UPCOMING EVENTS
Downtown Cozy Crawl Specials:
November 7- 22
Tonic will be offering Kava Chai during these days AND on Fridays Nov. 7th, 14th & 21st our friend Terrie will be in the store with her crystal bowls offering complimentary sound baths in the store from 4-6 pm. Stop in to sip on a relaxing cup of kava, surrounded by soothing sounds and spicy scents, and take comfort in the moment of suspended chaos.
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Community Medicine Making Circles
with Jen Halima
Next one: November 22nd
Aromatic Herbal Incense
Together we’ll explore all the sweet and spicy scented plant that can be harvested locally. Scent is a beautiful place to linger and explore, a simple way to transform a space, a mood… a call to presence. As we settle inside for the winter months make herbal burn bundles and incense cones. You’ll take home a few incense cones and an herbal burn bundle.
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Grounded Sound Bath
Saturday November 29th & Saturday December 20th
6:00 pm
Connect with Mother Earth as you immerse yourself in the soothing sound of crystal and Tibetan singing bowls and other meditative instruments for a deeply relaxing & healing inward journey. Join for one or both of the sessions. Grounding mats provided.
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Plant Allies for Stress, Depression, and Fatigue
with Kat Maier
Saturday January 31st, 2026, 10am – 5pm
Sunday Morning Tea Ceremonies
with Silvy Franco
Join Silvy for a meditative ceremony to commune with Camelia sinensis. Come for quiet reflection as you sip on several cups of tea following Japanese tradition. Ceremony begins at 9:30 am and goes for an hour. Pre-registration is required.
Suggested Donation: $25
Chickweed
/in Herb of the Month /by Ashley Davis(Stellaria media)
Ahhh, Chickweed. It’s such a refreshing sight this time of year. Its clumping, succulent carpets of bright green scream fresh new life after winter. It might be my favorite wild edible plant, partly because of its abundant accessibility, and partly because my body is so excited for a bite of fresh wild green nourishment this time of year. You can experience the full vitality of eating fresh greens by getting on your hands and knees, and taking a bite directly from the earth as if you were a rabbit:) It’s such a different sensation than eating even the freshest greens from the grocery store or farmers market. And this is what I unabashedly do when I first encounter this plant each year. I bow down and give thanks for this delicious & welcome gift.
Tastes/Energetics: cooling & moistening
Parts Used: aerial parts
Actions: nutritive, antiscorbutic, anti-pyretic, demulcent, emollient, vulnerary, pectoral, diuretic
Uses: Chickweed is primarily used either internally as a nutritive herb with cooling and detoxifying properties, or externally as a soothing remedy for cuts, itching, or irritation. Chickweed contains saponins, soap-like plant chemicals that emulsify and increase permeability of cellular membranes, thus, increasing the absorption of nutrients, promoting the excretion of metabolic waste, dissolving phlegm, neutralizing toxins, and even weakening bacterial cell walls, rendering them more vulnerable. Chickweed also has a reputation for dissolving cysts, especially ovarian cysts, and some wise country women say it helps with weight loss (soap dissolves fat). Chickweed is very soothing to the bladder & kidneys and is used as a cooling diuretic for cystitis.
Indications: signs of heat (fever, infection, coughs with yellow, concentrated mucus, inflammations, any condition ending with “itis”), chronic UTIs, internal or external wounds (to draw out splinters or infection, reduce swelling & inflammation), rashes (including chickenpox, measels, diaper rash, bug bites, or poison ivy), pink eye (as a wash), internally to support weight loss or dissolution of cysts.
Preparations: Internally as a tea, tincture, or fresh plant. Externally as a poultice, salve, or wash.
Cautions: None cited in literature.
2 cups chickweed
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
I TBSP lemon juice
optional:
3-4 oz hard cheese
3-4 oz nuts or seedsPlace chickweed, nuts & garlic in a food processor and blend until finely minced. Add the cheese, oil & lemon juice and process until blended. Transfer to a small bowl or tupperware & store in the refrigerator.Identification: Chickweed is out now, thanks to the warm weather & rain. You can often even find it growing under the snow. If you wish to harvest, remember to find a place away from the roadside & chemical sprays, and to harvest no more than 1/3 of what you find. I highly recommend that you get a field guide to help you with identification. It can be difficult early in the season, before the plant is in bloom. Here are some hints:The leaves of chickweed are small, ovate, oppositely arranged, and a little fuzzy. The leaves and stems have an almost succulent quality. This becomes more apparent as the plant matures. The stems are a little hairy, and if you look closely at the nodes, you’ll notice that these hairs change direction around each node. The flowers are also tiny and white in color. They appear to have 10 petals, when in reality they are 5 petals, each one deeply cut into 2 lobes. Happy Hunting!