14. Balance.

Fourteen Turkey Tail mushrooms, which are anti-cancer. Mushrooms can be medicine or poison. Plants can be medicine or poison. People can be medicine or poison. Medicine and poison. Balance you and shatter you.

The 14th card in tarot is Temperance and appears right after the Death card. Take the parts apart, un-blend. Find the middle path between extremes. Restraint, composure, temper your actions, self-control, steady, moderation, calm. Soft like moss. Peace between two paths. Parallel process. Perfect puzzle piece. Distance, space, separation, but still connected.

Alder trees are very strong. Their roots eat rock. They break down rock, extract its minerals, ingest it, digest it, and disperse its nutrients to other trees and plants in the forest through the underground mycelial network. And they do it fast. Redisperse energy. Alder trees are special, because they have both male and female catkins and cones, balancing feminine and masculine energy. Strength to breakdown. Strength to balance.