The Cyclical Nature of Making Herbal Medicine: A Focus on Passionflower
As I prepare to make a batch of passionflower tincture, I am aware of the cyclical nature of this act. I check the label on my current bottle to see if it really has been a year since I made my last batch. It has. The liquid in the bottle is getting low, which is proof to me that I use this herb frequently.
I know that it works because every time that I take it when I am having trouble sleeping, my mind quiets within a few minutes and I gently fall asleep.
Just like foods are “in season” at a particular time of year, herbal medicines are often harvested and made cyclically at the same time each year. This is because plants have predictable cycles of growth.
The time of year that plant medicines are made depends on what part of the plant is being collected. Leaves, flowers, berries, seeds, and roots are best harvested at certain times in the life cycle of the plant, and these cycles repeat themselves year after year. The cyclical nature of plants is part of what I love about gardening and observing nature. These cycles provide a structure to the world that is grounding, comforting, and at times awe-inspiring.
Late summer is when it is time to make passionflower tincture in my garden. For many herbs, the above-ground parts of the plant are considered most potent when the herb is in flower. Come late summer, my passionflower is in full bloom, so that is when I make my tincture.
Some things I love about passionflower are that it is easy to grow, has beautiful flowers, attracts lots of pollinators, and provides a lot of material for tincture-making. I also love that it provides such a reliable medicine for me. To learn more about how and when to use passionflower tincture medicinally, you can read my essay Herbs That I Don’t Travel Without, Part 2: My Personal Experience with Passionflower.
When I am ready to make my tincture, I walk around and snip off the ends of vines where the fresh, young leaves can be found. It feels like I am giving the plant a little haircut. My tincture-making process this year is identical to when I wrote about it in 2021: Making Fresh Passionflower Tincture, except I have a brand new Vitamix blender this time. Fancy blender or not, making a fresh plant tincture is easy. Whether it is passionflower or another plant, if you have basic kitchen equipment, and you are sure you know what you are harvesting, you can do it too.
Making medicine from plants that you have a connection with, and whose cycles you are aware of, is a way to plug into the natural rhythms of our world. I believe this to be powerful medicine, all on its own.
As I wait for my new batch of passionflower to be ready to press out, and I continue to finish what is in last year’s bottle, I feel comforted and grateful. I love that I can depend on this plant to come back every year, and that every year I have the opportunity to harvest it, and make it into such a reliable medicine for me and my family.
About me
My name is Jillian Bar-av and I am a Registered Herbalist and Licensed Nutritionist. I specialize in supporting people who have complex urinary tract conditions, such as Interstitial Cystitis, with a comprehensive holistic approach that helps people to increase their quality of life. I’ve seen how healing herbs can be for the urinary system and how much they can help people to feel well again. Working with herbs is not only deeply healing, but part of my philosophy that it takes healthy people to create a healthy planet, and I want to make a difference for both.
If you are interested in learning about my clinical practice, or scheduling an appointment, you can do that here: https://www.greenspringherbs.com/treatments
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