HbC! SPRING POSTCARD: HP Purple Nettle

Healing by Choice! Spring Postcard

by Aziza Knight

Click here to purchase postcards with this design by Aziza!

Image Description: Illustration of the plant, Purple Dead Nettle. Roots of plant spread into soil holding the following words, “This moment is new but we are not…travel the road unpaved. I am the answer to my ancestors prayers. vulnerability is power. I am loved. I am worthy of taking up space. I can always begin again.” A warm sun, body of water, buildings and a red house rest in the background.

Plantcestor: Purple Nettle; Purple Dead Nettle 

The Spring will forever remind me of 2020. I remember walking outside and down the stairs, squinting at the ground because of the bright sun, and seeing all these little green, and deep brown purple plants popping up through the cracks on the pavement. I stopped, looking around my feet, and saw that they were here, and there, and everywhere. Over there in the grass, and over there in the dirt. 

It seemed as if this little plant had come out of nowhere, and grown overnight. I squinted again, this time not because of the sun, but because I was suspicious. “Had I ever even seen this plant before?” I thought. And then, as usually follows, I mentally exclaimed:  “ it must be a conspiracy!”. 

And it was. 

But this time, it didn’t seem to be “a secret plan” or “ a plot formed between two or more persons”. “The Plan” seemed very, very public, and the plot, some sort of consensus. Bigger than a conspiracy. This plan almost seemed as big as God. 

Purple “Dead” Nettle!? I don’t even know if I trust the name. 

But the magic. 

In the Spring of 2020 we were all coughing, worried about having what we need, and each person with a heart feeling like “I can’t breathe”. In my research, I had learned that this “dead” herb was very much alive. It was alive with nutrients, and was said to be good for the kidneys and allergies. It attracts honeybees, and so encourages the fertilization and growth of a countless number of other plant species. It can be used in food, and it is beautiful to look at. It represents everything that is spring, and we got it. Even in the city. 

I believe that the universe (or God/Goddess, or The Calculation, whatever you want to call reality) constantly conspires to give us what we need. I was inspired by this plant to create an image I hope we can all connect with. 
-Aziza

Description of the Healing by Choice! Spring Affirmations Postcard by Aziza Knight:

Haiku: Ya’ll remember when

Purple Dead Nettle was called?

Medicine for us. 

Land: Highland Park, MI; Detroit, MI

Spring Colors/Ideas: The road flows into the river, plants rise through the cracks in the pavement. The big, bright sun gives its energy to everything below as a single raincloud leaves a light drizzle on the city below 

Greens: purple nettle leaves, grass, bushes, plant in the attic, trees, Belle Isle.

Represents → life, fertility, growth, nature. 

Pinks/Purples: pink/ purple nettle flowers, “Detroit-style” pink bathroom tile, snapdragons at the Belle Isle Conservatory.

Represents → beauty, ascetics, sweetness. 

Blues: the Detroit River, the bed. 

Represents → relaxation, peace, solace. 

Browns: the soil, roots, the porch, bricks of an old home, structure of buildings. 

Represents → connection to the earth, solid foundation, the cycles of physical objects. 

For more on Aziza’s work and to connect with her, please visit: https://www.akhealingarts.com/

Video below: Lottie Spady’s (of HbC!) Nettle Video from 2020