Kiva Rose
If you read my recent post on nurturing the senses, you’ll know about the release of the updated version of Herb Energetics, the multi-media course I created with John Gallagher of learningherbs.com teaching my take on the essential elements of sense-based herbalism. The course details have now been released and signup is open over at the Herb Energetics site.
In case you missed that post but are interested in the course, here’s a quick definition of energetics from my perspective:
Herbal energetics are generally defined as a framework of understandings of how to best match herbs to the individual and/or situation. Spectrums (such as cool/warm) and properties (such as astringent) are associated with herbs based on our observation of their effect on the body. For example, when we choose the moistening, mucilaginous root of Althaea to treat a dry, hacking cough where there is a burning pain in the chest, we’re using basic herbal energetics.
I consider this topic fundamental to the skillful and effective practice of herbalism, whether we’re just trying our immediate family and friends or working in a full time clinical practice. Learning the subtle (and not so subtle) nuances of how a plant can tend to work in the human body can greatly enhance our existing studies or understandings of herbalism.
Systems of herbalism such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Unani tibb, and Ayurveda can offer an existing and well-developed approach to herbal energetics but for some of us, the concepts may seem out of context or difficult to understand if we weren’t raised in those traditions. Herb Energetics is my attempt to pare energetics down to an easily understood system with familiar terms and concepts that give us the ability to deepen our intimacy with the plants as well as giving us tools to better understand human constitutions and patterns of pathology.
To me, herbal energetics are all about recognizing the the wisdom of our bodies and our ancient relationship with plants as medicines as well as food, poison and beyond, in a way that allows us to have a greater understanding of how to help each other through hands on experience – through tasting the plant, understanding what it does organoleptically, with our sensorial bodies – and then directly applying that knowledge. This isn’t just head knowledge, it’s whole body knowledge that results in an ever more whole and effective approach to healing and herbalism.
Herb Energetics 2.0
It’s important that Plant Healer Magazine not have so many columnists that room runs out for contributions from others. Last time we announced the addition of quarterly contributions from Susun Weed… and this round, we found we couldn’t resist adding just one final column:
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Mountain Medicine: Traditional Healing Folkways
by Phyllis Light
Phyllis D. Light (http://phyllisdlight.com) is one of the foremost repositories and champions of both traditional Southern Appalachian herbalism and folk herbalism in general. We are so happy to have her insightful and personable articles every issue, covering everything from plant profiles and medicine making to childhood tales and poignant history, case studies and thoughtful ruminations, the practices that grew out of her wooded Southeastern mountains and hollers, and valuable and endangered plant-medicine traditions from all parts of this country and beyond.
What a pleasure it was for Kiva and I to meet Phyllis in person at last year’s Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference, and to look forward to having her there to teach again this September. She is discerning and opinionated while still being warm, accessible, humorous, unpretentious and seemingly free of entitlement… in every sense, what we would call “down to earth!”. Below is an excerpt from an interview we did with her Fall of 2011, one that you’ll likely find informative and inspiring whether you happen to be an herbalist or not. To read the entire 8,000 word conversation, including Phyllis’ detailed description of Southern and Appalachian Folk Medicine blood typing, please see the Winter Issue of Plant Healer Magazine, available by going to the Plant Healer site:
PlantHealerMagazine.com
- Herbalist Phyllis Light with Rosemary Gladstar at the Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference
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Plant Healer Interview:
PHYLLIS LIGHT
SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN HERBALIST
In dialog with Jesse Wolf Hardin
Plant Healer Magazine: Thank you, Phyllis, for taking time for this conversation. We honored to have this opportunity to talk more with and about you, and to hear your heart and mind on topics you might not otherwise have cause to address. Let’s start at the beginning if you please – what do you remember as your first deep connection with the natural world? When did you begin acknowledging nature as a teacher?
Phyllis Light: My first deep connection with plants came when I was about five or so. I was too young to help pick cotton so my mother let me run around the field and play hide and seek with the kids of the other field hands. There was a strip of grassy meadow land between the cotton field and the woods filled with sedge grass, golden rod, asters and passionflower and it was here that I hid. If you lay flat in a field of sedge grass no one can see you and there isn’t any apparent ripple in the flow of the grass to give you away. I hid very well and no one found me and the next thing I knew, the other kids had left and I was left alone. At first, I was a little scared, it was such a big cotton field and there were no adults in sight. It was a vast land of cotton rows and emptiness. I could hear the wind through the trees, the buzz of insects but nothing else. It was eerily quiet.
I didn’t know what to do, I felt very alone, very small and just a little afraid. So I just lay in the sedge grass and stared at the leaves on the trees, all moving together in the wind. I watched the clouds moving across the sky. I listened to the sound of the grasshoppers jumping among the grass stalks. I don’t know how long I lay there, not moving, just being. I wasn’t scared any longer, or upset. Just quiet and a little subdued. I had become part of the land, the cotton rows, the meadow and the woods. We were the same.
I didn’t move until Momma came looking for me and then I leaned over and pulled a ripe maypop (passionflower) and ate it as we walked back to where she had left her pick sack.
I can’t remember a time when Nature wasn’t a companion, a friend, benefactor or teacher and sometimes, an enemy. Nature can be loving and generous and it can be hard and cruel. I grew up well aware of the dual aspect of the natural world taught in early lessons of survival. If there was no rain, the crops didn’t grow and we didn’t have anything to eat. If the wind blew too hard, the corn stalks lay on the ground. If it rained too much at the wrong time of year, there would be no cotton crop. If we were in the path of a tornado, we could be homeless or dead. And then there are those wondrous days, when the sun is shining, the wind is gentle and the temperature mild. All of creation responds to those days.
We lived in flow with the seasons; the sun and the moon and the natural rhythms guided our lives. We followed the growth cycles of the plant world keeping track of the abundance or lack of wild plants for wildcrafting. Some years were ginseng years when the digging was good. Some years were pink root years when the digging was good. My grandparents chronicled their life history with stories about senging, herb digs and natural phenomenon.
When you live with the flow of seasons, Nature is a constant companion. A lover, a mistress, a child or a relative. You are not separate. I have never considered myself separate from Nature; we are part and parcel.
Plant Healer Magazine: Was your love of nature and plants the bridge to doing healing work with herbs? What other vision, insight or events might have led to your giving your life so fully to this work?
Light: My love of Nature wasn’t what called me to healing work. My love of Nature is a solid force, a constant influence in my life, and it would be a part of me regardless of my profession. As a child, I knew that I would help people when I grew up but I wasn’t sure how. Using herbs was just a natural extension of my early training and that belief. My grandmother taught me, my grandfather taught me, and my father taught me. In a way, it was the family business.
Over the years, I’ve used many different tools to help people; herbs, bodywork, psychology, energy, nutrition, metaphysics, prayer, or whatever works. I will use whatever is available, on-hand, or needed to help someone.
I’ve been seeing people since I was about 19. In the beginning it was a more casual arrangement. People didn’t make an appointment, they just dropped by and Sunday afternoons after church was especially busy. At that time, being an herbalist was a lot like being a lay preacher. You didn’t get paid. It was your gift and your calling and it should be freely given. But one event sent a clear message that it was time to change the way I did practice.
I was a single parent going through a divorce. Life was tough with four kids and not much money. I had been feeling really depressed for several weeks wondering how I was going to make ends meet. One early morning I went to the grocery store dressed rather raggedly and looking a little unkempt. I was slowly pushing my cart up and down the grocery aisle wondering what to buy when I passed a woman dressed rather like the Amish, in a long dress, with long sleeves and bonnet.
I paid for my few purchases and went home. As I was unloading the car the same woman pulled into the driveway. She came to me and held out her hand. I held out my hand in return and she put a wad of money in it. “God told me that you are doing good work. And we’ve a little extra money this month.” That’s all she said and before I could even say thank you, she had turned and gone. I was totally flabbergasted; it was enough money to make it through the month. After that event, I suddenly had a full-time herbal practice. But how I came to charge people is another story.
There was a camp revival meeting in an empty field not far from my house. About mid-afternoon, three women appeared at my door looking for the herbalist’s house. When I told them they had the right house all three wanted appointments. After their appointments were finished, one of the women asked how much they owed. I told them nothing, no charge. Another of the women asked me to pray with them and they all stood up and we circled. After the prayer, the third woman said that God told her that I should charge $25.00 for each appointment and open a big office to see folks. They went back to the tent revival and told everyone about me and for the next few days, I was deluged with clients from the tent revival. When the revival was over, I drove to the closest large town, found an office and opened a practice. I was busy.
It seems I’ve always had guidance along the way.
- Phyllis Light, when she was a budding Appalachian herbalist
Plant Healer Magazine: I consider strong sense of place essential for any life or purpose, committing to the land and its human and other-than-human cultures, and being accepted, informed and nourished by the land in turn. What does it mean, to be a conscious inhabitant and member of the Southeastern mountain region?
Light: Wow… big question. Sometimes it’s really hard to maintain my equilibrium in the face of stripping mining, coal mining, clear-cutting, planes spraying cotton defoliate, polluted lakes and rivers and all the other ways that we humans have of defiling the very land that gives us life. In the South, there seems to be this love/hate relationship with the land. Folks truly, truly love their land even while they are strip mining it. They will tell you how much they love the mountain while they are clear-cutting it. I don’t understand the gestalt….. maybe it’s a cognitive disconnect, but folks here just won’t believe that what they do to the earth is reflected in their health. They also don’t believe that we can ever permanently damage the earth. And of course, there’s that whole Christian perspective of stewardship which is not defined well. For some, it gives them the right to rape and pillage the earth, for others, it is about conscious care-taking.
Sometimes, I just cry when I see what is being done to the land, the rape, the ravage, the need to squeeze every dime from every inch. I do what I can and over the years, I’ve worked with others who feel the same way. Being conscious carries responsibility.
Plant Healer Magazine: You are known as a teacher of Appalachian Herbalism. How would you define that term?
Light: Southern and Appalachian Herbalism, the traditional medicine of the lower Appalachian Mountains and the Lower South, developed from the folk medicines of the Native Americans, Europeans, West Africans and Celts. Its development resulted from the need of settlers to take care of themselves and their families in a new land filled with strange and wonderful plants and animals and new diseases. Southern and Appalachian Herbalism and Folk Medicine includes the use of plants, home remedies, foods, prayer, story-telling and psycho-spiritual rituals handed down by oral tradition within families and communities. Assessment techniques are based on physical observation, understanding the personality, and the Southern blood types, bitter, sweet, sour and salty. There are three main categories of illness: physical, psychological and spiritual (magical).
Plant Healer Magazine: What is the most common ailment or complaint you deal with? Has this changed over the years?
Light: The most common ailments I’m seeing now is Chronic Fatigue due to viral overload, too much stress, gluten sensitivity, lack of rest and lack of good nutrition. It seems that chronic illnesses always come in batches. Last year it was hypothyroidism and the year before multiple sclerosis. Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Lyme disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, mitral valve prolapse and digestive tract issues round out the problems I see most often.
Plant Healer Magazine: How much of a factor is lifestyle and environment, and to what degree can an herbalist even address these relevant or even central factors in client consultations?
Light: Lifestyle and environment are the primary factors in illness along with emotional strife and discord. My grandmother called all this “worriation” which says it all, the lack of being true to oneself. If we forget who we are, if we move away from our authentic selves, then we are more prone to illness. Herbs and other healing modalities can help us remember who we are, help us value ourselves again and restore self-esteem. Once self-esteem is restored, if our bodies have not reached the point of no return, then we can heal.
Herbs work on every level of our existence, physical, psychological and spiritual. In my tradition, for chronic illnesses, herbs were used to change attitude, restore vital energy and facilitate physical healing. When our self-esteem is low, when negative emotions are engaged, then vital energy plummets. Tommie often recommended a “swallow” of herbs in these situations; his version of drop doses. For acute illness, larger amounts of herbs are needed more often because this could be life or death and we must respond appropriately. In Southern and Appalachian Folk Medicine there was always an action on the part of the client required in addition to herbs or other recommendations. The required action, usually a penance of some sort, engaged the client in their own process of healing and kept them engaged. I still use this technique but I call it homework instead.
Chronic illness is never without lifestyle, environmental, stress, or emotional influence and I do address this in sessions. As a healer, I believe this is totally appropriate. It’s often the emotions we bury that continue to facilitate chronic disease. They may not have caused the problem, but emotions hold the problem in place and cause stagnation in body and spirit. This stagnation then leaves us more susceptible to acute illness and infection. When our spirit, our personalities are low, then our immune system is low.
Plant Healer Magazine: Describe the system of therapeutics and diagnosis that you use. To what degree does it derive from this continent?
Light: I use observational assessment techniques and constitutional analysis based on Southern and Appalachian blood types and personality profiles, the four elements and folk astrology. This is my primary technique. But I also use Western nail and hair assessment, Ayurvedish/Western tongue assessment and biomedical knowledge of disease. All this comes together to help me find the patterns of dysfunction inherent within the constitution and personality of the client. And I also read bloodwork.
Plant Healer Magazine: On another topic, what do you think are the biggest threats to herbalism in the world today, not only from outside, but from within?
Light: The pharmaceutical/medical industrial complex is high on my lists of threats to herbalism and natural healing techniques in general. Greed and the desire to increases the bottom line is all it takes to threaten the ability of folks to take care of themselves and their families. Tighter government regulation on herbal products is also an issue that we herbalists must maintain vigilance toward.
Herbalists tend to be a house divided: Those for licensure and those against. That division fairly prohibits any type of mass political action. This is both a strength and weakness. It keeps our profession viable, active and non-exclusive. But it also limits our political power.
Licensing herbalists emerges from time to time, but licensure is a state’s issue, not a federal one. Let’s keep herbs for the populace!
Plant Healer Magazine: What kinds of regulation might prove intolerable for you? What is the responsibility of herbalists, when it comes to helping determine the direction of this field, creating useful forms and protocols, or resisting imposition and injustice?
Light: As herbalists, many of us are already practicing under the radar. It’s a balancing act trying to grow the profession while simultaneously not wanting to call too much attention to your practice. It seems to be the really successful herbalists with lots of clients that the authorities tend to watch or bust. It’s an odd thing: The better you are at your job as an herbalist, the more popular you become, the more likely to draw the attention of the authorities.
Herbalism, in the South, is considered a tradition and I’ve seen less hassling here than in other parts of the country. Actually I’ve never seen any herbalist hassled except Tommie who blatantly put on his salve label that it cured skin cancer. It was the feds that came knocking on his door about that, not the local authorities. And I must say, the woman sent out to Tommie’s place with a cease and desist order was really nice, non-threatening and totally reasonable. Tommie change his label and that finished that business, well almost. He hand-wrote a sign on plywood that basically said his salve would do what he said it would do.
There is also the belief that God gave us herbs for our health. Here, herbalism is a religious freedom. It is ours by right and gift and the Bible speaks clearly on that point and there is protection in that belief. It’s a different situation in the South for that reason than I’ve seen in other areas of the country.
Even when I worked in a medical clinic, I never introduced myself an anything but a folk herbalists. In the South, there is acknowledge respect for the profession. However, from my experience in the medical clinic, I now believe that herbalists who work in this arena need training above folk medicine. The number of pharmaceutical drugs grows every year and clinical herbalists (my definition) must be familiar with them.
While I don’t believe in licensing herbalists, I can see where educational standards for clinical herbalists might be appropriate. But that being said, we herbalists can even agree on the definition of what a clinical herbalist does.
Herbalist are independent, ornery, and filled with opinions. It’s hard to get us to agree on anything.
If I couldn’t grow or gather herbs that would be pretty intolerable.
Plant Healer Magazine: What responses or adaptations might we see in the future, what forms might herbalism take?
Light: Too many options to make a clear statement on this. I do see a revival in folk medicine for which I am thankful. Herbs are continued to be researched and this research is influencing how people do practice so I don’t see that changing. It will be fascinating to see what happens over the next 10 years.
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- Phyllis Light, Herbalist Extraordinire
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Plant Healer Magazine: What most pisses you off?
Light: I get really pissed off at injustice, brutality, and the strong taking advantage of the weak. I get really, really, really pissed off when people hurt or abuse children or animals. And I don’t care too much for lying either.
Plant Healer Magazine: What tickles you more than anything?
Light: I get tickled at people watching, getting to know someone, funny British comedies, and watching butterflies and birds.
Plant Healer Magazine: If you weren’t already giving all your time to herbalism, if your future were a blank slate, what else might you do with your life, what might you give to yourself?
Light: Hmm… that’s a tough one…. rock star, famous author, actress, warrior, magician, astronaut, … All my childhood fantasies.
Plant Healer Magazine: What are the most essential tips you might give to an herbalist, to make them more effective, or to help them deal with the challenges, politics and pressures they may face?
Light: Never lose faith in who you are or what you do. Study with as many teachers as possible. Self-study continually. Become an engaged member of your community. Question authority when appropriate. Maintain a connection to Nature and the plant world. Find a good mentor and maintain that lifelong relationship. Stretch your herbal boundaries. Strive for excellence.
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See the Winter 2011/12 issue of Plant Healer Magazine for the complete interview with Phyllis Light. You’ll need to be subscribed prior to March 1st when the Spring issue replaces it. Go to: www.PlantHealerMagazine.com
To learn about studying with Phyllis, or to read some of her work, please go to: PhyllisDLight.com
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Plant Healer – Spring Sneak Peak!
And A Call For Your Submissions
Plant Healer consciously casts a wide and inclusive tent, giving voice to folk herbalists of every age, gender, ethnicity, and level of experience or education. If you are interested in the study and practice of plant medicine, its culture and development, you’re welcomed. Welcomed as readers, supporters, and contributors…
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You’re encouraged to consider trying your hand at writing for Plant Healer yourself, even if you have never been published before. We do, in fact, give special consideration to new or relatively unheard of herbalist authors, to help make their personal stories and unique contributions more widely known. While we only have room for 1 out of 4 of the many articles we receive, you have a good chance of being included if you focus on those topics that you have the most experience in as well as feel most passionate about, and if you do so in your own style, including your personal feelings and anecdotes. We’ve sometimes had to turn down articles that have only repeated commonly known information, were unclear, used language that was too fluffy or too academic, or that had been previously published elsewhere… but almost always the reason is simply that a piece doesn’t fit the editorial needs of a specific issue. So take a chance, and be one of the diverse voices of folk herbalism today. Your experience, knowledge and vision are valuable, share them if you’re able. Go to the Plant Healer Website for Submission Guidelines with specifications and tips.
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“The simple act of nurturing the senses might well do far more for healing of the world than all our programs and inventions.” ~ Cheryl Sanders
Being an herbalist is a constant exercise in balance – with so much being given out in the work of helping others we also need the pleasure of finding and settling into our own nourishment. Because after all, if we can’t take care of ourselves, how can we possibly take care of others? Part of the joy of my work is in the sensory intimacy I have with the plants, the close-up looks at buds and rhizomes via sight, scent, touch and taste. On one hand, this is an absolutely essential way of understanding the nature of the plant, and on the other hand, it’s pure fun for me and my seeking senses.
When I find myself burned out from too many hours of website design, clinical case notes and pharmaceutical research, I unconsciously move toward more sensory centered activities involving the plants. I climb Juniper trees in the snow to get closer to the translucent ivory globes of Mistletoe fruits and rub Cypress resin between my fingers and revel in the spiced wood scent of it. I’m grateful that this sensual immersion in all things Plantae are an integral part of my work. I cannot imagine practicing herbalism without being grounded in the energetic tendencies of the plants communicated through the senses.
Herbal energetics are inherently sense-based and common sense while being clearly tied into the scientific perspective of plants that tells us that when plants have certain constituents as part of their overall makeup, they’re more likely to act in certain ways on the physiology of the human body. I’ve talked about this in more detail in my previous post on herbal energetics that you can read right here: Defining Herbal Energetics.
In this vein, I’ve created a curriculum that helps students to understand the tendencies and actions of the herbs directly through their senses. I primarily teach this in person, because hands-on workshops are much more effective at facilitating sensory immersion than words on a screen. However, so many people asked for a more accessible way of learning this curriculum that last year John Gallagher and I put together a multimedia online course for those can’t attend such a workshop. And now, thanks to the many requests, we’ve decided to relaunch Herb Energetics for a second round. I’ve also taken into consideration the feedback I received with the first round and created a whole new module based around constitutional theory to help bring the entire course more into focus and make it more applicable in the real world.
Below is more information on the original inception of Herb Energetics, or, you can head right over to the Herb Energetics site to check out the first module for free to see if it’s something that might fit into your practice. If you like what you see, please share with your networks and friends!
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The Sensory Language of Life
One of the most fascinating aspect of working with plants is the how and why of what they do in the human body. I’m the sort of person who is endlessly (and perhaps annoyingly) curious, like an eternal four year old asking everyone –why– about even the most obvious aspects of the world around me.
For this reason, I spend a significant amount of time reading medical and botanical research. It’s the same reason I spend even more time up close and personal with plants and people. All the research in the world can’t begin to replace personal experience and the knowledge that stems from it. Herbalism is, by it’s very definition, a healing art comprised of many overlapping and complimentary fields. From the essential knowledge of how to identify each plant to knowing how and when to harvest to how to prepare medicines to client assessment and diagnostics, herbalists tend to be flexible and broadly knowledgeable folks.
When I first began studying herbalism, I was particularly fascinated by Traditional Chinese Medicine and the way TCM practitioners could match plant to person in such specific and accurate way. Which led me to an extensive look at the energetic systems of many traditional forms of herbal medicine around the world. Which brought me right back here, to my senses and the plants around me. Looking at the underlying principles of all forms of herbal energetics, we can easily see that it is our senses that inform of us of the basic nature of each plant. Feeling and understanding what the plant communicates to us through our bodies (energetics, herbal actions etc.) is a foundational element for the practicing herbalist, just as a working knowledge of botany, diagnostics, harvesting and medicine making (among other things) are also essential.
The way I understand, practice and teach herbalism is simple, common sense and experience-based. I don’t know any other way of doing it. Human physiology and the plants themselves are so incredibly complex and intricate, that it makes sense to me to approach both elements in as practical terms as possible. This means learning what works and passing it on while adapting to the current context and needs. No extraneous fluff or hubris, no bullshit, just what really works for herbalists, the plants they ally with and the folks they help.
The more I’ve written about herbs and their energetics the more emails I’ve received asking for ever more detailed articles about how to understand and use herbal energetics. For many people, reading is a less than ideal format for comprehending and integrating such experiential lessons. I’ve found that teaching energetics/actions tends to be much more effective in person and yet, living in such a remote location I have limited chances to work with people face to face.
So when John Gallagher of Learningherbs.com proposed that we put together an online course focused on sense-based herbal energetics I jumped at the opportunity. John, with his genius for bringing together many elements into an integrated and interactive whole, has made it possible to make a truly multi-media and multi-faceted way of learning widely available. The format he’s created is amazing and really fits into my emphasis on simple and straight-forward, making the information that much easier to learn and utilize.
John traveled all the way to southwestern New Mexico from Washington state to film and record the course so it could be based right here in the Canyon, on the land that has inspired and fueled so much of my teaching and work. In fact, nearly all of it was recorded right on our cabin’s back porch. We even had a little help from Rhiannon in showing us exactly how energetics work and how easy they are to understand and learn.
After many months of work creating and producing the course, I’m very excited to finally announce the release of the new Herb Energetics course, offered by Learningherbs.com. Everything you need to know about it is right here: http://HerbEnergetics.com and we’re even offering the first module, “The Sensory Language of Life” as a free gift.
I hope that if you’re interested in learning more about sense-based herbal energetics you’ll take the time to check this out and PLEASE pass on the information through your blog, facebook, twitter etc., to anyone else you think might benefit from the course! Many thanks in advance for your assistance in getting the word out!
~Kiva
Walking Stick Cholla (Cylindropuntia spinosior) skeleton in the snow.
Last night while I laid back in our old wood-fired clawfoot tub and felt the giant snowflakes falling on my face in the dark I was entirely consumed by how beautiful and precious these long nights and cold air are to me. All around me in the evergreen forests of my home, the snow fell silently and the ice grew a little further over the surface of the river that runs through the center of the canyon.
While I’ve always enjoyed the quiet and beauty of Winter, it seems to me that this particular cold season is the most pleasurable and lovely I’ve ever experienced. Part of this is no doubt simply due to how much I needed the slowing down that this time of the year brings for our family. Another aspect is my deepening relationship with the special medicine of the snow moons. It’s so easy for us plant-obsessed folks to feel abandoned by their herbal allies as they recede into dormancy. This combined with the lack of sunlight and insane way in which our culture insists we keep up the pace of Summer is a dangerous equation that often results in depression, lethargy and sadness.
Along with building up adequate Vit D levels for the first time in years, I’ve been immersing myself in the pleasure of the long nights with evening walks in the snow by star and moonlight. Climbing trees and gazing out over the sparkling canyon, or sitting for long periods of time examining the growth patterns of lichen or the slow descent of leaking resin have also assisted me in staying connected to the plant I love. Evergreen medicine, food and scents have been nigh on an obsession this Winter, with Loba and I competing for who can make the tastiest Fir-flavored treats and me working feverishly to figure out the most effective ways of infusing the scent and medicine of the evergreens, lichens and resins into all of my current projects.
Creating hand-ground incense from local plants to burn on the woodstove, formulating coniferous forest inspired perfumes and an endless stream of new elixirs, syrups and vinegars are all ways I’ve been engaging my senses and enjoying the current season. Our family enthusiastically celebrates the Solstice but leaves out the baggage-laden gift giving tradition which frees us all up to spend more time just indulging in the pleasures of long evenings together, seasonal food and inventing every possible White Fir flavored recipe.
Barks and roots, lichen and mushrooms, resin and sap, needles and boughs are my lights in this fertile, rich darkness of Winter. In too many years past, I found myself wishing for the season to pass me by in sleep and to live in perpetual green and constant flowering. While I certainly realized all the reasons why the land and we humans need the rest and time turned inwards, I met this shift in seasons with a certain amount of resistance and defiance. This year I finally realize, gut-deep, how much I benefit by the sweet silence and visceral rooting that can take place only now. Such a huge shift has left me not only enjoying the snow and dark, but relishing it and realizing I’ll actually feel sadness when the wheel turns and the next season emerges, even as I welcome the return of the light.
These pictures tell the story of a few of my recent rambles through the white mantled forest of my canyon home and the life that surges through the land even during the coldest nights.
New Mexico Ground Cherry (Physalis foetens var. neomexicana) shines a beautiful ivory-gold against the snow.
Red Stemmed Filaree (Erodium cicutarium) blooming in shelter of a rock crevice even under the snow and ice.
Gorgeous Juniper Mistletoe (Phoradendron juniperinum subsp. juniperinum) in fruit.
Piñon Pine (Pinus edulis) resin leaking from a wound in the tree.
Pointleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens) bark red and curling in contrast with the evergreen leaves.
Harvesting early Narrowleaf Cottonwood (Populus angustifolia) resinous buds from a fallen tree.
Bracket fungi growing on a Juniper tree.
Silk Tassel (Garrya wrightii) leaf.
Scarlet Beehive Cactus (Echinocereus coccineus) persisting beneath the ice.
A Cliff Fern (Woodsia spp.) peeking out from under a rock on the side of the mountain.
Tarantula in the snow.
The amazingly fragrant Desert Cypress (Cupressus arizonica) infusing into oil on the wood stove for medicine, sensory bliss and food.
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& Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference
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http://TraditionsInWesternHerbalism.org
http://www.PlantHealerMagazine.com.org
- Custom Bear painting by Andrea Gutierrez of http://www.mylittlebighead.com/ & medicines from Susan Hess of Coventry Farm
Seeking staff these days for several aspects of conference, magazine and school efforts, as well as On-Site Helpers at our N.M. sanctuary…. beginning with a call for more volunteers to assist with conference and magazine outreach: researching and contacting businesses and practitioners about TWHC Sponsorship and Plant Healer ads, and researching and contacting magazines, newspapers etc. about what we do.
We’ve been very blessed to have the assistance of Sean and Katja, but there is so much to even this one aspect of our work, that they’ve requested we seek additional helpers. Benefits include a commission on all moneys that you generate, being considered first for any future paid or other Staff positions as we develop them, and whatever satisfaction you’d get from being an important and integral part of the efforts that keep TWHC, Plant Healer, and our message of empowered folk herbalism alive and spreading!
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Qualifications
Marketing, Promotion and Media expertise would be great, but certainly not essential. Far more important is:
- a) an ability to efficiently search out the kinds of enterprises best to approach
- b) being adept at shooting out template emails quickly
- c) a willingness and ability to cheerily make follow up phone calls, until reaching someone who can make decisions and give a definitive answer
- d) familiarity with and enthusiasm for herbalism and the projects you’ll be representing
- e) an ability to follow through on any commitment, so that it doesn’t fall on others late in the game
- f) having regular access to a phone (ideally with unlimited calling privileges) and internet
Conference and Magazine Outreach involves researching, emailing and follow-up calls to herbal related ventures of all kinds. In every case you would be inviting them to participate and benefit in any of 3 ways:
Sponsoring,Vending or Practicing at the conference, and Advertising in Plant Healer Magazine
Media Outreach & Liaison involves researching, emailing and sometimes calling Magazine and Newspaper editors, Radio interview programs and so forth, offering our articles, asking them to write articles about us or interview us… to help spread word of this event and community.
Materials Provided include action plans and outlines, templates and applications to make things easiest.
If you’d be excited to do a share of this work, and believe you have the ability, some time and focus, please write us for an application at:
<JWH@TraditionsInWesternHerbalism.org>
Thank you, and thank you for posting, forwarding and facebooking this message.
-Kiva Rose and Jesse Wolf Hardin
PLANT HEALER MAGAZINE ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
A Celebratory 265 Pages In Length!!
Winter – Volume II – Issue I
Available For Download Dec. 5th
“Enlivening the practice, culture and art of folk herbalism”
•Table of Contents Sneak Peak
•New Susun Weed Column & More
•Lengthy Interviews With the Awesome Phyllis Light & Fascinating Susun Weed
•New Bonuses to Download Including Audio Classes
•$115 Plant Healer Discount on TWH Conference Registration Until Dec19th !!
Cover Art by Lauren Raine
Early Winter greetings to our growing number of readers and friends, and welcome to the pages of what we strive to make the most diverse and in-depth, experience based and practical, folksy and wild, exciting and challenging, inciting and insightful publication for herbalists of every level, intended to help foment a revolution in how you perceive wholistic and herbal healing, your self, and your gifts to this world in need.
Mammoth Anniversary Issue!
This time – and for this one time only – we’ve created for you a special full color Anniversary Issue that is over 265 8×11” pages in length, a friggin’ book unto itself… in celebration of our second year of publication, and the fast growing community of truly remarkable subscribers. Enjoy reading it. Then climb a tree, either plant or play in a garden, sing or dance, feast and savor.
Reasons Why A 265 Page Magazine Is Sheer Madness
And Won’t Be Repeated
(though it seems we had to do it just this once!)
Factors that have led to Plant Healer getting longer with every issue, include the increased amount of inspiring material submitted and the greater length that in-depth articles require, the importance of engaging art and illustrative photographs, the number of PH Columnists and our own intense drive. The problems with such herbalicious extravagance include how hard the higher resolution files are to download, how long they take to be read, and the fact that no publishing house will print a hardcopy Annual a thousand pages in length! Following issues will be limited to something around 200 pages, which is still 5 times bigger than the average length of most other periodicals. It will mean we’ll have to save some of the articles we accept, for use in the future rather than running them all right away.
TWH Conference Discount for Plant Healer Subscribers
We’re offering a special advance ticket discount for subscribers, good for 2 weeks only, for the signature Plant Healer event: the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference, $115 less than the post June 1st price. This year, the TWHC will be held September 13th through 16th in its wonderful new location in Arizona’s Coconino Forest, a close drive from Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and the San Francisco Peaks long held sacred by Southwest tribes. To get this special rate, go to the TWHC article in this Winter issue for full details.
–––New Plant Healer Additions:–––
Our Newest Column: Susun Weed
We love our many open departments and the diverse and shifting authors who contribute to them. On the other hand, regular quarterly columns offer a continuity of voice and focus… as well as reducing your editors’ stress by ensuring a known quantity of well researched and highly compelling content. This issue we are introducing a column of never before published writings by one of the most stirring, poignant, controversial, memorable and impactful herbalists of the past 40 years. We hope you’ll enjoy:
Wise Woman Ways: Susun Weed’s Medicine Wheel
Our Many New Features
We give you 3 full, in-depth interviews… a lengthy dialogue with Susun Weed, Wise Woman herbalist, and very personal and forthright exchange with Phyllis Light, Southern Appalachian herbalist. All of our columnists and feature writers have truly outdone themselves this time, some demonstrating leaps in quality with teaching-stories more personal and powerful. And we have to recommend you not miss reading this issue’s piece by Paul Bergner, opening heart as well as mind, or the article by Rosalee de la Forêt, addressing the sense and value of wildness essential for herbalists, as for all awakening and responding people.
Our First Fiction For Herbalists: The Medicine Bear
Indulge in the first of many installments of this plant-hearted historical novel by Jesse Wolf Hardin, set primarily in wild New Mexico at the sunset of the Old West… a story about connection to the land, following one’s calling, the perseverance of love, and the healing of our deepest wounds.
Our Newest Plant Healer Department: Herbalist Fashion
Yes, you heard right. And we aren’t exactly talking Cosmo here! Presenting photo spreads highlighting intensely varied and personal herbalist styles, from the most useful garments to the most indicative or evocative decoration… beginning with the Winter issue feature on utility kilts for men and women, and the Anima Hunter/Gatherer Kilt. We welcome your quality color photos for future inclusion, especially pics of plant design and healing motif tattoos, fairy pockets and utility belts, and feral fashion.
We’ve heard people say “What are they going to think of next?”
Clearly, there’s just no tellin’…
Subscribe At: www.PlantHealerMagazine.com
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Winter Issue Table Of Contents Sneak Peak
Cover Art: “I Rest Within, A Seed” by Lauren Raine
Photo Art Poster: “Aspen Matrix” by Thea Summer Deer
Introduction to Vol.2 #1
Art Poster: “The Path Home” – 1890s Greeting Card
The Healing Journey – The Power of Story: Herbalists & The Vital Healing Narrative by Jesse Wolf Hardin
Art Poster: “Storyteller”Art Poster: “Folk Herbalism Defined” – Phyllis Light quote
Art Poster: “Your Life Is Your Story” – Hopi “Storyteller” sculpture
Art Poster: “Cossack Herbalist Storyteller” – Spoof
The Herbal Rebel: Vitalist Teaching & Radical Thinking – Listening Instead of Talking, Loving Instead of Taking by Paul Bergner
Art Poster: “Harvest” by Kristine Brown
Seeing Folks – Tips, Hints & Wise Words For Beginning Herbalists by Henriette Kress
Seeing Folks – Herbs & Sense of Self by Sean Donahue
Seeing Folks -Parasites & Other Infestations by Phyllis Light
Lunar Return: Life After Hormonal Birth Control – Part IV by Katja Swift
Diagnosis On The Mean Streets by Charles “Doc” Garcia
Art Poster: “The Herbalist” Corn-Husk Doll
EarthWise: Energetics of The Cardiovascular System – Part IV by Matthew Wood
The Allies – Aralia by Christa Sinadinos
The Allies – Basil by Rebecca Altman
The Allies – Artemesia by Robin Rose Bennett
The Allies – Partridgeberry by Juliet Blankespoor
Botany Illuminated – Asteraceae by 7Song
Art Poster: Improbable Covers Series: Plant Sleeper
Foundational Herbcraft – Fluid Dynamics by Jim McDonald
Diversity in Western Herbalism by Rebecca Altman
Avicenna: Rosa Quid Est by Virginia Adi
AltKilt’s Anima Hunter/Gatherer Kilt by Jesse Wolf Hardin
Weaving The Herbal Web: Grassroots Web Marketing For Herbalists – If You Build It, They Will Come by John Gallagher
Birth Roots - Miscarriage: Supporting Women Botanically by Aviva Romm
Art Poster: Cassandra, Herbal Faery
Herbal Sprouts: Kids As Herbalists – Evergreen, Ever-Giving by Kristine Brown
Herbal Vinegars by Amber Swift
Herbal Steams by Rhiannon Hardin
Herbs For The Sick: To Whom & When by Jane Valencia
Paloma & Wings by Jane Valencia
Into The Forest – Revitalizing Our Wild Gardens by Rosalee de la Forêt
Art Poster: “Where one ends and the other begins…”
Into The Forest – Suburban Zip Code, Wild Heart by Wendy Petty
Into The Forest – Foraging is Medicine by Traci Picard
Into The Forest – 10 Tips For Responsible Foraging by Traci Picard
The Forager: Virginia Creeper by Sam Thayer
From The Hearth: Traditional Foodways – Adventures With Buckwheat by Loba
Art Poster: “Love’s Messenger” – 1890s Greeting Card
Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference 2012
Welcome & Introduction to Susun Weed
Wise Woman Ways: Susun Weed’s Medicine Wheel – Casting The Circle by Susun Weed
Plant Healer Interview: Susun Weed (herbalist)
Plant Healer Interview: Phyllis Light (herbalist)
Plant Healer Interview: Rima Staines (artist)
Art Poster: “Chestnut” by Rima Staines
Art Poster: “Dark Mountain” by Rima Staines
The Gathering Basket
ReEnchantment: The Art of Rima Staines
How To Teach Kid’s To Use Herbs – Part 1 by Kristine Brown
Gaia’s Cold Shoulder: The Betrayal & Loyalty of Winter by Ananda Wilson
The Medicine Bear: A Novel of Plant Medicine & Undying Love – Part I by Jesse Wolf Hardin
Art Poster: Omen, N.M. Herbalist 1916 by Jesse Wolf Hardin
The Medicine Trail: Wild Rambles, Tales & Wanderings by Kiva Rose Hardin
From Kiva
Our family had a wonderfully wild foods infused Thanksgiving this year that was especially rich in roasted Acorns and White Fir, as Oak and Fir trees are common plants in the canyons and mountains of our bioregion. Despite the fact that there was not even a single acorn on the Oaks this year because of the severe drought the SW has been experiencing, we had enough stashed to create an incredibly tasty Thanksgiving dinner. For this Acorn themed Wild Things Roundup, I’m including recipes by both Loba and I, and all sweet! While our family isn’t particularly sweetener centered, we decided that the holidays are a great time to share these decadent recipes.
Here we have a recipe for Acorn syrup, one for Cranberry Acorn Compote and one for Acorn Cheesecake that utilizes the first two recipes.
My apologies for the lack of food preparation pictures, I’m afraid we were all too busy celebrating and cooking and eating to bother with a camera.
Here are a couple of previous acorn posts I’ve written.
Please Note: We’re using our local SW acorns from species such as Quercus gambelii, Q. emoryi, Q. turbinella & Q. grisea which only need to be roasted before shelling and using. If you live somewhere besides the SW, your acorns may be more labor intensive and require leaching.
Simple Acorn Syrup
The point of this recipe was just to find another concentrated acorn preparation so that I could add more acorns to everything. Especially combined with maple syrup, this is a great way to add the rich, nutty flavor to many desserts. Just try to avoid drinking it straight out of the bottle.
Ingredients
- 1/4 C Roasted and smashed/ground Acorns
- 1.5 pints of water
- 13 oz Sugar or about 3/4 C Honey or Maple Syrup
- Pinch of salt
- Decoct acorns in water for appr. half an hour to an hour.
- Strain, reserving liquid and saving acorn pieces for other recipes.
- Add sweetener and salt to 1 pint of the decoction (if you have any leftover you can use it for tea)
- Simmer for 45 min or until reduced by about 1/3 of volume.
- Store in fridge or other cool place.
Cranberry Acorn Compote
This recipe results in an aromatic and rich compote that works great as a topping but it’s really pretty hard to resist just eating it out of the pot as soon as it’s done. The White Fir (Abies concolor) is an incredible match with the sweet-tart flavor of cranberries.
- Reserved acorns from Acorn decoction or syrup recipe (about 1/3 C after being decocted)
- appr 3 heaping Tb Honey
- 4 Tb White Fir Infused Olive Oil (oil infused with other evergreen needles or even Rosemary could work here)
- Handful of dried Cranberries (sweetened)
- 1/4 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 medium sized crisp Apple like Honeycrisp, diced
- 1 Tb butter or Acorn infused butter
- pinch of salt
- Grind acorns (preferably while still damp from decoction) with food processor or mortar & pestle to a rough meal
- Stir in honey and place on low heat on the the stove
- Let barely simmer while stirring frequently for half an hour
- Remove from heat
- Place cranberries and 1 Tb of White Fir oil in small skillet or pot
- Cook over low heat for appr. 1/2 hour (can be done concurrently as the Acorn honey is cooking)
- Add cranberries and oil to acorns and honey, stir well
- Saute apple in butter until tender but still crisp
- Stir apple, vanilla, salt and remaining Fir oil into acorn mix.
- Allow to sit for a few hours before eating
Makes about 1/2 C of compote. If you wish to use this compote to make a thick topping for your cheesecake, you’ll probably want to double the recipe.
From Loba:
Acorn Cheesecake with Cranberry-Acorn Compote Topping
As soon as Kiva made her magnificent compote, we knew it had to be made into something truly worthy of its genius. Pie was on our minds. Kiva suggested cheesecake, and offered the use of the lovely acorn syrup she’d just made. I gladly tinkered with my favorite recipe to make this version. Cheesecake is one of those things I’m always happy to provide. I was thrilled to remember I’d just found a bit of acorn meal hiding in the pantry to flavor the crust. Try as I might, I couldn’t wipe the slightly anguished look on my face the whole time I was eating it– it’s that painfully good. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so sad to see that cast iron skillet empty.
The crust is gluten-free and very reminiscent of traditional graham cracker crust in flavor and texture. You could substitute wheat flour for the oat flour, but you’ll lose the crumbly effect. If you don’t have any in your kitchen, oat flour can easily be made without a food processor by rubbing rolled oats together in your hands– makes your hands really soft, too!
The acorn meal I use in the crust is from Southwest acorns that I have simply roasted before being ground into flour with an ancient metate and a coffee grinder.
The Crust:
- 1/2 cup melted butter or acorn infused butter
- 1/2 cup acorn meal
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- several grinds fresh nutmeg
In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Form into a cohesive ball of dough and press into the bottom of a 9” cast iron skillet (if you have one without a wooden handle) or a 9” pie dish (not a tart pan– too shallow). I like to bring the crust only about halfway up the sides of the pan, making it fairly thick. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, watching carefully. Be sure to take it out as soon as it gets evenly browned. When pressed with a finger, the crust will collapse a bit and seem a bit too fragile. Taste it to make sure it’s cooked all the way through before adding the filling.
The filling:
The piima (a cold process culture somewhat similar to yogurt) I use in the filling is made with half heavy cream, half half & half. I like to soften the cream cheese in the warmer of my woodstove while I’m making the crust. Setting the packages by a sunny window or in a bowl over some steaming water for a half hour or more works well, too. Don’t be tempted to skip or reduce the rather large amount of alcoholic substances– they help provide a lovely depth and a great balance to the acorn flavor. Be sure to taste the filling before putting it in the crust– you may wish to add a bit more acorn syrup, if it doesn’t seem sweet enough to you. Also, please know that I bake my cheesecake in a woodstove oven, so the timing is not terribly reliable– this one is truly worth watching like a hawk! Do be sure to set the oven temp as low as I mention, it will result in extra creaminess. You could even bake this in a water bath to make the edges of the cheesecake as creamy as the middle, if you’re really devoted to perfection. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet of the proper sort, this would be an extra good idea.
- 2 8 oz. packages Philadelphia brand cream cheese, softened
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup piima or sour cream
- 1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
- 4 tablespoons Kiva’s Acorn Syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, preferably homemade with cognac or brandy
- 2 tablespoons spiced rum, or 1 tablespoon cognac and 1 tablespoon brandy
- 1 tablespoon Acorn Infused Butter (see Kiva’s recipe)
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and softened cream cheese, then beat in the piima or sour cream, the Acorn Syrup, Acorn Butter, vanilla and rum. Taste and adjust if you like. Pour into crust and bake at 325 degrees until just set, about 35 minutes. I find it perfectly done when it’s puffed up around the edges but the center is still just the slightest bit wobbly. Closest attention must be given, however, to find this magic moment. Cool and refrigerate before serving, if you can stand to wait that long. The center will firm up perfectly after proper cooling, and maintain an ecstatic level of creaminess that can be lost if the whole pie puffs up in too perky a manner.
After the pie has chilled completely, cover the top with the Acorn Compote. Serve slices with black chicory coffee, or Acorn-Fir Tea barely sweetened, and if you’re being crazy-indulgent, maybe some homemade whipped cream or homemade eggnog on the side, as we did.
Registration Opens Dec 1st – & Teachers Confirmed For The
2012 TRADITIONS IN WESTERN HERBALISM CONFERENCE
Sept. 13-16 in Arizona’s Beautiful Coconino Forest
www.TraditionsInWesternHerbalism.org
“An amazing conference, resurrecting the spirit of Western Herbalism.” -Paul Bergner
30+ Teachers and 40+ edgy & innovative Classes at our awesome new event site, with topics like nowhere else!
2 full Nights of dance-making music, 4 or more Plant Walks, Kid & Teen Workshops, & Healer’s Market with Practitioners
Registration Now Open – As of Dec. 1st
As of December 1st, 2011, you can register for the TWH Conference and receive the special Early Sprout or Plant Healer Subscriber special discounts. Revised 2012 Website Ready To Peruse:
www.TraditionsInWesternHerbalism.org
Enjoy 3+ days of classes, plant walks and hands-on workshops taught by some of the most knowledgable, inspiring and exciting of teachers, each bringing to this conference their absolutely most adventurous new class topics… along with a Healer’s Market and Friday and Saturday night music and dance concerts. You’re all welcome in this great learning exchange, this work of healing self, others and earth – clinical practitioners and impassioned students from beginners to advanced, every age and both genders… earnest professionals, grandmotherly herbal hobbyists and young “Occupy Wallstreet” volunteers alike!
“The most amazing conference ever!” -Juliet Blankespoor, Chestnut School of Herbalist
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Confirmed Teachers
All 2012 classes are confirmed, which wasn’t easy considering how very many great Teacher applications and topics we received. We again showcase a mix of long venerated Herbalist icons and rising talents deserving of opportunity and exposure… with all of them stretching themselves and their audiences with adventurous, personal and practical topics for every level of herbalist student and practitioner. Their unique, never-before presented classes will range from 1.5 hrs in length to full 3 hour intensives, and include both Native Plant Walks and Classes For Kids every single day of the event:
Matthew Wood • Cascade Anderson Geller • Christa Sinadinos • Aviva Romm • Phyllis Light • Kiva Rose • Kathleen Maier • Bevin Clare • Paul Bergner • Tania Neubauer • Howie Brounstein • Kristi Reese • Ben Zappin • Phyllis Hogan • 7Song • Jesse Wolf Hardin • Jim McDonald • Lisa Ganora • Larken Bunce • Charles “Doc” Garcia • Linda Garcia • Sean Donahue • Rosalee de la Foret • Nicole Telkes • Katja Swift • Darcey Blue French • Kristine Brown
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2012 Registration Prices
Big Savings For Those Who Register Now
Children 6 & Under – Free
Youth (7-17) $55 (good anytime)
EarlySprout $240 (until Jan 1st)
Midseason: $275 (Jan. 2nd-June 1st)
LateBloomer (after June 1st) $315
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And for Plant Healer Subscribers only, and for 2 weeks only, the biggest discount of all… a special Plant Healer offer expiring Dec. 19th, 2011. Details found in the TWHC article in the Winter Issue (Dec. 5th release) of:
Plant Healer Magazine
“If you can only make it to one herb conference next year, this should be the one! Profound, inspiring, multi-cultural, grass roots, and SO much fun!! We’ll see you there!” -Julie, Humboldt Herbals
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Lodging
Cabins, rooms and camping with outlets must be purchased direct from Mormon Lake Lodge, and the earlier you reserve a space, the more likely you are to be sure of getting the accommodations you want. For Cabin info go to the:
Mormon Lake Lodging Web Page
When registering, be sure to tell them you are with TWHC so that you get the best deal and are housed with the rest of our community.
Meals
While you can bring your own food, Mormon Lake Lodge will also be catering meals to our specifications including wild game, fresh vegetables, gluten free fare and more. Meal tickets will not be sold until Spring, so we suggest you purchasing your Conference Tickets and Lodging before then.
“We see this conference as the weaving of a beautiful tapestry where the strength of the warp and the possibilities of the weft can come together to form new and beautiful patterns not previously possible, based on the wise and thoughtful integration of diverse traditions of herbalism, healing and community. Perhaps most importantly it feels like a conference for truly inspired and serious herbal folk that want to come away not just having had a good time, but to come away feeling reinvigorated in their herbal pursuits and practices and having learned valuable skills that are immediately applicable to deepening herbal skill and knowledge. This conference seemed to offer enough for beginning students to feel both inspired and appropriately overwhelmed as well as an abundance of learning opportunities for intermediate and advanced students as well. What a great balance!”
–Hanna Jordan & Chris Smaka, School of Traditional Western Herbalism
TWHC – September in the Coconino!
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(Please forward and re-post widely… thank you very much!)
Smoky Chai in the leaves
On this windy November afternoon I brought a thermos of my favorite smoky chai and a crisp mcintosh apple with me to a small copse of Alder trees and Wild Roses by the river. Listening to the breeze keening through the Pines on the mountain above, I sat down in the soft leaf litter and leaned against the silver barked trunk. All around me, the air was thick with the musky-sweet smell of Autumn turning rapidly to Winter. On the ground, the rust and copper colors of fallen Oak and Maple leaves provided a stark backdrop to the lush green of young Mountain Nettles (Urtica gracilenta) that continue to persist and have been providing our family with nightly meals of Nettle soups and Nettle breads.
Frankly, I’m not sure there’s much in this world better than being curled up in leaves under my favorite trees with the smells of Fall, river water, spices and smoke all mingling together. The only word I can find to describe it is ~rich~. Rich in the sense of delicious and decadent, and rich in the sense of wealth. Simple wealth, certainly, but overwhelmingly satisfying and beautiful just the same.
Mountain Nettle (Urtica gracilenta)
Yes, this is a post about tea. I won’t be discussing the medicinal qualities or therapeutic actions of the plant, just how good it tastes and some suggestions for creating your own brews made up of smoke and spice. There’s a medicine in this sort of joy and beauty all it’s own. Something deeper than memory, so close to our bones that we might call it primal. Drinking in the sweetness of experience is a talent we humans have when we can just shut our brains up enough to be quiet and feel.
Now, normally I prefer to obtain as much as my medicine, food and beverages locally (and ideally, harvest it myself) as possible. I do make occasional exceptions to feed my obsessive affection for the fermented leaves of Camellia sinensis, as long as I can find high enough quality tea from a reliable, ethical (or rather, as ethical as things like tea and coffee and chocolate can be) source. In particular, I’m a devotee of smokey, strong black tea. This is especially true in Autumn and Winter when all sorts of rich, overt flavors seem to help balance the seemingly monochrome landscape with their sensory power.
The Teas
Fallen Alder (Alnus oblongifolia) Leaf
Preface: I almost always order my tea from Mountain Rose Herbs, partially because I can trust their ethics and partially because they just have excellent tea at a very good price. If you order from somewhere else you may need to adjust the proportions based on variations in taste and strength. That said, please adjust according to your preference as you go along. These aren’t proper recipes anyhow, just basic proportions so that you can create your own cups of smoke and spice.
Proportions here are based on volume not weight.
Russian Caravan
Russian Caravan is a tea that, in general, is strong, highly caffeinated and ranges from mildly smokey to something tasting rather like cigarette ashes brewed as tea. At its best, Russian Caravan is complex, smokey, full-bodied and with a depth of flavor that few other beverages can match. However, the name of this well known tea is a bit of a misnomer as the tea brought in caravans from China to Russia was not smokey at all. According to early descriptions, it was actually a delicate, lightly fermented tea that the Russians preferred. Yes, most websites and companies selling Russian Caravan have an elaborate tale about the campfires of the caravans lending their flavor to the chests of tea… but while this is a great story, it’s seems to be just that, a story.
Whatever its origins, I’m a huge fan of Russian Caravan in its modern incarnation. Unfortunately, the quality and taste of the mix can vary a great deal from shop to shop and company to company. Therefore, I blend my own. It’s very simple to get a rich, complex and pleasantly smokey tea from just two or three teas varieties.
- 3 Parts Assam (if you choose to use a lighter base, such as Darjeeling, you’ll want to use a higher proportion of it to the Lapsang Souchong)
- 2 Parts Lapsang Souchong (Mountain Rose’s Lapsang Souchong is smoked over Spruce wood and brews to a beautiful red color.)
- 1 Part Pu’erh (optional but I like the mossy, minerally flavor it imparts and the red color it adds)
Spruce Fire Masala Chai
Masala chai has become incredibly popular in the US. On one hand I certainly appreciate the availability and myriad variations, but this has also resulted in a great of deal of powdered artificial vanilla-flavored, corn syrup sweetened nastiness that I would put right up there with boxed smoothie mix and red koolaid as far as taste. A good masala chai is a miraculous and delicious thing, especially with a dash of heavy whipping cream and a spoonful of wildflower or buckwheat honey. It really doesn’t need any improving at all but given my penchant for for smokey teas, I decided to make a smokey chai for the Winter months and so far my guinea pigs (otherwise known as friends and family and whoever else will take sips from the cups I push in their direction) concur that smoke and spice make a lovely pair indeed.
For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to assume that you know how to make your own masala chai or that you have a pre-made blend (preferably made with whole tea leaf and spices rather than powdered.) If not, recipes abound, as do excellent blends.
- 3 Parts Masala Chai (preferably a blend with a fair amount of Cloves included)
- 1 Part Lapsang Souchong
Yep, that easy… I think this tea tastes even better if brewed an extra minute or two.
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The sweetness of Autumn turning to Winter
“I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can’t see from the center.” – Kurt Vonnegut
Herbalist. The term can make the role we fill sound as if it’s a single job rather than the multitude of overlapping and intersecting skills that it actually is. Gardener, Wildcrafter, Clinician, Medicine Maker, Field Botanist, Educator, Counselor, Activist, Accountant, Grant Writer and Advocate are just a few of the most common roles many herbalists find themselves filling. We will often find that our work is most powerful and authentic in the borderlands where these roles meet and overlap. To be an herbalist, especially in this era and place, is to walk the edge.
The word edgy is so overused as to be a cliche unto itself. And yet, that’s exactly what this work is. It’s learning the language of traditional medicine and conventional medicine and trying to speak it in an understandable way to people who may understand neither or have a distinct prejudice against either or both. It’s teaching gutter punks and retired RNs physiology from a new perspective and opening their eyes to the complex array of plant life that surrounds us at all times. It’s making old-fashioned medicine from common weeds and then attempting to understand how that medicine might interact with newly introduced pharmaceuticals or affect organ systems that scientists are just beginning to understand the function of.
Some would have us think that herbalism remains the domain only of “primitive” peoples or, on the other hand, conventional medical professionals who have the accreditation considered necessary to treat clients. And so we walk another kind of edge, within the legal system and the regulations created by entities such as the FDA.
These edges are important, imperative even. This is a time of many people being both disempowered and disconnected from even the most basic healthcare, often from a lack of education and finances. As herbalists, we’re pushing at the borders of what’s considered normal, sensible, and sometimes even acceptable, within mainstream society. Regardless of how straight we look, speak or feel, the very act of teaching or treating with botanical medicine tends to immediately place us on the fringes of standard American culture.
Within my practice, teaching, organizing, editing and writing I constantly strive to further acknowledge and embrace these edges and borders. To walk them consciously and with intent. Plant Healer Magazine and TWHC have been a furthering of that boundary pushing and edge walking. Wolf and I are in constant discussion and reassessment of that this means and how we can be most effective.
This is not easy work, especially when we live a culture that asks us to separate ourselves into pieces. That suggests we have different social media accounts for each and every one of our personal and professional roles for our many fragments, and the masks they each wear. That tries to insist that we splinter ourselves into cliches and titles and aliases until even we can’t remember which part of us is talking and what’s safe to say. But don’t worry, there’s a social media app for that.
My big mouth, constant questioning of the status quo and sometimes unpopular opinions have earned me more than a few disparaging comments both locally and in the larger herbal community. I admit that it’s sometimes tempting to shut up and play it a bit safer. To keep my opinions neutral. To make every response politic to the expected audience.
But really, fuck that.
For me, herbalism always has been about and continues to be primarily about the plants. Their beauty and inherent value as living parts of a larger organism we call Earth. The miracle of how even being near them in their chosen habitat is healing in and of itself. The myriad ways we interact with and rely on them. The magic, yes magic, of their bodies as medicine for our bodies. Only when all of these layers are present and integrated do I feel whole and happy with my work, my life, my self.
Occasionally I have to remind myself that my work with clients isn’t as a doctor, dictator or a magician, but simply as a matchmaker between person and plants. It’s that simple, and that difficult. There are other sorts of herbalists of course, and this description of my approach isn’t meant to be a definition of what you or anyone else does or needs to do. It’s here as remembrance that there are many ways to work in the diverse and dynamic field of herbalism.
As the snow clouds hang low over the canyon and surrounding mountains I realize that I’ve never before looked on the long, cold months of Winter with such anticipation. After more than two years of frenzied activity of putting together the TWH conference, Plant Healer Magazine and various teaching projects along with still seeing clients and trying to keep up with wildcrafting and medicine making, I realize I’m more than ready for some time turned inward.
It’s been easy to lose myself in the work of organizing and managing, to be subsumed by the large personalities I spend so much time promoting and working with. To forget the strands of my mission that are rooted in the Appalachian culture I come from and the New Mexico mountains that are my home. To find myself too exhausted at the end of any given day to nourish myself. To remember how to integrate all of the skills and roles into a functional whole.
While the deadlines and effort required for my work are undeniably endless, I’m creating new ways to reprioritize my time and energy. As the last copper-tinted leaves are blown from the Cottonwood trees, I find myself returning to the projects that keep me most in touch with what I care about, and what I most love about herbalism. I notice that I’m more frequently wandering into the kitchen to muse over my favorite Siberian inspired elk pelmeni recipe or breathe in the warm citrus scent of White Fir tea simmering on the woodstove. The mornings have more often been spent on a lichen clad boulder staring through the long threads of Usnea out at the Ponderosas bending with the winds and the river rippling sinuously between its banks.
As a result, I’ll be blogging more often, and my posts will return to their previously personal and wide topic range. You’ll also notice I’ve updated my blog header and am in process of updating the overall feel of the site and my writing. While it sometimes seems easier to restrict the subject matter on the Medicine Woman’s Roots to being strictly related to botanical medicine, I’ve found that this negates the original purpose and even the title of the blog. I don’t want a fracturing of myself into personal and professional personas. My vocation is a huge part of who I am and it’s more than a job, it’s my passion and a lasting love.
And if I ramble on about the color of Monkeyflowers and rant about the pseudoscience that passes for medical research and eat with my hands in public and climb trees in high heels and swear with great enthusiasm, well… you were forewarned.
Expect tales and monographs, case studies and rants, pictures and ramblings.
Expect to find yourself up against the edge, gazing out over where the vast diversity of traditions, medicine, cultures, plants and peoples come together.
My readers will all likely be very familiar with my fondness for any and all Rosa species, and most especially for my local wild Rosa woodsii. There’s no doubt that Rose is a popular plant among herbalists across the globe. Often though, I notice that it tends to be primarily known for emotional issues. While I would be the last person to debate its applicability in those situations (which are of course inherently tied into the individual’s overall physiology rather than being a separate domain), I do sometimes perceive a lack of serious consideration of Rose’s more down and dirty healing attributes. This post is my attempt at showing why and how Rosa can be utilized in first aid, and specifically in wound care. I will provide a brief overview of the herb’s basic actions and energetics within the context of wound care, standard preparations, therapeutics and a few relevant case studies.
In my rural and wilderness practice I find myself doing a significant amount of first aid type care. This is some of my favorite work, as it helps me to hone my ability to respond both appropriately and quickly and also allows me to see in a fairly rapid way what works and what doesn’t.
I keep a number of tried and true formulae for specific situations on hand, but I also tend to carry a variety of simples that I know intimately and can rapidly combine (or not) as is called for. Rose is one of those plants that I always have on hand. I keep Rose infused vinegar, Rose salve, Rose tincture/elixir and dried Rose petals/leaves nearby at all times.
Energetics
Cool, drying/contracting
Rose leaves, flowers, bark and roots are generally considered to be cooling in Western herbalism, with authors as varied as Avicenna, Dioscorides, Bauhin and Hildegarde specifically mentioning plant’s place on the colder end of the thermal spectrum although Galen seemed to feel that it had some warming properties. The fruits are closer to neutral in temperature.
Rose is considered drying in most cases, however, it would be more appropriate to call it contracting rather than strictly drying. It certainly doesn’t contribute or create fluids but nor does it actually cause the loss of them, it just holds them in the tissues.
A Tangent on Rose and Astringents: Due to its action as an astringent, which causes the tissues it comes in contact with to contract, Rose can cause the body to hold in fluids, especially if there’s an excessive loss (a lá diarrhea, excessive sweating, bleeding, vomiting, urination etc.) Think about how a tea bag on your tongue (or green fruit) makes your tongue feel like it’s withering up in your both as the tissue pulls more tightly together. Excessive loss of fluids is drying in and of itself, so if an astringent helps to prevent the tissues from losing fluid in such situations it would obviously not be considered overtly drying.
Vital Actions
Astringent, Relaxant, Nervine
Clinical Effects
Anti-inflammatory
Topically or internally, Rose is an effective anti-inflammatory and I regularly employ it in my infusion blends for those recovering from gut inflammation due to food intolerance (concurrent with removing the offending foods) or similar. Topically, it acts in the same way and is great for reducing redness, swelling and pain from any number of sources, including insect stings/bites, abrasions, blunt trauma and even puncture wounds.
Anti-Infective
While not popularly known for its anti-infective properties, it can indeed by a helpful herb in combatting bacterial/viral/fungal infections. Being a mild plant, it doesn’t have the immediate kick of something like Echinacea or Alder but nonetheless is an effective and useful herb for treating many infections topically.
Hemostatic/Styptic
Rose is mildly to moderately astringent (depending on species and part used), not astringent enough to tie your guts up in knots but strong enough to help stem the flow of blood when used topically and tighten tissues to help prevent the loss of further blood or the wound from becoming boggy and oozy. This in turn promotes quicker wound healing and less scarring.
Therapeutic Uses
Insect Stings/Bites
Rose, like many of the Rosaceae, has a distinct effect on histamine responses (see resources below for some research based validation of that traditional knowledge), moderating and sometimes preventing allergic type reactions. My experience does not indicate that it is as strong as, say, Prunus persica (Peach) or Prunus serotina (Black Cherry and allied species.) However, it’s plenty effective enough to be very helpful in the treatment of many insect stings/bites that trigger small histamine type responses. Rose petal poultices are great for reducing the pain, swelling and redness of bee/wasp stings and similar, even better with Plantain or Alder leaves.
Additionally, plain old Rose tincture or elixir is also a quick and effective treatment for mosquito bites and many other itchy afflictions.
Ear/Body Piercing Aftercare
Yes, not normally found in your average list of herbal uses, but something I have a fair amount of experience with nonetheless. Different piercing studios will recommend a wide variety of aftercare regimens, from tossing a bag full of alcohol wipes at you to giving you a five page handout on saline soaks and various aftercare products. Rose, with its tissue contracting and cooling properties is an excellent treatment for these purposeful puncture wounds.
Preparation somewhat depends on the personal preference. Many studios will insist that you should use alcohol on any piercing and if you wish to follow this, Rose petals and/or leaves tinctured in vodka work very well. Yep, it burns like hell.
I’ve successfully used Rose petal infused vinegar as a compress for infected or inflamed fresh piercings with good results, usually with pain, swelling and discharge notably reduced within the first couple of applications. Saline soaks made with a strong Rose petal tea can also be soothing and greatly speed healing while lessening discomfort and complication.
Abrasions & Minor Wounds
Compresses (of strong tea or diluted infuse vinegar), petal/leaf poultices, crushed dried petals/leaves and a number of other preparations can be very useful in reducing pain and bleeding and speeding healing of minor wounds and abrasions. Children are often very fond of this remedy, being intrigued by the scent and color of the petals and often the very idea of such a well known flower being used as medicine. Adults are more likely to scoff at you, probably for the same reason the children are impressed.
Rashes
Itchy, red, hot rashes often respond very well to the application of crushed Rose petals/leaves, compress (with strong tea or diluted infused vinegar) or simple soak/bath. This is an old and widespread remedy that remains applicable today.
Note that if your rash is from poison ivy or some other contact dermatitis that it’s imperative that you remove the irritant (this includes washing with soap in the case of poison ivy) before treating.
Burns
Rose infused vinegar is my favorite treatment for general sunburn treatment, just dilute the Rose petal and/or leaf infused vinegar to about 1 part vinegar to 5 parts water and apply as compress or soak to affected area.
Similarly, Rose tincture or vinegar works very well for minor burns where the skin has not been broken. For more serious burns, where the skin has broken and especially where there is any potential for infection, I prefer to use Rose infused honey as a dressing. Rose formulates very well with other appropriate herbs such Alnus, Monarda, Oenothera or similar.
Cellulitis and Other Bacterial Infections
First off, serious bacterial infections, including cellulitis, should generally always be treated internally as well as externally whenever possible. That said, topical treatments via compress, soak, poultice and similar can be very helpful and initiate the healing process quickly. Where there is any chance of serious infection or cellulitis, I strongly suggest that you do NOT use an oil/fat based topical treatment, as I have seen this actually spread the infection on multiple occasions. Trapping moisture and encouraging bacterial proliferation is probably not your therapeutic goal so stick with with water or vinegar based preparations in these situations.
Rose’s ability to firm boggy or damaged tissues, reduce inflammation and lessen bacterial proliferation while encouraging the growth of healthy tissue makes it ideal in the treatment of many microbial infections. I tend to use it in formulae with Monarda spp. leaves, Plantago spp leaves/flowers and Alnus spp., leaves for cellulitis or serious infections with heat signs along with addressing the issue internally.
Case Studies
Puncture Wound/Piercing Aftercare
11 year old girl had both ears pierced (with a 16 gauge needle, not a gun) and a simple cleaning regimen using Monarda tincture was followed three times a day. Four weeks past the initial piercing, and while cleaning regimen was still being followed, the girl swam in a dirty river a mild infection ensued resulting in pain, swelling, discharge and the area was hot to the touch.
A compress of diluted (1:3) Rose infused vinegar was applied to each ear for ten minutes twice a day. Infection and symptoms receded within 6 hours and was gone completely within 24 hours.
Burn
A woman in her early 20’s was badly burned by boiling water spilling on her forearm, primarily on the inside of the arm. She went to the local clinic and they diagnosed it as a primarily second degree burn with patches of first and third degree burns. Skin was blistered and broken with bleeding. She refused treatment (including pain medication and antibiotics) beyond initial cleaning and diagnosis.
Client came to me the next morning in a considerable pain. I gave her a formula for pain consisting of 3 parts Eschscholzia mexicana, 1 part Corydalis aurea and 1/2 part Piscidia, to be taken 1/2 ml as needed, tritating if necessary. Additionally, I gave her Rosa woodsii petal infused honey to apply as a dressing twice a day along with gauze to wrap the area with, and instructions to not try to remove dead skin and not to break any of the blisters.
Area healed without complications within a month, although some scarring did occur. Pain formula was only needed for the first 24 hours.
Cellulitis
A woman in her mid-50’s with Type II Diabetes presented with diagnosed cellulitis in her left thigh. The infection had been treated with several rounds of progressively strong antibiotics which resulted in temporary lessening of symptoms and then worsening beyond the original state each time the antibiotics were ceased. Infection was painful, hot to the touch and spreading rapidly at time of consultation.
Treatment was a tincture of 4 parts Alnus oblongifolia to 1 part Monarda fistulosa var. menthifolia, 1 ml 4x/day plus a dried herb formula of 3 parts Rosa rugosa petals, 1 Part Monarda fistulosa var. menthifolia leaves/flower and 1/2 Part Achillea millefolium flowers and leaves to be used as a soak in water as hot as she could bear three times a day until water cooled to be followed by immersion in cold water and then very warm water again.
Pain was alleviated by 50% and infection stopped spreading within two days. In a week, infection was receding. I saw the client again at two weeks to refill tincture and dried herb mix and the infection was no longer visible. Herbs were continued one month past the time when no symptoms were apparent. Saw client three months after original appointment and the infection had not returned.
Previous Posts and Articles about Rose by Kiva
Rose Elixir Recipe Photo Essay - http://www.learningherbs.com/news_issue_35.html
Monograph – Sweet Medicine: Healing with the Wild Heart of Rose – http://animacenter.org/rosa.html
Sweetbriar by the River: A Romance in Pictures – http://bearmedicineherbals.com/sweetbriar-by-the-river-a-romance-in-pictures-and-rose-elixir-recipe.html
Rose Infused Vinegar for Sunburns - http://bearmedicineherbals.com/rose-vinegar-my-favorite-sunburn-soother.html
The Wildest Rose: On Thorns, Tangles, Tenacity and Sweetness - http://bearmedicineherbals.com/wildestrose.html
Other Resources and References
The Western Herbal Tradition by Graeme Tobyn, Alison Denham and Margaret Whitelegg
Studies/Research
Effects of Rosa rugosa Petals on Intestinal Bacteria – http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bbb/72/3/72_773/_article
In vivo anti-inflammatory effect of Rosa canina L. extract. – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21771653
Oxidative DNA damage preventive activity and antioxidant potential of plants used in Unani system of medicine. – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21159207
Anti-allergic effects of white rose petal extract and anti-atopic properties of its hexane fraction. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19557358
Investigations of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of Piper cubeba, Physalis angulata and Rosahybrida. – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14522451
Rose hips (Rosa canina) have significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity independent of vitamin C content. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18707854
~~~~Photos and Text ©2011 Kiva Rose~~~~
Growing At-Risk Medicinal Plants
Photos and Text by Juliet Blankespoor
Growing our own medicine creates an intimate connection with healing plants as we watch them emerge from the ground, and grow leaves, flowers, and fruits. I tend to be more curious about the plants around me, as I see, smell and feel them throughout the seasons. My curiosity inspires research, experimentation, medicine making, and therapeutic usage. Deep, long- lasting plant friendships are born from these interactions.
There are some important environmental reasons for cultivating rare native medicinals as well. We lose vast populations of our native flora, many of which are important medicinal plants, as our wild lands are converted to roads, development, lawns and agriculture. Cultivating shade-loving healing plants in existing woodlands takes the pressure off their small populations elsewhere, and reduces the demand for overharvested wild herbs. One of the biggest issues with habitat loss is the fragmentation of plant populations. Many of our native woodland plants produce ant-dispersed seeds: bloodroot, hepatica, trillium, bleeding heart, wild ginger, trout lily, and dutchman’s breeches are a few examples. As you can imagine, ants do not carry seeds as far as a bird or mammal can in its gastro-intestinal tract. Despite ants’ super-hero strength, ants cannot carry seeds across highways either. Thus, isolated populations of plants producing ant-dispersed seeds can remain isolated in the absence of a continuous forest. We are increasing local populations by planting native woodland herbs, which might otherwise have a hard time naturally expanding into our area.
The intact forest, with all of its useful gifts of lumber, food, fiber, bio-diversity, beauty, water retention, carbon- sequestering, hammock hanging, and wildlife habitat, is an additional advantage to woodland cultivation of native medicinal flora. None of these advantages are present in the current large-scale cultivation practices of growing shade-loving herbs in cleared farms in full sun, necessitating shade-cloth and a multitude of unsustainable inputs.
Finally, many of the woodland herbal medicines are easy to cultivate, as compared to our garden herbs. If sited correctly, they can generally fend for themselves after the first year or two and require little to no inputs. Following are some of the more common techniques employed in plant propagation; after a few times of practicing these skills, they become second nature and quite intuitive.
Germination Specifics
Germinating medicinal herb plants and natives requires more skill, attention, and patience than germinating vegetable plants. Following are some special treatments that herb seeds may need before they will germinate. Many of the following resources, especially Horizon Herbs and Prairie Moon, list the necessary seed treatments for each plant.
Stratification or Cold Conditioning – Many seeds have a built-in alarm clock that lets them know winter has passed and it is now spring, and safe to begin life. Stratification tricks seeds into thinking winter has passed by exposing them to an extended period of cold and moist conditions. My preference is to do this in a controlled manner in the safety of my own home inside a Ziploc bag (that’s a Virgo for you). Here’s how you trick those innocent seeds: Wet sand slightly so it’s visibly wet but no water comes out when squeezed. I recommend using “play sand” as it is fine, clean of organic matter (which may harbor fungal spores and seed-eating bacteria) and generally light in color (the better to see little seeds with, my dear). Place a very small amount of the wet sand (2-3 tablespoons) in a small Ziploc bag with the seeds. Label well, place in a paper bag to keep out the light, and store in the refrigerator for 3 weeks to 3 months depending on the species. If you’re not sure, try one month. You can plant the sand with the seed so there’s no need to pick out the individual seeds unless they are exceptionally large. Boneset, ginseng, blue vervain, butterfly weed, blue cohosh, black cohosh, bloodroot, goldenseal, trillium, wild yam, wild ginger, false unicorn root, culver’s root, mullein, skullcap, wormwood and Echinacea spp. are just a few of the herbs that need stratification to germinate well.
Light – Dependent Germination – Many seeds have formidable patience and can lay in the soil for decades, or even centuries, waiting for their break. Sunlight is the big break, and in a natural setting, it is brought about by wildfire, storm, or tree fall. The canopy opens up and the seed has a chance to find its own personal spot in paradise. You may sow these seeds directly onto the surface of the soil and very gently press them so they make contact with the soil. They then should be watered very gently by misting or bottom watering so they will not be washed off the surface of the soil. Many very small seeds are treated in the same manner, as they do not have the reserves to grow above a thick layer of soil. Angelica, bee balm, catnip, lobelia, lovage, mullein, Saint John’s wort and violet are just a few of the herbs that need sunlight to germinate.
Scarification – Many seeds have a thick impervious seed coat that must be nicked or cracked before the seed can germinate. You can rub the seeds between two pieces of sand paper until you see a little bit of the endosperm (embryo nutrient reserves, usually a lighter color and different texture than the seed coat). Sometimes this is done before stratifying seeds and sometimes at the time of sowing. Astragalus, wild indigo, hollyhock, licorice, marshmallow, passionflower, red root, and rue are some of the herbs that will germinate better with scarification.
Vegetative Forms of Propagation
Creating identical clones from parent plants by division, layering, and cuttings has several advantages and is often easier than germinating the seed. For starters, this is the primary way that cultivars (cultivated varieties) are propagated, as their unique qualities are not usually expressed in their seed-grown offspring. I can attest to this personally after trying to grow peppermint from seed and ending up with a mint mutt, which smelled more like pennyroyal than peppermint. Many herbs such as mints, specialty thymes, lavenders, white sage, goldenseal, blue cohosh, partridgeberry, and lemon verbena are generally propagated by the methods outlined below. Growing from cuttings often gives a bigger plant in a shorter amount of time than growing from seed. One disadvantage with vegetative propagation is that genetically identical plants do not have the resiliency found in the larger gene pool of sexually reproducing plants.
Division is the easiest form of vegetative propagation. It involves digging up and severing a portion of the root system of a plant, and replanting it. Depending on the plant species and age, one to twenty divisions may be made from one plant. In running plants, such as the mints, partridgeberry, gotu kola, jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum), Mondarda spp., and Arnica chamissonis, one digs up the runners (stolons and rhizomes) and plants them in a new site or container. In clumping plants, such as elecampagne, valerian, Echinacea spp., motherwort, meadowsweet, boneset, comfrey, and culver’s root, one can thrust a shovel into the center of the clump and pry free the divisionling. I generally don’t have the heart for this method and prefer digging up the whole plant and getting a good look at its root system. I then divide the roots with a garden knife (hori-hori), shovel or pruners and replant each section in it’s new garden spot. Each section contains either buds (when the plant is dormant) or leaves and shoots if the plant is actively growing and green. Take care to plant your divisionlings with the buds pointing up. Depending on the season, species, size of division, expertise, loving care in the transition to plant independence (watering, soil, etc.) you might have 70-100% survival.
Root Cuttings involve digging up a rhizome and cutting off two to three inch sections with pruners. Ideally the rhizome section should include the rootlets (smaller, secondary roots) and a large bud or shoot. However, many plants will grow without a visible bud present on the cutting, comfrey being a prime example. Place the root cutting directly in the ground with the bud pointing upward, or in a container and keep well watered until you see the emerging shoot. Root cuttings have the advantage of growing faster than seed germinated plants, which sometimes take two to three years to germinate. Many woodland medicinals are cultivated commercially from root cuttings, rather than seed, for this reason. Some examples of plants propagated from root cuttings are calamus, blue cohosh, black cohosh, false uncorn, trillium, wild ginger, sweet fern, wild yam, Iris spp., bloodroot, sumac, sweet shrub, comfrey, spikenard, wild geranium, and goldenseal.
Stem Cuttings involve cutting the tips of growing twigs, either woody or tender new growth, and placing the stem into various types of growing media. The cuttings are then kept well watered, preferably in a high humidity environment, until roots form. The rooted cutting is then placed directly in the garden, or preferably grown on in a container until it is larger. Some plants readily root from cuttings; a few examples are lemon verbena, rosemary, lavender, white sage, pineapple sage, elderberry, figs, and most succulents. Many others are harder to prod into root growth, and it’s a race against time before rot or desiccation takes the cutting. Most commercial nurseries and home gardeners use synthetic rooting hormone dips or powders, which greatly enhance the success of cuttings “taking”. Willow bark extract is a natural alternative (see recipe below), as is seaweed extract, but I have to say in honesty that they are less effective than the synthetics. To make a softwood cutting, take the top two to four nodes (area where the stem and leaf join) of green growth, which is still pliable but not flimsy. Softwood cuttings are usually made in late spring/early summer. Remove the lower nodes’ leaves and if the remaining upper leaves are large, cut them in half. To make a hardwood cutting, take the upper three to four nodes of the currents years’ growth in late fall/early winter, after the first frost. Keep the hardwood cuttings in soil protected from freezing, and place in the shade. The choice of cutting type depends on the species; you will need to research the preferred method for the plant you want to propagate.
Place your cuttings in their growing medium very soon after preparing them. The cuttings can be placed in their medium in an open tray or wide pot in part sunlight. The sunlight encourages rooting but also contributes to water loss, which is often the demise of the cutting. The growing medium should be low in nitrogen, as nitrogen encourages green growth over root production. Wet sand, fine compacted perlite, and vermiculite are some common choices. For acid-loving plants, try one part peat moss and one part coarse perlite. For hardwood cuttings, mix together equal parts of peat, sand, and aged pine bark fines. Keep your cuttings moist and create extra humidity by frequent misting and placing a plastic bag or clear plastic container over the cuttings to keep in the moisture. When you tug gently on the cutting and you feel some resistance, check to see if roots have formed. If roots are present, transplant directly into the ground, or preferably into a good quality soil mix, where the cutting can grow bigger and stronger before it has to fend for itself.
Layering involves bending down the longer, flexible lateral branches of woody plants into the soil three inches deep. The branches are then staked in place, with the top of the stem above ground. Secure the stem in place with a piece of bent wire, rock or notched piece of wood. The aboveground part of the stem may need staking to keep it erect. The semi-buried stem is left in place for a couple of months to two years, depending on the species. Once roots have grown from the buried section of stem, the side-plant may be severed from the parent plant and moved to a new garden site. Layering is usually performed in the spring or summer. Some examples of plants propagated by layering are rosemary, sage, thyme, bay, Vitex, and cramp bark.
Willow Bark Extract contains a natural plant hormone called willow-rooting substance, which is a type of auxin. It can be used as a free natural substitute for commercial rooting powders, and is especially helpful for rooting softwood cuttings. Cut ten 2-3 ft. willow branches, preferably in the fall after the leaves have fallen and cut the branches into 2 in. lengths. Pour a gallon of water over them and let sit for 24 to 48 hours. Strain the willow soak water. Soak the lower stem portion of cuttings in this solution for 24 hours and then place them in their rooting medium. Any unused liquid can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a year. Some people use willow in a less exact fashion by soaking willow branches in water and using the soak water to water-in cuttings.
Resources:
Horizon Herbs: Largest collection of organically grown medicinal herb seeds and plants, with growers manual germination specifics.
Medicinal Herbs and Non-timber Forest Products
Prairie Moon Nursery: Seeds and plants of natives to the prairie and eastern states. Loads of germination info.
Richters: Huge selection of herb seeds and plants. Rare or hard to find herbs.
United Plant Savers: Plant enthusiasts committed to raising public awareness of the plight of our wild medicinal plants and to protecting these plants through organic cultivation, sustainable agricultural practices, and the replanting back into their natural habitats.
Juliet Blankespoor is the director and primary instructor at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine, where she teaches botany, plant identification, human anatomy and physiology, and bioregional roots herbalism. Enraptured by the diversity and intricacies of the green world, Juliet received her B.S. in Botany and furthered her studies by completing over 1200 hours of herbal education. Being obsessed with plants, she has spent much of her adult life botanizing and wildcrafting in diverse settings throughout North America. She is also an avid edible and medicinal mushroom hunter. Her previous herbal business endeavors include an herbal tincture line, natural body care products and prepared wild foods. Her love of plants is also expressed through writing herbal articles and botanical photography. She believes that growing and gathering food and medicine is empowering, revolutionary, and highly entertaining.
(Excerpted from Plant Healer Magazine – Repost and Forward Freely)
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(Please RePost and Forward)
2012 Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference
New Dates & Location
Search & Criteria
It seemed we would never find the “right” place, and yet we just couldn’t give up! Weeks we spent on our site search in 2010, to no avail. And weeks again since we got home from the 2011 conference, filled with long days that stretched late into our river canyon nights. Like plant minded and rewilded Goldilockses, we kept coming upon places that were too small or too large, too hippie-dippy New Age or else fancy-pants conservative, too urban or too remote, too short on facilities or way too damn many buildings. Sedona was too prissy, the Chiracahua Mountains too hot and sparse. Some too high of elevation, others too dry. Some possible venues would clearly be too noisy and distracting, others like Oak Creek wouldn’t let us have live music over a certain decibel. The way cool town of Telluride kept bringing their prices down until we actually could have afforded it there, but the your flights to Montrose would have made it cost prohibitive for many of you. The attractive Shambhala Center, too, proved to be almost affordable for us, but they wanted a guarantee that 80% of our attendees would rent pricey lodging from them… when, in fact, close to 50% of those attracted to this decidedly folk herbalism conference need free or inexpensive camping, often being either impoverished students, poorly paid community practitioners or free clinic volunteers who struggle to get enough money together to come.
And folk herbalists are nature lovers, even if you happen to live and work in a city, so any celebration of plants and practice would surely have to be in a natural location, not in a hotel with potted ferns being the only green. Indeed, it would have to be within walking distance of nature trails or national forest swelling with plant life, and also have 5 or more classrooms clustered close to one another. Sufficient tables and chairs would be needed, and this time there would have to be food tons better than the pitiful Ghost Ranch fare. As kind as the responses were that we were getting from various entities, nothing seemed to meet all our needs. And as much as anything, we were distressed to think about hosting TWHC anywhere besides the wild and magical Southwest. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t anything. Our teachers have long needed to know where and when, so they can schedule their year of classes and appearances. Others are pleading to know, because their jobs require they put in for vacation time a year in advance. The stress of indecision and numerous dead ends begins to effect our sleep and health, and for Kiva’s sake, if not my own, I reluctantly ask that she stop the incessant googling and help me pick from among the best of the known alternatives.
But that Kiva, she just wouldn’t give up. And at last, an ideal place came into sight! A 2 day trip with the rest of the family to see it, and it’s settled. only a couple hundred miles over the hill from our Anima School and Sanctuary, the incredibly beautiful…
Our New Site: Coconino, Arizona
Our new site nests amidst the vast Coconino conifer forest, with absolutely incredible local plant diversity and forested mountains reflected in the surface of what’s called Mormon Lake, an alternately spreading and retracting marsh we found fairly ablaze with wildflower color.
A short walk away, the leaves of white barked Aspen clap like tiny castanets in what tastes like the freshest of breezes, and not too many miles distant are protected wilderness areas, Oak Creek’s natural rock-slide, dramatic volcanic formations, lush meadows inhabited by countless grazing elk, and hiking trails leading both higher or lower to the adjacent desert and alpine ecosystems.
And yet for all that, our site in the Coconino is still only a 3 hour drive from the Phoenix airport, the very cheapest of our regional airports to fly into, and serviced by shuttles! Only 12 hours from Denver, for those choosing to drive from there. And just 30 minutes south of the old fashioned town of Flagstaff.
It includes every building we need for classes, without feeling either too Hyatt Regency or too bingo hall. Clean and comfortable log cabins, with lower prices that nearly everyone can afford! Both inexpensive camping with electrical outlets, and totally free camping sites! A giant outdoor festival tent that we’ll use as a group dining area in the day, and as a dance hall when its time for our 2 exciting evening concerts. And voluminous Town Hall built in the 1920’s, that will hold our Registration area and Healer’s Market tables, with a section of benches or couches for folks to use as a meeting and greeting area.
Believe it or not, unlike our last conference location, this new base for TWHC has a fully stocked country store right there, selling supplies and even fair-trade coffee. It’s handicapped accessible. Pets are allowed in its campgrounds and RV sites. In addition, there are canoe rentals there, active land restoration projects, roaming buffalo, pony rides and even a petting zoo for the kids!
Kiva and Loba took Rhiannon with them on this search trip and she got to have her very first ever horse ride.
As if that’s not enough, on your way there you’ll go right past the world class Arboretum that we’re considering arranging a field trip to, abundant with examples of native and medicinal plant species.
All this, mind you, at prices that help keep TWHC – the signature folk herbalism event – potentially affordable to the majority of our diverse folk community.
The gentle lapping of the lake whispers, but in an enchanting voice we can’t help but hear.
A Natural Wonder
The Coconino is a 1.856-million acre (7,511 km2) national forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff. Originally established in 1898 as the “San Francisco Mountains National Forest Reserve”, the Coconino features diverse landscapes including deserts, pine forests, flatlands, mesas, alpine tundra and ancient volcanic fields and peaks. The forest contains all or parts of 10 designated Wilderness Areas. Its elevation ranges from 2,600’ (800 m) in the southern part of the forest near the Verde River, to 12,633’ (3,851 m) at the summit of Humphreys Peak, the highest point in the state of Arizona. Much of the forest is a high altitude plateau located in the midst of the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in North America. The southern border of this plateau is the volcanically created Mogollon Rim, a nearly 400 mile (640 km) long escarpment running across central Arizona to the Anima Sanctuary in New Mexico, and also marks the southern boundary of what’s known as the Colorado Plateau.
The Coconino encompasses the largest portion of a great volcanic field, and in places is dotted with tree-covered cinder cones, lava flows, and underground lava tubes such as Lava River Cave. The Flagstaff District surrounds two national monuments, Walnut Canyon National Monument and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument the latter of which preserves the youngest cinder cone in the San Francisco Volcanic Field, Sunset Crater. Located in the southern portion of the Flagstaff District is Mormon Lake at 7,000’ elevation, the new site for the Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference.
Mormon Lake itself is a shallow, intermittent lake with an average depth of only 10 ft (3.0 m), the surface area of the lake is extremely volatile and fluctuates seasonally. When full, the lake has a surface area of about 12 square miles (31 million square meters), making it the largest natural lake in Arizona. The name of the lake commemorates Mormon settlers who arrived here in the 1870s and founded several dairy farms in the area, before eventually picking up stakes and moving on. (With thanks to Wikipedia)
Old West Heritage
You can almost hear the soundtrack as you step closer to the Mormon Lake Lodge and its scattering of old log and clapboard buildings tucked against the trees, perhaps a minor chord instrumental with sparse but powerful guitar lines, a whistling of wind punctuated by a horse’s whinny or the distant crack of a wagon master’s whip a’la Rawhide, in what could be a psychedelic spaghetti western composition by the tweaked Spindrift or Ry Cooder.
Here you find authentic Wild West flavor, oddly tinged with evident ecological emphasis and an earthy tone befitting the working class more than the world traveler. Antique fishing rods and frontiersman’s accouterments decorate walls branded by the very cowboys who built it, and once fiercely alive creatures stand mounted and stuffed with reflections of a transformed land in their glass eyes. These animals, like so much of the main Lodge decor, are a legacy of man who loved these mountains, the writer who most helped establish the Western novel as what was then a new literary genre: Zane Grey, 1875-1935.
In his 60+ books, he presented the West as a moral battle ground featuring game changing choices, with characters facing great personal and regional changes. A bundle of contradictions like the West itself, Grey was not only the killer of the inglorious mounts but also a proponent of animal and habitat conservation. His outlawish heroes not only bucked convention, but the notion of civilization itself. From his 1918 novel The Roaring U.P. Trail, 1918:
“Slingerland hated the railroad, and he could not see as any of the engineers or builders did. This old trapper had the vision of the Indian – that far-seeing eye cleared by distance and silence, and the force of the great, lonely hills. Progress was great, but nature unspoiled was greater. If a race could not breed all stronger men, through its great movements, it might better not breed any, for the bad over-multiplied the good, and so their needs magnified into greed. Slingerland saw many shining bands of steel across the plains and mountains, many stations and hamlets and cities, a growing and marvelous prosperity from timber, mines, farms, and in the distant end – a gutted West.”
To champion and perpetuate that West and its wild nature, was Grey’s personal as well as literary aim. And the owners of the Lodge at Mormon Lake – Grey’s all time favorite hangout – make an effort to honor that legacy with ongoing conservation efforts.
An Ecological Ethos
Ecological work at the Lodge property include environmental education programs and hikes, and a regular community effort to clean up around the lake and improve Osprey habitat. The parent company of Mormon Lake Lodge, Forever Resorts, runs Forever Earth which sends donations to environmental groups, engages in community partnership, land restoration projects, environmental education, and proactive initiatives to make their various operations more compatible with the local ecologies. They’ve won literally hundreds of environmental stewardship awards across the country, as well as being a member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Environmental Performance Track Program, the Green Hotel and Green Restaurant Associations and on and on.
It’s interesting to note that the Coconino, back when it was called the San Francisco Forest Preserve, was the first posting for the forester who would later become known as the father of the modern land ethic, Aldo Leopold.
Coconino Plant Diversity
Examples you might encounter include Wild Rose, Redroot, Ponderosa Pine, Aspen, Dandelion, Mallow, Goldenrod, Evening Primrose, Geranium, Plantain, Usnea, Yarrow, Wild Buckwheat, Iris, Blackberry, Douglas Fir, Arnica, Yellow Dock, False Solomon’s Seal, Wild Oats, Butterflyweed/Pleurisy Root, Gumweed, Wild Tarragon, Sagebrush, Seepwillow, and Yerba del Lobo/Owl’s Claws to name a few!
TWHC gu
ests are encouraged to hike one of the many picturesque trails such as the Lyle/Mormon Lakes Trail, a 3.3 mile rise from 10,700’ to a full 12,000’winding through multiple kinds of habitat, esteemed by botanists and plant lovers far and wide.
300 of eve
n the most sensitive herbalists could have a major impact on local populations of sensitive plants, so we ask that you do little or no harvesting in the region of the event.
Before coming, check out the annotated list of Northern Arizona Vascular Plants.
2012 TWHC Dates!: September 13th-16th
…are the dates for the next Traditions In Western Herbalism Conference, late enough to beat the heat and avoid overlapping other events, early enough to still boast a plethora or blossoming plants, after when the monsoons have usually stopped and prior to the usual first frost.
Spread The Word
Early-Sprout Discount Registration will open December 1st. Posters will shortly be available free for distribution and hanging in your schools and stores, and it is hugely helpful when you forward the announcements, blog about the conference and tell encourage your friends.
The Tribe’s Alive!
(Please do re-post, forward and share this announcement)
