Shepherd's Purse

This is how I know spring is coming: tiny shepherd's purse shows her white flowers and heart-shaped seed pods.
Astringent and tonifying, she is a regulator of bodily fluids, a diuretic and hemostatic. She reminds me that even when I feel stuck, or like I'm moving too fast, I'm still in flow, and right where I need to be.

Shepherd's purse grows all over my Brooklyn neighborhood along the edges of parks and in tree pits in the early spring. If you look around, she's probably in your neighborhood, too.

I highly recommend getting to know your local wild plants. If you notice the same plant over and over, look it up and see what medicine it brings. Ask if you can pick some, take it home, see what it inspires for you. Bring the plant into any meditation or ritual work you do. But unless you know the soil and water is clean, don't eat these plants or use them externally on your body. There's a lot of pollution, heavy metals, and pesticides, even in parks. So see and appreciate urban plants, and take a trip to the country to gather.