Are you as in love with Nettles as I am, Reader? 🙃

This powerhouse plant is such an ally — especially when it comes to herbal cycle syncing.

HERBAL CYCLE SYNCING: the practice of working with herbs in conjunction with the four phases of the female fertility cycle to help support and nourish the fluctuating hormones.

Check out this blog post for more on cycle syncing → CYCLE SYNCING 101​

As one of the highest iron-containing herbs around (with the bonus of being high in Vitamin C, which helps with iron absorption), Nettles are key for the Inner Springtime / post-bleed phase of the cycle when your body is rebuilding after the release.

From an herbal, energetic perspective, Nettles is ruled by the planet Mars and embodies the element of Fire. Unsurprisingly, we start to see Nettles emerging in the wild during Aries 🔥 season (also ruled by the planet Mars and the fire element).

As that spark of life from Aries begins to push sprouts up and the green world starts to show itself once again, this is when Nettles takes center stage.

Whenever I wax poetic about Nettles I usually get some pretty serious side-eye 👀

Most people hear “Nettles” and immediately wince because of some experience where they got the sassy-end of Nettles' personality. (An Ex of mine cringed whenever I brought up Nettles because of a camping "incident" that involved being naked and falling into a patch of Nettles 🙊 tee hehehe)

Yep, Nettles can and will sting — IF you don’t know how to approach it with respect.

At my last apartment, I planted a patch of Nettles in the little garden I tended — to which my landlord was like… “Please tell me you’re joking...”

I was not 😂 And most days, you would find me out in the Nettles patch hand-picking leaves (no gloves!) for my morning tea.

How, you might ask, (or maybe WHY?!) I would pick Nettles with my bare hands..?

By being in right-relationship with this plant, I learned how to approach it.

How to talk to it.

How to ask permission and discern if it was in right relationship to harvest.

I didn’t… Shove my hand in and grab. Or jab sharp clippers into the patch, hacking off whatever I wanted... And getting stung like hell in the process.

This is Nettles wisdom. Strength and boundaries. Discernment.

(I'd also argue that the stinging-histamine effect of a gentle Nettle "buzz" is also an alternative to an espresso shot. But I'm sure many would disagree 🙃)

Ahhh, I could go on forever, but we’ll stop there today.

You can find Nettles in the Inner Spring tea from our Inner Seasons Tea Set, of course! This mint-forward tea is packed with additional herbs to help replenish the body.

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Have you met Nettles out in the wild, Reader? Or maybe you're a Nettlehead like me and have planted a patch for yourself so you can always connect with this amazing herbal ally?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on dear Nettle! I promise not to be offended if you're like my ex who can't look at them without cringing 😂 Just hit reply to this email, and it'll come straight to my inbox, for my eyes only 👀

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Big Love, all ways always

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P.S. Don't forget you can get your daily-follicular-phase dose of Nettles in the Inner Spring Tea! Check out the Tea Set → HERE ...or... Grab the full set of Inner Seasons Teas to nourish your whole fertility cycle → HERE

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