A fascinating new study points to the likelihood that our heart rates influence the ways we experience time. We will explore the implications of this possibility: Does a Blue Whale experience time as moving more slowly than a Sparrow does? Does a forest hermit experience time as moving more slowly than a stockbroker does? And we will look at how herbs from Passionflower to Coffee may change our experience of time by changing the rhythms of our hearts.
We are used to associating testosterone with masculinity. In reality, this molecule plays in important role in bone density, muscle size and strength, fertility, libido, and more in people (and other creatures) of all sexes and genders. We will explore the nature of this molecule, and herbs that increase, reduce, modulate, and synergize with it.
Snow melts, water flows, and the first flowers emerge. Life stirs in the land and in our bodies. In this class, we will talk about common plants like Dandelion, Violet, and Nettles, long used to help the body clear out the metabolic residues of seasons past, and other allies that can help liven our minds and spirits as new life emerges around us.
Throughout the body, histamine acts to stimulate inflammation as a part of our frontline immune response. In the brain, histamine is associated with alertness and wakefulness – and histamine imbalances are associated with agitation, panic, and addiction. We will explore the nature of histamine, and the ways in which herbs like Reishi, Albizzia, and Rose can play in balancing histamine responses.
Cannabis is one of the oldest herbs humans have worked with to ritually alter consciousness. We will speak about what contemporary science tells us about how Cannabis shifts our thoughts, sensations, and experiences, how that relates to the experiences of psychonauts and magical adepts, and how both can inform our relationship with the living medicine of the plant. We will also explore the gifts and challenges Cannabis can bring in ritual and magical contexts.
Though they are dormant now, when the Bears stir in spring, they will dig their medicine roots – which Matthew Wood notes are "brown, furry, pungent, and oily" like Bears themselves. Wherever people and Bears live in proximity, humans have traditionally followed suit, digging and decocting those same roots. We will explore the medicine and magic of those roots.
Gaia is the name of the Greek goddess of the Earth. It is also the name that James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis gave to their hypothesis that the Earth itself is a self-regulating living system. We will investigate the role psychedelic compounds play in this complex system, and the ways in which they can help humans connect with the mind of the living Earth.
With Valentine's Day approaching, we will delve into how herbs can help us deal with matters of the heart. We will speak of herbs for bruised and broken hearts, as well as herbs that can open the heart to basking in the joy of love.
Most modern approaches to magical herbalism focus on using herbs in spellcraft or ritual to achieve a particular result. Animist Plant Magic recognizes that plants are living, intelligent beings rather than means to an end. Come explore what it means to work with a plant as a magical partner.
All winter, the Earth is pregnant with life. And as the days grow longer, the quickening begins. The ancient Irish festival of Imbolc marks the midpoint of the dark half of the year and the approach of new life. In Ireland, wildflowers are beginning to bloom. But what does it mean to celebrate Imbolc in a place where the snows are still thick on the ground? Tonight, we will immerse ourselves in the medicine and magic of this season of promise.
Breath is a river that connects us with the ocean of life. It allows us to draw in joy and connection, to move through grief and pain, and to send blessings out into the world. In this class, we will delve into the role our plant kin can play in helping us breathe through our emotions.
Evergreens draw life from the sun, even in the dead of winter. Their scent opens our hearts and deepens our breath. Join Seán for an exploration of the medicine and magic of Pine, Spruce, and Cedar.
