Botanical Oracle: Fern, Athyrium filix-femina
In my childhood home, we had a room called the Blue Room. The walls were not blue, but the bedspread was. I still don't understand why it was called the Blue Room. All of that notwithstanding, I don’t reminisce over the Blue Room because of the color of the walls or bedspread. Instead, I always think of all the ferns my mother filled it with.
She had quite an affection for fern plants.
There are many species of ferns. From the average house plant, like the one in the Blue Room, to the ferns you find in the forest when you’re hiking. They all have various properties, and there are even some that can be used for human consumption.
Medicinally, however, there hasn't been a lot of clinical science on the medicinal use are ferns. In folklore, different parts of the fern were thought to alleviate respiratory problems and to cleanse wounds. Today, we know that there are safer herbs to use to achieve those goals.
But ferns grow fast. This is why I believe the Oracle attaches the word growth to this plant. Thompson correlates the way this plant propagates with the oracle.
Growth. It's such a simple word. Every day we grow - we grow in our minds, in our bodies, and in our spirituality - or we try and hope to.
When I look at this card, I spend a moment thinking about my own growth. I also think about where I am stuck. Where can I grow in my relationships, profession, and spiritually to become the person I was meant to be. This is what the word growth means to me.
Looking at the description of a fern and growth in the Oracle book, I believe it's time for me to get a few ferns to put in my “Blue Room” (which happens to be gray, but semantics you know…).
By getting a fern, it’ll be a gentle reminder for me to continue to grow and not stay stuck.
Where do you get stuck when you're trying to grow? What tools or thoughts do you use to get unstuck to grow? Comment below and then check out Thompson’s Botanical Oracle if you feel like purchasing it for yourself and finding its secrets inside.
