I make tinctures from the plants growing in the wild on my property: plant medicine with powerfully healing components for your mind, body, and spirit.

My current offering (coming soon!) is my blend I call “Fellow Travelers” because it came to me in a dream. Although “fellow” might imply the male gender, this one is for fellow females traveling the perilous perimenopause path.

Safely on the other side of menopause myself, I look back at perimenopause now in shock and awe, bowing down in reverence to this sublime force within us that doesn’t just mark the end of an era but the beginning of who we really are.

Far from being a “long, slow train to nowhere” as I was warned, it was (and continues to be) the most important time in my life, a time of massive transition, turmoil, reckoning, inner work, and transformation into the person I was always meant to be.

Besides my stalwart partner, my biggest source of support during these years has been nature – being surrounded by it, attuning to it, and ingesting it in varieties of plant medicine.

These particular plant allies have appeared at this time in my life as I move into the final phase of menopause: emergence, a time to step forth and offer my gifts to others. This blend eases my joint pain (aka “menopause transition pain”), and with so many healing properties, I hope it can serve as an ally for you as well.

These are the plants used in this blend and their healing properties specific to the female cycle and peri/menopause distress:

COTTONWOOD BUD (Populus balsamifera): Cottonwood has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. The resinous buds contain salicylates, a compound similar to aspirin.

DANDELION ROOT (Taraxacum officinale): Dandelion root has anti-inflammatory and liver-detoxing properties, essential in hormone metabolism.

NETTLE (Urtica dioica): Nettle is nutrient dense and has antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, astringent, and diuretic properties.

TURKEY TAIL MUSHROOM (Trametes versicolor): Turkey tail is a prebiotic, with adaptogenic, antioxidant, immune-boosting, and hormone metabolizing properties.

Combined, this blend can help balance hormones and ease menstrual cramps, joint pain, systemic inflammation, excessive bleeding, bloating, sugar cravings, hot flashes, and night sweats.

As a spirit medicine, it can support you in this huge transition period to help you detox, ground yourself, weather the storms, set strong boundaries, and maintain your health:

The cottonwood on my property is a guardian, watching over the land. Its higher perspective allows it to see what this world is all about. Heavily grounded, it dances in the fiercest winds. It knows when to let go, releasing that which doesn’t serve it, dropping giant limbs to pare down to its essential self.

The dandelions’ strength comes from under ground: by the time their leaves appear, they have already developed a tenacious root system. Returning even after they are dug up, they are an indestructible life force with astonishing perseverance.

The nettles bravely arrive before winter is over, a reminder of resilience and new growth. They thrive in magical places: pushing up through the moss under the alders, lining the paths made by the deer. Their stinging defense provides a strong boundary against those who try to interfere with their survival and growth.

The turkey tail mushrooms grow on mossy fallen tree limbs, fanning out in bands of color: a tribute to life’s infinite cycles. Their growth on decomposing wood is a beautiful example of the opportunity to use the wreckage as fuel to thrive.

Most importantly, sit with this plant medicine in meditation and get your own sense of its teachings.

(These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Because cottonwood buds contain salicylates, people with aspirin allergies or those on blood thinners should consult a doctor before use.)