The name Aquilegia is derived from the Latin Aquila (an eagle) as the spurs of the flowers are said to resemble an eagle’s claws. Its other name, Columbine, comes from the Latin columba for a dove or a pigeon.

This plant is also known as Granny’s Bonnet and is a favorite in cottage gardens. While it is no longer used in herbal medicine, I love working at a quantum level with this essence and the medicine wheel. I think of it as the Spirit Woman Remedy. On the wheel in the North we find ourselves in the place of lineage, knowledge, and stories handed down, and I think of the granny, the crone, the wise woman knowledge that is passed from one generation to the next. Then I see the eagle taking flight in the east, a place of transcendence, rebirth. For me, this essence is about stepping into our women’s wisdom, owning our stories, our sense of who we are in this world, and with that ownership and knowledge, we can step into a new day with profound inner wisdom and spiritual guidance.

Aquilegia enables us to tap into the deep feminine to navigate the new day, to see the bigger picture and our place within it. I love this essence – I find it joyous, confident and wise.

Planetary influence: Venus

Medicine wheel: North and East

Chakra: 5th