Named for the gorgeous Boeotian youth who fell in love with his own reflection, Narcissus is a perennial bulb in the amaryllis and daffodil family. The flower blooms in late winter and early spring, reminding us of its connection to youthfulness and the awakening of desire after the numbness of winter. Although all parts of the flower are toxic to ingest, the Narcissus can be used in ceremony to awaken desire and bring awareness to our capacity for self-love.

The Poplar is a fast-growing, deciduous tree in the Willow family found near freshwater rivers and streams. Sacred to Hades, as well as to Herakles and his father, Zeus, in relation to the hero’s success in an Underworld trial, the Poplar is said to grow at the entrance to the Realm of the Dead. Not only tied to death, the Poplar is also connected to many stories of metamorphosis and freshwater, particularly the nymph Leuke and the grieving Heliades. With ghostly bark — whether white or black or both — this liminal tree indicates the location of life-giving waters, while also appearing burnt or parched. Able to survive both flood and drought, the Poplar reminds us to seek the Source: to reach deep to the flow of groundwater that nourishes the root of being.