Working with Nettle is at the foundation of working with herbs in this region. I know this is a big claim, but the teachings of this plant are paramount to understanding herbalism. Nettle is not big medicine. You can not call upon it to cure deadly illnesses, it will not restore far gone conditions. It will, however, help prevent conditions from arising. A good relationship with Nettle is also a good relationship with the cycle of the seasons. Knowing "Sister Spinster", as Susun Weed calls Nettle, will help you weave together the threads of time as the tapestry of the year is created from the moments as they pass.
Pay attention! This is all Nettle asks of us. Be here now, or feel the sting of our slip in awareness.
Rare is the plant that rivals the usefulness of Nettle.
Nettle can be made into rope. Rope can be made into nets, bridges, ladders, lassos, bindings, harnesses. Rope makes a civilization possible. Rope helps you tie things, people, animals. Rope allows the horse able to be bridled. Bridled horses can be trained to ride. Horses made long distance travel far easier.
Take some time to meditate on the many uses of rope and how different this world would be if we humans had no knowledge of the making or using of rope.
But here we are at the middle of the end of Winter or as some consider it, the very beginning of Spring.
We worked with Nettle at this time as a gentle tonic for the winter weary body. A good week with Nettle tincture at the end of winter does a body good. It is very subtle. The effects of Nettle tincture are not overly felt, but you will notice your health holding steady.
As the light advances and winter wanes, our bodies stir with the anticipation of the green to come. A week of Nettle tincture as a tonic tunes us in to the green. Nettle is so full of green energy!
But this is just the beginning of a greater cycle, a yearly working of Nettle. Still to come are the fresh greens that emerge from the ground very early in March. And we march right along with the advancing season by eating Nettle often, absorbing her good green energy as spring time unfurls.
Nettle can be eaten for 3 moons after it emerges, then it must be left alone during pollination. Late spring sessions of stinging one's self with the plant activate the chi and awaken the senses. This process is known as "urtication" and it is very useful for areas of chronic bodily pain such as joint and back pain. After the summer has grown long, the plant can be picked to be processed into cordage and rope.
We will revisit the many uses of Nettle as the seasonal round progresses.
