Nettles and Defensiveness

Nettle (Urtica diocia)

Tender, green and downright insistent in carrying medicine with a sting, Nettles teach us to come into balance with our Defensiveness. Aligning with the planet Mars and coming to life during the first flushes of Spring and Aries season, Nettles are equally a Soul-friend for those with weak boundaries and those with over-active defense mechanisms.

The medicinal nature of Nettles is quite hard to ignore when you unknowingly walk through a patch and get pricked all over the ankles and calves. If, in response to getting stung, one of the most prominent emotions that arises is anger—Nettle is a Soul-friend of yours! And if Spring seasonal allergies are torment for you, Nettle is a friend you can rely on.

Here are some other signs Nettle might be an ally for you:

• Someone’s else’s “no” triggers you

• You are unwilling to share what resources you have, having a tendency to hoard things like affection, money, or validation.

• Difficulty asserting oneself or judging others who do

• You eat on the go and never seem to have enough—time, energy, money

• You have unresolved issues with your mother

• You are generally hypersensitive and deeply empathetic
  

Is Nettle a Soul-Friend Plant Ally of yours? How should you go about cultivating relationship with them in your life?
If you harvest Nettle in the wild, perhaps consider buying some seeds and planting them in your garden instead. Establish relationship with them over time, getting to know them in every season and through all your senses. Every aspect of them has some wisdom to impart. They are as generous as they are confident and unapologetically claim the right to have boundaries.

To read more about the not-so-subtle energy of Nettles, and subscribe to more in-depth content from Willow, click here and subscribe to her Substack FIELD.