Althaea officinalis
There’s nothing Marshmallow would love more than to spend time in your kitchen. She’ll lean over your shoulder offering suggestions for adorning your salads and thickening your soups. There’s no reason for foul-tasting anything, including Medicine! declares the Grande Dame of dessert. She should know, having been at it since around 2000 bce. (Egypt, dear, she’ll tell you, a lovely place. I fed pharaohs and gods.) But Marshmallow’s not one to dwell in the past; she takes too much joy in bringing ease to the present. And there’s much work to do: Digestion these days! she tsks as she sets about creating her latest confection. Call on Marshmallow when you need to soften and rediscover sweetness.
Ritual 
Any act can be ritual if done with intention. Marshmallow remembers the days when baking and medicine making weren’t far removed from each other. In honor of her long history in the kitchen, create a dish that’s deliciously nourishing. As you chop and blend, focus on how this food will nurture those who eat it. Allow yourself to picture the vibrancy that will come with each delectable bite.
Reflection
Marshmallow’s magic is to soften and soothe. When the edges of life are too much, when you feel raw and scraped, picture Marshmallow growing in the moist soil of a wetland, water eddying gently, softening hard earth and loosening what’s been stuck.
What can Marshmallow help you soften? What rough edges are rubbing at your spirit?
Marshmallow is not scared of processes — she knows sometimes there are many steps to a recipe, and that the best flavors are created in layers, step by slow step.
