Episode 11: Beltane & Rose: Deepening Relationship with Plants
Welcome back to the Ritual Herbalism Podcast, a space where we explore the sacred threads of plant medicine, seasonal wisdom, and the ways we return to ourselves through earth-centered ritual.
In this episode, “Beltane & Rose: Deepening Relationship with Plants,” we arrive at the threshold between spring and summer, a moment in the turning of the year when the earth is no longer quietly waking, but fully alive. This is a season of movement, of expression, and of connection, where life is no longer hesitating, but reaching outward in every direction.
A year ago, I recorded the first episode of this podcast during this same season. The same deep spring energy was present. The same turning of the wheel. And yet, something has shifted. There is something about returning to the same place in the cycle that reveals not only what has changed in the land, but what has changed within us, and in the way we are in relationship with the world around us.
In that first episode, I spoke about the cicadas, creatures who spend years beneath the surface, living quietly in the dark before emerging all at once, climbing toward the light, singing, and becoming visible. At the time, that story felt like one of emergence, of finding voice, and of rising from something unseen into something fully expressed. Now, standing here again in this same season, I feel that story differently. Not as something that simply happened, but as something I was in relationship with. And this recognition opens into the deeper invitation of Beltane, not simply to notice that life is returning, but to consider how we are meeting it.
Episode Themes:
At the heart of this episode is an exploration of relationship, not as an abstract idea, but as something we are already participating in. Through breath, through the body, and through our connection with the plant world, we are continuously in exchange with the living systems around us. This episode invites us to move beyond knowledge and into presence, into a way of being that is rooted in attention, reciprocity, and connection.
In this episode, we explore:
The energy of Beltane
Where the Spring Equinox brought balance, Beltane brings movement. The days have grown longer, the air has warmed, and the land is no longer holding back. Everything is reaching branches extending outward, roots deepening, blossoms opening. It becomes difficult not to notice that nothing in the natural world exists in isolation. Everything is in relationship. The trees with the soil. The soil with the rain. The blossoms with the pollinators. The warmth of the sun with the life it is calling forward. And this movement is not only happening around us. It is happening within us as well. Our inner landscape mirrors the outer one, awakening through sensation, through desire, through the simple awareness of being alive inside a body that can feel. Beltane reminds us that to be alive is not only to exist, but to be in relationship.
the green breath
One of the most profound ways we are already in relationship with the plant world is through breath. What we inhale is what plants release, and what we exhale is what they receive. This continuous exchange, sometimes referred to as the green breath, is a relationship that exists whether we acknowledge it or not. When we begin to notice this, something shifts. We move from asking what we can take from the plant world to recognizing that we are already in a shared rhythm, a shared life. Relationship is not something we need to create. It is something we can choose to become aware of.
Plants as Relationship
In modern herbalism, plants are often approached through their uses, edible, medicinal, utilitarian. These frameworks are valuable, but they are not the whole story. Plants are not passive resources. They are living beings, breathing, responding, and participating in the same world that we are. To be in relationship with a plant is not only to know what it does, but to know how to be with it. To sit, to notice, to return again and again, allowing something to unfold over time.
For me, this understanding began long before I had the language for it. There were times in my childhood that did not feel stable, but the plants were always there, consistent, quiet, present. I did not realize until much later that what I was experiencing was relationship, a way of being with the world that is often described as animism. In many ways, the plant world was one of the first places I experienced a sense of safety.
The Medicine of rose
At the threshold of Beltane, one of the most beloved plant allies begins to bloom, rose. Across time and culture, rose has been associated with love, beauty, and devotion. It has been woven into poems and ceremonies, carried in grief, offered in celebration, and present at some of the most meaningful moments in human life. Its petals are soft, delicate, and deeply fragrant, inviting us closer. And yet beneath them are thorns, sharp, protective, and unmistakable. Rose does not offer beauty without boundary. It does not invite closeness without awareness.
To be in relationship with rose is to learn something about love, not as an idea, but as a practice. The practice of opening, and the practice of remaining with ourselves as we do. The practice of softness, and the practice of discernment, existing together.
Rose has long been used as a medicine of the heart. It supports the nervous system, softens emotional tension, and brings warmth and sensation back into the body. But beyond its physical effects, its deeper medicine is relational. It teaches us how to stay, to remain present with what we feel, even when it is tender, even when it asks something of us. And it is no coincidence that rose blooms at Beltane, a season of heightened sensation, beauty, and pleasure. A time when the body is invited back into relationship with the world through the senses.
We are living in a time that feels complex and uncertain. In moments like this, it can feel difficult to speak about beauty, pleasure, or love, as though these experiences are secondary or indulgent. But what becomes clear through this work is that they are not luxuries. They are forms of medicine. To feel pleasure in a time like this is not to ignore the world. It is to remain connected to it. To remember what we are still capable of feeling, and what is still worth being in relationship with.
Ritual Invitation
This episode concludes with a simple ritual for deepening your relationship with the plant world, one centered on breath, presence, and the recognition that relationship is always present.
Both our Green Witch Immersion and our Green Witch online course invite you to build relationships with the plant and embody the pathway of ritual herbalism. We will gather with students this weekend for our immersion but our online course is open year round for those who feel the call.
Want to go deeper?
Join us at Twin Star Tribe to explore the art of ritual herbalism, energetic plant medicine, and ancestral healing. Our online and in-person offerings are here to support your journey—whether you’re just beginning or deepening your path with the plants.
Come be part of a growing community rooted in Earth wisdom, sacred remembrance, and collective transformation. Visit our website at www.twinstartribe.com and step into the circle. We’d be honored to welcome you.
Disclaimer and release of liability: information and services provided on this website, by Lauren “Lupo” Passero and by Twin Star Herbal Education and Shakti Exchange LLC are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any medical condition and have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Information provided on this website and during all classes, programs and trips are for educational and entertainment purposes only.