Dear ones, I write from the mists of orange blossom and rose. These two friends have walked with me the strange pathways of my adult years, from my early days in Morocco as a young woman, to motherhood, and through many changes. Their medicines are of the heart, of ease and of a special feminine power and magic.
Continue reading “Lessons from Orange Blossom and Rose”Description:
From the genus of fragrant herbs, and there are many types of it. With a fresh scent, it is found in gardens. It is formed of many creeping branches that spread widely across the soil. It has a white blossom and the leaves are similar to that of marjoram.
There are two main types: one with a small leaf, known to the people of Fes as clove herb, and one with a larger leaf, known as the barbaris herb. Its name in Farsi means that of royal scent, and it is known as the one that brings joy to the sad-hearted.
Continue reading “Lemon Balm: A Translation from the Garden of Blossoms”Description:
From the baql genus of perennial plants, known to the layman as the “stinger” and “Qurays”. There are two types: rough and smooth, and both with their aerial parts and seeds are used by doctors.
It appears on rough, untended wasteland, and the rough variety stings the skin of those who touch it.
Continue reading “Nettle: A Translation from the Garden of Blossoms”The Henna Souq has a determinable atmosphere, defined by the wind in the leaves of its two plane trees and the towering building of the 13th Century Maristan at its heart. Lining the small square are little shops, some of them no bigger than three metre square, of which around half are cosmetic herbalists. There is also the old weighing scales, which are still used today when large quantities of herbs are brought here by merchants. It is the home to Simohammed, a friend to many in the city, who operates one of the shops alongside his brother. Always inviting visitors to sit and drink tea with him, it easily becomes a rest-stop on a day of earnest wanderings up and down the hills of the medina. The chance you get to sit in the presence of the square is often enough to reveal just a hint of its magic.
Continue reading “On the Sacred Loci of the Henna Souq, Fes.”Paper Title: Between the Lines of the ‘Traditional’ and the ‘Modern’: Meaning and Efficacy in Contemporary Fassi Healing
Continue reading “Research: Contemporary Fassi Healing”The path hasn’t always been easy, but it feels like I’m finding the way home now.
I turn the corner into the sun. Down the hill, lemon tree leaning overhead. Her fruit, not yet to be seen. I feel the heat against my skin until suddenly, perfectly, the breeze hits me with a deep inhale of fresh southern air.
Continue reading “The Journey Home”
The Atlas Apothecary Sourcebook 