Photo by Humphrey Muleba on Unsplash
Happy new year! For those of us celebrating Lunar New Year, today marks the beginning of the year of the metal rat. While I’m not an astrologer or feng shui expert, I like to reflect on the qualities of the Chinese zodiac to see how they might be helpful in my understanding of the year. As an herbalist I have chosen a few herbs to help us harness the magic and energy this year may bring.
The rat is the first animal in our zodiac cycle and creates momentum and energy for new beginnings. When I think of the qualities of rats, I reflect on how they are resilient, cunning, intelligent, fast, and persistent. Their cunning and intelligence doesn’t come at the cost of their heart though - they are also generous and social creatures. Their resilience stands out to me - if a city falls, I believe that resourceful rats will find a way to continue thriving. In feng shui theory, the metal element is associated with ambition, determination, progress and persistence. Metal can also signify structure and stability in different forms, since it can be melted and created anew.
There are many herbs that can help us bring in the qualities of new beginnings, intelligence, warmth, resilience, progress and persistence. Below I have selected just a few. I encourage you to use this list as a jumping off point and to use your intuition to select some herbs that help you harness these or other qualities that remind you of the year of the metal rat. I chose herbs that tend to be accessible or grown in the Bay Area and that I like to work with.
Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash
Rosemary, Salvia rosmarinus
Originally native to the Mediterranean, Rosemary is cultivated and beloved across the world. Rosemary has a long history of being worked with as a protective and clearing herb. Sprigs of rosemary can be hung at doorways or other auspicious places to ward off bad luck or energy. Dried rosemary sprigs can also be burned to clear energy in a room or in one’s self. To harness the energy of a new beginning, we often need to let go of all that which doesn’t serve us. Rosemary can be a helpful ally in continuously letting go throughout the year to guard our intentions and support what we’re building.
Rosemary has also long been used to sharpen our minds and memory. In honor of the intelligent rat, we can support our mental acuity by consuming rosemary through cooking, rosemary vinegars, tinctures or teas. Greek scholars used to wear wreaths of rosemary to help them remember everything they were learning. Rosemary can also help relieve headaches - so if we spend too much time in our heads and we start to hurt, rosemary can help with that too!
Photo by Marco Verch licensed under Creative Commons.
Ginger, Zingiber officinale
Native to Asia, ginger is consumed around the world and well regarded for a number of uses. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, metal is associated with the spicy flavor profile, and ginger is a great way to add a spicy element to our diets. I like that ginger is accessible, affordable kitchen medicine that is incredibly effective. Ginger supports our immune system, which can help us persevere in all we attempt to do this year. Ginger is also often used to calm upset stomach, reduce nausea, and help with motion sickness. Energetically and physically, if we are moving too fast, ginger can help slow us down and bring some calm.
While ginger can be tinctured, I like working with it best by making a medicinal tea. You can grate 4-6 tablespoons of ginger and add to a quart of water, bring to a boil, and then remove from heat to steep. You can also add honey and lemon.
Photo by team voyas on Unsplash
Garlic, Allium sativum
Similar to ginger, garlic is accessible, affordable kitchen medicine. I like to think that the resourceful, resilient, and opportunistic rats set an example for us to use medicine that is common and abundant. Whenever I start to get a cold or flu, eating raw garlic is my go to choice to boost my immunity. I chop garlic in to small pieces and sprinkle in to cooked food. (Eating raw garlic by itself can upset some people’s stomachs.) Garlic is antiseptic, antibacterial, and antimicrobial, making it extremely effective in fighting off infections. Rats thrive in conditions that some may call dirty. I think they encourage us to have robust and resilient immune systems.
While safe for most people, raw garlic can irritate some stomachs or be too warming for people who already run hot.
That’s me with Ashwagandha! Photo by Ancestral Apothecary School.
Ashwagandha, Withania somnifera
Native to South Asia, Ashwagandha has long been used as a powerful herbal tonic in Ayurveda. Ashwagandha grows well in the Bay Area and is drought tolerant. The Hindi name for the plant, asgandh, refers to the sweat of a stallion. Ashwaganda is an herb that can be worked with over time to increase overall resilience and stamina. While it increases our resilience, ashwagandha is also calming - it doesn’t encourage a frenetic energy. Ashwagandha also helps relieve cloudy thinking, increasing our mental clarity as well.
Ashwagandha can be taken in tincture form or the powder can be mixed into drinks or with ghee. As ashwagandha can stimulate the thyroid, do not use if you have hyperthyroidism. Ashwagandha is rich in iron and isn’t recommended if you have excess iron. It’s also not recommended for pregnant people.
A note on safety and working with herbs: While the herbs above are safe for most people, it’s best to work with an experienced herbalist if you are taking medications, have any medical conditions, or just want help putting together a custom formula that takes your unique needs in to consideration.
There are a number of ways you could work with these or other herbs that evoke the qualities of the year of the metal rat. You could simply cook with ginger and garlic more. You could make a ginger tea on every new moon and spend some time journaling about what you’re moving towards. You could take a bath with rosemary on every full moon to release any negative energy. You could make an ashwagandha coconut milk drink every night to help you rest deeply and be ready for the next day. There are many opportunities to be creative and personalize your relationship and ritual to these herbs to harness the energy of the year of the rat.
Wishing you well, a happy new year, and a nurturing, creative, supportive relationship with the plant world!
In honor of the new year, I also have two offerings for my community. I’m offering 50% off my sliding scale to new clients who contact me before February 8th (the end of lunar new year season) to set up their first herbal consult. I’m also running a giveaway - anyone who signs up for my newsletter before February 8th is automatically entered into a prize drawing for a remedy from my herbal apothecary!