when plant magic is mundane
This dual-mullein growing at Tinicum CSA is like its whole own tarot card.
It's mullein season here.
Alongside roadways, squatting at the un-mown edges of farm fields, and nestled near pathways, mullein is springing to bloom in all its phallic glory.
That's right, I said it. Mullein looks like the phallus of an ancient Greek god, and we all know it.
For this reason, mullein holds a spot in my Personal Herbal Pantheon as one of the Divine Masculine, or Divine Solar herbs. It occupies the Divine Solar category with all of the Solanaceae (Ashwagandha, Cayenne, Tobacco, etc.) and Goldenrod.
Last year, I tried to grow a "mullein wall" at the edge of the LL garden. I thought it'd look neat alongside the hollyhocks, which also get tall. It didn't work. Turns out, you can't "grow" mullein -- it shows up where it wants to be, and you either let it stay or pull it out. I didn't see much mullein growing wild, either. I felt a little rejected.
This year, I've spent Summer Solstice season diving into my psyche and re-connecting with my Divine Solar self. I've excavated every aspect of this relationship that I could possibly imagine. I even woke up a few times to see the sunrise -- and the reason I had to do it a few times was that, as it turns out, I didn't know how to successfully see a sunrise. That's how removed I was from any Meaningful Solar Understanding.
Amid this era of Solar Excavation, I started seeing mullein everywhere. Along the towpath in groups of 5 when I went for walks, alongside the road while driving, at the head of every new hiking trail where I went to botanize -- mullein was there.
And then, this glorious mullein of mythic proportions began to bloom at my partner's farm.
I felt like the mullein was taunting me, poking at me as I explored my Divine Solar aspects.
Every time I saw it, I'd think "Ok, what was I just thinking about? What does that have to do with my Divine Masculine?" Or I'd simply remember to check back in with my exploration.
Nothing wild happened between me and mullein: I didn't have any hypnotic visions, mullein didn't come to me in a dream and bestow a prophecy, and I didn't go on a 3-day long mullein fast in the lush forests of the Delaware.
Instead, I healed aspects of my relationship with my Divine Masculine, learned how to express & feed that part of myself, and felt mildly teased & taunted by a friendly roadside herb at various points throughout my day.
Sometimes (often) plant magic is like that: mundane, subtle, occurring right alongside the rest of your life.
Plant magic doesn't have to mean spells and grimoires, shamanic journeys and visions (though all that's very fun).
Often, plant magic is simply living alongside plants as wise & quirky characters who most definitely have something to say -- we've just got to notice, and listen.
Of course, mullein makes itself plenty easy to notice ;)
Do you have a plant that taunts you, or reminds you to check in with inner work that you're doing?
Leave a comment below. I’d love to hear!
