Over the last couple years, Birch has been my very cherished ally to connect with during the time of early spring and the vernal equinox. Birch, (Betula spp.) She who gives birth to the forest, is an awakener. A harbinger, bringer of new beginnings.
All Birch species are safe to use medicinally, in my area ~ lands of the Lakota and the Anishinaabe, the most common birch species you will find are River Birch, Paper Birch/White Birch, Yellow Birch. Birch is a revered tree that offers emergency food. The bark is amazingly useful as paper, bitten as artwork, canoe material, wonderful fire starter and so much more.
Medicinally, Birch can be worked with as tea (bark, leaf, catkin), infused oil (leaf, bark), Tincture (bark, leaf, bud), the sap can be cooked down as a syrup which tastes to me like delicious molasses with buckwheat honey! You can also make an essence with the catkin (inflorescence). Birch essence is a powerful way to work with the medicine spirit of Birch without chemical constituents, due to its highly diluted nature. I have worked with Birch essence in the bath, anointed on my head and brow, by mouth, in water. Grandmother Birch is POWER. a wild, embodied power with deep knowing and “unfuckwithable-ness”. Grandma B don’t play! She is the great impetus ~ the force that moves. The spark of a new start.
Birch essence is wholly Holy. It is deep reminder of your worthiness to simply exist. It is reminder of your true nature which is strength and grace. It is remembering who you are and holding that even when on shaky ground. Birch essence is kinnection with ancestry. Birch essence is FLOW. Birch essence is stop talking about what you want to do and instead, LET’S FREAKING GO!
To make your own Birch essence is easy to do! Simply harvest the Birch catkins in full flower with a scissors, snipped directly into a glass bowl of spring water. If you can, harvest on a beautiful bluebird sky day around 9am. Let sit in the water until the flowers appear to have lost their lifeforce. Then strain, bottle, and combine with equal parts brandy or vodka. This is a Birch “mother” essence.
Happy Spring! I hope you find the time and space to kinnect with a Birch near you!
