Fortification & Stability:
Ancestral Medicinal herbs
for Autumn Grounding
How do we bring internal stability, to open as a healing channel, in a world that constantly pulls us into fear-based projections outside of ourselves?
The answer, I believe, lives all around us. in the wild, resilient plants who have always been our allies, our ancestral medicine.
Forever shamans, herbalists, and indigenous peoples have cultivated relationships with these beings.
The plants have adapted, migrated, and evolved with us and transmuted the deep darkness of the Earth into light, weaving polarity into wholeness. Their medicine is the language of connection, their presence invites us to remember our innate resilience, to thrive even in stressful situations.
Seasonal Alignment: The Time to Fortify
As we enter this transition season of autumn and begin our descent, of gathering inward as the days grow shorter, the nights longer. This is the time to fortify, to nourish the foundation of our physical and spiritual vitality.
True fortification doesn’t happen overnight. When we’ve been depleted for some time, rebuilding is a slow, intentional process, akin to rebuilding after a great storm. With intention, commitment, and consistency, we restore the fertile ground of our inner landscape, that can prepare us for the next seasonal transition and turning of the wheel.
“Nourishing ourselves nourishes our ancestors.”
This time of year, as the veil thins (and it has felt nearly nonexistent recently) we are invited to feed both the living and the unseen — our families, our altars, our bodies, and our lineages. It is not a time for deprivation. It is a time to feed the hearth of the heart, to release old patterns, and to weave new threads of stability and belonging on a planet where most are checking out of presence and physical incarnation at alarming speeds.
The more fortified and filled with loving awareness we are, the less room there is for parasitic energy; be it physical, mental, or spiritual, to come in. We must be active participants in our own vitality, tending to our daily rituals of nourishment and connection. This helps us to embody and be present, create ritual that feed nourishment.
Autumn’s Ancestral Allies for Fortification
Here are some of my favorite plant and food medicines to bring warmth, stability, and deep nourishment to the season for body, heart, and spirit alike. The ether thrives on delicious smells, real smells, Earth smells, traveling through breath, sounds and movement. Weaving through space a whole pattern of love.
Hawthorn & Wild Rose (Rosaceae Family)
Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) strengthens the heart — physically and emotionally. It supports circulation, blood pressure, and heart muscle integrity.
Wild Rose (Rosa spp.), rich in vitamin C and bioflavonoids. It supports the immune system, adrenal health, and skin resilience.
Both hawthorn and rose hips are packed with antioxidants, tonifying the vascular system and reducing inflammation. These are heart protectors, fierce guardians of love. They help us open the heart while maintaining strong energetic boundaries, weaving tight astringent tissues.
Decoctions made from dried or fresh haws or hips slow simmered in water until the color deepens and the flavor sweetens bring grounding and grace into the body.
Roots & Bulbs: Dandelion, Burdock, Wild Carrot, Garlic, Onions, and Leeks
• Dandelion Root nourishes the blood and the liver and works deeply to help digestion to keep moving with the addition of heavier foods.
• Burdock Root nourishes the blood and nourishes the skin and kidneys. Working with our lymphatic system.
• Wild Carrot Root supports hormonal system and reproductive vitality. Revitalizing our digestive system and urinary system.
• Garlic, onions, and leeks are antimicrobial, immune-strengthening, and deeply nourishing for the microbiome.
Rich in prebiotic fibers (especially inulin), sulfur compounds, and essential minerals, they feed beneficial gut flora — the root of our immune and emotional resilience. Root and bulb medicine teaches grounding, protection, and discernment — connecting us to ancestral Earth wisdom while helping us release what no longer serves.
Bone Broths & Old World Stews
Bone broth restores minerals, collagen, and amino acids like glycine and proline, which rebuild connective tissue, joints, and the gut lining. Deeply bio-available nourishment — calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and marrow nutrients — that support structural integrity and immunity.
A true ancestral elixir, bone broth links us to the lineage of all who have cooked over fire. It is the ultimate medicine of return — to hearth, to nourishment, to the bones of our being.
Broth Recipes: Broth is Beautiful – Weston A. Price Foundation
Quince: The Fruit of Fortitude
Astringent and tonifying to the mucous membranes, quince soothes digestion and supports the respiratory system. High in pectin and antioxidants, quince also balances blood sugar and nourishes gut health.
Quince carries the energy of protection and devotion honoring the goddess’s an offering fruit long associated with love and fertility. Quite possibly the infamous fruit from the garden of Eden, I believe we can show much reverence to this fruit as we reclaim the goddess.
Cook quince down as you would applesauce and bake with it, membrillo (quince paste) infusing it with cinnamon or clove for warmth. So many possibilities!
Mushrooms: The Mycelial Healers
Mushrooms such as Reishi, Turkey Tail, Lion’s Mane and so many local favorites this time of year! These sacred powerhouses modulate immunity, enhance cognition, and mediate stress hormones. Our magical friends work increasingly synergistically with a community of supporters both fungi and plants. All these remedies listed here nourish this relationship with the magic mushrooms. Rich in beta-glucans, vitamin D, and minerals like selenium and zinc, they are vital for long-term resilience.
Mushrooms are the weavers between worlds, teaching connection, humility, and symbiosis through embodiment - as bridges between life and death. They help us root into the dark Earth, while opening to cosmic light intelligence.
Bison, Tallow & Pasture-Raised Meats including organ meats
Deeply restorative for those who are run down or blood deficient. These ancestral foods rebuild vitality, especially after illness, childbirth, or emotional depletion. Heme building, heme is not available from plants or mushrooms and is essential. Rich in iron, B vitamins, and essential fats that regulate hormones and feed the nervous system.
Honoring the sacred life force in these animals connects us to gratitude, reciprocity, and the cycles of giving and receiving that sustain all life.
Raw Milk & Yogurt: Cultures of Nourishment
Raw milk is a living food rich in enzymes, beneficial bacteria, and immune modulating compounds that are often destroyed in pasteurization. It supports gut integrity, hormonal balance, and bone strength.
Yogurt full fat , plain with no dry milk, replenishes the microbiome and enhances nutrient absorption, and if raw milk is not an option, opt for yogurt! An incredible replenishing gift available at most grocery stores. High in calcium, fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, K2), and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
Milk is one of the most primordial foods of devotion and nurturance, keeping us connected to the great mother goddesses — the first offering of life itself. These ancient dairy products build strong bones, healthy skin, and a balanced mood chemistry. Their naturally occurring probiotics support the gut-brain connection, immunity, and improve emotional equilibrium.
To share milk and fermented dairy is to participate in the ancient lineage of sustenance, fertility, and maternal generosity. Yogurt and other cultured foods remind us that transformation, that fermentation is alchemy.
Enjoy raw milk warmed with cinnamon or cardamom before bed, or craft homemade yogurt or kefir (kefir is higher in yeasts, whereas yogurt is all bacteria shit :)) as a daily act of nourishment and microbial communion. Buying yogurt is the best option for most people.