YES Yoga is honoring April's Full Moon in celebrating the powerful effects of Spider Wort (Tradescantia) flowers. This knee-high purple flower particularly caught my attention this month because it shows up in all kinds of places; from garden beds to roadsides, inland to the coast. Whenever I see a plant trying that hard to grab my attention, I try to learn what medicine it wants to bring to me.
I first learned about this beautiful specimen on an edible plant walk. The teacher noted that it has edible blooms and I was instantly in love. Upon early experimentation, I was disappointed to learn that it does poorly as a cut flower-wilting within hours. It is best enjoyed-in situ, during those leisurely bike rides to nowhere in particular. To kick-off a more formal investigation, I did brief research into its danger quotient. A friend’s reference book identified that not only are all parts edible, but it carries a long tradition of medicinal uses. Several Native American tribes-including the Cherokee of my region-used it as an aphrodisiac for both people and animals. The permaculturalist in me sits with the living plant to observe individual parts, how the plant grows, and what is happening in the surrounding habitat. The first thing to catch my eye is the three petal arrangement. I close my eyes and breath into the plant’s energy, asking what it wants me to know about three petal arrangement. All the sudden I think of my birth faith and the Holy Trinity, as well as my adopted faith and the Vedic Trimurti. Alone, each symbol of the triad is a metaphor of how the divine can be experienced. Together, as in the Spider Wort flower, it represents strength, the source of all power. Creation, Sustenance, and Destruction. The leaves are quite unusual. Alternating on a strong, tubular steam, they spike out in narrow arms; reminding me of sharp swords. Tools to pierce our deepest demons and cleanse us of their troubles. Finally, I close my eyes, raise my palms, tune into my heart chakra, and feel into the plant’s bubble of energy. I instantly feel pulsing waves of light run through my body. It felt like the rippling light of liquid waves reflecting on a surface. A powerful cleansing. Preparing me to receive new depths of divine truth. Spider Wort is like a tonic. A master cleanse for the soul. Realignment with our core essences. I performed a ceremony to capture the vibration and aide in my releasing over this moon cycle.
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