Meeting Magnolia

Magnolia is a tree dear to my heart—one that changed the way I related to plants forever.

In the Spring of 2025, while many people were working with early spring herbs like Stinging Nettle, Cleavers, Chickweed etc., I felt called (unexpectedly) to work with Magnolia blossoms—

We have a large Magnolia tree growing beside our garage.

It was our third year on this piece of land we are fortunate to call home.

I had always admired the tree. I remember finding it fascinating that its flowers arrive before the leaves.

But in 2025, the presence of the magnolia tree was... different.

It was calling me—clearly, almost insistently—

As if it was asking to be met in a new way—not just observed, but listened to.

So, I decided to make magnolia blossom tea this year.

Little did I know then that Magnolia held a certain kind of wisdom that would forever change the way I relate to things like, work, roles to play in society, and even life itself.

What unfolded was not something I could measure or explain in the usual sense.

It wasn’t about learning what Magnolia does,

but about experiencing how Magnolia is.

When this message arose in me,

for the first time in my life, I felt no need to justify my existence.

The insecurities around my identity, the quiet beliefs that told me I wasn’t enough unless I proved it, earned it, became something more—

I saw them for what they were.

And all of it—

what might be called imperfection—

was allowed to be here.

Part of me.

Completely.

I felt the embrace of love that Magnolia embodied.

She did not offer a lesson in the way I had come to expect from plants.

There was no instruction, no demand.

Only a steady, grounded presence—one that seemed to say: nothing is missing, nothing needs to be added.

It was an experience of being held,

not as an idea,

but as something lived and felt.

I guess what I hope you may begin to sense is this —

working with plants can be more than supporting the body, more than something we use or surround ourselves with.

There is a way of being in relationship with them that invites us into a different way of being with ourselves.

What follows are my observational notes, studies, and reflections that came through me during that time.

I invite you to sit with Magnolia's essence, with the vibration of her message.

Whenever I feel the ache of deep wounds, the weight of old identities, or pride and ego that denies my quiet power simply to be, I return to Magnolia in my mind's eye. She holds me in the grounding truth— "I am held by the Divine".

Magnolia stamens and carpels nestled in the cradle of crisp petals

You're welcome to move through it here, slowly.

From this encounter, I made this tea called "Held by the Divine" and the photos are the recorded process of working closely and intimately with magnolia blossoms. If this plant stayed with you,

you may find it here, in a form you can sit with.

👉 [Held by the Divine]