Field Notes for Late Spring: Healing Storms, Seasonal Formulas & the Return of Vital Force

Spring Nears Its Zenith

The Earth has entered the late phase of spring—a time of floral peak, swelling green, and solar intensity building toward the summer solstice.

With just a few weeks remaining before the longest day of the year (June 19, 2025), we stand in a liminal moment: where emergence gives way to expression, and the light prepares to crest.

At this stage, the body is highly responsive to detoxification, immune recalibration, and nervous system restoration. As always, Asheville Herbals works in rhythm with this turning—offering plant medicines that reflect the intelligence of the season.

Ceremony as Ecological Repair: Releasing the Imprint of Hurricane Helene

Earlier this spring, I co-facilitated a ceremonial healing alongside three other practitioners to address the energetic residue left by Hurricane Helene—an event that impacted not only the physical environment but also the subtle energetic field of our region.

The ceremony took place along the banks of Reems Creek in Weaverville, in close relationship with the water, trees, stones, and wind that inhabit that sacred corridor. Rooted in ancestral traditions and reciprocal prayer, the intention was to clear and harmonize what the storm left behind in the land and collective body.

The Four Directions of Healing:

• South – The Offering: A traditional despacho—crafted with cornmeal, flower petals, and intention—was offered to Pachamama, allowing dense energy (hucha) to be returned to the Earth for composting. We called on great serpent to help us shed the skin of the past.

• West – The Waters: Water was sung to, imbued with grief and memory, and returned to the flowing creek with prayers for transformation and renewal.

• North – The Wind: With the help of drum and song, we worked to re-pattern the air and the field, bringing gratitude and coherence to the space.

• East – The Fire: A small sacred flame was kindled to bear witness and to call in clarity. We invoked the archetypal medicine of eagle and condor—visionary guides from above—to complete the transformation cycle.

This was not performance—it was shared ecological and spiritual stewardship. A quiet act of tending the unseen.

New Extracts for the Season of Vital Force

In keeping with the late-spring shift toward action, expression, and nervous system resilience, I’ve released three new tinctures. Each was formulated with both clinical precision and energetic sensitivity:

Cinchona Bark Extract

• Primary Actions: Antipyretic, bitter, antimicrobial

• Energetics: Cooling, draining, purifying

• Best Used For: Fever cycles, immune support, digestive reset

• Key Compounds: Quinine, cinchonine, other alkaloids

This classic South American bark was historically used for cyclical fevers and microbial burdens. Today, it’s an ally for clearing internal stagnation and revitalizing the immune matrix.

Passionflower Tincture

• Primary Actions: Anxiolytic, sedative, antispasmodic

• Energetics: Cooling, grounding, descending

• Best Used For: Insomnia, tension, emotional turbulence

• Key Compounds: Flavonoids (vitexin), trace harmala alkaloids

Perfect for this active season, Passionflower helps regulate nervous overdrive, calm intrusive thought loops, and deepen the quality of rest.

Lion’s Mane Tincture

• Primary Actions: Nootropic, neuroregenerative, adaptogenic

• Energetics: Neutral to gently warming

• Best Used For: Mental clarity, focus, neuroendocrine support

• Key Compounds: Erinacines, hericenones, beta-glucans

This fungal intelligence supports cognitive function, dream insight, and long-term brain health—particularly beneficial as we navigate high solar output and overstimulation.

Looking Ahead

As we move toward summer, there are a few quiet expansions on the horizon at Asheville Herbals. A new wildcrafted tincture is in progress, and updates to our signage and printed materials are underway. As always, future offerings will unfold in rhythm with the season and guided by right timing. I look forward to sharing more when the time is right.

Gratitude for Community at Drip Sauna

I’ve recently had the opportunity to vend at Drip Sauna, and I want to share my appreciation for the warm welcome. It’s been a true pleasure meeting new folks, having real conversations, and offering herbal support in such a vibrant and supportive space. Thank you to everyone who stopped by—you’ve made the experience meaningful and energizing. I look forward to returning soon.

In Gratitude for This Path

Thank you for trusting Asheville Herbals as part of your wellness journey. Whether you’re a seasoned herbalist or simply re-learning how to listen to the land, your presence in this work matters.

Together, we remember.

With seasonal blessings,
Joseph Willard
Herbalist & Shamanic Practitioner

Spring Equinox: A Time to Sprout, Stretch, and Sync with the Earth

As the sun hovers in perfect balance over the equator—neither favoring night nor day—we find ourselves at a potent threshold: the Spring Equinox. Known to scientists as the vernal equinox and to gardeners as “finally!”, this sacred moment marks the Earth’s tilting back toward warmth, growth, and light. It's one of only two days each year when day and night share equal time—a cosmic handshake between light and shadow.

At Asheville Herbals, we honor this celestial event not just as a seasonal shift but as a spiritual turning point. It’s a time to plant seeds—literally and figuratively. Whether you're tucking calendula into raised beds or sowing intentions for creative projects, the energies of balance and renewal are rooting for you (pun deeply intended).

On the scientific side, this is a moment of astronomical elegance. The Earth's axis isn't tilted toward or away from the sun, giving us near-equal light in both hemispheres. That balance triggers a cascade of responses in plants, animals, fungi—and us. Trees begin to move sap upward, birds tune up their mating calls, and mycelial networks quietly surge beneath our feet in fungal celebration.

Spiritually, ancient cultures from the Andes to the Appalachians recognized the spring equinox as a holy time—an opportunity to realign with the rhythms of nature. The Cherokee people, whose ancestral lands we walk upon, observed the cycles of planting and harvest in deep relationship with the spirit of the land. The Q’ero of the Andes call this sacred balance Ayni—right relationship and reciprocity with the natural world.

Both perspectives ask us to wake up. To feel the surge of life returning, and to meet it with presence, curiosity, and care.

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Suggested Seasonal Rituals & Practices

1. Tend Your Inner Garden:

What needs weeding in your emotional landscape? What dreams are ready to sprout? Take time to journal your intentions, then offer them to the soil—yes, literally. Write one on a piece of paper and bury it with a seed.

2. Sip the Season:

Our favorite spring herbs include nettle, chickweed, dandelion, and cleavers—all allies that help the body shift from winter stagnation to spring flow. They support lymph, liver, and vitality. Try them as a tea, tincture, or wildcrafted snack (but mind your plant ID—no one wants to chew on poison ivy in a moment of spiritual zeal).

3. Align with the Light:

Set your sleep rhythms to the sunrise. Go outside at dawn and observe. Breathe. Let the birdsong rewire your nervous system. Light isn’t just physical—it’s psychological and spiritual. Let it in.

4. Clean Your Space, Clear Your Mind:

Spring cleaning isn’t just for junk drawers. Smoke-cleansing with mugwort, pine, or juniper (harvested respectfully) can shift energy. So can rearranging your altar or composting that pile of “one-day-I’ll-read-these” books.

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Reflections from the Field

Here at Asheville Herbals, we’re blending the botanical with the cosmic every day. We see the Spring Equinox as both a practical reset (time to refill the allergy blend!) and a sacred activation. The plants are speaking—softly, firmly, in green and gold and ultraviolet. They're whispering:

This is the time to grow.

This is the time to balance.

This is the time to remember your place in the great web of life.

As the sun rises higher and the days stretch longer, may you feel that same rising within you. May your roots sink deep and your visions reach wide. May you greet this season not with urgency, but with reverent curiosity—asking not just what do I want to grow this spring, but how can I grow in right relationship with the world around me?

Joe at Asheville Herbals

In Lak’ech

I am another you

New Market season

I've been working hard to get stocked for the spring and will have some new offerings, and plenty of the old offerings too.

Whether you are just beginning a journey toward wellness and wholeness,or well down that path I'm here to help select herbal remedies to help. Don't hesitate to contact me!

This year I will be offering more services. These include sound healing sessions, general shamanic consultation, shamanic cleansing (limpia) and illumination, despachos, and more.

I also offer custom formulations and custom herbal remedies These can take time if you are requesting herbs I do not normally work with.

On another note I'm still a person too, and have normal person stuff happening haha. Unfortunately most recently this included the death of my father. Ill miss him dearly but his light lives on through me. His passion in life was wood. I learned alot from my dad, and plan to start creating wooden goods to offer for sale here at Asheville herbals. This will be later in the year, or even next year.

Another new development is that we are no longer selling on etsy. Even after removing all information from my listings they still insisted I was making medical claims, and deactivated my account. So if you found your way here from etsy- you for coming on over!

I plan to turn this blog into an inspiring short read on a bi-weekly basis.

Thats all for now, thanks for reading!