January is a month of coming in, pulling back my energy after the busy holiday season. On stormy Winter days I sit in the warmth of the wood stove and gaze out the window dreaming of the gifts left by the wind. This day, the wind is blowing tufts of Usnea across the sky scattering the beautiful grey/green lichen, adding a unique texture to the landscape. Usnea, pronounced OOS-nay-ah and lovingly referred to as Old Man’s Beard, is not a plant but rather a combination of algae and fungus growing in a symbiotic relationship in conifer and hardwood forests. It is very slow growing and sensitive to pollution which has caused it to loose much of it’s native habitat. I feel extremely fortunate that it grows in abundance in my forest home. I have felt called to spend time with it...or maybe, it has called me? Either way, we have been in relationship this season and it is teaching me the many ways it has been used throughout history and ways that I can include it as part of my own healing. It has an affinity for the respiratory system and if you are familiar with the Doctrine of Signatures, this makes sense as it grows in this symbiotic relationship with the trees. It is a Mercury plant in Medical Astrology represented by the Air sign....I think of it as Air of Air.

After the storm, as the morning sun peaks through the raindrops on the trees, I venture into the forest to gather the windswept gifts. These gifts will be gathered with thanks and will be crafted into medicine to keep me and my family well through the season. Today, in addition to gathering Usnea, I visit the area where my lone cottonwood grows. She is a mighty tree with a growing ring of daughters. Late February as she begins to open her buds, her fragrance permeates the forest and her aroma wafts on the wind....intoxicating my senses. Today as I approach the area, I see she has been hit by a fallen fir and beneath the broken limbs, buds peak out and I gently gather them into my pocket. Today there is plenty for this season’s medicine. I give thanks.

There is a healing energy in the forest. It holds, heals, teaches, cleanses, evolves and reaches out to all who enter it’s presence...my cats with severe respiratory distress have been transformed by walking on the Earth here and breathing in the cleansing essence of the forest air. So, I stop beneath the canopy this morning and give thanks. Meditating, listening and learning from the wisdom all around me, graciously accepting the gifts of my forest.