Holding Time, Holding Spirit
This topic is so near and dear to my heart!
So, in a world governed by seasons, survival has always depended on the ability to preserve.
Long before refrigeration or vacuum-sealed pouches, our ancestors developed ways to prolong the life of food, herbs, and medicine.
Their sacred techniques not only preserved the physical food/plant/what-have-you, but also encoded spiritual intention, cultural memory, and elemental balance.
That means that fermentation, drying, and storage weren’t just practical measures.
They were also energetic rituals rooted in respect for nature’s cycles.
These practices bridged the physical and metaphysical, connecting the mundane act of food storage with magic, medicine, and memory.
In this post, let’s take a deep dive into the energetic layers of preservation through three powerful methods—fermentation, drying, and sacred storage.
Fermentation: Alchemical Transformation in a Jar
Historical and Cultural Context
Fermentation is among the oldest preservation techniques, dating back more than 9,000 years.
Archeological evidence shows early fermented beverages in Neolithic China.
Fermented milk and grains were staples in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India.
From Korean kimchi to Ethiopian injera, from sauerkraut in Central Europe to Amazonian chicha beer, fermentation is a global ancestral art.
Traditionally, fermentation wasn’t just about flavor or preservation.
It was an act of cultural identity.
Recipes were passed down orally, microbial lineages preserved in starter cultures, and fermentation vessels carefully chosen for their spiritual significance (e.g., clay, wood, gourd, or stone).
Fermentation as Alchemy
When you think about it, fermentation is literal transformation.
Sugars become alcohol, starches break down into lactic acid, raw vegetables evolve into complex, living foods.
This echoes the alchemical process of putrefactio—decay that precedes transmutation.
- Elemental balance: Fermentation involves the element of Water and the element of Earth process, governed by fluidity, containment, and microbial decomposition. The slow bubbling reflects the primal waters of chaos giving birth to something new.
- Planetary correspondences: Mercury governs transformation and fluid intelligence, and is often aligned with fermentation. Saturn brings the containment and time necessary for the slow process.
Microbiome and Spirit
Modern science recognizes fermented foods as beneficial for gut health, mood, and immunity.
But ancient healers also believed that fermented foods also helped digest energy, not just nutrients.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, fermented foods support the Spleen and Stomach, transforming dampness and stuck energy.
Shamans saw fermentation as a way to unlock the spirit of a plant, allowing it to speak more clearly in dreams and rituals.
Kombucha was once known as the “Tea of Immortality” in Daoist practice.
Fermented honey drinks like mead were used in Norse rites to access ancestral wisdom and poetic inspiration.
Energetics of Fermented Foods
| Fermented Food | Elemental Energetics | Metaphysical Use |
|---|---|---|
| Sauerkraut | Earth + Water | Grounding, gut intuition, ancestral connection |
| Kefir | Water + Air | Soft emotional regulation, spiritual receptivity |
| Kombucha | Fire + Water | Detoxification, creativity, flow states |
| Miso | Earth + Metal | Digestive strength, boundaries, yin nourishment |
Try your hand at some of my easiest (and tastiest!) fermented recipes:
Easy Lacto-Fermented Pickles
Onion Fermented Honey
Dragon’s Breath Fermented Chili Honey Recipe
Drying: The Sacred Art of Drawing Down the Sun
Historical Roots of Herbal Drying
Drying herbs, fruits, and meats might just be the most elemental form of preservation.
It requires only air, time, and sunlight or heat.
Ancient Egyptians sun-dried dates and fish.
Indigenous North Americans dried berries and game on racks.
Chinese herbalists refined the practice with complex formulas and climate awareness.
In traditional folk and shamanic herbalism, drying was not just to preserve but to concentrate energy.
The process of drying was a way to distill the soul of the plant.
That means capturing its essence in a stable, portable form.
In many traditions, drying was timed to lunar or solar cycles, and the act itself was performed as a ritual.
Elemental and Magical Correspondences
Drying represents a withdrawal of Water and an increase in Air and Fire.
The moisture of life is removed, leaving behind potent light-infused matter.
- Air: carries the spirit; allows communication and dissemination.
- Fire: dries and transforms; infuses heat and illumination.
- Earth: holds the structure; stabilizes the matter.
In alchemy, this process aligns with calcination and sublimation, removing moisture to reduce to essence, or elevate to spirit.
Energetic Shifts During Drying
When a plant is dried, its physical form contracts, but its energetic imprint can become more stable and transportable. For example:
- Fresh rosemary is wild and expansive. Dried rosemary is precise and mentally clarifying.
- Fresh peppermint cools the body and lifts the mood. Dried peppermint sharpens the mind and cuts through fog.
Shamans often dried herbs for smoke bundles, knowing that the dried plant would release its essence through fire and breath during ritual.
Sacred Drying Rituals
In many traditions, herbs were dried:
- Under specific moon phases (e.g., waxing for energizing, waning for cleansing)
- Bundled in numerological groupings (e.g., threes for blessings, sevens for healing)
- Accompanied by prayers or songs, calling in the plant’s spirit to infuse the medicine
Even the direction of airflow mattered: South-facing for solar herbs, north-facing for lunar ones.
Energetics of Dried Herbs
| Herb | Dried Energy | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Mugwort | Concentrated dream energy | Visioning, protection, astral travel |
| Sage | Clean, cutting fire | Space clearing, purification, focus |
| Chamomile | Gentle solar support | Calming, inner child work, emotional digestion |
| Thyme | Protective warmth | Cold dispelling, courage, immune strength |
Storage: The Metaphysics of Containment
Containers as Magical Objects
To preserve is to contain—and every container has energetic significance.
In ancient cultures, storage vessels were often clay, bone, or wood—not plastic.
They were designed not just to hold, but to protect, age, and sanctify.
- Clay jars were porous, breathing with the contents, associated with Earth and feminine energy.
- Wooden barrels (used for wine, vinegar, or herbs) imparted energetic properties of the tree—oak for strength, cedar for purification.
- Glass jars preserved transparency and allowed solar charging.
- Animal bladders or hides used in Indigenous traditions honored the circle of life and the transfer of spirit.
In magical practice, containers become sigils of containment.
They’re echoes of the womb, the tomb, and the cave.
They hold potential and create boundaries.
Think of Pandora’s Box, the Holy Grail, or even the cauldron of Cerridwen.
They’re all storage vessels imbued with mythic power.
Shamanic Perspectives on Storage
In Amazonian traditions, medicine bundles are carefully wrapped with ritual intention.
They don’t just hold plants.
They hold dreams, prayers, songs, etc.
Shamans believe that the spirit of the medicine stays active in a well-tended container.
A neglected container (e.g., dusty, moldy, forgotten) signifies spiritual disconnection.
On the other side, a lovingly maintained container signals reverence, and helps keep the medicine “awake.”
In this sense, storage isn’t passive—it’s active guardianship.
Metaphysical Guidelines for Sacred Storage
- Label with love: Include harvest date, moon phase, or personal sigil to hold intent. (Don’t make the common mistake and think you’ll remember what’s in each jar.)
- Choose your materials with intention:
- Use amber glass for light-sensitive botanicals.
- Use metal tins for protection, especially Mars-ruled herbs.
- Use woven baskets for airy, ephemeral plants like flowers or leaves.
- Cleanse seasonally: Smudge or sing over your container during solstices or equinoxes.
Storing More Than Food
Many metaphysical traditions extend “preservation” to memories, energy, and intentions.
- Amulets and charms are stored in pouches.
- Spells and rituals are “bottled” in jars or sealed scrolls.
- Ancestor offerings are placed in sacred boxes or burial mounds.
These are all acts of energetic preservation.
They store meaning, not just matter.
The Wheel of Time and Preservation
Seasonal Alignment
Preservation always aligns with the wheel of the year:
- Spring: Infusing, harvesting early greens, tincture-making begins
- Summer: Drying and fermenting peak with the heat
- Autumn: Root digging, canning, jam making, and stockpiling
- Winter: Deep storage, reflection, using preserved goods for healing and ritual
Just as squirrels cache nuts and bears store fat, humans engage in energetic preservation in autumn.
It’s no coincidence that Lughnasadh, Mabon, and Samhain are associated with harvest, storage, and ancestral remembrance.
Energetic Storage and the Subtle Body
In energy medicine, the human body mirrors the storage process:
- The bones store ancestral memory
- The gut stores microbial intelligence
- The liver stores emotion
- The chakras store energetic imprint
Through food, herbs, and intention, we can preserve energy within for times of depletion, grief, or initiation.
Sacred Preservation Rituals
1. Solar Drying Altar
Set up a drying altar on a sunny windowsill. Lay out herbs with:
- A white cloth for purification
- A bowl of salt for preservation
- A sun-charged quartz or citrine
- An offering (like honey or song) to the plant spirit
Use this space to meditate on the essence you wish to preserve (physical, emotional, etc.).
2. Fermentation Spell for Transformation
When making sauerkraut, kefir, or any fermented food, write a personal affirmation or transformation on paper.
Fold and place under the jar during fermentation.
The microbial energy will echo your intention.
This is especially powerful at New Moon or during eclipses.
3. Ancestral Storage Box
Create a box or jar filled with:
- Dried herbs from your lineage (e.g., dill for Slavic roots, rosemary for Mediterranean)
- Well preserved foods (a jar of honey, pickles, etc.)
- Written prayers, stories, or ancestral names
Store it in a sacred place. Visit and honor it during Samhain or on family holidays.
Preservation as Prayer
In a way, to preserve is to honor time.
It’s an act of trust, a whispered belief that what you keep will still hold meaning in the future.
- Fermentation is transformation
- Drying is distillation
- Storage is remembrance
Together, these acts form an energetic trinity.
They’re a sacred geometry of keeping life alive, even through (especially through) darkness.
In herbal practice, ritual, and everyday living, they remind us that change and stillness, chaos and containment, are all part of the dance.
As we enter harvest season, preserve food and medicine, but also your dreams, traditions, and intentions.
