In ancient Ireland, the year began and ended in darkness, just as all things begin and end in darkness: our own lives, the life of our sun, the life of all the worlds. The festival of Samhain marked the beginning of the dark half of the year. The last fruit was on the Blackthorn, the Hawthorn, and the Rowan. What root crops remained in the ground and what grains remained in the field were a tithe to the Otherworld. So were the bones of Deer and Cattle thrown on the great fires atop the high hills. It was the time of the last harvest, and the time when the ancestors were close at hand. Join Seán for an ancient exploration of this festival and ways of marking it in the contemporary world.
All of us are descended from people who experienced the world as alive. Whether or not we know their names, their stories, or even where they lived, they are available for us to connect with. Seán will share his own experiences of connecting with ancient ancestors in his Irish lineage, and offer simple ways to reach out to your own animist ancestors.
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.
