Burdock and Purpose
Arctium lappa
If you or your dog have come home with burrs on your clothes or fur, you’ve probably had an accidental encounter with a burdock plant. Burdock is a biennial, wild food and medicinal herb. It is considered a weed by some. All parts of the plant are edible. Burdock is rich in vitamins and minerals and is recognized as a healing plant in both Western and Chinese herbal medicine. It tones and nourishes internal organs and helps them function in an optimal way.
The plant has large elephant-ear leaves that resemble rhubarb. Flower stalks emerge from the leaves and develop sticky purple flowers by midsummer. The flowers morph into seedpods with tiny barbed prongs that easily stick to anything that touches them. My grandchildren have been fascinated by the stickiness of the seed heads. One year, they tried experimenting with different liquids to see if soaking the seedpods would soften the barbs and stop the plants from sticking. They tried vinegar, milk, dish detergent, and hot water. Nothing worked.
George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer, was also fascinated by the barbed seed heads. He began studying the plant in 1941, with a goal of replicating the seed head’s sticky mechanism. It took him many years, but he was finally successful in developing the product we all know as VELCRO.32
Purpose is the correspondence for burdock, as it exemplifies a single-minded purpose in getting its seeds out into the world. Admittedly, scattering seeds is the goal of most plants, but burdock fulfills its purpose with an ingenious seed-scattering system. Purpose also has a strong resonance with burdock’s herbal healing role, as it supports each organ of the body to fulfill its purpose.
When mindfully focusing on this concept, cultivate an awareness of where purpose is showing up in your life and in the world. You can begin in the garden. You might wonder what the purpose of tomato hornworms and other garden predators are, other than destroying plants. Of course, from the hornworm’s perspective, its purpose is to find food and stay alive.
Intentionally shifting your focus to consider purpose from the perspective of the people and situations you find challenging can be part of the exploration this week. Shine an intentional light on your own purpose in being, in working, and in relating to others. There may be discoveries around behaviors and habits that you haven’t recognized as being successful and others that have outlived their original purpose.
Morning Attunement Questions
• What connections do I have with burdock or purpose?
• Where else in the green world or in my life do I observe the energy of purpose?
• What does this correspondence feel like?
• How can I describe this energetic attribute of purpose in words or pictures?
• Where does this correspondence of purpose resonate most strongly in or around my body or in my life?
Daily Integration Questions
• In what ways is the world reflecting burdock or purpose back to me?
• What nuances and shades of meaning do I notice about burdock and purpose?
Evening Reflection Questions
• Where and how did I experience burdock or purpose today?
• How did I embrace the correspondence of purpose today?
• What wisdom does burdock’s correspondence of purpose bring to my life?
32. Velcro, “About VELCRO Brand.”