“There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember.

And there is pansies, that’s for thoughts” – Ophelia, Shakespeare

Do you remember your first interaction with a medicinal plant? You were probably so young that the concept of a plant being medicinal at all wasn’t yet a formed thought. As a kid, a plant is just a plant. But, maybe it was your grandmother brewing up some bay leaf tea while you were sick, or your mom handing you a sprig of rosemary or lavender so you can smell the aroma. Maybe it was a simple rose bush that came back year after year despite the increasingly cold winters.

Plants connect us to our natural world. Their physical qualities communicate their medicine and show us how they heal. This is called doctrine of signature. The rose bush comes back with an abundance of vitamin c in their rosehips, their offering to help us get through the harshest of winters.

Below is my story. It’s vulnerable and complicated and deeply connected to my storied relationship to my body. In fact, my relationship to writing in general tends to reflect my relationship to my body. And now my relationship to plants reflects the same. But the thing about the story and writing below is that it’s mine. This is my story, my body, and in this moment in time I no longer feel the need to suppress it or keep it to myself in the chance it might offend someone. I’m no longer waiting to feel safe to show others who I am. And whether you know it or not, that’s important -- not just for me, but for you.

And with that, on this potent new moon in Leo, I birth a new creative project and platform that I have been called to pour my energy and intention into. Welcome to “my dieta paige”, I humbly invite you to follow along and meet the plants with me.

Two weeks post Capirona dieta reflections 🌿

When the diet first began, I felt an urgency for that sacred time in isolation, there seemed to be an enormous amount for me to accomplish with Capirona, much to sort through, question, plan, integrate, receive. But as the days passed, and I started to step into this dance with Capirona, I realized the gift in this relationship is one of letting that all go. Letting go of everything & understanding the facts still remained as I unclenched my fists; I know who I am, I know what I want and I know who I love. There is nothing else to hold.

a love letter to huachuma

The portal has opened

My soul has moved through

I wake in the night now, dreaming of you

I speak to the gods, the heavens, the earth

I devour your spirit, I pray for rebirth

You sink in my stomach like a stone in the sea

I planted these seeds in March of 2021. A few weeks after moving into the first place I’ve ever been able to call a home all to myself. I moved in with one piece of furniture, not even a bed. I spent the first two weeks sleeping on the floor and begging my landlord to get me the stove I was promised. A month later, I had a bed, a stove, and the temporary feeling of home.

I sat inside on my floor and thoughtfully and meticulously planted seed after seed of what I imagined would be the first of many abundant herbs and veggies of the garden I would build for my first home. A home that I meticulously and thoughtfully manifested repeatedly asking for light and place that could facilitate growth.

There are four master plants of Peru: Ayauascha, Tobacco, Huachuma, and Coca. “Master plant” is translated from the Spanish “plantas maestras”, which actually means “plant teachers”

These four plants have much in common with one another, but namely their commonality lies in their ability to teach. What, how, when, who they teach varies greatly. But, these four plants, these four spirits, they came here to teach. They are healers, messengers, lovers, fighters and each with their own unique imprint, spirit, and method. I will walk and work and weave my way through each one of these very important master plants. But today, I start with the coca leaf.