When you cultivate a deep relationship with a plant over time, allowing that plant to become your teacher and ally and to transform you, there are ways in which that ally's medicine remains with you even when you do not have a tincture or a tea or a flower essence to work with. Working with plants in this way is both simpler and more profound than many of us realize. Join us for an exploration of working with plant spirits.
Research into the ways psilocybin helps people address fear, depression, trauma, and addiction has yielded compelling evidence of the role neurological inflammation plays in shaping these experiences. Join us as we explore the links between inflammation and mental and emotional health, and what psychedelic science suggests about how non-psychedelic plants might play an important role in addressing this dimension of our suffering.
The fleeting wild beauty of flowers like Trillium and Lady's Slipper is inextricably linked to the essence of their medicine and magic. Join us as we explore how Spring Ephemerals teach us about the medicine of presence, healing us through our senses as we allow them to flourish undisturbed in the forest.
The Alder marks the boundaries of land and water, and is a tree that comes to life at the boundary in time when the dark half of the year gives way to the light. Across northern Europe it is connected with the Otherworld and with warriors and lovers, Bears and Blackbirds, water and blood. Come explore the mysteries of Alder and how they connect with the ecology of the places it grows.
The flow of blood is the flow of life. We will explore the mythic and magical dimensions of our blood, and of the herbs that help bring life to the blood.
Human minds translate our emotional experiences into physical sensations that mirror what we our experiencing — we feel sick to our stomachs when we encounter something we find morally revolting, we gasp in the presence of beauty, we feel ourselves cool down when anger subsides. As herbalists, understanding how our bodies experience metaphor can guide us in our practice. In this class, we will explore that poetry of healing.
Holy wells and sacred springs have played a role in healing traditions around the world throughout human history. We will explore the blessings, the mysteries, and the spiritual ecology of these wild waters rising from below.
Cortisol is a hormone that regulates our metabolism and stress response. In times when most of us are under constant stress, chronically elevated cortisol levels contribute to physical, mental, and emotional imbalances in our own bodies and in the body politic. We will explore the roles cortisol plays in our lives and discuss herbs that can support our bodies in bringing this hormone into balance.
"If you don't know the kind of person I am / and I don't know the kind of person you are / a pattern that others made may prevail in the world / and following the wrong god home we may miss our star." -William Stafford
In our own healing and in our work with others, it is easy to get led astray by others' ideas of who and how we should be. In this class, we will explore what healing looks like when we let ourselves be curious about the unique nature of each being and the ways such an approach redefines order and disorder, disease and health.
