For the ancient Irish, the fire in the head was the fire of vision and inspiration that poured forth as poetry and prophecy. Visionary medicines can help us kindle this fire. We will explore the role medicines like Yarrow, Mugwort, Cannabis, and Amanita muscaria can play in aiding divination. And we will speak of the etiquette, caution, and discernment necessary when dealing with the spirit realm.
Our consciousness did not arise alone. Consciousness is the fruiting body of a vast mycelial organism whose tendrils entwine with the roots of ancient trees and ephemeral wildflowers. Songs and poems are spores on the wind, carrying all we have known and felt and been to new soil where life might begin its wild fractal branching again. Psychedelic compounds that plants and fungi evolved to help grow those networks of consciousness can help us reweave ourselves back into connection with the living world.
The Otherworld -- the realm of the ancestors, the spirits, and the Faerie people, the Daoine Sidhe -- shapes this world and our experiences of it, whether or not we see or believe in its existence. As the ancient Irish festival of Samhain approaches, this world and the Otherworld draw closer to each other. And autumn rains bring forth Psilocybe mushrooms. Join me as I share my own experience of how the medicine of these mushrooms can help us understand and relate to the Faerie realm.
Breath is a thread that connects us with the world. The oxygen we breathe is a gift from our green relations – and many of them can also help us breathe when our lungs are compromised. We will explore herbs that open the airways, herbs that help to soothe and moisten the tissues of the respiratory tract, herbs that cool inflamed airways, herbs that help to clear excess mucus – and when and how to work with each.
In these tumultuous times, plants can help us root deeply so we are not swayed or shaken by cultural storms. Learn how Wood Betony, Rowan, Agrimony, St. John's Wort, Black Cohosh, and other allies can help you find grounding and protection.
Tragedy and loss change the landscapes of our world forever. Our wild kin, the plants, can help bring healing and life to our tender, grieving hearts. On this somber anniversary, Seán will share ways of working with herbs to soothe the pain and integrate the lessons of grief.
Formulation is an art that involves bringing herbs together to help shift the experience of embodiment. For years, Seán has been combining Cannabis with other herbs for his clients and for himself. Come learn how herbs like Tulsi, Damiana, Mugwort, and more can complement Cannabis, enhancing the desirable aspects of working with the plant and mitigating some of the less desirable ones.
We are discovering more and more about the neurobiology of attention and memory. This new knowledge has interesting implications for how herbs can help us improve our capacity for learning. Join Seán for an exploration of how allies like Schizandra, Lobelia, Calamus, and Rosemary can aid young and old alike in their scholarly pursuits.
The ancient Greeks spoke of a wild man with the legs and horns of a goat who dwelt in the forests and hills beyond the city walls and the village edge. Sometimes when the wind was right, you could catch his strange music and his musky scent drifting through the air, calling you to a wild dance. They said that to encounter Pan was to risk madness, that his music induced panikon, which simply means “panic,” in the hearts of villagers and the city folk. Hidden beneath that warning is a deeper truth: you only experience panic if you resist the wild dance. Join Seán for an exploration of an approach to anxiety that works with herbs not to suppress that movement but to relax tension and allow the movement to find healthy expression and resolution.
Oaks are keepers of ancient memories and pillars of strength. The Oak is the lightning tree, that channels power between the world above and the world below. Drawing from his own experiences and from elements of Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and Scandinavian traditions, Seán will share some of the lessons from this ancient teacher.
Psilocybin is a medicine that aids people, animals, plants, and fungi in weaving and perceiving connection. There is a special power to be found in working with Psilocybin in wild places, Seán will share how this medicine helped him connect with the living mind of the forest, and ideas and guidelines of working with this medicine to deepen your own connection with the other-than-human worlds around us.
Lúnasa is the ancient fire festival that marks the harvest of the first fruits and grains and the beginning of summer's dying into winter. In the season to come, flowers will give way to fruit and seeds, the leaves of all but the evergreens will die and fall away, and plants will sink their energy and their consciousness down into their roots. This is a time for celebrating and giving thanks for the harvest – but also for taking stock of what is at hand, what must be preserved and put away, what must be let go, and what must be planted in autumn to bring forth new life in spring. We will explore the magic of late summer and of the plants of this season – Rowan, Goldenrod, Blackberry, and more!
