Love Letter from Rue

How well do you know me?

~A Love Letter from Rue~

Rue
Ruta graveolens
Rutaceae

Listen to Mary Plantwalker read a Love Letter from Rue

Dear ones,

Which one of you knows me? I mean, really knows me? I am not the most popular herb—not always called upon in these modern times, yet still I grow, and give, and want to be a part of your lives. I want to work together, weaving a world that allows the generosity of earth to be shared and enjoyed by all.

The origin of my name is from the Greek word reuo, meaning “to set free.” I can help release you from the poisons of fear, scarcity and greed. I am known as the Herb of Grace, for in communions of the past, I was dipped into holy water and sprinkled upon the congregation to free them of “trespass.” In the early morning, find me covered in dew, and brush against my sprigs, and perhaps hold your own personal, living ceremony of transformation. May I invoke a sense of peace in you.

I am kin to oranges and lemons, a ‘fruitless’ member of the citrus family, and stem from the lands of Southern Europe, where it is hot and arid and the soil is alkaline. I am a small, shrubby, evergreen plant, with blue-green, smooth, wavy, pinnately-divided leaves, attached to a stem that is woody below and soft above. Watch my little yellow flowers open in early summer. They are humble but beautiful. I look tender, but I am tough, and will stay green, even after several hard frosts, if I am growing in a sheltered spot.

Propagate me from seed, cuttings of my woody stem, or by division. Wherever your soil is rubble, plant me there. Please don’t overwater me, though, and add some eggshells if your soil is acidic. Talk to me about what’s going on in your world, for I can work my magic on you best after listening. Bundle me up and hang me inside your home.

Perhaps you are familiar with my aroma? Do you find it pleasurable? Or are you repelled by it? I am a stimulator of the senses. For some people, I may cause a photosensitivity, blistering the skin with my volatile oils, so approach me slowly, and best to work with my fresh medicine in early morning or the evening. When meeting me for the first time, rub a little leaf between your fingers and inhale deeply, then rub your wrist and observe what happens. How do I affect you? I will work on both your body’s needs and your consciousness.

In Italy, they love to put very small amounts of me into salads, or chew on a little leaf after meals, as a digestive bitter. I am also nibbled on in order to stir the creative muse! My flavor is extremely bitter, and will awaken parts of you that have fallen asleep. The aftertaste, though, is a whole different experience, quite pleasing to most, and will instantly calm anxiety.

Sow True sells Rue seed

Apply my fresh leaves to your temples for headache. Before I bloom, harvest my leaves and infuse them in olive oil to make a rub for sore muscles, sciatica and neuralgia. As a remedy for countless ails, I have been extracted in all the liquids—wine, water, oil, juice, vinegar, honey—then drank or applied as a liniment.

Use my vinegar to rid yourself or your animals of internal parasites and as a wash to repel lice and fleas. Cherokee made water-based decoctions to treat worms, and you can also crush me with my companions garlic and wormwood, and poultice the naval to help expel that which you do not want. Even gangrene retreats from a fomentation of my aerial parts.

Kumeyaay peoples living in Baja ingest my infusions for earache and tummy ache. I help with vertigo, sharpen vision and have been known to shrink skin growths and tumors. Just under the skin, I will stir the blood—that’s why they call me a rubefaciant. I am also good at moving the blood in other ways, like bringing on a late period. My constituent pilocarpine induces blood release/cramping, so be careful with me.

I am powerful and need to be taken with awareness and intention to do my job correctly. My seeds and leaves have been used as both a poison and an antidote. In large doses, I am an emetic and abortificant. My rutin, or Vitamin P, may make the uterus an incompatible place for a fertilized egg to implant. I’ve saved people from the bane of snakebite, scorpion venom, and toxic chemicals.

For the breath, I invoke more Prana, soothing overwhelm and inviting relaxation. Let me gently sedate and coax you into a state of grace, where there is naturally more space to rest and renew. In this holy space, unwanted energies cannot gather. With my plant-powered protection, I bestow clear sight.

What if you were to engage with me intentionally everyday for a year? Maybe in a pot by your front door, and as sprigs in your pocket when you’re away, you would give me the gift of your attention for just a moment each day? I will come into your dreams, you’ll see, and be a translator of the Mystery. Wet a branch of my delicate leaves to smudge yourself clear, as Herb of Grace my presence can release you from fear. Distinct is my scent and my yellow flowers are stars. I can be an antidote for your wounds and scars.

Thank you for spending time with me,
Love,
Rue

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~Week 15 and 16 of the “Eat Something Wild Everyday”
2025 Challenge

Sweet Cicely is in the carrot family and has poison look alikes so please always always know what you are doing before you forage! And about the Birch catkin stems- they just melt in your mouth, tasting like a wintergreen breath freshener. With your slow and steady fingers, gently comb the flowers off the catkin to reveal the stem.

Little reminders:
*This challenge doesn’t have to be every single day, so don’t get discouraged if you’ve missed some days or haven’t even started yet! The point is to cultivate ‘eating something wild’ until it turns into a habit.

*You can either nibble right there on the spot or actually turn the plants into a meal, depending on your time/energy and knowledge.

*Wild? When I say wild, I mean native edibles, naturalized edibles, ‘invasive’ edibles and volunteer edibles from plants that were cultivated. Wild is eating a plant that grew on its own free will. It can also mean insects, wild animals, fungi…I am focusing on the plants here.

Warning!

Eating something wild everyday will deepen your relationship with earth and all of its creatures and you will inevitably become a more wild and free creature yourself ;-)