Can poisonous plants heal us?

I never expected to have poisonous plants become my closest allies. Supporting my personal healing and the sacred work I facilitate with others.

When I follow the thread of when poisonous plants showed up in my life, I continue to discover that they called me much sooner than I consciously recognized. In fact, every few months they show me another moment in time when they called me and I wasn't quite ready to say yes.  For example, recently my husband started reading a book that I read not quite a decade ago. And guess who stars in the first chapters of the book? Poisonous plants :)  

Many years ago while on retreat I was given my first poisonous plant vibrational essence. At the end of the retreat, our teacher intuitively chose an essence for each participant. As she closed her eyes and ran her hand over a line of bottles the plant spirit that wanted to work with me was poison ivy.  

Since I didn’t have a framework for working with poisonous plants at that time, I didn’t know what to think.   But, regardless, I trusted there was a reason poison ivy decided to come to me. And started working with poison ivy right away. Over time, this plant spirit turned out to be a potent boundary healer for me.  And an amazing partner with another plant spirit I became quite close to, yarrow.  

Then, another poisonous plant came into my life.  At the peak of my trauma process to work with the poison of my past with a trauma therapist, datura walked into my life through a dream. At the time, I didn’t have a context for how to work with datura. But the dream really stuck with me. Feeling otherworldly. Angelic even.  


When I brought the dream to a teacher, she emphasized how poisonous datura is and her perception that the plant is aligned with dark forces. This scared me away from datura for a very long time. But datura didn’t give up. She kept circling back into my life. So when I learned that this plant is considered a sacred plant I opened up to the possibility of working together.  


When I first said yes and connected with the spirit of datura, my forgotten datura dream came back into my memory. Suddenly it hit me.  Datura was telling me that she never left my side.


Plant spirits are like that. Working in the cracks and background of our lives. Whether we realize it or not. And stepping out onto center stage when we finally say yes. A place in our lives where they can share their most powerful gifts. But regardless of whether we say yes, you can be sure that plant spirits have a way of impacting human consciousness.  


Even though I kept turning away in fear from datura, her consciousness had quietly been working to support my healing process the entire time. Serving as a catalyst for taking me to the depths of my own underworld to see, know, and feel what I couldn’t long before. Giving me strength to recall unspeakable memories. And the courage to feel what I didn’t have space for before.    


As I worked with transforming the poison in my life into medicine, more poisonous plants came to support my path. Eventually, my circle of spiritual allies was seated primarily by poisonous plants. And over time, they became my most beloved allies. Gifting me wisdom, skills, and capacity to help others transform the poison in their lives into medicine as well.


This is part of my path as a medicine carrier. Working with the paths of poisons to empower others to find their own medicine.  Their inner wisdom.  


On my latest podcast episode of Tune In with Marci, I explored the power of transforming our personal poisons into medicine. And how poisonous plants can support our healing.  

Curious to work with the spirits of poisonous plants to support your own growth and healing? I incorporate flower essence and plant consciousness into my deep 1:1 work. Learn more HERE.  


Much love,

Marci

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