This piece is Part II of my four-part alchemical series on healing through herbal formulation. If you missed Part I, Nigredo – The Breakdown, you can read it here.
If Nigredo was the breakdown, marked by burnout, fragmentation, a complete unraveling at the core, then Albedo is the turning point. The moment light returns. The start of refining that which has been blackened.
In Part I, I shared my descent: the exhaustion, the doubts, and all the uncomfortable shadows that surfaced with it. That was the beginning of the transformation.
This next phase is about clarity, cleansing, and connection.
It’s here that I began to formulate a remedy for myself, drawing from my constitution, my natal chart, and the emotional-energetic patterns I uncovered.
To guide the process, I drew from multiple systems:
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Ayurveda
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Traditional Chinese Medicine
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Medical Astrology
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Six Tissue States
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Western Herbal Energetics
In this article, I’ll walk you through that process from assessment to formulation and share bite-sized herbal profiles of the plants in this blend, along with why they were chosen.
Let’s begin with where I was and how I started mapping my way back to wholeness.
Where I Was (A Recap + New Insights)
Here’s a quick refresher from the last article, plus a few new reflections, thanks to lots of journaling since then:
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I was completely burnt out. Work had drained me, and I felt like everything was falling apart. My computer breaking was just the cherry on top.
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My body was locked in tension. I carried a heavy, unshakable weight in my chest. My neck, shoulders, everything felt tight.
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Dead in the eyes. No spark.
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My confidence? Nowhere to be found. I was doubting myself as a writer, entrepreneur, and herbalist. (Mars Retrograde absolutely walloped me. Thanks bestie.)
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I felt—and sometimes still feel like a “bad” young adult who can’t get it together. I was overwhelmed by money stress, looming student loans, and the dread of aging out of my family’s health insurance.
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SAD was in full effect. As in literal Seasonal Affective Disorder—and the emotional kind too.
In short: low serotonin + zero confidence = no happy. Big stress.
How I Begin Formulation Work
With all of that in mind, including burnout, body tension, emotional overwhelm, I began the process of formulating support for myself.
I always start with the full picture:
✦ What’s happening physically?
✦ What’s rising emotionally?
✦ What’s the mental chatter saying?
✦ What role is my environment playing?
From there, I turn to Medical Astrology, using my natal chart to better understand my constitution and what kind of support I actually need.
Astrology of the Body: What My Chart Revealed
Reading my natal chart, here’s what I found:
Aries Rising + Sagittarius Sun → a strong baseline of vitality and drive
Saturn in Taurus (2nd house) → physical strength and endurance
But the majority of my chart is ruled by Air signs, mainly Aquarius and Gemini, which often brings:
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Mental overstimulation
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Nervous exhaustion under stress
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A tendency to live in the head instead of the body
And then there’s the fine print:
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Sun in Sagittarius opposite Jupiter in Gemini → expansion vs. overwhelm = classic burnout signature
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Mercury in Scorpio (8th house) → obsessive thinking, emotional spirals, and a tendency toward self-criticism (Fun times!)
Put together, my chart paints a clear picture: My nervous system is highly sensitive and easily overdriven, especially during stress or seasonal depletion.
Ayurveda & Tissue State Breakdown
With so much Air in my chart, I turn to Ayurveda for another lens—and it’s pretty clear I fall under the Vata dosha, a combination of Air and Ether.
Vata types tend to be mentally quick and flexible, but are also prone to:
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Anxiety and nervous tension
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Cold hands and feet (a classic Aquarius trait)
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Restlessness and sleep issues
My mom jokingly calls my body type “the praying mantis” or “bug person” because of my long limbs and wiry frame, another Vata hallmark.
When Vata is elevated, so is mental overactivity, emotional volatility, and physical tension. There's a tendency to float away, both mentally and energetically.
From an energetic lens, this places me in the Tissue State of Constriction: tight muscles, mood swings, emotional irritability. All of which I’ve definitely been experiencing.
Try This: A Quick Self-Assessment
Curious how to assess your own constitution like I did? Here’s a simple place to start:
✦ Physical – Where do you feel discomfort, tension, laxity, or heaviness in your body?
✦ Emotional – What emotions keep bubbling up lately? Stress? Anxiety? Grief? Anger?
✦ Mental – Are your thoughts scattered, looping, foggy, or sharp?
✦ Environmental – What’s your current season, climate, or stress level?
✦ Astrological – Check your Rising Sign (body) and Sun Sign (vitality). These can offer insight into your baseline constitution and energetic tendencies.
So, What Herbs Did I Reach For?
Herbs are more than just physical remedies. They support us emotionally, mentally, and energetically—and each one in this formula was carefully chosen for its ability to calm the nervous system, open the heart and chest, and restore a sense of inner steadiness.
As you’ll see in the next section, I leaned into anxiety-soothing herbs, especially those that are acrid or bitter, antispasmodic, and supportive of the heart space.
From a Medical Astrology perspective, many of the herbs I selected are ruled by the Sun, Venus, and Jupiter—planets tied to the heart, nervous system, emotional nourishment, and vital force.
What follows is a quick look at each herb and why it earned its place in this formula.
✦ Note from the Herbalist: There’s a time for tea, and there’s a time for tincture. This was the latter. Alcohol extracts compounds that water can’t, like alkaloids and volatile oils making tinctures more potent, fast-acting, and longer-lasting.
Hawthorn (Crataegus spp)
Hawthorn strengthens both the physical and emotional heart.
It supports circulation and heart function, but its real magic lies in how it helps ease grief, heartache, and emotional stagnation.
For those who feel emotionally walled off or, conversely, too open and vulnerable Hawthorn offers a slow, steady return to center.
As Deborah Frances, N.D., writes:
“Hawthorn is well suited for individuals who have closed their hearts even partly… or for overly sensitive [individuals] whose anxiety stems from being too open.”
For this formula, I used the berries, leaves, and flowers to draw on Hawthorn’s full-spectrum medicine.
It’s the highest-dose herb in the tincture because true heart healing takes time, and Hawthorn works slowly and steadily, offering deep, lasting support.
Motherwort (Leonurus Cardiaca)
Motherwort is an herbal hug for the overburdened and anxious heart.
It calms palpitations, eases anxiety, and lowers blood pressure, especially when emotional stress is the root cause.
I’ve found Motherwort to be an incredible herbal ally for emotional and psychological support. It helps diffuse our vexations and impatience towards ourselves, life, and others.
Herbalist Sajah Popham describes the bitter action of Motherwort as moving anxiety down and out through the body. Its intensely acrid taste flushes everything in a downward motion, which is especially beneficial since anxiety often sits in the heart space and responds well to this kind of release.
As herbalist Robin Rose Bennett so beautifully puts it:
“When we are emotionally at peace with life and not anxious, furious, resentful, or frustrated… we tend to live longer… Motherwort helps us to live more joyfully and peacefully.”
I also chose Motherwort for its astrological connection to Leo, a sign that governs the heart, confidence, and self-assuredness. That resonance is part of what earned this herb a well-deserved place in this formula.
Passionflower (Passiflora Incarnata)
Passionflower is the herbal equivalent of unclenching your jaw.
It soothes a racing mind, eases nervous tension, and promotes deep rest.
This herb works on GABA receptors (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid), the brain’s primary calming neurotransmitters. These help regulate the nervous system and reduce over-excitation.
Interestingly, GABA pathways are also the target of many anti-anxiety medications—but without the narcotic hangover (Herbrally).
The first time I drank Passionflower tea, I noticed a floaty, fuzzy sensation, like the dreamy relaxation of taking an edible before bed.
Herbalist David Winston describes Passionflower as ideal for the person who:
“can’t shut off their mind at night. He lays in bed thinking about the day, yesterday, tomorrow, last month, next month—what if this, what if that.” (Winston, p. 215)
That description is spot on. As someone who struggles to turn off looping or pervasive thoughts—especially at night, Passionflower helps quiet the noise. Those anxious, intrusive thought spirals don’t disappear completely, but they soften, fading into a kind of mental background hum that’s much easier to tune out.
Holy Basil Tulsi - Krishna Variety (Ocimum Tenuiflorum)
Tulsi, or Holy Basil, is a beloved adaptogen known for clearing brain fog and balancing emotions.
Deeply woven into Ayurveda, it’s classified as a Rasayana—“an herb that nourishes a person’s growth to perfect health and promotes long life.” (168)
The variety I’m using, named after the blue-skinned god Krishna, with deep purple leaves and a peppery, clove-like aroma
While all adaptogens support the neuroendocrine system, Tulsi stands out when the mind feels dull, the heart heavy, and the spirit low. It brings clarity, shifts emotional stagnation, and restores balance—mentally and energetically.
Physiologically, Tulsi works to regulate the HPA axis, the stress-response system that governs adrenaline and cortisol. It also supports dopamine and serotonin production, contributing to a greater sense of emotional steadiness and resilience.
Herbalist David Winston uses Holy Basil for what he calls “stagnant depression”. Which is that lingering, situational heaviness that slowly takes over one’s life until it feels impossible to let go and move forward.
That’s the main reason Tulsi made it into this tincture, because I genuinely need help moving that stuck, situational depression out of my system. The fact that it’s also a powerful adaptogen, is just an added bonus.
Mimosa Bark (Alibizzia Julibrissin)
Mimosa is all about joy.
In Chinese medicine, it’s known as the “Collective Happiness Tree” (He Huan Pi) for its ability to lift the spirit (Shen) and release emotional heaviness.
While both the flowers and bark are used, the bark carries a stronger, longer-lasting energetic signature, which is why I chose it for this tincture. Because let’s be real: I need all the help I can get.
When Shen (the heart-spirit connection) is disturbed, it can manifest as a:
✦ Lack of joy and emotional stagnation
✦ Fatigue and low energy
✦ Heart palpitations and insomnia
As someone who struggles to stay present and joyful while constantly striving toward the next goal, working with a plant literally called the “Happiness Tree” feels like exactly what I need.
✦ Note from the Herbalist: Barks are tough and resin-rich—they need higher-proof alcohol to unlock their full medicine. I tincture them separately to give them the time and strength they need to yield their deepest healing.
Before You Go: A Few Final Reflections
As herbalists, we must remain devoted to the practice of seeing the whole person—including ourselves—with the same reverence and nuance we bring to the plants we work with.
I like to think of it this way:
There are constellations in the sky, mirrored by the plants that dot the earth, and reflected again within the human body. The macrocosm mirrors the microcosm. Just as we gaze into the vastness of space—taking in every star, every galaxy, every planet—we’re called to do the same when looking at ourselves and others.
Nothing exists in isolation—not in the cosmos, not on the earth, and certainly not within us.
To truly match the right herb with the right person, we must honor every facet of who they are—including all the messy contradictions that come with being human. This is where whole-person medicine lives.
If you want to begin exploring this for yourself, scroll back to the Self-Assessment. It’s a gentle place to start. And if anything surfaced, big or small, I’d be honored to hear about it. You can share in the comments or write to me directly.
What’s Next: Citrinitas – The Illumination Phase
In the next installment, I’ll share what it’s been like to actually work with the tincture.
I began taking it on April 18th, after letting it steep for six weeks in vodka, and I’ve been tracking what’s shifted ever since. We’ll explore what’s changed—physically, emotionally, and energetically—along with the key lifestyle shifts I’ve made to support the medicine.
And while herbs can offer profound support, we have to meet the medicine halfway. Healing asks us to take agency—over our habits, our choices, and the life we’re actively co-creating.
Because healing isn’t passive. It’s a living, breathing, active, and ever-unfolding process.
Alright—that’s everything for now. I’ll see you in Part 3.
Till Next Time, Mythical One,
Ayame (あやめ)
Works Cited
“Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.).” Herbrally, www.herbrally.com/monographs/hawthorn. Accessed 30 May 2025.
“Hawthorn: Crataegus oxyacantha, monogyna, and laevigata.” Materia Medica Resource, 30 June 2013, materiamedicaresource.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/hawthorn/. Accessed 30 May 2025.
Koch, Eberhard, et al. “Phytopharmaceuticals and the Heart: Cardioprotective Benefits of Crataegus Extracts.” Phytomedicine, vol. 18, no. 8–9, 2011, pp. 633–640. PubMed Central, doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2011.01.017.
“Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) Materia Medica Monograph.” The Herbal Academy, www.theherbalacademy.com/motherwort-monograph/. Accessed 30 May 2025.
Pereira, Andressa, et al. “Pharmacological Effects of Leonurus cardiaca: Motherwort—A Review.” Plants, vol. 10, no. 2, 2021, p. 357. PubMed Central, doi:10.3390/plants10020357.
“Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) Monograph.” Herbrally, www.herbrally.com/monographs/passionflower. Accessed 30 May 2025.
Hill, Judith. Medical Astrology: A Guide to Planetary Pathology. 2nd ed., Stellium Press, 2006.
Winston, David, and Steven Maimes. Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief. Healing Arts Press, 2007.
Chevallier, Andrew. Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine: 550 Herbs and Remedies for Common Ailments. Revised and Updated ed., DK Publishing, 2016.
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