3 Witchy Ways to Manage Grief and Anger This Valentine’s Day
We are all facing strange and scary changes to our world collectively and individually. In fact “change” should be the word for 2026 since we are already experiencing a lot of it astrologically as well. We have 5 planets in Aquarius (meaning things are a little weird) and Neptune entered Aries sending us on another decades long cycle of discovery and awareness (more on this)
You can read more about our current astrology here.
Aquarius season is gonna be weird and the addition of this Aries/Neptune energy is explosive. The stars haven’t done this since the civil war and it shows. From what’s happening in Minneapolis, Chicago, NYC, LA, Phoenix, and all the other affected cities, it’s clear that people are angry, scared, and sad about the ICE attacks on black and brown communities. Not surprisingly, these shake ups have made us all re-evaluate our jobs, beliefs, values, friendships, and romantic relationships. Lots of breakups have happened over the last year and we are being forced to find our people and we’re being forced to move forward authenticity because there is literally no way to keep pretending.
Anger is a valid and real response to injustice. Fear is a natural response to violence. And sadness is a normal emotional response to realizing things may have never been what they seemed. Lies, all lies.
Whether you’re feeling angry about a break up or the state of American politics— many things can be true at the same time. Chances are we’re all feeling many things and each of us contains many truths —the point of spirituality, herbalism, and traditional practices are for us to learn to take care of our spirit, each other, the earth, and our energy in ways that aren’t destructive.
Looking around, and dealing with this very USA 2026 reality has many of us reaching for dr*gs, alcohol, and risky behavior. Don’t get lost in the sauce friends! Coping is where we find ourselves as a society. My teacher Empress Karen Rose says in her book “The Art and Practice of Spiritual Herbalism” — coping is tolerating an intolerable situation. “It is not an indigenous concept to cope. We either leave the situation or we don’t. Coping is how we convince ourselves to stay in a situation we have outlived. That is one way our bodies can choose to deal with stress. We can also decide to intellectualize the pressure we are under or decide to change the situation completely.”
Article: Crystals for Aquarius Season
When something is intolerable no amount of coping skills will make us be ok with it. My goal with my work is that the herbs and healing I provide can help you change the situation you are in and thereby have the courage and strength to change the situation our world is in. Empowered people, empower other people. With that in mind, and as we work toward changing the world as well as our own stressful situations, we can lean on indigenous skills and herbs to foster healthier outlets for our energy and emotions.
There are healthy ways to maintain our sanity so we can all play our part in the revolution. Here are 3 Witchy Ways To Manage Grief and Anger
Dandelion Magic
Dandelion is a great partner energetically and medicinally when it comes to supporting the liver and the way we express anger according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Dandelion flower essence is strong medicine for those who have been victimized and for those who must speak truth to power. Put dried dandelion flowers in a kolonia of some kind and use it as an aura spray for bravery as you face the world. Add dandelion leaves to eggs or a stir fry to prevent water retention and edema. Dandelion root tea or tincture is great for purifying the liver and the expression of anger. You can even use the puff balls in spiritual baths and candle work to attract your wishes to you.
If you’re feeling enraged and heartbroken and you’re looking for comforting herbal support, try this delicious herbal latte. Rose is an amazing partner for heart opening and tonifying. Dandelion is going to help us process anger and emotions in a courageous way that allows us to speak truth to power.
Rose & Dandelion Latte recipe—Heart Opening & Liver Supporting.
- Boil 2 teaspoons of roasted dandelion root or 2 tea bags of dandelion root tea in 1 cup of water for 15-20 minutes. The longer you boil it, the more intense the flavor.
- Add a handful of rose petals to ½ cup of almond, oat or coconut milk and bring to a boil. Strain out petals.
- Mix the tea and milk. Add sweetener as desired. (honey/rock sugar/maple syrup)
Heart Opening Yoga
Sometimes when our heart is hurting we curl into ourselves to protect ourselves, literally protecting our heart from grief or pain. In times like these our heart can shut down which can lead to emotional detachment and isolation. This can lead to frozen shoulders as well as upper back and neck pain. This also constricts our breathing— a lot of times we will hold our breath without realizing it. Grief is carried in the lungs and generally emotional pain can reveal itself in the heart (and hips) according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. For that reason breath and lung health is vital to take into consideration when matters of the heart are involved.
Maybe you’ll find that you're not breathing as deeply as you need to fill your entire lungs with air. Try it now, take a deep breath in filling your entire lungs from the bottom up until you can’t take in any more breath. Do it a few times. You might feel light headed or notice that your ribs are sore and tight. Intercostal massage can help by loosening up those little muscles in between our ribs that constrict when we feel stressed so we can breathe better and move better.
Along with supportive herbs, sacred movement like yoga is also a great ally for opening the shoulders, stretching the hips, and balancing the heart chakra.
You can do some Heart Opening Yoga here.
Cord Cutting
This time of year everyone is very concerned with ‘cutting cords’ but not a lot of people necessarily understand what that entails. Cord cutting means you’re severing the energetic artery that exists between you and another or you and a situation.
The purpose of cutting cords is that some of us have connections that drain us. For example, if we envision an energetic cord like an artery that connects us to someone— that means you are the host and the person you want to cut cords with is an external source siphoning blood and energy away. For that reason it’s important that we cut or dissolve the cords, so that energy is no longer given.
Will cord cutting hurt the person you’re disconnecting from? No. Will it remove them from your energy field? Yes. Is cord cutting permanent? No. Can you do things that create new cords? Yes.
The most important thing to note about cord cutting is that it’s a 10/90 model— I can remove the cords which is like 10% of the battle but the other 90% is up to you. Meaning behavioral changes, and resisting the urge to go running back when you feel the absence of their energy.
Article: Cord Cutting: When to do it and when to hold off.
There are many ways of cutting cords but the most simple one is by using an obsidian knife. You can start by closing your eyes and envisioning yourself with an obsidian knife cutting in your hand. You can also use a real piece of obsidian and go down over the front of your body in a downward chopping motion as you say what you want to be free from out loud.
For break ups I recommend Limpias and cord cutting candle work. It’s an impartial way to not only burn up energetic cords but get some insight into how each party is handling the separation. I also love cord cutting candles because they let me know what else needs to be done.
I’m sure there are many more things we can do to feel centered and less crazy during these times. Please be sure to like & share my work and leave me a comment if you have a practice you’d like to share.