When I launched Safta in March of last year, I had a clear North Star. This would be a home for ritual.
I saw visions of joyful gathering, where we remembered what it really means to be human. I saw us reconnecting with our ancestral roots, reaching for long-forgotten practices of our great-grandparents and beyond. There is a shared knowing of how sacred these cultural rituals are, and I deeply believe that now, we are remembering how important it is to keep them alive.
I spent the better part of last year digging into my own ancestral gifts. I have been learning so much about my lineage and what it can offer me in this lifetime. Celebrating people like my great aunt, who was a sought-after Turkish coffee reader in Istanbul, who I can probably thank for my psychic abilities; my great grandfather, a successful tailor in Trinidad and Tobago, who definitely passed down his craftsmanship. I think about my dear Savta, who used to go to the bathhouse weekly in Jerusalem in the 50’s as a way to reconnect to her own family’s ritual, growing up in Turkey, and I know that this is definitely where I get my love of bathhouses from.
It’s wild how much can be linked back to our ancestors when we take the time to investigate. Something as simple as wondering where my love of an afternoon coffee with cookies comes from can unlock a treasure chest of traditions that have more meaning than we realize. And it was while investigating my ancestry through conversations with my family that I realized how fragile this all is.
On my mum’s side, we can only track back two generations, and fuzzily at that. We know there are roots to Scotland, Ireland, Ghana, Nigeria, and Ethiopia, but no real road map to those places. But while asking my aunt about Trinidad’s connection to cacao, I learned that not only is Trinidad one of the birthplaces of the plant, my own family grew up drinking cacao most mornings.
Although there are gaps in my waking knowledge, I trust that my spirit guides will remind me with little nudges, just like how I learned about the connection to cacao. This is why we must keep dancing, bathing, digging in, and getting curious about our own origin stories. I know your ancestors will meet you there.
As an ally to this work, I thought it was only right to develop a flower essence (one of my favorite healing modalities) to help us collectively tap into our own stories. I wanted to develop something that would invite our guides to flank our sides and show us the way back to living fuller. I tasked the ever-talented Samantha of The Spiral Path to channel the plants that would be right for this work, and she developed this essence just for us.
L’dor V’dor literally translates from Hebrew to “from generation to generation”. It came to me in a dream. In Jewish culture, we know in our cells the importance of passing down our traditions and rituals. Because, especially in Judaism, our indigenous practices have often been all that we have. It is the duty of each generation to remember, preserve, and practice what we hold dear so that they don’t get lost. They are our stories. Our bones.
This is what I developed L’dor V’dor for—a support in our journeys home.
Meet the Artist: Samantha Boersma of The Sprial Path
Hi! What is your name and where are you from?
Hello beautiful people! My name is Samantha (which means listener), and I’m writing to you from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina.
How did you discover your art form? What draws you to this medium?
I started working with flower essences by following my curiosity. I was in deep study, trying to heal my body from chronic illness, when I heard about flower essences. I was drawn to them after realizing they worked in the subtle realms, our energy field. This is the language I felt I’ve always spoken.
When did you start your practice?
I began working with flower essences in 2018 after discovering them through a naturopathic doctor!
What is a flower essence?
A flower essence is a vibrational remedy. It’s similar to a tincture, but instead of working on the physical body, it works on our energy body or aura to heal spiritual-emotional concerns.
What do you hope that people feel when they use flower essences?
LIBERATION!
Where do you feel most at ease?/joy?
Foraging in my yard.
What is your go-to ritual or practice?
Lately, I’ve been starting a practice of sitting for tea, but my typical go-to is a meditation with a plant.
What feels important to hold on to right now in the world?
We have more power than we realize.
Anything else to add?
I hope this feature inspires you to get down in the grass and meet a new flower ;)
Gorgeous to read and receive! Love to you both 💜💜💜
Wow, this essence sounds absolutely magical!