Welcome Back!

We hope the new year has started as well for all of you as it has for us. Tallulah, the newest addition to our family, is now three months old, so we’re excited to get back to our OMB work just as winter is wrapping up and spring approaches.

There are many exciting celestial, herbal, and seasonal topics, as well as an upcoming workshop Amanda is teaching at The Cumberland Folk School, to get into for this newsletter, so grab a cup of tea to sip on, and let’s dive in.

Year of the Fire Horse, Planetary Alignment, & Lunar Eclipse

Year of the Fire Horse

On February 17th’s New Moon, we entered the Chinese Zodiac’s Year of the Fire Horse, a once-in-every-60-year event considered to be powerful and transformational. Even more amazing is that we had a “Ring of Fire” Annular Solar Eclipse to mark the Lunar New Year, a remarkable cosmic coincidence.

This is the year that pushes us forward, urging bold movement rather than hesitation. The horse symbolizes freedom, vitality, and unstoppable drive. When combined with the fire element, the energy becomes even more intense—fueling ambition, passion, and rapid change. This year is considered one that challenges us to act with confidence, trust our instincts, and keep pace with fast-moving circumstances.

The horse is admired for its resilience, independence, and powerful life force or Qi. It is often associated with breakthroughs, dramatic shifts, and opportunities that reward those who act with clarity and discipline rather than impulse. Have you noticed any of these energetic shifts in your life lately?

Planetary “Parade”

This Saturday, February 28th, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune will appear to align in a "parade" across the western sky shortly after sunset. If we’re graced with clear skies, you’ll be able to see four of the planets with the naked eye, but Uranus & Neptune will need a telescope. This is a very rare celestial event, so we hope everyone can spend some time outside to see it! We recommend using the Stellarium app to assist with finding the planets.

March 3rd Full Moon & Total Lunar Eclipse

The upcoming full moon on March 3rd is known as the Full Worm Moon in the American Farmer’s Almanac and as the Windy Moon in Cherokee culture. In traditional Celtic culture, the March Full Moon is known as the Seed Moon, but interestingly enough, it's also called the Wind Moon, Storm Moon, or Worm Moon.

These names are quite fitting, as this is a period when worms can be seen rising to the surface as the Earth warms, signaling a good time to sow early-spring seeds into soil that’s coming back to life. March 1st is also the start of meteorological spring, so we begin to warm back up incrementally, causing those still-strong winter low-pressure systems to bring storms with gusty winds.

This full moon is also a Total Lunar Eclipse, and will be the last one until December 31, 2028! The red-hued illuminious Moon will be on the Western horizon in our area from 6:04-7:02 a.m. EST.

Passionflower & Skullcap

Passionflower and Skullcap are the two herbs we have called upon most this winter, so they easily took the spotlight for this newsletter.

With the stressors of having a newborn and being indoors constantly, these herbs have helped to quiet our minds and nervous systems in high-stress moments. In her books, Natural Health After Birth and Naturally Healthy Babies and Children, Dr. Aviva Romm recommends these two herbs, among many others, for navigating the extreme highs and lows of the postpartum period. Being very similar but also having their unique characteristics, these herbs are wonderful to work with on their own or combined when life feels overwhelming, which, if you’re paying attention to global news… might just be what you need right now too.

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

Passionflower, as shown above, is quite the exotic-looking flower, considering they’re native to the Southeast. The showstopping vining plant boasts the titles of Tennessee’s original state flower and current state wildflower. Also called Maypop, Passionflower is best known for the ability to "quiet the mind” and has been prized for thousands of years as a natural remedy for insomnia, anxiety, and certain forms of pain due to their antispasmotic and nervine properties.

• Stop "Circular Thinking": Often recommended for people who experience repetitive, looping thoughts that prevent them from falling asleep or falling back to sleep when waking in the night

• Anxiety: Increases levels of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) in the brain, a neurotransmitter that lowers brain activity to help you relax, making this herb a great alternative to SSRIs

• Sleep: Clinical trials show improvement in total sleep time and sleep efficiency, helping you stay asleep longer without the negative effects of medications and melatonin; also milder than other sleep herbs like Valerian and California Poppy

• Physical Relief: Can help with nerve-related pain, especially when paired with Skullcap, as well as pelvic and spasmodic pain

• Affinity for the Heart: May reduce blood pressure by relaxing the arterial muscles; energetically heart opening while also cooling for an overactive Spirit

One of Amanda’s teachers, CoreyPine Shane, discusses Passionflower in his book Southeast Medicinal Plants,

“Think of Passionflower specifically when someone is irritable and cranky because they are overtired, that kind of late-night “second wind”- overstimulated and not being able to come down.”

“Tommie Bass [legendary herbalist of the Southeast] said it brings people together because you don’t get as bothered by the little things other people do.”

Photo Credit

Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)

Skullcap, photographed above, is in the same family (Lamiaceae) as mints, deadnettles, and sages. Out of 25 known species of Skullcap in the Southeast, S.lateriflora (Mad-dog Skullcap) is the one most commonly used for medicine. An excellent nervine, Skullcap is helpful for anxiety, nerve pain, deficiency-type insomnia, tension headaches, & petit mal seizures. This helmet-shaped calyx herb has a long history of use in Western herbal medicine for treating the mind, dating back to documents from the 1800s, when considered an official treatment for tics, tremors, and epilepsy.

• Release Physical Tension: Helpful for those who carry stress physically, like clenched jaws, tight shoulders, or tension headaches; pairs well with Blue Vervain

• "Scattered" Thinking: Where Passionflower helps circular thoughts, Skullcap is often used for scattered, frantic, or spastic thinking

• Nerve Tonic: Nourishing and calming to the nervous system, helps with burnout, heart palpatations, and chronic insomnia, particularly the insomnia that feels like you’re “too tired to sleep”

• Sciatica & Spinal Pain: Excellent aid for nerve-related back and spinal pain, especially when combined with St Johns Wort

• Liver Wind in TCM: remedy for tics, tremors, and epilepsy, as well as stress enduced anger, bruxism, muscle spasms, and torticollis- all of which could be considered considered Liver Wind Pattern in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Finley Ellingwood comments on Skullcap’s ability to provide extended relief in American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy published in 1919, stating there’s a “soothing influence [that] continues for a protracted period, after the [herb] is discontinued”.

“Skullcap is indicated when there is nervous fear, restless sleep, cardiac irritability, and spasms.” Sharol Tilgner, N.D. Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Earth

Although not complete monographs, we hope you have enjoyed learning some facts about these herbal allies. I’m sure you can imagine why they have been helpful for us while caring for our new daughter. Remember, if you need help navigating health troubles, Amanda is available for Holistic Herbal Consultations, which can be tailored to your lifestyle and budget! Schedule a FREE 15-minute phone call to learn more!

Herbal Extracts Class at Cumberland Folk School April 11 9am-1pm

Beyond the Folk Method: Crafting Herbal Extracts with Science and Spirit

Though the tried and true folk method is incredibly effective and accessible, working with the science and spirit of herbs can make your extracts even more powerful.

During this workshop, Amanda will guide you through the basics of chemical constituents and the energetics of medicinal plants in an easy-to-understand and approachable way. We will then use this information to determine the best ratios and types of menstruums (vinegar, alcohol, water, oil, etc.) to make 3 different extracts together.

The extracts will be made from herbs provided by yours truly and from wild herbs harvested during class.

You will leave the class with your own jars of these extracts and handouts of all the information covered so you can feel empowered to continue making potent medicines at home and beyond!

Snacks and tea will be offered during this class.

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April 11th 8:00am-12:00pm CST/9:00am-1:00pm EST

$60 per person with 2 scholarships available!

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Email Amanda, info@oakmoonbotanicals.com, or reply to this message to reserve a scholarship today- no reason necessary!

Gardening Consultations & FREE Greenhouse Workshop

It’s the perfect time to prepare seeds and garden plans for the season!

We’re prepping russet potatoes to plant in mounds on our land in Tellico Plains this weekend and making plans for a big summer garden this year! Are you planting anything right now? Making plans for the summer? Want to include Passionflower and/or Skullcap in your herb garden?

We’d love to help with our Gardening Consultations! Whether you’d like to grow food and/or herbs in raised or in-ground beds or add a native wildflower garden to your yard, Amanda and Derik team up on this service to help you enjoy more nutrient-dense food, herbal remedies, and maybe even the yard of your dreams!

More of a DIY type? Interested in learning how to start your own seeds? The Southeast TN Young Farmers CRAFT Program is hosting a FREE Greenhouse Workshop at Crabtree Farms on Saturday from 10am to 2pm.

Learn how to give your spring plants a great start with some tips and tricks from the Crabtree Farms greenhouse crew! The workshop will include hands-on learning, a lunch potluck, and a farm tour. Please make sure to sign up if you plan on going!

Thank you all for your continued support and for allowing us to share what’s near and dear to us. If you want to support us outside of our Consultation Services, signing up for Amanda’s Herbal Extracts Class on April 11th would be a huge help. We would love to see you there, and it will help us support and stay connected with the Cumberland Folk School. We believe the technical aspects of the class will be a lot of fun, and the knowledge will empower you to get outside to grow and make your own medicine.

Wishing you health and happiness,

Amanda & Derik <3