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Category: Illuminations
Illuminations, Winter December 16, 2019December 16, 2019

Why I Believe

Since time immemorial this season has asked us to believe. As the days whittle down to their shortest points in the Northern hemisphere, belief

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Illuminations November 24, 2019March 27, 2021

Why Vaginal Health Issues Manifest

I spent years of my life struggling with mysteriously unsolvable vaginal health issues. First, it was chronic yeast infections. No matter what

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Illuminations, The Otherworld September 26, 2019March 27, 2021

Ancestral Herbalism

Once upon a time all of us were indigenous. At some point in the past we all had ancestors who came from a very particular place, a land where

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Illuminations, Sacred Entrepreneurship September 12, 2019June 11, 2021

Let Your Passions Show You Your Purpose

I’ve always been a bit of a school nerd. Waiting to find out my teacher or getting a course catalog in the mail felt just like receiving my

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Illuminations, Words For Hard Times August 28, 2019April 9, 2021

Everything Is A Symptom Of Healing

Ever had one of those weeks where literally everything goes to pieces? I had one of those this past spring, and it was a doozey. I had just

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Illuminations, Seasonal Celebration, Summer August 1, 2019July 31, 2019

The Secret to a Beautiful Garden

I love gardening, but that doesn’t mean it’s always been easy for me. Historically, I’ve been ever-so-enthusiastic about planting,

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[wool-gath-er-ing] v.

daydreaming, the gathering of thoughts and dreams as one might collect fallen tufts of wool

[wild-craft-ing] v.

the harvesting of herb, root, flower or inspiration from the wilds



Asia Suler is a writer, teacher, medicine maker and seeker who lives in the blue folds of the southern Appalachian mountains. Woolgathering and Wildcrafting is her grass-stained journal from the hillsides of the living world. It’s full of recipes, musings, plant monographs and poetics. So grab a cup of tea and come on in for a spell. Open up to a page in this shared tome to find a hand-pressed flower, words of comfort, or a small glen of inspiration for your day. Visit Asia’s online classes for more.

Paths through the Wood

  • Illuminations
  • Plant Stories
  • Words for Hard Times
  • Nourishment
  • The Otherworld
  • Mineral Medicine
  • Sacred Entrepreneurship 
  • Travelogues
  • Seasonal Celebration
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Fall


Further streams

It’s common, when we have a health problem, to f It’s common, when we have a health problem, to feel like we failed. Especially for those of us who dedicate our lives to learning how to take good care of our bodies. Having a health crisis sets up a direct trigger for a spiritual crisis where we begin to question everything. But the basic truth of the world is that we are always moving back towards balance, and even the most challenging conditions are symptoms of our attempts to heal.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ My body tends to be a very loud communicator. Whenever I am depleted, I manifest a whole, very colorful variety of health issues. Every time a new body ailment crops up, a part of me panics. As someone whose journey has been marked by chronic pain and illness, there is always that lingering subterranean fear that I could backslide at any moment. But then, I take a deep breath and remember the one awareness that came out of all those years of hardship— everything, truly, is a symptom of healing.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Remembering this is like applying a cool chickweed compress to the hot fear of the moment. It has the power to dissolve all my self-judgment and help me see that, what I had assumed to be punishment, was actually an opportunity for self-gentleness. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sometimes I think the most healing thing of all is to have something in your life go down the toilet and be able to say— I still believe healing is possible. In truth, the most toxic part of getting sick is often the story we tell ourselves about ourselves when we are going through a hard time. What causes the most enduring pain of all isn’t necessarily the physical symptoms, but the emotional anguish of feeling like we are somehow doing it (aka. life) wrong. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But, as is so often the case in our beautiful, complex, contradictory world, the truth is often the exact opposite. The hardest things that happen in your life are symptomatic, not of your deficiency or doom, but of the powerful healing that is trying to take place.
A teacher once told me that the heart expands in t A teacher once told me that the heart expands in the presence of truth. If something spoken is true for us, our heart responds by opening— even when that truth is unexpected. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Freedom feels so good to our hearts because it is an experience of our truth. At our core, we are all free spirits. We are as boundless as the wind. As wide as canyon gorges. As far-reaching and creative as pollen. We are singular, and yet a part of everything.
Everything is absolutely falling apart... maybe. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There is a Taoist story that goes like this: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ An old farmer who had worked his land for many years has his horse run away. When the neighbors hear the news they cry “What bad luck!” To this he just replies, “maybe…” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The next morning the horse returns with three wild ponies in tow. “What fortune!” the neighbors exclaim! To which the farmer once again says, “maybe…” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The following day the farmer’s son tries to ride one of these new ponies and is thrown, breaking his leg. The neighbors once again come to offer sympathy. “What misfortune,” they say. And the farmer reflects, “maybe…” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The very next day the military comes to the village to conscript all young men into service. Because his leg is broken. the young son is passed over and allowed to remain at home. Everyone in the village congratulations the farmer on what, it seems, was supreme luck. The farmer just replies with a smile, “maybe.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The beginning of recognizing and invoking magic is being able to question our automatic beliefs. What if the seasons of upheaval that touch down in our lives aren’t bad, or good? What if the pieces we are picking up right now aren’t broken fragments, but the tiny mirrors of new beginnings? What if we could turn any situation over in our hand like a stone and say… maybe. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 📷 by @chestnutschoolherbs
Some people say that we came as souls to this Eart Some people say that we came as souls to this Earth to experience contrast. To know ourselves through the play of both light and dark. Fettered and free. But most of all, we came to remember that beneath all that heaviness and constraint, there is always a constant— the inviolable freedom of our spirits.
In psychology it’s been shown that creative rest In psychology it’s been shown that creative restraints— limits on our time, resources or movement— lead to greater innovation and creativity. Amazingly, instead of constricting our imagination, creative restraints push us to take greater imaginative leaps than before. It is in these times of the biggest restrictions that the most profound artwork and inventions are born. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ No matter what you “produce” during any challenging time, you are already bringing incredible new work to the world, because the greatest artwork of all will be our own selves— matured, fire-tested, trial-strong and ever more clear about the light we are here to embody on Earth. Because, in the end, we are the creation that came here to innovate our world.
This year, more people than usual seem to be strug This year, more people than usual seem to be struggling with summertime sadness, and all week I've been sharing some of my favorite ways to break up some of the heaviness of those summer blues. Without further ado, here are my final (most yummy) practices for coping with the darker side of summer: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 5. Incorporate fresh herbs into your diet ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Summer is rich with fragrant, fresh herbs. Many of these herbs have natural anti-anxiety and enlivening properties— just smell a handful of basil and you’ll know what I mean. Crush mint into your sparkly water, sprinkle summer savory over your squash, brush your BBQ with springs of rosemary or use a spike of lavender to stir your tea. Working with fresh herbs brings us into direct contact with their uplifting aromatic compounds and the medicine of coming into bloom. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 6. Make a batch of lemon balm lemonade ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Lemon balm is one of my all-time favorite garden herbs. A member of the mint family, lemon balm grows prolifically all season long. Lemon balm is known for its fresh citrus-mint scent and is beloved in the herbal community as one of the few herbs that is both an anti-anxiety agent and an anti-depressant. Find some fresh lemon balm in your neighbor’s garden or get some dried herb from the store and make yourself a batch of lemon balm lemonade. Sip whenever you need a lift. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ As you step into the depths of this summertime, remember that everything has a season— even sadness. If you are in a hard moment, know that, like the hot breezes of summer transitioning to the cool winds of fall, everything shifts with time. Until then, let's sip our lemonade together on the porch this evening and wait for the fireflies to come out. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Get a link to a lemon balm lemonade recipe + read the full post (link in bio).
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