The Seeker's Trove Newsletter

New Moon in March, 2008

The Seeker's Trove is a monthly newsletter for Pagan seekers from the www.Sacred Hearth.com

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Welcome to the New Moon in Pisces

We are approaching a time of change, of new beginnings and paradigm shifts. Over the winter we rest and prepare for new projects, now is the time to begin setting them in motion. The key is to remember that everything is connected, though, matter and energy are all the same. Every thought is the conception of a divine child. Will you use your energy to bring it into the material world, or will it stay a thoughtform? Or perhaps you will abort the project altogether. The gestational period of your idea is entirely up to you, but now is a great time to begin the labor of allowing your thoughtform to emerge into the material realm. Use this new moon to do some spellwork to aid you in beginning your new project or to meditate on the steps you need to take to make your goal a reality. If you don't have a project, you should! Everyone needs goals to keep them striving to better themselves. Meditate on the things you can improve in your life and set reasonable, attainable goals for yourself.

March 20th is the Spring Equinox, often called Ostara or Eostre in Pagan Circles. Now is the time to plant the seeds of new beginnings and to celebrate balance and renewal and, of coruse, the Goddess of the Dawn. She is called Ostara, Eos, Aurora and by other names. Traditional celebrations often look alot like the Christian's Easter celebration (Which falls on March 22 this year) with alot of rabbit symbology and eggs. Embrace it. Have fun! Give the kids an Eostre Egg hunt and check out this ritual I wrote in honor of my Matron Goddess Eos: http://www.sacredhearth.com/bos/rituals/sabbats/eostredawn

If you're going to dye eggs, you might be interested in checking out my article on dying eggs naturally.

March 21st is the full worm moon, so named because this is the time that the worms begin to awaken from their hibernation and crawl back toward the surface. That means, that pretty soon we'll have robins heralding spring- if you don't have them already! Take the first steps toward the beginnings of new projects, including (and especially) gardening projects. Do spellwork to give you strength and luck with these, or do practical and magickal work to enhance the fertility of your garden. Seed planting and blessing rituals are popular at this time, and also at Eostre.

Click here for Gardens Alive's Natural Gardening Library
to help you get a good start on your gardening projects.

Spring Tonic Herbs

It's pneumonia weather! That's what the grandma's say this cold, no warm, no cold, and oh so damp time of year. Spring tonics are a traditional way of warding off the late winter and early spring colds that tend to descend on us in the early months of the year. Herbal infusions are an age old way to bring the nutritional cornocopea of the summer through the winter months and into spring. By spring our bodies are wore out from months of darkness, cold and nutritional reliance on the less-than-fresh foods. Spring tonics help bring our bodies out of hibernation mode and into let's get busy mode.

Spring tonics can be made as infusions (or teas) or as juices. Fresh juices have added benefits over teas as they retain more of the nutrients that may be lost in the drying and heating process. Teas only provide the flavor and essence of the herb, which juices provide all the goodness of the raw food. However, one must be careful with certain herbs. Mullein, nettles and comfrey are great tonic herbs, but not so great for juicing because comfrey and mullein are hairy, not so good to drink, and nettles, which are also hairy, have chemical coated hairs that cause their famous sting. Only through heating can these chemicals be neutralized. So these are best made into a tea or steamed thoroughly before juicing. When making tonic infusions, use warm, but not boiling water and let it sit a bit longer before straining. This helps preserve nutrients that can be destroyed by heat.

My favorite tonic herb for this time of year, when it can't decide whether it's going to be a balmy spring day or plunge us into another deep freeze, is ginger. Every morning I drop a teaspoon of crushed fresh ginger root into a tall latte mug and add hot (but not boiling!) water and stir. This makes my pre-breakfast beverage every day and it works better than coffee. It really gets the blood flowing and gets me moving. It also warms me to my fingers and toes. Come midsummer, I'll be starting my day with a refreshing fruit smoothie instead!

Take a look at some of the tonic herbs in the Sacred Hearth's herb database and come up with your own tonic concoction if you feel so inclined. If you're not feeling adventurous, Mountain Rose Herbs has some excellent teas that can serve this purpose to a... well.. T. Try their 21st Century Tea (It's got nettle, red clover, alfalfa and ginger, among other things), Blossoms of Health (A favorite of mine.) and the best choice of all for a spring tonic is their Vita Blend Tea.

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