The Directional Elixirs
SOUTH ELIXIR CONTAINS
OAK (Botanical name: Quercus alba) – collected from two oak trees in a field on our property in Poraiti, Hawke’s Bay (spring)
Positive attribute: strength, resilience, ability to cope. Oak sheds leaves, provides protection and soothes the pain of grief, enables us to know we are held tightly by nature as we peel away the pain.
Helps when: Exhaustion, overwhelm, fear of failure, inability to cope.
Primary Quality: Protection
Planetary influence: Mars with Moon
Chakra: 1st
FENNEL (Botanical name: Foeniculum vulgare) -collected from wild fennel by a farm track on our property in Poraiti, and by a pathway in Tainui Reserve, Hawke’s Bay (summer)
Positive attribute: Fennel – helps to calm our internal rage, rage of things changing, things lost, fear of the future
Helps with: rage
Primary quality: Calm
Planetary influence: Jupiter with Mercury
Chakra: 5th
ROSE (Botanical name: Rosa damascena) – collected from my organic gardens in Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay (summer)
Positive attribute: rose helps us find the beauty within. In the visceral grip of pain, rose enables us to find beauty, to find love within ourselves, forgiveness, to put down anger and pick up acceptance
Helps with: Lack of self-worth, hard on oneself and others, inability to see beauty within or around you.
Primary Quality: Nurture
Planetary influence: Venus
Chakra: 4th
WEST ELIXIR CONTAINS
KAWAKAWA (Botanical name: Macropiper excelsum) collected from forest growing on the farm I grew up in at Raukawa, Hawke’s Bay (spring)
Positive attribute: Kawakawa dispels negative thoughts, bringing about a sense of peace. It helps in times of hardship, sorrow and grief, offering safe haven, enabling you to navigate your way back to joy. It is a guiding light, a gentle energy, a smile when you need it. – leads us through darkness towards the light. Helps cleanse our emotional wounds.
Helps when: can’t see the light, feeling uncertain
primary quality: protection
Planetary influence: Saturn (with moon)
Medicine wheel: West
Chakra: 2nd
CLEAVERS (Botanical name: Galium aparine) collected from my organic gardens in Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay (winter)
Positive attribute: helps us release toxic thoughts. Memories and attachments are still there, but they just change form, creating space for new growth.
Negative indication: feeling overwhelmed by adverse events and thoughts
Primary quality: Release
Planetary influence: Venus with Saturn
Chakra: 2nd
JASMINE (Botanical name: Jasminum officinale) collected from Tauroa Reserve, Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay (summer)
Positive attribute: the scent of Jasmine is its most beautiful at night, under the moon, ruler of emotions. Reminding us that in darkness there is beauty.
Helps when: feeling overwhelmed by darkness.
Primary quality: hope
Planetary influence: moon, Venus.
Chakra: 6th
NORTH ELIXIR CONTAINS
OLIVE (Botanical name: Olea europaea) collected from an olive tree growing on the edge of Tanner Street Reserve, Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay (summer)
Positive attribute: making peace with ourselves and the situations we are dealing with. Creating the stories to pass down through the generations.
Helps when: struggling to find forgiveness or acceptance
Primary quality: peace
Planetary influence : Sun with Jupiter
Chakra: 6th
MULLEIN (Botanical name: Verbascum thapsus) collected from the hillside in a field on our property at Poraiti, and from Tauroa Reserve, Hawke’s Bay (late spring)
Positive attribute: The gift of clear communication. The ability to listen well and speak our truth with clarity and kindness.
Helps when: can’t get message across, unwilling to heed advice, being reckless
Primary quality: liberation and wisdom
Planetary influence: Saturn (with Mercury)
Medicine wheel: North
Chakra: 7th
ROSEMARY (Botanical name: Rosmarinus officinalis) collected from my organic gardens in Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay (collected in each season)
Positive attribute: Rosemary is a plant of remembrance and focus. It can help you find your centre, to find focus amid turmoil and to create good memories and enhance sacredness.
Helps when: inability to concentrate, scared of forgetting, lack of trust, negative thoughts, suspicious of others, lack of self-belief.
Primary Quality: Focus
Planetary influence: Sun
Chakra: 7th
EAST ELIXIR CONTAINS
TOTARA (Botanical name: Podocarpus totara) collected from a tree on our property in Poraiti and from a tree in my organic garden in Havelock North, New Zealand (spring and autumn)
Positive attribute: Totara is a magnificent tree with a deeply protective masculine energy. A protector at doorways or thresholds, Totara watches out for you. Trees are Standing People and they see all around, surveying everything. Totara reminds us there is wisdom in stillness. Although totara is a strong grounding ally, it also has a watery aspect. Used to make the great Maori waka (canoe), the tree embodies this balance of earth and water. With totara on your side, you are protected, you have vision and wisdom. He helps you think before acting and his energy will carry you on your journey.
Helps when: vulnerable, weak, lacking direction
Primary quality: strength and vision
Planetary influence: Mars with Saturn
Chakra: 7th
CALENDULA (Botanical name: Calendula officinalis) collected from my organic garden in Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay (each season)
Positive attribute: brings light into darkness, builds our vitality again and helps fortify our interior world as we start to move forward in life again.
Helps when: unable to see the joy in life and feel like one’s fire has gone out.
Primary quality: Nurture and movement
Planetary Influence: Sun
Chakra: 3rd
WHITE SAGE (Botanical name: Salvia apiana) collected from my organic gardens in Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay (early summer)
Positive attribute: helps you keep calm amid stress. Helps you feel protected from outside influences and cleansed of negative energy. Sage creates sacred space and carries one’s messages to the world’s soul.
Helps when: feeling vulnerable and alone.
Primary Quality: Release and connection.
Planetary Influence: Jupiter
Chakra: 7th
If you would like to go deeper, you can find my full range of plant essences and elixirs, information, guidance and teachings on this site. All of my services, teachings and products can take place alongside other modalities, including western medicine.