“The life and breath of the Dandelion as it travels through the seasons”
By Hemlock ShiningCoil + Pidge Fletching
The dandelion flower represents 3 celestial bodies: sun, moon and stars. The yellow flower resembles the sun, the puff ball resembles the moon and the dispersing seeds resemble the stars. How might we call upon these heavenly bodies within our earthly ones?
The dandelion flower opens to greet the morning and closes in the evening to go to sleep. We too follow the rhythms of nature.
In Winter, we are called to deep rest, to turning inward, and to rooting down. In this season, the dandelion teaches us rest as we work on storing our magic and investing in ourselves.
Every part of the dandelion is medicinal: root, leaves, flower. It can be used for food, medicine and dye for coloring. Animals such as birds, insects and butterflies consume nectar or seed of dandelion. Dandelion flowers do not need to be pollinated to form seed. How can we learn to use what we have to its fullest?
In Spring, we move out of hibernation and into the strengthening sun, tender and glistening, we greet the world anew. The season of spring is perfect for harvesting dandelion root and flower.
In the early spring, before they flower, the dandelion root helps us to emerge from our winter slumber to a smooth and delicious brew that helps us clear away toxins that are built up in us. The leaf also is most tender in spring before flowering and provides us with nutrients for the busy year ahead.
In late spring the warming sun starts to waken the land more and our yards and green spaces burst with yellow. The joyous flower of the dandelion can be used on the skin to repair and refresh and eaten as a semi sweet morsel that refreshes and nourishes the body.
Dandelions have one of the longest flowering seasons of any plant. What might we learn from blooming over and over again?
In Summer, we are blooming, enjoying the bright sun, the warm breezes, watching our gardens grow and mature.
The dandelions are also enjoying our garden this season, in the early summer we experience a rare day of what looks like snow. However, this unseasonable flurry is the seed of the dandelion dispersing itself only to rest a short spell and bloom again in mid summer if they are kept short.
If you mow dandelions, they’ll grow shorter stalks to continue their work. How might we learn to adapt to our changing environment?
In summer we focus on the jovial properties of this Jupitarian plant and once again turn to its roots to soothe the liver in the hot summer sun and to enjoy the nutty and smooth iced tea that they can provide.
Dandelion seeds are often transported away by a gust of wind and they travel like tiny parachutes. Seeds are often carried as many as 5 miles from their origin. We too may be dispersed and far – our magic ties us to a single source.
In Autumn, we harvest our work, we shift again, our seeds of change, resilience, and our wishes dispersing and landing in yet unknown places.
This season we prepare the dandelion for rest, we store up our harvests from the year and give gratitude for the years work this little plant does with ease. This is the time to process oils and tinctures made in the spring and summer and to turn them into salves and medicines for the cold season ahead.
Dandelions are masters of learning to thrive where you have landed, so many lessons for us witches to learn.