seed For finding your way back from the "dark side of the moon." Even in the darkest of times, your Body and Soul are connected with Spirit, which will guide you home when you ask for help.

This essences helps you find the courage to return from what some call the "dark night of the soul," and I call the bottom of the black pit. The large, dark seed is flat and nearly round, much like the New Moon (which represents a time to set intention and gather resources, to ask for help and be willing to receive it). It is its inner, hidden Life Force that calls you back from the abyss, restoring your conscious connection to Spirit and Earth. The Light on the other side calls you back, though you cannot always see it.

"It is only when you despair of all ordinary means, it is only when you convince it that it must help you or you perish, that the seed of life in you bestirs itself to provide a new resource." - Robert Collier

Milkweed Pod Bursting forth in consciousness. For recognizing the countless seeds of possibility scattered before you. Trust in Divine timing.

The beautiful seeds of the Milkweed Pod are brown with amazing white brush-like "wings" that carry it on the wind. At the moment the pod is ready to open, if you brush against it, the seeds pop out and float everywhere on the breeze, heading in every direction, ready to land in the most perfect location. Most of the seeds will fall on the street or in the driveway, or be washed away in a rainstorm or gusty breeze, their potential lost. You can never know which will find their way to fertile ground and produce more plants that generate more seeds. Create the foundation of fertile possibility in your heart and mind, and allow this essence to guide your vision.

"Life does not accommodate you, it shatters you. It is meant to, and it couldn't do it better. Every seed destroys its container or else there would be no fruition." - unknown

Wild Tobacco Seed The seed of confidence and assertiveness. For connecting with your true inner being and nurturing your potential so it germinates and grows. A "bubbling up" of joy and light that clears mental over-activity and frees untapped resources of energy. Boosts the immune system.

Without fail, when I say the name of this essence, or even see it, I get a big grin on my face. There is something about it, from the moment I first held the seeds in my hand, that causes me to smile. It brings focus to the moment, creating a space in which clear thinking manifests and new energies are released.

"Seedsmen reckon that their stock in trade is not seeds at all ... it's optimism." - Geoff Hamilton

You and I are here on Earth by our own conscious choice to support all of humanity and the Earth Herself as we take the next steps in our collective evolutionary cycle. Whether you believe we were created, whole and complete, as the human species, or crawled out of the muck and evolved to our current state (or any combination of alternative pathways in between), the fact is we are here now, standing on an important threshold. Our future depends on the choices we make and our capacity to make those choices from our hearts. May we choose wisely!

I've always loved the following poem by Wendell Berry. It expresses a stark sense of hopelessness, paired with the unquenchable faith and determination of the human spirit. Because Mr. Berry lives in Kentucky, I have had the privilege of seeing him in person a few times and he is a true inspiration. If you are unfamiliar with his work, I highly recommend you explore his writings.

The information in this web site is for educational purposes only. It has not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Consult your health care professional if you have any questions.

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