On the night of 31st August 2023, millions of eyes worldwide were peeled towards the sky to marvel at the moon, as man has no doubt done since they first became beings able to ask themselves, I wonder why? Many tried to capture its beauty on camera as it swirled closest to us as a supermoon and for the second time that month in its full golden splendour as a blue moon. Armed with a pocket camera, I did my best, of course not as well as the skilled photographers who shared their wonderful photos with us on the news channels and on social media. But the photos I took were mine and I saw things on the moon that no one saw. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, someone once said. Some early observers of the moon saw men on our satellite well before Neil Armstrong set foot there. Others saw lakes full of water. Before astrology became astronomy. Interested in medicinal plants I saw a leylandii (Leyland cypress, Cupressus leylandii) set against the moon that night.
It took me back to my childhood when my mother prescribed an extract of leylandii mixed with honey to use as a gargle and medicine for sore throats. She once made a warm leylandii compress to bind my inflamed knee after a strained cartilage playing football. The aroma of the pine oils from the pounded leylandii will stay with me forever.
Did the remedies work? The sore throat went as did the inflammation, as they usually do even without treatment. I saw motherly love in the leylandii that night. As bright as the super blue moon. Motherly love always works, unconditional and unwavering.
#MedicineTrees #MedicinalHerbs #MedicinalPlants #HerbalMedicine #PlantMedicine #TakingLeadFromNature #FolkloreRemedies #MotherlyLove #ManOnTheMoon #SuperBlueMoon #Leylandii #Cupressusleylandii #Cypress #PineOils #SoreThroatRemedies #CompressesForInflammation#UnconditionalLove #AstrologyToAstronomy
Photo Credits – ALWP CEBP
Medicine Trees 
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