Sage

Salvia officinalis.

The Holy Herb. The most cultivated herb, which seemingly grows back double. The herb collected in the masses and spun into smudge sticks. We eat it, we drink it, we use it to add abundance to our gardens. Sage is universally a favored herb, but it is superbly misrepresented.

Sage has countless plant variations; Common sage, Russian sage, Antelope sage, Sagebrush, etc. Sage has been around for centuries, and since ancient Egyptian and Roman times it has been curated in food, medicines, and fragrance. Sage aids in innumerable human ailments from snake bites to infertility, flatulence to memory loss, and of course the unfortunate sacrilegious act of warding off evil.

I want to take a moment to discuss the aforementioned action and why I chose the word Sage to partake in 50% of my business’ brand. Sage is amongst four plants considered sacred herbs (the other three are: Red Cedar, Tobacco, and Sweetgrass) to indigenous people and is known in their culture as a spiritual ritual in cleansing a person or a space, and to promote healing.

A driving mission I have in place for Sage & Aqua is to provide education on the power of plants and the greater understanding of environmental awareness: respecting nature and where it comes from. To me, Sage is a reminder of the stolen land where we reside, the misuse of propagandized herbs, and - most eloquently, despite everything - the beauty in its abundance. We have taken tenfold advantage of this magnificent herb, but there she is coming back tenfold our tenfold. And in variations.

Encouraging respect for cultures, land, and our future generations, my mindset is forward-thinking on how we can education the promising properties of herbs while developing awareness to the detrimental damage we create while “spinning” their story. If we can understand the versatility and actuality of herbs, we can in turn give back to the ground we walk upon and the air we breathe.

And to think, Sage & Aqua derived from nicknames one of my oldest friend’s Eliza, a Sagittarius, and me, an Aquarius, gave each other when we’d jokingly read our horoscopes in hopes for a better life. How wild is the wild.