Harvester of thorns.

I spent good part of the morning up rooting thorns and stickers from my ailing crab grass when I was reminded of a couple of things. A while ago I read The Sin Eaters Last Confession. It's written by his apprentice Ross Heaven and documents his experiences with a Celtic shaman. There is a brief section in there that talks about the thorns and benefits of thistle and it's stickers on the body. I could hear his words in my head as my own hands grabbed at the roots of the thorn plants in my lawn about how the thorns raised welts that caused blood to rush to the surface enhancing the blood flow in the area and how it drove negative energies from the body. I did actually think about wearing a pair of gloves for this chore, but there were words stopped me as I saw the tiny welts raise up on my arm: this is our life's final gift to you. You must pull us, we know, you have smalls with soft feet. The welts went away quickly leaving a clear feeling.

The other thing that came to mind is the rune of thorns. The one that first brought thorn harvesting to my mind. it was a slow thought that brewed. It took many months for it to surface and much prodding of the rune itself. I didn't like the idea of working with the thorn rune. It seemed too harsh, possibly even dangerous to do so, but thorn kept poking at me and telling me its secrets until one night, in the dead dark, I went out looked over my shoulder and clipped a thorn from one of the many cactai on the property of my apartment complex. Okay, I am listening, I told it. The thorn I harvested came from the mighty saguaro. I pricked myself hard enough to draw blood and left a few drops in thanks.

Large thorns were used by the natives as sewing needles for both cloth and flesh. I suspect they were used ritualistically, but have no academia to back that up at this moment. It is something I will be looking into as I pass through the gate of thorns. I have a feeling there are deep secrets that the children of the briar have yet to share. For the now, I will continue speaking to the thorn crowned plants and accepting their offerings. I have begun to prune some of my thorny plants and their thorns are too precious to me to waste so I have clipped them off and saved them. I have become the harvester of thorns.