Plants

Your bond with plants

To show gratitude to the plants that keep you company in a practice.

1. Before you use a plant, find out where it comes from and who grew it.
2. Thank it, and thank whoever gave it to you.
3. If it is alive, give it the light, water and soil its kind asks for.
4. If it wilts, go back over that care. A wilting plant is asking for attention: it is not a sign of harm.
5. If you don't have the plant, draw it, use a photo you took or write its name.
6. Work with what you have at home. Don't buy rare species or pull plants up in the wild.

Garlic: firmness and protection

To remind yourself of a boundary you want to hold in your home.

You need

A whole head of garlic, or a drawing of one · A small, dry dish

Time

Two minutes

1. Put the whole head of garlic in the dish.
2. Leave it in a dry place, out of reach of children and pets.
3. Think of the boundary you want to hold and dedicate the garlic to it.
4. Say the words.
5. When the garlic is past its best, thank it, put it in the compost and set out another.

“May my home have doors open to respect and clear boundaries against harm.”

A rue plant by the front door

To set by the door a plant that watches over the house.

You need

A potted rue plant

When

When you move into a new home, at the start of the year or whenever you want to freshen up the entrance.

Time

Ten minutes

1. Choose a spot by the front door where the rue will get sun.
2. Set it up high, out of reach of children and pets: it is not a plant for eating.
3. Water it, touch the soil in the pot and say the words.
4. Greet it on your way in and on your way out.
5. Wear gloves when you prune it: its sap irritates the skin.
6. If it dries up, thank it, put it in the compost and set out another.

“Rue, watch over this door. May envy pass on by and good things find their way in.”

Basil: joy, affection and welcome

To make room for joy in your home and welcome whoever comes.

You need

A pot of basil

Time

One minute a day

1. Set the pot by the front door, where it gets light.
2. When you water it, greet it and say the words.
3. Pair its care with a small act of hospitality: a glass of water for whoever arrives, an empty chair, a hello at the door.
4. Give it the water and light it needs.

“May this home make room for joy, and may everyone who lives here feel welcome.”

Mugwort: cleansing and shelter

To close the day and give your room a quiet time.

You need

A card · A pencil

When

At night, before you go to sleep.

Time

Five minutes

1. Draw a sprig of mugwort on the card, or write its name.
2. Dedicate the drawing to a sheltered night's rest.
3. Say the words.
4. Leave the card beside your notebook or on a clear surface in the room.

“For today I close whatever can wait. I give my room a quiet time.”

Rice: sustenance and abundance

To give thanks for your food and get ready to share it.

You need

A handful of dry rice · A bowl you already own

Time

Five minutes

1. Put the rice in the bowl.
2. Look at it: many small grains make a store of food, and food is for sharing.
3. Say the words.
4. Give some food to people who need it, within your means.
5. When you finish, pour the rice back into its jar in the kitchen. None of it goes to waste.

“I give thanks for what feeds me today. May I take good care of what I have, and may my abundance leave room for generosity.”

Cactus: endurance and the ability to adapt

To remember that you can adapt without giving up on your own care.

You need

A cactus that suits the spot, or a picture of one

Time

Two minutes

1. Put the cactus where it won't prick anyone or get in the way.
2. Look at it for a moment: it grows on very little and stores what it needs.
3. Say the words.
4. Give it the light and the little water it asks for.

“I can adapt without giving up on caring for myself. I don't have to prove I'm strong by putting up with everything.”

Cumin: taking care of what comes

To receive with gratitude and manage with care.

You need

A few dry cumin seeds · A paper envelope · A pencil

Time

Five minutes

1. Put the seeds in the envelope and seal it.
2. Write “cumin” and your intention on the envelope. If you have no cumin, draw the seeds next to the intention.
3. Say the words.
4. Keep the envelope with your bills or your papers.
5. Take it out when the seeds are past their best and put them in the compost.

“I receive with gratitude and manage with care. May I keep what is needed and share without neglecting my own needs.”

Sunflower: being seen and recognized

To show what you know how to do.

You need

A sunflower or a picture of one · A light

When

Four Sundays in a row.

Time

Ten minutes each Sunday

1. Set the sunflower or its picture in front of you and turn on the light.
2. Picture a warm light in the middle of your body, spreading without effort.
3. Say the words.
4. That week, do one thing to be seen: share a piece of your work, present a proposal or tell someone what you know how to do.
5. Repeat on the next three Sundays, with a new action each week.
6. Leave a card with a drawing of the flower near the place where you rest.

“I let myself show what I know how to do. May my work find places where it can be useful and valued.”

Corn: provision and continuity

To keep in mind where the things that sustain you come from.

You need

Nine dry corn kernels · A small red bag that closes well

Time

Five minutes

1. Count out the nine kernels and put them in the bag.
2. Close it.
3. Say the words.
4. Keep it close to your resources: by your wallet, your bills or the pantry.
5. Check it now and then, and replace the kernels if they spoil.

“May I not forget where the things that sustain me come from. May I sow, tend and share whatever is within my reach.”

Honey: sweetness and the ability to receive

To open yourself to receiving kindness and to giving it.

You need

A sealed jar of honey, or a label with the word “sweetness”

Time

Two minutes

1. Set the sealed jar on your table or your altar. If you have no honey, set out the label.
2. Recall a kind gesture someone showed you in the last few days.
3. Say the words.
4. If honey is already part of your table, dedicate one of today's meals to that intention.

“I let myself receive kindness without mistrusting every good thing. May I offer warmth to others and know when I need to be firm.”

Pine: permanence and home

To keep you company through a time of building or putting down roots.

You need

A clean pinecone, or a drawing of one

When

For as long as that time lasts: a move, a renovation, a beginning.

Time

Two minutes

1. Set the pinecone or its drawing on your altar or on a shelf at home.
2. Say the words.
3. If you want to watch something grow, sprout a few lentils in a dish of damp cotton and tend them like a crop.
4. When that time is over, return the pinecone to the soil of a potted plant or to the compost.

“May my home grow on real care. May what lasts have roots and what is new find room.”

Rose: love, harmony and beauty

To give affection time and to watch your words.

You need

A rose or a few dried petals · A clean dish

Time

Five minutes

1. Put the rose or the petals in the dish, where no one will step on them and pets can't reach them.
2. Look at the shape of the flower: it opens little by little.
3. Say the words.
4. Dedicate a yellow rose to a conversation you want to go smoothly.
5. Dedicate a rose of any color you like to loving yourself.
6. When it wilts, put it in the compost.

“May affection unfold without hurry. May I find beauty in simple things, and may my words not wound through carelessness.”

Aloe vera: renewal and care

To give patience to what you want to renew.

You need

An aloe vera plant in a pot that drains well

Time

One minute each time you water it

1. Put it where it gets plenty of light and pets can't chew on it.
2. Water it sparingly, when the soil is dry.
3. Each time you water it, say the words.
4. Leave it whole and rooted: here it keeps you company as a living plant.

“May my renewal be patient. May I learn to sustain what I want to see grow.”

Wheat: harvest and thanks for what sustains you

To give thanks for the year's sustenance and save its seed for the next.

You need

Nine dry grains of wheat · A small dish · A yellow bag that closes

When

On December 31.

Time

Ten minutes

1. Put the nine grains in the dish.
2. Face east, if you can do it comfortably.
3. Give thanks for what sustained you this year.
4. Say the words.
5. Put the grains in the yellow bag and close it.
6. Keep it all year. Check it now and then.
7. The next December 31, return the grains to the soil of a potted plant and begin again.

“In this seed I recognize the work that feeds us. May I take care of what I have received and sow what I wish to share.”

Consecrating a plant on its day

To dedicate a plant to an intention on the day of its planet.

You need

The plant in its pot, or a sprig in a glass of water · Paper and a pencil

When

On the weekday its planet rules, in the morning.

Time

Ten minutes

1. Find your plant in the table and wait for its day.
2. That morning, set it in front of you, in natural light if you can.
3. Water it or change its water.
4. Write in one sentence the intention you are dedicating it to.
5. Place your hands on either side of the plant and say the words.
6. Fold the paper and leave it under the pot or the glass.
7. Come back to it every week on its day: tend it and reread what you wrote.

“On this day, under your planet, I dedicate you to this intention. As I care for you, may I remember what I chose and take the step that is mine to take.”

Bitter herbs and sweet herbs

To let go of what weighs on you and then take in what you want to grow.

You need

Fourteen cards · A pencil

Time

Twenty minutes

1. Look at the table: the bitter herbs go with what you let go of; the sweet ones, with what you take in.
2. On seven cards, write seven things you want to let go of. Use the words in the table or swap in your own.
3. On seven more, write what you want to grow.
4. On each card, draw a plant from its list or write its name.
5. Go through the seven bitter cards first: read each one aloud and turn it face down.
6. Then go through the seven sweet cards: read each one aloud and leave it face up.
7. Keep the sweet cards where you will see them. The bitter ones go in the recycling.