22/02/2026
The sky is grey and dense as we hurtle towards March. The promise of the return of the light still tantalising the senses while it binds us to the cold Earth. The birds are becoming more active and their songs more bright. They welcome the light as we do, understanding that within the lengthening brightness is contained the seeds of hope; and that hope is a heady draught. Hope can be intoxicating, alluring, and beset with falsehoods.
Hope is a thing of not knowing in the bones; a thing of not seeing with the inner eyes; a thing of not embedding into the wisdom of the cycles. Hope is like a drug for the disconnected. The birds don’t succumb, and neither do I. We know that all hierarchical systems fall eventually; the only constant is the cosmology itself and its dips and troughs of shimmering movement. To surrender to the cosmology of consciousness is an act of devotion, and devotion requires no hope.
I like to watch the birds, to hear their songs and fancy that I can understand every note they sing; to sit still enough and slow my breathing so they come close and investigate me without fear. I eagerly await the return of the swifts and swallows, their swooping and diving carrying my spirit up with them to feel the wisping of their life on the wing. The comforting ever-presence of Blackbird and Robin throughout the winter holds me and helps me to remember that being here in these cold months is medicine in itself.
It is Chickweed, Stellaria media who draws my attention this week, for she is as cold and damp as the cold dark Earth.
She will cool your burning skin, cool your overzealous heart, cool your temper, and slow you down if you’re in need of a bit of chill. She cools the late winter restlessness in the edges of the being, as we feel uncomfortable in our dreaming skins, filled with the detritus of our dark-time imaginings.
Chickweed is a tasty wild green and her flavour is unchallenging to the non-trained palate. Many foraged foods can feel excessively bitter to those who are not used to eating them, but Chickweed is gentle, fleshy, and mild. Her flowers are minute and starry-eyed, white flashes low in the hedgerow. She is a good gateway herb into the foraging life, as she will not offend mouths used to sweetness with her flavour.
Chickweed also makes a delicious cooling vinegar, a wonderful poultice for any kind of burn, or for a case of hot eczema. Her juice applied to the temples will cool a hot headache (and a hot headed person). Simply pound her juicy, mucilaginous leaves in a mortar and pestle, place the pulp over the area which requires cooling, and cover with a bandage.
Blessings from the hedgerows.
