Anger Herbal Charm Remedy with Dandelion Root
Dandelion is one of our most cherished herbs- and one that tends to show up where they’re needed most. While many consider the appearance of bright yellow Dandelion flowers a nuisance on their perfectly manicured lawns, I personally get so excited to see them show up. What resilient and dedicated medicine!
We generally think about Dandelion Root to clear and cool the liver and to provide more gentle bitter action where needed. I love this herb so much and whenever there is any kind of stagnation or heat in the liver, you can be sure this is an herb I’ll be adding to a formula. But Dandelion has many secrets and many virtues that weave more quietly through their spirit. One of these great virtues was shared with me by this plant the first time I did a dedicated month-long plant spirit journey with them.
Within the first few sits I was confronted with the things I was doing to manage anger and resentment in really unhealthy ways- namely running too much. Dandelion reflected for me that I held far more anger than I realized, and that I had normalized being mad and reactive so much that I can’t imagine ever self-identifying as an angry person. Long story short, this plant spirit gave me the what for and a lot of material to bring to my therapy sessions!
From this moment on, I began working with Dandelion in myself and in my clients in the way they had shown up for me; as an ally to help see, explore, and cool the very depleting emotions of anger and resentment. I found Dandelion to be incredibly effective at showing us where anger is, then helping us cool it enough that we can pick it up, look at it straight on, and work on it.
I met with Dandelion in tea and tincture form, and also sat with them as they popped up in lawns and cracks around me. I felt the lion teeth leaves of this plant begin gnawing through cords that bound me to past people and experiences that angered me still- while helping me cultivate tools to deal with anger as it manifested in any given instance. Dandelion’s name, by the way, comes from the French Dent-de-Lion, teeth of the lion!
Recently I worked with a client who was navigating some very deep-seated anger. They saw it, hated the experience of it, and said in-session that they felt as though they were being poisoned by their own angry feelings. If there ever was a call for Dandelion medicine, this is it! The words this client used are so indicative of Dandelion virtues that I knew we had a perfect match.
Here’s a short but powerful Galdor I wrote for working with Dandelion as we explore and heal anger and angry reactive states. This Galdor can be recited in the presence of Dandelion with meditation and reflection, over tea or tincture, or to lovingly call in the fierce power of this plant when needed. I’ll share the Galdor with you here, and then break it down line-by-line below…
Aegwyrt, Dandelion
I call to you from a wild fire,
From a heated liver,
From a raging cow-
Dandelion- soft earth,
Dent-de-lion- cool stones,
Aegwyrt- gentle breeze;
Circle this fire of anger and resentment;
Pacify this inflamed spirit,
Calm this gentle creature;
Frith rooted in my mind,
Frith rooted in my heart,
Frith rooted in my hands,
The peace of Aegwyrt on soft earth, in a ring of cool stones, on a gentle breeze.
Let’s look at the words, names, and hidden powers invoked in this charm and see how they relate to working with anger.
Aegwyrt, Dandelion
The sacred Old-English name of this plant means ‘egg plant’ due to the shape of the seed puff.
I call to you from a wild fire,
The emotion of anger is hot, fiery, and often burns out of control like a wild fire. This imagery helps connect our inner world to the outer world of nature so that we have a frame of reference for how to heal.
From a heated liver,
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the liver is the seat of heated emotions- and we see this as well in traditional Western herbal practices. Anger often accompanies liver issues.
From a raging cow-
Cow is one of the most fierce and sometimes reactive animals of the British Isles. I chose this animal as a key for this charm to relate our own anger with the imagery of a raging animal.
Dandelion- soft earth,
Here we contrast the ‘issue’ images with the ‘solution’ images, beginning with soft earth which will hold us always- no matter how much we act against our best selves.
Dent-de-lion- cool stones,
How do we navigate the imagery of a wild fire burning out of control? We circle that fire with cool stones to create a fire pit! The fire can still burn, but it must do so in a way that is controlled, intentional, and directed. Anger is an important emotion that carries great power- rather than douse it completely, we can simply try and channel it towards good change.
Aegwyrt- gentle breeze;
Dandelion seed heads are known for their ability to float on the breeze. A cool, gentle, effortless breeze reminds us in angry moments to try and float on our emotions and see things from a bigger perspective.
Circle this fire of anger and resentment;
A reference back to circling the fire.
Pacify this inflamed spirit,
A reference back to the liver.
Calm this gentle creature;
A reference back to the raging cow.
Frith rooted in my mind,
Frith rooted in my heart,
Frith rooted in my hands,
The inviolable peace of Frith invoked on all levels of being- reminding us that how we show up in the world matters, and that when we act out of anger we will likely regret it later.
The peace of Aegwyrt on soft earth, in a ring of cool stones, on a gentle breeze.
Wrapping up the galdor with the imagery used throughout in a positive, affirming, and health-nourishing way.
