Mabon 2025

Happy Mabon or Fall Equinox! This holiday kicks off my very favorite time of the year - Cozy Season is upon us! This is a time to celebrate the second harvest and everywhere you look there seems to be a bounty. I’m lucky that I get to spend every Sunday at the Berlin Farmers Market. It only takes a glance to sense the abundance of the season. Bins filled with squash, tomatoes, peppers, and corn. Tables overflowing with carrots, greens, and color. This is a wonderful time to take stock of your own blessings and give thanks for the turning of the wheel.

This month I’m going to highlight an herb that’s new to my Apothecary Garden - Boneset. Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) is a lovely perennial of the Asteracaea family. Native to North America it was a favorite medicinal herb of Indigenous peoples and bore a name which loosely translates to ‘ague-weed.’ An ague is a term describing fever characterized by intermittent chills and body ache. Herbalist Matthew Wood in his book, The Book of Herbal Wisdom, tells us that name Boneset comes from the plant’s ability to ease bone aches caused by influenza. He references an outbreak of flu in the 1800s that was called bone-break fever; Boneset was widely used to great effect in relieving the fever and body pain. Boneset is a mild tonic and diaphoretic. Similar to Yarrow, it is useful in fever that manifests in chills and is combined with other herbs to treat inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.

Boneset has fallen out of popularity with herbalists - something I’m on a mission to reverse, ha! It grows so well and generously in this area! It reminds me a bit of Bee Balm and Yarrow (both who function similarly as medicine) and my plant was covered with happy pollinators all throughout this late summer.

Magically it is associated with protection and exorcism. An infusion can be sprinkled around the house to ward off evil.

Bitter plants help the body to find balance; be that through digestion, urination, or emotion. I often blend bitter herbs to help the body navigate grief and trial. I love the idea that we can celebrate a balancing herb today when our very planet is in balance - equal parts day and night. I wish you all a very happy Mabon and a season of balance and peace!