THE WORLD OF HERBAL MEDICINE, FOLKLORE & HOLISTIC HEALING.
By Carley Smith
PINE
FIR
SPRUCE 16
I would like to start by expressing my gratitude to this community and saying how happy I am to share what I have learned with you all amidst these pages. I hope that it will be a great help to you along your path in getting to know some of our local green friends and how to use them for greater health and wholeness! As we move into the winter season and towards Solstice, it seems fitting to speak about plants associated with this time of year, how to connect with them, and what healing they can share with us on both the physical and spiritual levels. So! Into the herbs we go! Let’s talk about some of my favourite plant medicines of the season… The Evergreen Trees! Fir, Pine, Spruce, Hemlock, Larch, and Balsam! Many of you have likely heard about the healing benefits of Pine needles over the past couple of years as they have gained a lot of popularity for their antiviral activity, and they are no doubt a fabulous herbal ally! …. But, did you also know that you can actually use almost all of the “needled trees” more or less interchangeably!? This is something that I absolutely love about our forest medicines because it makes their medicine so much more accessible to us when we are in need! Being able to use them interchangeably makes it so you can use what’s growing outside your back door instead of having to go on a trek to the top of a mountain for one specific species. It is true that of course they are not all exactly the same, but they DO share enough similar qualities to be safely and effectively used for most of the same purposes. So, if you don’t have Pine where you live, try Douglas or Balsam Fir. Only have Spruce trees? Use those! Tamarack calling to your spirit? Fill your boots!
