December is the time of year when our activities can seem most out-of-kilter with the natural world around us. While much of nature beds down, tucks in and takes respite to gather energy for the sprouting and blooming months ahead, we throw ourselves into parties and activities, gatherings and feasting. Of course there’s good social reasons for doing this, humans need company, especially through the darkest months, but we also need a little time to gather ourselves, rest awhile and nurture our bodies.
Here we’re taking our cue from nature with a few gentle plant-based suggestions for moments that are just as magical as a fairy-topped tree, packed with as much seasonal bliss as a glass of steaming mulled wine and help us build memories and connections that will fortify us through this dark month, and the year to come.
Smell the pine
Whether out in the woods or with a living tree at home, next time you’re near a pine tree, take a moment to breathe in its uplifting scent. Holding a few pine needles in your hand and closing your eyes can be calming and mediatative.
Imagine stepping into a pine forest. Feel the tall, upright trees all around. Sense the crispness of spent needles returning to earth beneath your feet. Take a deep breath. Inhale their uplifting scent. Immediate transformation. In the stillness you recognise the aerosols coming off the trees creating microclimates and microenvironments. You remember how the mist clouds over the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. A protective, cooling layer of air. Trees are the lungs of the planet, and pine trees have particular affinity with our lungs. They enable us to breathe easy and to have peace.
Nurture your skin
In the cold of winter it’s hard to keep your glow, skin and hair are affected by sharp winds and dry air. Just as water is critical for life, and for renewal, it is vital for our skin to be hydrated. Natural oils can help by nourishing our skin, strengthening our skin barrier so we loose less moisture, and by providing a protective layer to lessen the impact of the elements.
Beautiful oils to use in winter include rich avocado oil, nourishing hemp seed oil and regenerating walnut oil. You can also use the sunflower oil from your kitchen cupboard, which is one of our best sources of barrier-repairing linoleic acid. Make protecting your skin a daily ritual.
Embrace the dark
While you’re negotiating traffic among glaring headlights or stumbling to the chickenshed in the dark it may not feel like a blessing, but hours of darkness are part of the special spirit of this time of the year.
Outdoors, take the opportunity to wrap up, take a warm drink and spend a while gazing at the night sky and its stars.
Indoors, get a bit of special Christmas magic by watching a film by the lights of the Christmas tree, or the gentle light of a fire, if you’re lucky enough to have the real thing.
Orange cologne
Among all the snacks and treats we load our tables with at this time of the year, a bright orange clementine has to be the star. Quality Street chocolates may be easier to unwrap but their new eco packaging has lost shine; nuts are simple to eat by the handful, but easy to over-indulge; clementines, however, make you earn their juicy flesh, and reward with a spray of refreshing citrusy zest.
Remedies entwined with ivy
Ivy is considered a cheerful herb, able to drive away melancholy. It is often associated with imbibing from Baccus’s wreath to the ‘ivy stakes’ that advertised the presence of a Tavern in Medieval times.
In companion to this, it is also considered to help overcome the effects of alcohol. An old remedy for stomach ache is to boil ivy leaves in vinegar and press them to your side.
Also, wearing an ivy leaf will prevent you being pinched (a good antidote to the ‘pinch and a punch on the first of the month’). If you are pinched while wearing an ivy leaf, you are entitled to pinch back twelve times.
Holly
Holly is our herb of the month for December this year. Read about her here. To benefit from her ability to aid foresight, try creating your own holly tincture. There is a full moon this Thursday, a lovely opportunity to gather your holly leaves.
Simply put a few holly leaves into a small jar, cover with brandy (or, if you prefer, vinegar) and leave to infuse for around six weeks (a moon and a half) before straining and putting in a dark bottle.
When you want holly’s support, just a couple of drops of tincture either directly on your tongue or added to water or a warm drink brings her strengths to you.
Walnut shell candles
When you’re cracking your nuts by the fireside, save any walnut shell halves that have broken neatly. These can become little floating candles for a New Year celebration.
You’ll need some candle wicks, and a little wax – melting the ends of old candle works well, or use beeswax. A used food tin from your recycling serves as a container to melt the wax in, bain-marie style (put the tin in a pan of water to provide gentle heat).
Place a wick in each walnut half and fill with melted wax, then leave to set.
When you’re ready to use your candles, set the scene with a wide, shallow bowl containing water and three large candles, or stones. Label these with peace, hope and love.
Gather with loved ones, giving each a walnut shell candle. Take turns to make your wish for the new year, light your candle and float it on the water. Whichever candle/rock it bobs close to is the spirit that will accompany your wish through the year.
Look after yourself
With so many things to do and people to see it can feel difficult or indulgent to take time for yourself. Remember that even a moment can make a difference. And you take your mood with you wherever you go, it impacts on others. When you’re calm, it radiates, and others benefit too.
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