The Moon and Marshmallow
Edited from a previous newsletter sent in September 2020.
Humans share a physical intimacy with the Moon. The Moon is the closest celestial body to Earth and our only natural satellite. The Moon affects many cycles, both on our planet and in our bodies. In astrology, the waxing and waning Moon asks us to pay attention to what is impermanent and in flux. It governs our bodies, our emotions, and our needs. The Moon's location and phase when you were born can tell us how you find nourishment and how you care for others. It can point to what requires daily care in your life.
The Moon reminds me of a quote from mystic, political activist, and philosopher Simone Weil:
“Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love. Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer."
For me, unmixed attention is a rare thing. But the Moon asks us to pay this kind of attention to our bodies. It asks us to learn the language of the physical. We tend to only hear our bodies when there are sirens blaring. These sirens take the form of eczema, migraines, flare ups, meltdowns, and burn out. What would it take for us to learn the gentler nudges of the body? And what if we could respond to those messages as if responding to the needs of someone we loved?
We require tending but so many only notice the body when it breaks down. If we're too sick to work, then we stop and do damage control. Then we're right back to it. This isn't our fault. We have none of the social support in place we'd need to care about our health more than our productivity. But I think it's worthwhile to imagine the world we want. How else can we hope to get there?
What if we treated all bodies — human and more-than-human — as if they were worthy of care, regardless of how well they could be used? What if caring for the body was as sacred as a prayer?
Everyday Care and Marshmallow Root
The wondrous yet quotidian Moon oversees small rituals. The Moon knows what we do daily, no matter how small, can be more impactful than a fleeting, grand gesture.
Herbalism by its nature is of the Moon. More than conventional medicine, herbalism requires daily care and regular, small tasks. Quarts of tea, boiled, steeped, and strained. Salves applied and tinctures taken, upwards of three times a day. It's more work and requires new habits but I think that's part of the medicine. We build relationship with our healing. In our new rituals, we commit to our own health.
There’s plenty more I could do to take care of my body and don't, but there is the one ritual I keep. Every day I drink a long-infusion of marshmallow root tea.
I noticed pretty early on in my journey with herbalism is that my body is prone to dryness. Dryness can show up as dry skin, dry mouth, and, less obviously, a weaken immune system due to dried out mucous membranes. Our mucous membranes line many of our major body systems. They are our first line of defense against pathogens. Yes, snot keeps you healthy. It is loaded with immune cells. Mucous traps pathogens in its goo and makes it possible for the body to expel them. We need healthy mucous membranes. Dry skin may alert you to an imbalance but it is not the heart of the problem. It’s just a symbol, a letter in the body’s alphabet.
Marshmallow is a simple but potent plant. You can understand almost everything it does for the body when you know marshmallow moistens and cools. Think of a time you were completely parched and then finally got to drink a glass of water. The soothing moisture hitting your tongue, sliding down your throat, the chill of it flowing into your chest, your eager, joyful gulps. That’s “cold/wet” balancing “dry/hot” in herbal medicine. It’s sweet relief. That’s marshmallow.
Marshmallow flower
The list of conditions marshmallow aids is so long because it can help in almost any situation where things are too dry and too hot. Marshmallow cools down over-excited tissues states. It soothes hot sensations like heartburn. Its mucilage encourages the healing of wounds like ulcers. It stimulates the membranes to produce more fluid. Not only does marshmallow improve the amount of fluid, it also improves the quality of immunity. Bacteria are clever and link up, creating a chain of themselves called biofilms. Immune cells and antibiotics are best equipped to attack individual bacterium. These biofilms stack the deck in the bacteria's favor. United, they are stronger. However, marshmallow knows how to break the chain. This plant makes our immune system that much more effective.
Readers on the U.S. West Coast
If you are living on the West Coast right now, I don’t need to tell you what hot and dry conditions feel like. If you can get your hands on some marshmallow root, do so. I brew a quart of water at night, pour it over several tablespoons of the root, cover it, and leave it until morning. That long steep** gives the root time to release its mucilage and nutrients. Then I strain it and make sure to push on the plant matter with my fingers to get all the juice out. If you can add mullein leaf too, all the better. Mullein redirects water in the body to the lungs. Together, they should be good allies for you in this time.
**There’s a question in the herbal world about the best way to get mucilage out of marshmallow root. Let me just say any of the ways other than a short steep will get you some mucilage. But to get the most? Some say you should infuse it overnight in cool water. Others say you should boil and then simmer it for awhile. I say try it yourself. But know that if you drink it hot, you won’t see the same amount of slimy goodness because of the water temperature. That doesn’t mean the juicy mallow isn’t there. Feel it in your body and trust that.
When Marshmallow Isn't For You
If instead of a hot, dry condition, you are experiencing something wet and cold — like a thick, phlegmy cough — then marshmallow isn’t your plant today.
If you take medication, marshmallow’s ability to encourage wetness in the body can actually slow down how you process your pharmaceutical drugs. Give yourself an hour between your medication and the marshmallow, so marshmallow’s gorgeous sludge does not interfere with your dosing.
Drinking the Moon
According to the old herbal books, the Moon rules the mallow family. Astrology and herbalism use the same constitutional types based on the four elements. The Moon is associated with the water element and the phlegmatic temperament (for more on the temperaments, read Rebecca Altman’s work). The Moon seeks to cool, soothe, and moisten. The image that comes to mind is of a person laying on a couch with a fever, and then someone they love comes and places a cool compress on their forehead. That’s the Moon, and that’s marshmallow. Water takes what is worn out, irritated, agitated, too hot, too dry — and offers softness, relief, and connection. Dryness cracks and divides; moisture smooths and unifies.
What small acts of attention can you give your body today, and tomorrow?
How can you hear and heed what your body needs?
Do you know where you get nourishment, defined in the most generous of terms?
What histories do you hold in your body?
What did you learn growing up about your needs and how to get them met?
What do you reach for when you are hurting or out of balance? What do you do when someone else is?
These are Moon questions. We can explore them together by looking at the Moon in your birth chart. If you want find plant allies like marshmallow to support your body and emotional health on a daily basis, let's find a time to talk.
You can also start right now. Wherever you are reading this, take a deep breath in, and then out. Is there any place where you are holding or clenching, and don’t need to? See if you can soften it. I’ll do it with you. I’ve softened my jaw and lowered my shoulders. Keep breathing deeply. Feel the skin of your back stretch as you inhale. Check in. Is there any place that feels really good right now? Having looked for tension, can you also find spots of ease? Some corner of the body where you could stay in awhile, some softness, some smoothness, some angle, some juiciness? What is wanted? What is needed? What small gifts could you give yourself right now that would feel nourishing?
This is your body. This is you. 2020 has brought with it a lot of rage and grief, and we feel it here — in the muscles, in the bones, in the heart. However you choose to do so, I invite you to learn the prayer of your body. Once and awhile, give it your absolute unmixed attention.
