...and amidst the darkness stuck a red rose

EVERY PETAL IS AN ANCESTOR

salam/peace precious pearl dust beings, i write to you still spinning and twirling from a very ~venus in taurus~ drenched weekend of rose rapture and pleasure feasting. come june, i make my yearly pilgrimage to convene with the roses, and to connect with the mycelial web of my homelands and people. living in diaspora means i've learned to create pathways to connect with my soul home.

in iran, the budding and blooming of the mohammadi rose, signals the start of the festival of the rose. golab giri honors the ritual and harvest of the rose, the creation of golab/rosewater, and the celebration of the rose. iranians from all over the country travel to kashan, to revel in the beauty and medicine of the rose gardens, gardens that have prospered surrounded by desert and harsh climate for thousands of years because of our ancestors care and work.

so, though my feet are planted very far from home, i've found refuge in the roses that do surround me. when i hold a rose in my hand it feels like each petal is an ancestor eager to greet me. and in those greetings, i feel home and affirmed in the belief that plants are portals, doorways, and openings into immense healing.

holding the prayer that you're finding the keys to unlocking your plant portals. below you'll find a simple recipe for a rose infused mead and a playlist for your solstice jubilee.

rose laced kisses, mandana ~ROSE MEAD RECIPE~

i take the folk road when making rose mead. for me that means i don’t actually measure out the ingredients i use when concocting my mead, and instead just go on feeling and experience. in my years of brewing mead, i have found that i prefer my mead very rosy, and use quite a bit of roses in the fermentation process. if you are looking for an effervescent, light, refreshing mead i’d recommend a light colored honey, champagne yeast, and a quick fermentation. if you’re looking for a headier mead, you can use a dark colored honey, a yeast nutrient used typically in fruit wines like Lalvin K1-V1116, and a long fermentation process. really, it’s all about just having fun, getting freaky and explorative, and just letting the rose guide you in your potion making.

Ingredients :

• fresh rose petals (I use about a half gallon of petals for mine)

• a couple handfuls of raisins (chopped well) or any fruit you’d like to use to enhance the fermentation process. i enjoy adding either cherry or strawberry as well.

• anywhere between 2-3 pounds of honey depending on how sweet you prefer your mead

• 1/2 cup of lemon juice and zest

• 1 packet of your yeast of choice

• fermentation supplies : primary brewing vessel, secondary carboy, stopper, airlock, strainer, syphon, etc Process :

  1. Place your rose petals into a pot, adding enough water to cover the petals, cover with a lid and bring the water to just before a boil on the stove. Take off the heat, and let the petals infuse, with the lid still on for 30 minutes.

  2. Strain the petals and add the honey while the water is still warm. Stir vigorously to dissolve.

  3. Cut up the raisins, and/or cherries + strawberries and place into the initial brewing vessel with a handful of additional fresh rose petals.

  4. Next pour in your rose tea into your primary brewing vessel, allowing the mixture to cool (but no hotter than 95 degrees F)

  5. In a small dish dissolve the yeast packet in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup room temperature water and allow it to rehydrate for 10 minutes.

  6. Next, add the yeast water to the primary fermentation vessel.

  7. If there is still room in your primary vessel, fill with water so that the liquid reaches the neck of the fermentation vessel. Finally, seal with a rubber stopper and water lock. This is your primary fermentation, which takes anywhere from 2-3 weeks to ferment. Note : if you have added fruit to your mead, I typically let the primary ferment go for only 1-2 weeks before straining and syphoning into my secondary ferment.

  8. Next use a siphon and strainer to transfer the mead to your second fermentation vessel. I typically use a glass carboy for my final ferment. Re-cap with a water lock. Now your mead can age as long as your want, and for a minimum of 2 months. I have aged some herbal meads for up to a year, before bottling, it's fun to experiment and play around with the aging process.

  9. Finally bottle and label your mead. If you're going to consume the mead immediately flip top bottles work fine for storage but if you are hoping to store and continue to cure your meads it's best to bottle and cork your mead.

SOLSTICE PLAYLIST

1. Ojerime, Give it up to me 2. King Krule, Baby Blue 3. Daniela Andrade, Puddles 4. The Silhouettes Project, At the Bay 5. Greentea Peng, Spells 6. Lava La Rue, G.O.Y.D 7. Dorsey Burnette, Hey Little One 8. Kari Fux, Color Theory 9. Chancha Via Circuito, llaló 10. Lungfish, Love is Love