Winter Solstice
celebrating rest, incubation and seasonal explorations
Happy Winter Solstice!
Collage and Time Travel
I’ve been having visions of Mami Wata, also known as Mami Muntu, a water goddess in African cosmology often depicted as a mermaid who embodies the fertile spirit of rivers, streams, lakes and oceans. In these meditative experiences, the consciousness of water comes to life with the rhythm of drums and dance. Hands splash the surface of the shore in Vanuatu water drumming while an aquatic queen sways with outstretched arms and a spinning flower crown on her head.
“Words, you say, young girls in a circle
holding hands,
and beginning to rise heavenward
in their confirmation dresses,
like white helium balloons,
the wreathes of flowers on their heads
spinning,
and above all that,
that’s where I’m floating…”
—Conversation, a poem by Ai Ogawa
This winter season, I’m staying grounded with collage using family photos and natural paints. Mami Wata (Ocean and Snow) is a reminder that both oceans and snow come from the same primordial element. The spirit of the sea calls to me as I imagine dancing barefoot in warm sand baking beneath an afternoon Sun. When rain falls from the sky during this moment of cold and darkness, it covers the land with a soft white blanket. In a pink polaroid image, my grandmother dances in snow with the trees as these silent creatures gaze down from above.
Set against the backdrop of oceanic waves, tidal spray and small droplets I painted in handcrafted butterfly pea ink, this collage channels the message that we must heal our sacred waters. Now is the time to cleanse our bodily fluids, stabilize our emotions and protect our dreams. Butterfly pea is a flowering herb that has been traditionally used for its health benefits in the African diaspora, supporting our nervous, immune and digestive systems.
Tonight on the solstice will be the longest night of the year. I’ve joined a quilting club and just found out that psychedelic chemicals are released from the womb during childbirth, which can lead to transformative and visionary experiences for mothers. As we prepare to close out this Year of the Snake, the year of bearing fruit, and transition from the New Moon in Sagittarius that represents adventure and prosperity, I feel especially inspired to embrace change, develop sisterhood and focus my herbal practice on women’s health.
Soy Milk and Mothering
I’m exploring different types of mordants for natural dye to help bind botanical color onto fabric. Among all the mordants I’ve tried so far including aluminum sulfate and white vinegar, soy milk has become my favorite. Not only does the protein content in soybeans strengthen colorfastness, it also carries the life-giving essence of milk across many species. This substance is essential for nurturing and ensuring the growth of children for the continuation of families, bloodlines, stories, memories and ecosystems.
Both humans and animals consume milk from our mothers. Plants produce milk too. You can make soap with goat milk and cake with coconut milk. Cheese is made from cow milk and smoothies can be made with oat milk. All kinds of nuts can be milked, such as almonds, walnuts and cashews. I love the white color symbolism of milk because it represents purity and wisdom. It nourishes us on a fundamental level and revitalizes us with the nutrients we need to be complete.
Herbal Wisdom and Remedies
Before colonization distorted the definition of medicine, we used to be artists and healers who understood that all good things come from nature. Before we had modern doctors, we were the doctors in our own communities who made the most out of what we had access to. Before chronic illness spread across our native lands, we lived a simple life that allowed us to be healthy, happy and whole.
I’m trusting the power of intuition to guide my journey with plants. Making medicine at home is soul rewarding and super easy—you can create remedies for your unique situation using common kitchen ingredients to assist in your healing process. I’m currently brewing tinctures and oils to share with you next season. These remedies can be applied topically on skin and taken internally as a nutritional supplement to boost immunity while supporting the heart, stomach, brain, blood and bones.
In a recent dream, my spirit guides reminded me to feed the deities. Encompassing the sacred number four like the four cardinal directions, each season is a different deity with its own personality. When we feed ourselves with home remedies, we must also remember to give back to the natural forces that continuously provide for us throughout seasonal changes.
Ancient wisdom lives within you,
Alexis Akua
Love how this frmaes soy milk as more than a mordant but a continuation of nurturing across species. I've been experimeting with different plant milks in my own work and finding that the protein content doesnt just bind color better but actually changes how the fabric feels. The whole milk symbolism thing makes me see why certain natural processes just work in a way that synthetic binders never quite replicate.