Garlic as an Emotional Heirloom

The garlic lore in my family is strong, ya’ll. 

My Grandma Smith always said “Garlic is good for what ails ya”. She said this while doubling the garlic in her soup recipe when loved ones were sick, while chopping up a whole bulb to cook in olive oil and spread on bread, while hanging braided bulbs in her kitchen window after harvest. 

This love of garlic was passed down to my father who dug (what felt like) miles of holes for me to place the garlic cloves in as a child on our farm. Who sliced the cloves ever so thin for aglio olio (italian garlic and olive oil pasta sauce). Who fought off the rest of my family members for the garlic I added to our holiday gift exchange which includes a few rounds of thieving. 

This thread is so strong, that the first thing I did when I moved into my own home was build a raised bed for planting garlic. It’s the first thing I reach for when coming down with a cold. It was the first image that came to mind when I thought about what tattoo to get for a lost loved one. It was the first thing that came to mind when invited to bring a plant I have an affinity with to a gathering. 

The central idea of the work we do at The Wellhead is to unearth the emotional heirlooms passed down through generations to help you live your most well life. 

I believe that garlic is an emotional heirloom in my family, providing an ancestral pathway for resilience

I wonder, are there any similar stories in your family? Which practices, beliefs, or lore was passed down across generations to offer you resilience you can rely on now? Join me if you’d like to think and feel together about this, and imagine how to harness your ancestral practices and emotional heirlooms to support your wellness.