I created this patch especially for my friend at Baylasan Botanicals as part of their spring bundles. They create a bundle every season curated with herbs to support you through the time and are the creator of some of my favorite plant medicines from tinctures and teas to oils and salves.

baylasan botanicals is a developing farm & intuitive apothecary invested in honoring earth medicine, community wellness, resilience, and healing

The illustration celebrates the spring equinox, Nowruz and Trndez -two holidays from the SWANA region that share ancient roots from Zoroastrianism.  Nowruz, known as Persian New Year, falls on the spring equinox, while Trndez (meaning welcoming the gods) is a pagan Armenian holiday connected with sun/fire worship celebrating and calling in the coming spring. Both holidays have an observance of jumping over a communal bonfire (part of the Nowruz celebrations called Charshanbe Suri on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz) which is represented by the couple at the top jumping over the flames. These flames originate from a cauldron type vessel adorned with the circle A, anarchism, the belief in the abolition of all government and the organization of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis without recourse to force or compulsion. A hope for a brighter future.

Below the flames is inspired by the haft-sin table, combining elements of the Nowruz table, ritualistic plants of Armenia, and herbs that Baylasan featured in their springs bundles – nettles, dandelions and lemon balm. At the top framing the fire-jumpers is sumac. As the days get longer we are welcome the times of warmth (gatherings, sunshine), growth (lessons learned and unlearned, blooming flowers), fertility (ideas, first fruits of the year) and we celebrate our movements towards a brighter future that burns in our hearts.